22 posts tagged “bush's war”
In case anyone thought otherwise...
US troops to stay in Iraqi cities after June
By ROBERT H. REID – December 13, 2008
BAGHDAD (AP) — Some American troops will remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30 deadline for combat soldiers to leave urban areas, the top U.S. commander said Saturday.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions by his own spokesman that the Iraqi government may ask some U.S. troops to remain behind as trainers after the Dec. 31, 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops set by the new U.S.-Iraq security agreement.
Those comments are likely to rekindle debate here about the agreement, which was ratified by parliament last month and takes effect Jan. 1. But Iraqi voters must approve the deal in a referendum by the end of July.
Suggestions of loopholes in the withdrawal timeline could be exploited by Iraqi politicians seeking to undermine al-Maliki ahead of the referendum. A number of Sunni and Shiite politicians, as well as the powerful Shiite clergy, accepted the deal after assurances from al-Maliki that the timeline for the U.S. departure was firm.
Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, told reporters that troops who serve in training and mentoring teams would not be included in the mandate to pull combat troops from the cities.
"We believe that's part of our transition teams," Odierno said at the U.S. Balad air base where he met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He said the training and mentoring teams would stay at urban security stations to support Iraqi soldiers and police.
He did not say how many troops would remain in urban security stations but said all locations would be coordinated with the Iraqi government based on its requirements and needs. He said repeatedly that he expects to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011...
"It's important that we maintain enough presence here that we can help them get through this year of transition," Odierno said...
Dazed Iraqi teen suicide bomber says she didn't want to die
By Leila Fadel | McClatchy Newspapers
Monday, August 25, 2008
BAQOUBA, Iraq — The 15-year-old girl had the chubby cheeks of a child who hadn't lost her baby fat when she was arrested Sunday by an alert policeman. Around her chest was a vest packed with explosives. The policeman chained her to the bars of a window, stripped off her dress, found the vest and deactivated the bomb. Had he not intervened, Rania would have been this year's 31st suicide bomber in Iraq.
A day later, Rania seemed in a daze as she spoke about the people who put her up to it: the relatives who forced her to don the vest and apparently drugged her, her husband, whom police accuse of being a member of the group al Qaida in Iraq, and her mother, who seemed to play a central role in turning Rania into a human bomb but whom she looked to as a rescuer...
Today in Iraq
Tuesday 26 August 2008
By Sahar Issa | McClatchy Newspapers
This is not a comprehensive list.
Baghdad
A roadside bomb targeted a Sahwa patrol, the U.S. backed militia, in al-Mowasalat neighbourhood, western Baghdad at 10 a.m. Tuesday injuring two Sahwa members.
A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Ghadeer neighbourhood at noon injuring two policemen and two civilians.
A suicide car bomb targeted a recruiting centre in the town of Jalowlaa, 70 km to the northeast of Baquba at 10.30 a.m. Tuesday killing 27 recruits, wounding 45.
Salahuddin
A car bomb parked near the entrance of the health department in Tikrit exploded at 7.30 a.m. killing two guards and two civilians, injuring thirteen civilians.
Nineveh
Gunmen open fire at a policeman near his home in Bab Legesh, central Mosul. The policeman was injured. A police force cordoned the neighbourhood, found the gunmen and engaged them, killing one gunman, injuring another.
Monday August 18, 2008
Baghdad
Five people (3 policemen and 2 civilians) were injured by a roadside bomb in al Riwad intersection in Mansour neighborhood in west Baghdad around 9:00 a.m.
Around 10:00 a.m. Gunmen opened their machineguns fire targeting the car of Faris Jabir Thahir; a member in Shaheed al Mihrab organization (one of the organizations in ISCI ) in Zafaraniyah town in southeast Baghdad. Faris was killed at one and his wife was injured seriously.
Around 10:30, an IED exploded targeting an American convoy in al Ordin intersection (Jordan intersection) in Yarmouk neighborhood in west Baghdad. Nine Iraqi were injured including three policemen. No American casualties were reported.
Three people were injured (2 policemen and a civilian) by a roadside bomb near the national theater in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 1:00 p.m.
Basra
A director of an election center and his deputy were killed and a companion was inured when gunmen attacked them while they were going to work in Bahadriyah area south of Basra on Monday morning. The election commission confirmed the incident.
Kirkuk
Gunmen killed Raheem Thyab al Bayati; one of the leaders of Sahwa south of Tuz city north of Baghdad around 2:00 p.m.
Timeless? song included... eh??? *sigh*
AP Top News at 9:20 a.m. EDT
6 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's national security adviser says his country will not accept any deal with the United States unless the agreement sets specific dates for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The comments by Mouwaffak al-Rubaie come a day after Iraq's prime minister first said publicly that he expects the pending troop deal with the United States to have some type of timetable for withdrawal.
AP Top News at 4:14 p.m. EDT
21 minutes ago
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama opened the door Thursday to altering his plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months based on what he hears from military commanders during his upcoming trip there. "I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he told reporters on the airport tarmac here. "I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy."
From The Kansas City Star:
Obama opens door to altering his Iraq policy
By Jennifer Loven
Associated Press Writer
...Obama insisted that his position has not changed at all.
He said he is saying now what he always has: The war was a mistake and needs to be brought to "a responsible end," but "we need to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in." This means, he said, that his 16-month timeline was always premised on troops being safe and Iraq being stable.
"I'm going to continue to gather information to see whether those conditions still hold," he said. "My goal is to end this conflict as soon as possible"...
