Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Newsvine
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
TechnoratiResidents are fleeing Samarra city in the face of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and resistance groups.
New defiance is rising against U.S. forces following military "crimes", fleeing residents say.
"On Sunday the 26th of August, there was fierce fighting between armed men and American forces in the Armooshiya district, and I saw Americans evacuate many of their soldiers by stretchers," a man who fled Samarra for Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS. "As usual, Americans took revenge by bombing the district."
A woman who also fled Samarra for the capital in recent days, who gave her name as Iman, told IPS that the U.S. military had "committed another crime in the medicine factory residence area" when "they bombed a house there and killed a woman with her seven children."
The Sunni and anti-occupation Muslim Scholars Association issued a statement confirming these two assaults, and condemning the "ugly crimes" of occupation forces in Samarra. The Association accused the U.S. military of attempting to break the spirit of Iraqis who reject the U.S. occupation.
"They think their crimes would stop Iraqis from demanding their rights for liberty and prosperity, but the results are always different from what the American leaders hope," Sheikh Taha from the Muslim Scholars' Association told IPS in Baghdad.
"They are only pushing more Iraqis to be armed against them, and you can see that the facts on the ground are the opposite of what they tell their people. Their soldiers are getting killed every day and they (U.S. military) are losing in Iraq."
A young man spoke with IPS on condition of anonymity outside a Sunni mosque in Baghdad where refugees from Samarra were arriving.
"We will be the thorn that makes Bush's life more difficult," he told IPS. "I am only here to ensure the safety of my family, then I will go back to my city to defend it against all strangers."
Located 125 km north of Baghdad, Samarra has seen fierce fighting between the Iraqi resistance and U.S. military units since the beginning of the U.S. occupation of Iraq in 2003.
The Sunni dominated city of 200,000 has suffered continuing raids by U.S. and Iraqi forces that have hit civilian life hard.
The resistance seems to have grown as the attacks have continued.
"Four years of occupation have caused this city a great deal of damage," Thul-Faqar Ali, a lawyer and human rights activist who fled Samarra to Baghdad told IPS. "It is true that there was strong resistance to the occupation, but most of those who got killed, injured or detained were innocent civilians. The U.S. occupation forces in Samarra were so brutal that they conducted many executions on site."
One of the first instances of brutal U.S. military execution of Iraqis in Samarra came in 2004 when eyewitnesses told the press that U.S. soldiers threw two young men into the Tigris River and watched one of them drown.
Marwan Hassoun, the surviving Iraqi, later testified in a U.S. military court that he and his cousin were stopped on their return to Samarra and forced at gunpoint into the Tigris River as U.S. soldiers laughed. The cousin who died was named as 19-year-old Zaidoun Fadel Hassoun.
"I could hear them laughing," Marwan told a reporter of the Jan. 3, 2004 incident, recalling how U.S. soldiers pushed him and his cousin into the river. "They were behaving like they were watching a comedy on stage."
A U.S. Army sergeant involved in the incident, Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins, 33, was later acquitted of involuntary manslaughter but convicted of assault. Many other such instances have been reported since.
(*Ali, an IPS correspondent in Baghdad, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, a U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who travels extensively in the region)
© 2007 Inter Press Service
35 Comments so far
Show AllIt would save a lot of time if the places the U.S. is not currently attacking, occupying or stealing the assets from were listed.
New recruitment slogan might indicate the decreasing % of death by any cause except Bu$h the inferior policies.
Hey, before you hate them all, think of what to say in a draft situation like some other countries mandate. Some soldiers won't fight, the smart ones.
You can support the troops if you want to. I never have and I never will. Poor, dumb murdering scum. They represent you and me. Let the PIGS try and have a war if there are no soldiers. F@ck the troops! Like they would do to you and your family if you happened to be in the sights of the war president and his storm troopers. You can't hate war and love the troops. Which do you choose?
We know the powers to be will not let Kucinech get the nomination. But, when this happens , we can certainly wrote in Kucinech. If this war is to end in our generation, we MUST elect Dennis.
Just been listening to Democracy Now! and their headline that the Democrats in Congress are about to once again give Bush all the money he wants with no strings attached. Just some vague language that says about "hey, it would be nice if with withdrew."
No surprise to people who have figured out that this is as much a Democratic war as it is Bush's. They talk a lot to try to trick people into thinking they oppose it, but the story is that they are going to vote to support it .... again.
If you want this war to end, you can't vote Democrat in 2008.
