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Think About This:
"Hundreds Of Rebels Stormed An Iraqi Police Station"

Burnt Iraqi police vehicles lie outside a police station after an attack by insurgents in Miqdadiya, 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad March 21, 2006. REUTERS/Helmiy al-Azawi

Mar. 21, 2006 AP & Reuters

Hundreds of rebels stormed an Iraqi police station in a pre-dawn raid to free inmates, triggering the deadliest firefight this year, which left 18 police and 10 insurgents dead.

Equipped with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and assault rifles guerrillas attacked the police headquarters and courthouse in the town of Miqdadiya, killing at least 22 policemen, police said.

They also released 33 prisoners in the attack on the police headquarters.

With the telephone lines cut, the insurgents had 90 minutes to battle their way into the law enforcement compound before police reinforcements showed up from the nearby villages of Wajihiyah and Abu Saida, police said.

Forces rushing to the aid of the besieged units were also targeted. Two policemen were killed when a roadside bomb hit their patrol as it raced from nearby Baquba. In a separate bombing in that city, two other policemen were killed.

Police said investigations were being hampered because the gunmen seized radio equipment, making the police radio network insecure and unusable.

By the time the insurgents fled, taking away the bodies of many of their dead compatriots, nearly two dozen cars were shot up and set on fire and the jail was a charred mass of twisted bunk bed frames and smoldering mattresses.

U.S. helicopters were in the air above the jail after the insurgents had fled. Police said there was firing into the air by residents, but it was not clear if the American aircraft were the target. None was hit.

The insurgents whose incarceration apparently prompted the assault were detained Sunday during raids by security forces in the nearby villages of Sansal and Arab, police said.

Both U.S. and Iraqi military officials had said last year that the area was no longer an insurgent stronghold, but Tuesday’s attack showed the militants still could assemble a large force, capable of operating in the region virtually at will.

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

MND-B SOLDIER KILLED IN WESTERN BAGHDAD

3/21/2006 HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS Release Number 06-03-02C

BAGHDAD, Iraq: A Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldier was killed by small-arms fire March 21 at 1:10 p.m. while patrolling in western Baghdad.

Turlock Green Beret Killed

Mar. 21, KGO

A member of the Army’s elite Green Berets from Turlock was killed in Iraq over the weekend.

Twenty-three-year-old Dale Brehm grew up in the central valley, graduated from Turlock High School and was based in Fort Lewis, Washington before his deployment to Iraq.

Brehm is the third soldier from Turlock to die in Iraq in the last six months.

Indianapolis Soldier Killed In Baghdad

March 21, 2006 By Robert King, Indianapolis Star

A 25-year-old Army soldier from Indianapolis was killed Tuesday in Iraq, the apparent victim of sniper fire as he manned a machine gun on a Humvee.

Spc. Antoine J. McKinzie, a 2000 graduate of Pike High School, was patrolling Baghdad in an armored Humvee, said his stepfather, Dwight Adams.

McKinzie is the fifth soldier or Marine with ties to Indianapolis to die in Iraq. McKinzie served in the 27th Field Artillery Regiment in the Army’s 4th Infantry Division and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.

He was last home at Christmas and had spoken to his family as recently as Wednesday.

Kern County Soldier Fatally Shot While Evacuating Building

Mar. 21, 2006 Associated Press, SHAFTER, Calif.

An Army Special Forces soldier who enlisted in the military after his high school graduation was killed when he helped evacuate a building in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Ricardo Barraza, 24, of Shafter, died over the weekend after he was shot in the chest, his family said.

"He always thought of the rest of the people, not to have glory, but for everyone," his mother, Nina Barraza, told The Bakersfield Californian on Monday. "He respected that uniform."

Army officials visited the Barrazas on Sunday at their home in Shafter, about 20 miles northwest of Bakersfield, to tell them of Ricardo Barraza’s death, she said.

Family members said they were not sure exactly when Barraza died.

Ricardo Barraza, who had been in Iraq since 2002, graduated from Shafter High School in 1999. Friends described him as an outgoing athlete who played football, basketball and ran track.