From me:
So Barack Obama basically said he is going to end to the conflict in Iraq; in a responsible and honorable manner. I have no problem with that. I wouldn't ACCEPT anything less from a leader. Good job Senator Obama!
Most of the headlines are focusing on President Bush signing the new war funding bill and the cost of the war. Rightly so, that is where the focus should be. However, the President did make some compromises by signing the bill.
The package approved by Congress includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for troops and veterans. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, $2.7 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest, and tens of billions of dollars for food aid, anti-drug enforcement, Louisiana levee repairs and many other items.
The war is going to be funded... no matter what. That is an undeniable truth. President Bush knows that. So give credit where credit is due. The President did compromise and we got unemployment extended, flood relief, food aid, etc.
I still think we are funding the wrong war. (I do believe we are in a war but it's not conventional) I would prefer the larger sum went towards fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and for social program that will help the communities in the Middle-East. You know... help the people like you and me that just want to live life.
Four Americans, six Iraqis killed in Baghdad blast
Tuesday June 24, 2008
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Two US soldiers, two American civilians and six Iraqis were killed in a bomb attack Tuesday on municipal offices in Baghdad's eastern Shiite bastion of Sadr City, US and Iraqi officials said.
The attack which the US military blamed on Shiite extremists occurred mid-morning shortly before district council elections were to take place, an Iraqi security official said.
One US soldier, three members of the district council and seven other Iraqis were wounded, the US military and Iraqi security officials said...
...US embassy official W. Johann Schmonsees said that one of the civilians killed was a State Department employee and the other worked for the Defence Department. They were both attached to the American mission in Baghdad.
The US military said two of its soldiers were killed in the blast and charged that the attack was carried out by Special Groups extremists...
...The blast occurred at about 9:30 am (0630 GMT) in the southern section of Sadr City, a stronghold of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
It took place when when US officials and soldiers had arrived "to supervise the process of elections as the council was to elect some new members today," a member of the district council said...
...The latest attack on US nationals comes a day after two American soldiers were killed and three wounded as they were fired on as they were leaving the council office of Madain town located south of Baghdad.
The recent decrease in violence in Baghdad and other regions of Iraq has led to an increased presence of US soldiers on the streets, most of them involved in restoring community services...
...The latest deaths of US soldiers bring the overall losses of the military in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 4,106, according to an AFP tally based on independent website.
Car bomb kills more than 50 people in Baghdad
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra – 52 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb tore through a market area in a mainly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the deadliest such attack in more than three months.
The attack occurred just before 6 p.m. as the market in the northwestern Hurriyah neighborhood was packed with shoppers preparing for their evening meals.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq, which is known to use car bombs and suicide attacks...
...The casualty toll spiked to at least 51 people killed and 75 people wounded after rescue crews extinguished the blaze and found the bodies of dozens of victims who had been trapped inside or buried in the rubble, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information...
...The blast shattered the relative calm in the capital amid stepped up security measures. American commanders have consistently said they have al-Qaida in Iraq on the run but warned that the insurgents retain the ability to stage high-profile attacks...
...Tuesday's attack was the deadliest car bombing since March 6, when a twin bombing killed 68 people in a crowded shopping district in the central Baghdad district of Karradah.
Things are getting worse in the forgotten war. Read this also: Afghanistan
Pakistani tribes reach for guns after U.S. attack
By Khalid Nisar
Fri Jun 13, 8:52 AM ET
GHALANAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fiercely independent tribesmen, angered by a U.S. air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers this week, vowed to raise a militia to help Pakistan's army defend the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, denounced Tuesday's attack on a border post in the Mohmand tribal region as "unprovoked and cowardly" and said it could undermine the cooperation in the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Elders from ethnic Pashtun tribes in Mohmand, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, issued a statement late on Thursday condemning the attack as "naked aggression" and said they were ready to raise a "lashkar," or army.
"It's the duty of the government to protect and defend the frontiers and we are ready to raise a lashkar to help our army in their cause," the elders said.
"We are ready to fight for our homeland as we fought in Kashmir in 1948," they said, referring to the first war between Pakistan and India, a year after their partition.
Chanting slogans of "Down with America" and "Down with Bush," about 250 activists of an Islamic group paraded on the roads of Ghalanai, Mohmand's main town, to protest against the attack.
"We should wage jihad (Muslim holy war) to teach a lesson to America for this aggression," imam of the main mosque of Ghalanai, Abdul Khaliq, told the crowd...
Lest we forget.
"Last month for the first time more coalition forces were killed in Afghanistan than were killed in Iraq."
U.S. officials said 18 coalition troops, including 13 Americans, were killed in action last month in Afghanistan, compared with 16 killed in Iraq, of which 14 were Americans.
Today this news:
Taliban attack helps inmates escape Afghan prison
By Noor Khan and Amir Shah – 1 hour ago
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants staged a brazen bomb and rocket attack on the main prison in southern Afghanistan late Friday, blowing down the gate and helping hundreds of suspected insurgents flee, officials said. Many police officers were reported killed.
The complex attack included a truck bombing at the main gate, a suicide bomber who struck a back wall and rockets fired from outside, setting of a series of explosions that rattled Kandahar, the country's second biggest city.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers attacked Sarposa Prison and freed about 400 Taliban members.
Abdul Qabir, chief of the Sarposa Prison, also said hundreds of prisoners escaped, but did not provide an exact figure. He said some inmates stayed at the jail, which also held criminals.
Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai who is president of Kandahar's provincial council, said the prison held about 350 suspected Taliban fighters...