PS ... if you want to vote for Kucinich in a primary, then feel free. Just accept that he's already lost this race. Look back at the Dean 2004 campaign, where it was in Sept (seemingly huge energy and support) and how the Democratic party machine derailed him. Kucinich today is far weaker than Dean was at the same time, and we know the Dean campaign wasn't close to being strong enough to win the rigged game that's the Democratic party. So vote for Kucinich if you want, but you'd better be working hard to build something better for the general election in the fall because otherwise your choice is something like (Hillary or Obama) vs (Gulliani or Thompson). Kucinich will be backing (Hillary or Obama) and the work and energy that goes into this failed campaign will be gone. Work to build something better for the fall.
George W. Bush Quote:
"I do tears."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m_xGt72qOs
BILL FROM SAGINAW
every time i see your name i think of the song 'america' by art garfunkel. so today i decided to put this link www.artgarfunkel.com/articles/sg/sg711.html so that everyone can see how decadant we have all become since this song was written. and the lyrics make me so sad now, as those relatively 'innocent' times will never be again. we have sunk so low that it will take a 'miracle' to get out of this quagmire..........
Thank you Doctor Zimmerman.
The solution was right in front of our eyes the entire time. We must not be afraid of Anachy, we must endevour to disolve this criminal administration by whatever means necessary. We tried to get congress to use "the power of the purse" and place this bush crime family in check: but they failed us... corrupted by the same multinational near-monopolies that corrupted the Bushmonkey and his organ-grinder Cheney.
These are the darkest days I've ever known in the USA. The only hope we have of returning the government to the people, is to quit buying things and cut up your credit cards. Don't buy anything you don't need to survive. Stay home and blog on the net. Default on your mortgage, and lets let this economy crash. That is the only thing, that I can think of, that will cause bush's Fortune-500 masters to ditch him. The only thing that will free us all from the tyranny of these religious whackos who have hijacked the government.
Any Thoughts?
pacplyer
COMarc's comments are on target. Listen carefully to Hillary as she talks about national issues, the war, and trade and you discover a that indeed we have a potiential president who has the brains and network to achieve what the Bush administration fails to accomplish. Tragically success in our expansionist, coporate agenda will not only destroy many world economies, and enslave people at to our coporate greed, but the costs at home are effectively turning the majority of Americans into poverty and victums of inadaquate health care, education, and basic economic security. It is time to wake up your democratic friends, there is danger within the party.
SEPTEMBER 15
Mass March in Washington DC!
Gather at 12 noon at the White House
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."
Better be careful the "men in black" will be out to get ya!
Google "death squads" and see what I mean.
The facts that will eventually be revealed and be admitted to be incontestable -- except of course by the perpetrators & their collaborators -- will prove to be far worse than the worst report that has come forth so far. Just as they proved to be in Vietnam --
http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Force-True-Story-Men/dp/0316159972
(Of course the link is just for the summary & the graphics -- local independents or online radical stores are the places to go for the book)
We won't get the chance to vote for Dennis. Since the Nukes on the plane charade, the USAF is planning a combat aircraft stand-down for Sept 14. How convenient it may be for the new batch of hijackers to be waved on in to their targets with such a nice coincidence. We'll be lucky to even have an election with Bush calling for God knows what in the aftermath of his second domestic terrorist attack.
-Cuetek (But we'll get that pesky nuke snafu all straightened out.)
Vote for Dennis. He's the only one with a clear understanding of the situation.
This is yet another example of why we should not "support the troops" unless they refuse to serve in Iraq/Afghanistan or are veterans in need of help and are willing to speak out.
The abuse of Iraqis is not only criminal but reflects racist attitudes common within our military. Imperialism and racism have historically gone hand in hand.
Another ugly side of our "heros" is being exposed in the form of Military Sexual Trauma. The Bush administration has suppressed this very bad news.
One article of many that can be Googled:
http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/press/109th/9-29-05mst.htm
"The VA report indicates that across National Guard and Reserve components the estimated prevalence of any military sexual trauma (MST) among females is 60% and among males is 27%. MST includes sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape."
I understand that there will be report on MST the PBS program, NOW tomorrow night.
Justice For All
It seems logical to respect all those who lash out against any group who goes around acting like a bunch of power drunk bullies. The last I heard (from a talk by Scott Ritter) around 900 Iraqi doors tget kicked in every night by US forces.
Non-violent solutions look nice on paper, but turning the other cheek isn't always the best solution - especially for those who must deal with a terrorist bully like the USA.
The creatures in charge of the US military have the soldiers running around the globe like a bunch of rabid dogs. Responsible adults who love their children can't be expected to meekly look the other way.
If only the world had a massively powerful police force that could enforce international laws, and foil terrorist plots - like the invasion/occupation of Iraq.
If by chance Dennis Kucinich get's elected, he'll turn it all around - and chase the rats out of Washington.