Two British Soldiers Wounded, Collaborator Killed In Southern Basra

 

3.22.06 The body of Ahmed Kemal, an Iraqi translator working for British forces, after an IED explosion killed him in Basra March 22, 2006. An IED exploded Wednesday as British soldiers were foot patrolling, killing their translator and wounding two soldiers, police said. (AP Photo/ Nabil Al-Juarni)

Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy In Baghdad:
Casualties Not Announced

March 22, 2006 Xinhua

A car bomber struck a U.S. military convoy on the main road leading to Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday morning, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"A bomber drove his explosive-laden vehicle into a U.S. military convoy on the airport road in western Baghdad at about 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT)," the source said on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear whether there were any casualties among the U.S. troops as the U.S. forces cordoned off the scene, preventing Iraqi police from approaching the area, the source said.

Great Moments In U.S. Military History:
Terrorists Cleverly Disguised As Babies Executed By U.S. Troops Near Balad

 

Iraqis gather near bodies of men and children, who were killed during a U.S. raid in Ishaqi area near the city of Balad, north of Baghdad, on March 15. (AFP/Dia Hamid)

[Thanks to Z, who sent this in. He writes: Ishikawa and Kuroshima would understand: insert troops into a hell on earth and there’s no way to prevent atrocities. Yet the real fiends in their capital suites are never spattered with a single drop of blood. Solidarity, Z]

The other adults in the room tried to protect the two children with their bodies and were all shot dead. Eman and her brother were both wounded. "We were lying there, bleeding and it hurt so much. Afterwards some Iraqi soldiers came. They carried us in their arms. I was crying, shouting, 'why did you do this to our family?’ And one Iraqi soldier tells me, 'we didn’t do it. The Americans did it’."

22.03.2006 By Amer Amery, Reuters & Patrick Cockburn, Independent News and Media Limited

Eleven members of an Iraqi family were killed in a U.S. raid on Wednesday, police and witnesses said. The U.S. military said two women and a child died during the bid to seize an al Qaeda militant from a house.

A senior Iraqi police officer said autopsies on the bodies, which included five children, showed each had been shot in the head.

Community leaders said they were outraged at the killings and demanded an explanation from the U.S. military.

Television footage showed the bodies in the Tikrit morgue — five children, two men and four women. Their wounds were not clear though one infant had a gaping head wound.

A freelance photographer later saw them being buried by weeping men in Ishaqi, the town 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad where the raid took place.

The U.S. military said in a statement its troops had attacked a house in Ishaqi early on Wednesday to capture a "foreign fighter facilitator for the al Qaeda in Iraq network".

"Troops were engaged by enemy fire as they approached the building," spokesman Major Tim Keefe said. "Coalition Forces returned fire utilising both air and ground assets.

"There was one enemy killed. Two women and one child were also killed in the firefight. The building … (was) destroyed."

Major Ali Ahmed of the Ishaqi police said U.S. forces had landed on the roof of the house in the early hours and shot the 11 occupants, including the five children.

"After they left the house they blew it up," he said.

The bodies, their hands bound, had been dumped in one room before the house was destroyed, Hussein said. Police had found spent American-issue cartridges in the rubble.

"It’s a clear and perfect crime without any doubt," he said.

Police in Salahaddin province, a heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency and the home region of Saddam Hussein, have frequently criticised U.S. military tactics in the area.

Police officers said the U.S. military had asked for a meeting with local tribal leaders. The Joint Co-ordination Centre in Tikrit which coordinates between U.S. and Iraqi security forces said later the meeting would happen on Friday.

Ishaqi’s town administrator, Rasheed Shather, said the town was shocked: "Everyone went to the funeral. We want the Americans to give us an explanation for this horrible crime."

Photographs of the funeral showed men crying as five children, who all looked under the age of five, were wrapped in blankets and then lined up in a row. One man who described himself as a relative said one was just seven months old.

"They killed these innocent children. Are these considered terrorists? Is a seven-month-old child a terrorist?" he said angrily, speaking close to the remains of the house.

Local teacher Faeq Nsaef was also outraged: "An entire family was killed. It’s a barbarian act."

The Marines claim they heard shots coming from the direction of Waleed’s house. They burst in to the house and Eman heard shots from her father’s room.

They then entered the living room, where the rest of the family was gathered. She said: "I couldn’t see their faces very well – only their guns sticking in to the doorway. I watched them shoot my grandfather, first in the chest and then in the head. Then they killed my granny."

