Ray McGovern: Was Cheney behind Iraqi army’s failed Basra offensive? Raymond McGovern is a retired CIA officer turned political activist. McGovern was a Federal employee under seven U.S. presidents over 27 years, presenting the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many of them. McGovern was born and raised in the Bronx, graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University, received an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham, a certificate
As my readers have already noticed, I am rather angry at Rep. Ron Paul for throwing in the towel in the 2008 election instead of doing what this SOB Lieberman (successfully) did and run as an independent. Still, when I heard Ron Paul’s remarks to Petraeus and Crocker I found myself daydreaming about what a Paul Presidency could have meant to the rest of the world (I am not supportive
(thanks to Ayaz for this contribution!) By Justin Elliott for Mother Jones (via Truthout) From Baghdad, veteran Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn explains why Muqtada al-Sadr is no maverick. “Interview in Baghdad,” “Interview in Najaf,” “Interview in Basra,” “Interview in Amara”: The endnotes at the back of Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn’s new book read like an atlas of Iraq. Such is the depth of reporting in Cockburn’s Muqtada: Muqtada
by Leila Fadel for McClatchy Newspapers Iraqi lawmakers traveled to the Iranian holy city of Qom over the weekend to win the support of the commander of Iran’s Qods brigades in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to order his followers to stop military operations, members of the Iraqi parliament said. Sadr ordered the halt on Sunday, and his Mahdi Army militia heeded the order in Baghdad, where the Iraqi
Sadr Fighters Withdraw from Baghdad, Basra Streets Muslim Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his Mahdi Army fighters on Monday to withdraw from the streets in a move signaling the end of clashes which erupted in the southern port city of Basra and quickly spread to areas across Iraq. The Sadr group in Baghdad confirmed that fighters from Mahdi Army were no longer deployed in the capital. “Sadr movement and
Mahdi Army Stands Firm in its Basra NeighborhoodsDemonstrations in Baghdad against al-Maliki By Juan Cole “Information Clearinghouse” — – People are asking me the significance of the fighting going on in Basra and elsewhere. My reading is that the US faced a dilemma in Iraq. It needed to have new provincial elections in an attempt to mollify the Sunni Arabs, especially in Sunni-majority provinces like Diyala, which has nevertheless been
PRESS TV reports that the US military forces in Iraq had been authorized to cross into Iranian and Syrian borders ‘in pursuit of gunmen’, a report reveals. A classified 2005 document which has been made public by an independent website said the US forces had been given permission to chase what it called terrorists and former members of Saddam Hussein’s government into Iran and Syria. According to Wikileaks, US officials
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA for AP news Influential members of Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement have urged the anti-U.S. Shiite cleric not to extend a cease-fire when it expires next month, officials said Monday, a move that could jeopardize recent security gains. The Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, meanwhile, gave a higher death toll than Iraqi officials from last week’s devastating house explosion in the northern city of Mosul. The relief organization said more
CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Iraq Progresses To Some Of Its Worst Inter Press ServiceAnalysis by Dahr Jamail Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007 has been the worst year yet in Iraq. One of the first big moves this year was the launch of a troop “surge” by the U.S. government in mid-February. The goal was to improve security in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province, the two most violent areas. By
Al-Arabia reports: Iraqi Shiite cleric and head of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, is doing intensive study to earn the title of ‘marjea’ (‘expert’ or ‘authority’), which will entitle him to issue fatwas (religious edicts) for his followers, in accordance with Shiite traditions. Al-Sadr is studying at the Al-Hawzah religious institution in Najaf, his official spokesman Sheikh Salah Al-Obeidi said in a press statement carried by Quds Press on Saturday.
Ha’aretz reports the following: Crews from Israel Aerospace Industries, operating unmanned aerial vehicles, are participating in Turkish military operations against PKK militants in northern Iraq, according to Turkish reports to be published today in the Turkish Daily News. Ten days ago, the Turkish television station Star reported that IAI Heron UAVs are being used in the offensive against the Kurds. The same report stated that Turkey’s Chief of Staff, General
The always excellent blog Lenin’s Tomb has posted a very good commentary on the latest statistics out of Iraq. I urge everybody interested in the Iraq war to go to Lenin’s Tomb and read this analysis and see why ‘the Surge is working’.
by Binh, author of the blog “Prisoner of Starvation“, originally published on his blog and reprinted here with Binh’s kind permission.——- Every so often, you pick up a newspaper and read something that boggles your mind. The Washington Post has a story with a big headline that says: “All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows.” The second paragraph starts with the following sentence: “That is good news,
The so-called ‘Surge’, and its alleged success, are based on two fundamental tactics: the first one is the so-called ‘Redirection‘ which consists of buying off the Sunni resistance, including all those groups who only yesterday were called ‘terrorists’; the second new tactic is massive increasing in the use of airpower. The blog Lenin’s Tomb has just published an excellent analysis which proves that the occupation forces are now truly engaged
I just saw this really interesting piece of news from Reuters. Reporting about the air and artillery strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan Reuters wrote: Dismissing reports the raids hit villages, Turkey’s General Staff said its targets were fixed “after it was established that they were definitely not civilian residential areas.” The three-hour offensive, reported to involve 50 fighter jets, also included ground forces shelling suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers Party
On December 8th of this year Dahr Jamail made an interesting in Vancouver, Canada. His speech was recorded by Radio Ecoshock and made available for download here (I have also uploaded a copy of this presentation here). I highly recommend Dahr Jamail’s excellent presentation which totally debunks all the nonsense about the ‘Surge’ which the corporate media sheepishly repeats day after day. To anyone wanting to hear the truth about
Remember this next time you see a “Support our troops” sticker:
No comment needed, just listen to these guys…
The Bush Administration is considering air strikes, including cruise missiles, against the Kurdish rebel group PKK in northern Iraq. The move would be an attempt to stave off a Turkish invasion of that country to fight the rebels. President George Bush spoke with Turkish President Abdullah Gul by phone yesterday in an effort to ease the crisis. And Prime Minister John Howard says the tensions on the Turkey-Iraq border will