Bush is following the orders his handlers give him....
Point of information: 'Samaritans' were a Jewish sect looked down upon by the mainstream Jewish community due to their beliefs regarding the Pentateuch, beliefs that differed from orthodoxy. They came from 'Samaria', an area in Judea. No relationship exists between 'Samaria' and 'Samarra' in Mesopotamia.
Anyone interested in the history of occupation forces throughout history, would do well to read: 'The Lessons of Terror' (A History of Warfare Against Civilians/Why It Has Always Failed and Why It Will Fail Again) by Caleb Carr, Random House, 2002.
Had anyone with a brain and even a soupçon of humility been involved in the Iraq Fiasco would have looked back in the great instruction manual called World History and examined the experiences of the Legions in Judea, the Wehrmacht in the Ukraine and the British in Afghanistan. Ethnocentic arrogance always thinks itself immune from history. Wrong.
Good for you guys. Nobody here checked facts - whatever they may be. If ya wanna bring your baggage, be sure they understand it's your suitcase. (not that there's anything wrong with that.)
It is a war crime to bomb civilian homes as an occupying army. This along with the invasion and occupation itself, plus Depleted Uranium which affects both Iraqis and our troops. It is a weapon of mass destruction. The war crime list is long for the Cheney/Bush crime family. I hope they are all hauled before the world court and tried for their crimes, then put to death as they deserve.
Torture,killing,assault,etc,are hard for the human mind to accept but, for the perpetrators, become easier with every act of brutality.A lot of these young men will be filling up the already full jails of the U.S. in the coming years.Who in the political world will cast the first stone against them? And will they get a similar reception the Vietnam vets got?For many there is a no-win situation.
This is not a war. War is when 2 countries are fighting each other. We invaded Iraq and now we occupy it. We want their oil and we won't stop killing until we have it.
I think if my Friend Phil Ochs were alive today he would change his song title from Cops, to Thugs of the World.
You will eat at McDonalds or we will kill you.
However, the theory of Jihad vs. McWorld leaves out the entire center of the human population that opposes both extremes.
War is not a good strategy for promoting democracy and open markets.
And I'm sure the Samarra situation will be featured prominently next week when General Petraeus and ambassador Crocker give their progress reports in Washington.....
Bill from Saginaw
So, how's that new strategy of being buddies with the Sunni's working out?
Democrats have always been complicit. They voted to authorize this, they've refused to reconsider that authorization, they've voted to fund this through a supplemental appropriation 5 years in a row, and they've voted to fully fund the Pentagon's bloated budget requests every year. They maybe could regain some grace by stopping it now, but I'm not holding my breath for the Democrats to suddenly stop supporting war crimes. They've been doing that for a long, long time.
If anything, the Democrats arguments against the war amount to complaining that Bush isn't very efficient at committing war crimes, and that the Democrats could do a much better job of committing war crimes if only the voters would give them a chance.
PS ... the very act of occupation changes an army. The Israeli army occupying Palestine is a rather current example. Not only do they become callous and cruel because of the very nature of what they have to do every day, but they also lose the skills they had in fighting wars.... as seen by the pitiful performance of the Israeli army trying to advance into Lebanon last summer.
Shame on anyone who supports these war crimes and the destruction of Iraq and its people. All democrats who do not work for a halt to this madness are complicit in these crimes.
The more innocents we kill, the more terrorists we create.
The United States can only 'win' in Iraq by completely destroying the moral, ethical, and legal basis on which the United States is built and which its citizens profess to believe.
Bin Laden and his friends are 'winning' big.
Pink Floyd wrote a song called "You'd Better Run".
Phil Ochs wrote one called "Cops Of The World".
Put them together and you can see what we have there now.
The Iraqi's forced to flee and having their homes destroyed are the lucky ones. Our intention for Iran is far worse. Soon we'll burn their cities to ashes with nuclear fire.
Who are the terrorists now?
And our Congress insists on continuing to finance these war crimes. Throw the bums out. All the warhawks should have an antiwar candidate running against then. I think by next year, public opinion against the occupation will be even stronger.
Reading this is like reading about the German occupation in Europe. Perhaps all occupying armies act alike. They lose their humanity. This is a very sad story. My heart is with these people.
They have the war criminals caged in in Sydney. Who will keep them there?
Look in the mirror to see who is responsible.
Remember the verdicts of Nuremburg!
I just wonder if there still remains a good Samarratan?
I can think of few human rights more basic than the right to resist, via any means at hand, a foreign invader and aggressor.
That _some_ of these groups adhere to religious extremism, and intolerance, does not trump the right to resist.