The US soldiers started shooting in to the corner of the room where Eman and her eight-year-old brother, Abdul Rahman, were cowering. The other adults in the room tried to protect the two children with their bodies and were all shot dead. Eman and her brother were both wounded.

"We were lying there, bleeding and it hurt so much. Afterwards some Iraqi soldiers came. They carried us in their arms. I was crying, shouting, 'why did you do this to our family?’ And one Iraqi soldier tells me, 'we didn’t do it. The Americans did it’."

(Additional reporting by Ghazwan al-Jibouri in Tikrit and Aseel Kami in Baghdad)

 
An Iraqi looks at the bodies of three girls among a total of 11 civilians killed during a US raid near the city of Balad, north of Baghdad, 15 March. The US military said four civilians were killed, two women, a child and a man. Iraqi police say 11 died including five women and four children. (AFP/File/Dia Hamid)

MORE:

"It’s Just Surreal That These Terrorists Expect Anyone To Trust Them At This Point"

[Thanks to C, who sent this in. He writes: Probe? Sending the fox to guard the hen-house? Where’s the international community when it comes to investigating matters like this? Not that there’s really any difference between murdering three people or murdering eleven. It’s just surreal that these terrorists expect anyone to trust them at this point.]

"There is an investigation directed by the commander of the multinational force into the discrepancy between the numbers and to determine the facts," US Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson said. 3.22.06 Middle East Online

MORE:

"The Great Compassion"

"Soon the Iraqi people will see the great compassion of not only the United States, but other nations around the world who care deeply about the human condition inside that country." G.W. Bush at Pentagon Briefing, March 25, 2003

[Thanks to William Bowles, who sent in this quote. Check out his website at www.williambowles.info/]

MQ-1 PREDATOR CRASHES IN IRAQ

3/21/2006 HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS
Release Number: 06-03-02P

An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed about 3:30 a.m., today, while operating in Iraq.

The UAV was based with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Balad Air Base, Iraq and being controlled by a pilot at Creech AFB, Nev. when it crashed. It was operating in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV system. Its primary mission is interdiction and armed reconnaissance.

Occupation Troops Lend Resistance A Helping Hand

An oil tanker is seen engulfed with fire as its driver, left, talks on a mobile phone, in western Baghdad March 22, 2006. According to driver of the oil tanker, U.S. army fired at the tanker and set it ablaze. (AP Photo/Khlaid Mohammed)

"Is This The Sort Of Weaponry You’d Expect To Be With A 'Weakened’ Guerilla Army?"

From: Anonymous One
To: GI Special
Sent: March 18, 2006 12:29 AM
Subject: The Insurgents have unusual weapons.

This deserves some attention; download the video, watch it and go to about midway.

In it, the Iraqi resistance fighters demonstrate a remote-controlled sniper rifle:

media.abolkhaseb.net/video/rafidan/8M-1.wmv

Also seen is a grenade machine gun, most likely stolen from a humvee.

Is this the sort of weaponry you’d expect to be with a 'weakened’ guerilla army?

PS: If the link does not work, then that means it has already been removed from the internet. This has happened before with many other videos recorded by the Iraqi resistance.

Also…
Keep up the good work.

[Honored to be of service. T]

NOTES FROM A LOST WAR:
The Great Operation Swarmer Fiasco:
Baked Bread Captured, And That’s It

Before loading up into the helicopters for a return trip to Baghdad, Iraqi and American soldiers and some reporters helped themselves to the woman’s freshly baked bread, tearing bits off and chewing it as they wandered among the cows.

For most of them, it was the only thing worthwhile they’d found all day.

[Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.]

Mar. 17, 2006 By BRIAN BENNETT/AL JALLAM, Time Magazine

Four Black Hawk helicopters landed in a wheat field and dropped off a television crew, three photographers, three print reporters and three Iraqi government officials right into the middle of Operation Swarmer.

Iraqi soldiers in newly painted humvees, green and red Iraqi flags stenciled on the tailgates, had just finished searching the farm populated by a half-dozen skinny cows and a woman kneading freshly risen dough and slapping it to the walls of a mud oven.

The press, flown in from Baghdad to this agricultural gridiron northeast of Samarra, huddled around the Iraqi officials and U.S. Army commanders who explained that the "largest air assault since 2003" in Iraq using over 50 helicopters to put 1500 Iraqi and U.S. troops on the ground had netted 48 suspected insurgents, 17 of which had already been cleared and released.

The area, explained the officials, has long been suspected of being used as a base for insurgents operating in and around Samarra, the city north of Baghdad where the bombing of a sacred shrine recently sparked a wave of sectarian violence.

But contrary to what many many television networks erroneously reported, the operation was by no means the largest use of airpower since the start of the war.

("Air Assault" is a military term that refers specifically to transporting troops into an area.)

In fact, there were no airstrikes and no leading insurgents were nabbed in an operation that some skeptical military analysts described as little more than a photo op. What’s more, there were no shots fired at all and the units had met no resistance, said the U.S. and Iraqi commanders.

The operation, which doubled the population of the flat farmland in one single airlift, was initiated by intelligence from Iraq security forces, says Lt Col Skip Johnson commander of the 187 Battalion, 3rd Combat Brigade of the 101st Airborne. "They have the lead," he said to reporters at the second stop of the tour.

But by Friday afternoon, the major targets seemed to have slipped through their fingers.

Iraqi Army General Abdul Jabar says that Samarra-based insurgent leader Hamad el Taki of Mohammad’s Army was thought to be in the area, and Iraqi intelligence officers were still working to compare known voice recordings and photographs with the prisoners in custody.

With the Interior Ministry’s Samarra commando battalion, the soldiers had found some 300 individual pieces of weaponry like mortars, rockets and plastic explosives in six different locations inside the sparsely populated farming community of over 50 square miles and about 1,500 residents.

The raids also uncovered high-powered cordless telephones used as detonators in homemade bombs, medical supplies and insurgent training manuals.

Before loading up into the helicopters for a return trip to Baghdad, Iraqi and American soldiers and some reporters helped themselves to the woman’s freshly baked bread, tearing bits off and chewing it as they wandered among the cows.

For most of them, it was the only thing worthwhile they’d found all day.

MORE:

Operation Silly Bullshit Nothing But A Photo Op

[Thanks to Don Bacon, The Smedley Butler Society, who sent this in.]

3.17.06 Posted by Christopher, back-to-iraq.com

Operation Swarmer is turning out to be much less than meets the eye, or the television camera, for that matter.

Initial reports indicate a number of weapons caches were captured, containing artillery shells, IED-making materials and military uniforms. Iraqi and Coalition troops also detained 41 suspected insurgents.

That sounds exciting!

But according to a colleague of mine from TIME who traveled up there today on a U.S. embassy-sponsored trip, there are no insurgents, no fighting and 17 of the 41 prisoners taken have already been released after just one day.

The "number of weapons caches" equals six, which isn’t unusual when you travel around Iraq. They’re literally everywhere.

There is so far no evidence of bombardment of any kind.

Also, it’s a telling example of how "well" things are going in Iraq that after three years, the U.S. is still leading the fight and conducting sweeps in an area that has been swept/contained/pacified/cleared five or six times since 2004.

How long before the U.S. has to come back again?)

As noted, about 1,500 troops were involved, 700 American and 800 Iraqi. But get this: in the area they’re scouring there are only about 1,500 residents.

"Operation Swarmer" is really a media show.

It was designed to show off the new Iraqi Army, although there was no enemy for them to fight.

Every American official I’ve heard has emphasized the role of the Iraqi forces just days before the third anniversary of the start of the war.

That said, one Iraqi role the military will start highlighting in the next few days, I imagine, is that of Iraqi intelligence. It was intel from the Iraqi military intelligence and interior ministry that the U.S. says prompted this Potemkin operation.

And it will be the Iraqi intel that provides the cover for American military commanders to throw up their hands and say, "well, we thought bad guys were there."

It’s hard to blame the military, however. Stations like Fox and CNN have really taken this and ran with it, with fancy graphics and theme music, thanks to a relatively slow news day.

The generals here also are under tremendous pressure to show off some functioning Iraqi troops before the third anniversary, and I won’t fault them for going into a region loaded for bear. After all, the Iraqi intelligence might have been right.

But Operation Overblown should raise serious questions about how good Iraqi intelligence is.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told by earnest lieutenants that the Iraqis are valiant and necessary partners, "because they know the area, the people and the customs."

But when I spoke to grunts and NCOs, however, they usually gave me blunter, and more colorful, reasons why the Iraqi intelligence was often, shall we say, useless. Tribal rivalries and personal feuds are still a major reason why Iraqis drop a dime on their neighbors.

So I guess it’s fitting that on the eve of the third anniversary of a war launched on, oh, let’s be generous, "faulty" intelligence, a major operation is hyped and then turns out to be less than what it appeared because of … faulty intelligence.

IMPOSSIBLE MISSION
FUTILE EXERCISE
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW!

 
U.S. soldiers at the site of a car bomb explosion, in Mosul March 21, 2006. (AP Photo/ Mohammed Ibrahim)

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

The Great Afghan Aid Fiasco Rolls On:
Officials Face Public Fury

3.20.06 London Financial Times

Officials in one of Afghanistan’s main opium-growing provinces are fighting for credibility after millions of dollars of promised international aid to fund alternative livelihood programs failed to materialize.

TROOP NEWS

THIS IS HOW BUSH BRINGS THE TROOPS HOME:
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

 
Greg and Anita Dziedzic, parents of U.S. Marine Sgt. David Coullard, who was killed in Iraq Aug. 1, Aug. 11, 2005 at St. Paul’s Church, in Glastonbury, Conn. (AP Photo/Rick Hartford, POOL)

"I Never Saw The U.S. Do Anything To Make Things Better While I Was There"
"We Need To Get The Hell Out Of Iraq And Let Them Solve Their Own Problems"

She was always full of anxiety and stress just keeping herself safe when her commanding officers would show up banging on her door in the middle of the night, intoxicated and wanting to have sex with her. The intimidation and sexual harassment that our female soldiers are enduring is leading to massive stress and in some cases even death for our military women in Iraq. They are not supported but shamed when they bring these to the attention of their superiors.

[Thanks to Max Watts, who send this in.]

20 March 2006 By Sara Rich, Truthout Statement.

On March 18th Sara Rich, mother of an AWOL US soldier, gave this address at an anti-war rally in Eugene, Oregon.

Hello

I came to you in September praying for peace as I was bound by the fear of my daughter’s impending redeployment to Iraq.

WHO SAYS LIGHTNING DOESN’T STRIKE TWICE?

We got the date for her redeployment 9 months before her entitled 18 months decompression time.

Her commanding officer forced her to sign a waiver of her rights to decompression time between deployments and gave her a date 11 months after she returned from Iraq the first time.

Then, a few weeks later, she got her readiness papers: that 6 months after she hopefully returned from Iraq the second time, she was scheduled to go over for yet another year. Making it three deployments to Iraq in less that four years.

All of our hearts were heavy.

Three days before her actual redeployment, she was packed and ready to go, she had her car keys in her hand, and she turned to me and said, "I don’t think I can do this."

I was shocked but knew any type of coercion on my part would not help, so I said, "Are you serious?"

She replied, "I just can’t do it, Mom."

She could not go back there to the misery.

She told me that being separated from her family and living and breathing Army for a year at a time in a war zone was a constant source of distress for her.

Where nobody cares whether you live or die as long as you do what you are told and they look good afterwards. Nor could she handle another deployment, dealing with the daily hour-to-hour sexual harassment that she endured from 99% of her male officers and fellow soldiers.

The isolation and fear of being attacked, harassed, molested and raped was a huge part of her life in Iraq.

She was always full of anxiety and stress just keeping herself safe when her commanding officers would show up banging on her door in the middle of the night, intoxicated and wanting to have sex with her. The intimidation and sexual harassment that our female soldiers are enduring is leading to massive stress and in some cases even death for our military women in Iraq. They are not supported but shamed when they bring these to the attention of their superiors.

I TOOK A DEEP BREATH and I told her either way she is my hero and I will support her decision.

She decided that she was going to go AWOL and to leave the Army.

That the US is in Iraq for something that is pointless was a common feeling for many of the soldiers she was stationed with.

(Here’s where she went off.)

The US is not the world police. Why can’t we focus on the multiple crises we have in our own country? The hurricanes that took thousands of lives. Or why not go to Afghanistan, where there are actually terrorists?

It is abominable that we are sending our troops over there and paying them a pittance – the average soldier that is married and has a family to support gets about $2,000 a month, and at the same time we are sending contractors from Blackwater over to do the same security jobs and paying them $15,000 a month to be there and risk their lives. This makes no sense, especially to our soldiers.

She kept asking, and now I’m asking you, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

This is an outrage and is just adding to the growing evidence that we are losing thousands of lives and causing permanent injuries to our soldiers, for what? Oil? Money? Why are we not trying to educate the Iraqis, if liberating them is so important.

My daughter tells me, "Mom, while I was in Iraq, the children were never in school, they were out in the street begging for candy. They were never being watched or supervised, just allowed to run wild.

"I was never sure what we were or still are trying to accomplish in Iraq.

"I never saw the US do anything to make things better while I was there.

"My unit would go out on useless missions and end up being shot at in the dark by our supposed allies because communication between the US and our allies was so poor.

"We need to get the hell out of Iraq and let them solve their own problems.

"Most Iraqis don’t want us there anyway.

"We should have done this years ago, but I guess our government saw it as making us money in some weird way.

"I think the reason that post traumatic stress syndrome is so huge is because this was an invasion/war without a purpose.

"NO one benefited from us being there. Except that Saddam Hussein got a free ticket out of Iraq…

"Why do we think we should be liberating all these countries when we can’t even feed or house our own children in the United States. How about working on oppression and racism here in the US? Maybe we need someone to come liberate us!!"

I could tell that my daughter felt liberated herself and finally touched on some of her anger for the Army as she went on. Here are some more thoughts for us here today.

Listen closely to me now… We Need to Bring Our Soldiers Home NOW and Take Care of Them When They Get Here.

The most controversial part of this, for many people, is the "Now." We are moving into the fourth year of a war that should never have happened. The largest air assault since the invasion of Iraq three years ago has just been launched by the US.

The problem remains: This war was wrong from the beginning and continuing it will not make it right.

A continuation – and now escalation – of the war in Iraq will only lead to more deaths among US troops and Iraqi children, women and men. It will make us less safe in the world. It will mean more troops suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We also need to take care of the troops when they get home, giving them the support – medical, psychological and economic – that they need. The administration has failed at this as well.

Some say a phased withdrawal is not a good strategy. Partial withdrawal of the troops will only leave those who remain in Iraq at greater risk. Phased withdrawal was attempted in the Vietnam War, resulting in an increased death rate for troops who remained in Vietnam as others were "phased out."

The safest thing for our troops, the best thing for our nation, and the best thing for the people of Iraq is to get the troops home now.

Military people with whom we have spoken say that all troops could be pulled back into Kuwait in a matter of a month or so; and from there, planes and boats could bring them on home.

I WOULD TELL YOU THAT … Congress is responsible for allowing the president to take the nation to war; Congress continues to fund the war, which allows it to continue; and Congress has failed to show leadership and take action to bring the war to an end.

We are calling on Congress to show some leadership, take a stand and bring our troops home now. Although it is true that the president ordered the troops into Iraq, and the president used and continues to use fear of terrorism and of Al Qaeda to try to justify his policies and to keep the American people from asking the questions that need to be asked, Congress has been complicit with the president’s plan.

They have gone along with George Bush’s war plan and have consistently failed to challenge and question his actions.

It is past time for both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to show some courage, speak out and bring our troops home now.

Leaving Iraq now is the best way to honor those who have already sacrificed in this war.

The President would like us to think that leaving now would be dishonoring those who have already died, those who have already been wounded, those who have sacrificed so much.

But more deaths, more wounded, more troops suffering from PTSD, more families suffering both here and in Iraq will not honor the sacrifices that have been made.

Yet there are those who would ask for a moment of silence. Tell that to the grieving mother, the young wife, the orphaned child of the 2,314 dead soldiers this war has caused. They will listen to that silence FOREVER. A "moment of silence" isn’t enough!

Many politicians want to offer a moment of silence at times like this, "to honor the sacrifice of our service men and women."

A "moment of silence" is not what is needed from our political leaders, who are allowing the violence in Iraq to escalate with the recently launched large-scale US air assault.

Politicians who want to honor the fallen and support our troops need to show some leadership and speak out to bring our troops home NOW!

YOU here today are part of a massive groundswell of opposition. My family is asking you to reach out to friends who have not yet taken action, and encourage them to get involved now.

Actions that can be taken: War tax resistance, counter military recruitment work, letters to newspapers, supporting peace candidates and delegations, bringing Iraqi women speakers here, full page newspaper ads, speaking out in their own circles and showing that dissent is patriotic.

And as we spiritually pray for peace, let’s start demanding peace from our nation’s leaders. Demand an end to the killing and the violence. We have over 16,000 injured soldiers who are receiving sub-standard care.

Now is not the time for passivity. Now is the time to write the letters, make some noise… Do not be complacent anymore.

Do something every day to demand peace and the safe return of everyone of our soldiers NOW!

Do you have a friend or relative in the service? Forward this E-MAIL along, or send us the address if you wish and we’ll send it regularly. Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, at home and inside the armed services. Send requests to address up top.

"We’re Just Trying To Get The Troops Out Of The Lie"

March 19, 2006 By Brian Alexander, Seattle Times staff reporter

Anti-war protesters paraded in downtown Seattle on Saturday, one of many such protests across the United States and United Kingdom to mark the third anniversary of the Iraq war.

When the anti-war procession reached Fourth Avenue, some thought it was another St. Patrick’s Day event. Despite the confusion, the protesters were encouraged by the cheers of shoppers and some leftover St. Patrick’s parade-goers.

"It’s wonderful," said Mike Hastie, a Portland resident and member of Veterans for Peace, who was part of the march. "We’re just trying to get the troops out of the lie."

Sailors Shipped Out To Ground Duty In Iraq:
"Not All Sailors Are Enthusiastic About The Navy’s Support Role"

March 17, 2006 By Alex Fryer, Seattle Times staff reporter [Excerpts]

Three years after Baghdad fell, the Navy is poised to dramatically increase the number of sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan, filling gaps in Army and Marine Corps units.

The seamen, called "individual augmentees," support ground operations thousands of miles from the nearest port, in deployments that can be far different from the Navy’s traditional role.

Most involved security, communications, construction and administrative duties, on yearlong deployments.

For example, some helped staff prisons and others drove trucks.

New requests for Navy personnel in the Middle East and Afghanistan are coming in weekly.

There are 4,000 sailors in Iraq, a number that is expected to increase to 5,000 in the next few months. It is unclear how many more sailors will be called to serve ashore by the end of the year.

"Ground forces have been in a very tough rotation over the last several years, and if we can pitch in to help relieve some of that, we’re going to do that," Adm. Michael Mullen said during a recent interview with reporters. "We are replacing some of the Marines and soldiers who are on the ground. … I couldn’t tell you exactly what it’s going to grow to."

The sailors do not perform raids or attack insurgent positions.

But some of their missions, particularly defusing homemade bombs, can be dangerous. [No shit?]

Though most sailors sent to Iraq and Afghanistan volunteer, Navy officials say everyone should be prepared to serve.

"If you’re wearing a uniform, you’re a volunteer for whatever the military needs from you," said Lt. Trey Brown, a Navy spokesman. "We want to take the people who are more eager, but everybody has got to be ready to go."

Not all sailors are enthusiastic about the Navy’s support role.

A Naval Academy graduate based in San Diego received orders on Wednesday to report to another base in 12 days and ship out to Iraq, even after he specifically turned down a request to volunteer.

To him, the program refutes pronouncements by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the Army is "battle-hardened" but in good shape.

"Rumsfeld says the Army is not stretched too thin, but you have sailors relieving the Army," said the officer, who wished to remain anonymous. "A little straightforwardness goes a long way. We’d like the same from the folks on high."

"They need a body to fill a spot," said Petty Officer Dustin Hill, who is assigned to the USS Alabama, a ballistic nuclear submarine homeported at Bangor.

There is a lot of talk on base about going to Iraq, he said, but so far, most submariners aren’t worried that they will be selected against their will.

"People feel like they’re safe," Hill said. "We trained to be on submarines. It just doesn’t make sense" for the submariners to support combat operations.

Christine Wormuth, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said individual sailors risk being the "odd man out" when they integrate into other units.

Over time, she said, the stress of such deployments could erode the attractiveness of the Navy, and present a recruitment and retention problem.

The Pentagon "is trying to find ways to put Navy personnel in jobs that are muddy-boots-type jobs," she said.

Gross said volunteers at Naval Station Everett were easy to come by, particularly for general deployments that appeal to lower-ranked sailors.

Depending on their pay rate, service members can double their salaries by working in combat zones, though it’s not money that motivates most volunteers, he said.

"It Has Almost Become Treason Regarding Gutting The Retiree Tricare Program"

Letters To The Editor
Army Times
March 27, 2006

It is time for every retiree to get on the phone and call Washington about this absolute tragedy.

It has almost become treason regarding gutting the retiree Tricare program.

When I signed on, it was "free health care for life" when you got to retirement. Then when I retired, it was pay about $500 per year for "enhanced" health care.

Now it’s triple your bill and we’re thinking about transferring the medical mission to Veterans Affairs.

The vets who visit VA centers are not going to like having another 6 million folks dumped into their lap while the centers are expected to operate as usual. The usual in this case will be longer waits and poorer care.

For you active-duty troops, make sure you pay close attention to this. If you have another career opportunity, run.

This is what happens when you believe what you are promised, and then they try and balance a budget, after you are gone, on your back.

Capt. Michael E. Champion (ret.)
San Antonio

Reid Denies Troops Hate Iraq War:

[Thanks to N, who sent this in. He writes: When was the last time you saw any of the politicians on the Front Line, or anywhere near it?]

[British] Defence Secretary John Reid has denied UK troops do not want to serve in Iraq because they disagree with the war.

[Right. Nobody could possibly imagine such a thing. Which is why he’s making a fool of himself by denying it to the press.]

IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP

Assorted Resistance Action:
Another Attack In Force On Occupation Cops

March 21 (Reuters) & March 22, 2006 By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer & Xinhua & Reuters

Sixty gunmen, firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, attacked the Madain police station before dawn, police Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammadawi said.

"Insurgents pounded a base of the al-Salam public order battalion in Madain area at about 4:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) followed by a machinegun and rocket-propelled grenades attack," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A special police commander and four other police was killed and five policemen were wounded, he said. None of the attackers were killed.

The body of a man wearing an Iraqi military uniform was delivered to a morgue in the southern city of Kut, a morgue official said. The man had been killed outside Madain, he said.

**********************************************

Two policemen were killed and one was wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

In the capital, roadside bombs that targeted police patrols wounded at least six policemen, including four who work as guards at the education ministry, police said.

Also early Wednesday, guerrillas killed three military drivers transporting bricks on a country road outside the city of Baqouba northeast of Baghdad, police said. A roadside bomb then exploded when a police patrol went to the site, wounding one officer, police said.

Guerrillas killed an employee of the Baghdad mayor’s office while he was driving in Dora in south Baghdad.

Four bodyguards for the electricity minister were wounded when guerrillas ambushed their convoy as they headed to the airport to pick up the minister, police said. Two police commandos were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in southern Baghdad, police said.

Two policemen were killed and one wounded when guerrillas ambushed their patrol as they headed to the scene of one of the pilgrim attacks, police said.

Insurgents fired a mortar round Wednesday at a government installation in the northern town of Beiji during a visit by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi, an aide said. Chalabi, a Shiite Muslim, was not harmed and later returned to Baghdad, the aide said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE
END THE OCCUPATION

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

"Don’t These People Know We Are Here To Help Them"

From: Mike Hastie
To: GI Special
Sent: March 20, 2006 5:43 AM
Subject: Don’t these people know we are here to help them.

During the year I spent in Vietnam, I probably took a shit at least once a day.

I’m absolutely sure, the Vietnamese were glad when my shit was no longer in THEIR country.

When America finally leaves the shit hole they created in Iraq, I’m sure the Iraqi people will feel the same as the Vietnamese.

We Americans just don’t get it, because " Group Think " always destroys history.

I was the bad guy in Vietnam, and the U.S. government is still killing Indians on their own land.

Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Vietnam 1970-71
March 19, 2006

Photo from the I-R-A-Q (I Remember Another Quagmire) portfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at: (hastiemike@earthlink.net) T)

"It Is Time Now For You To Take Back Your Country"

21 mars 2006 L’Express

A protest march in downtown Portland, with demonstrators carrying signs that said "Impeach the Evildoer," took nearly an hour to pass through the streets. Police estimated the turnout at about 10 000 and reported no arrests.

"It is time now for you to take back your country," said Steven DeFord at a pre-march rally. His son, Oregon National Guard Sgt. David Johnson, 37, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb in September 2004.

In Louisiana, 200 war veterans, hurricane survivors and others gathered Sunday at the Chalmette National Cemetery to protest how the military conflict overseas had hurt the country’s ability to help the Gulf