Across Iraq, Fresh Mass Graves and Fatal Bomb Attacks
By ROBERT F. WORTH
While insurgents continued a wave of attacks across Iraq,
20 bodies were found in a remote valley near the Syrian
border.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/internat.../10iraq.html?th

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ly_iraq_hostage

Italy PM Disputes US Version of Shooting

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GC11Ak03.html

IRA and Sinn Fein in Iraq
Pepe Escobar

Insurgents Gun Down Chief of Central Baghdad Police Station

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C1DD61:2F72C9D

Police say the gunmen fired on a vehicle in which police officers were
traveling to work Iraqi authorities say insurgents have shot dead at
least three policemen, including the chief of a central Baghdad police
station.

Police say the gunmen fired on a vehicle in which police officers were
traveling to work Thursday morning.

The attack came a day after a suicide truck bombing claimed by Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group killed three people near the
Agriculture Ministry and a Baghdad hotel used by Westerners.

Also Wednesday, Iraqi officials said they discovered the bodies of 41
people killed execution-style in two separate locations, in Qaim, near
the Syrian border, and near Latifiya, south of Baghdad.

In other incidents in Baghdad, Iraq's planning minister Mahdi
al-Hafidh escaped an assassination attempt when gunmen fired on his
car, killing two of his bodyguards. And, an American soldier was
killed in a roadside bomb blast.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

Report: US Military Finds No Policy for Detainee Abuse

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C1DD65:2F72C9D

The Washington Post newspaper says the report largely summarizes
previous military probes, and sheds little new light on the ongoing
prisoner abuse controversy A new U.S. military report concludes that
top Pentagon officials did not direct or encourage the abuse of
prisoners in U.S. custody.

Government officials who have read the report say it blames the abuse
on low-level leadership and confusion over interrogation rules that
were changed multiple times.

Vice Admiral Albert Church conducted a review of U.S. prisoner
interrogation techniques that led to the report.  He will present
his findings at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee
Thursday.

The Washington Post newspaper says the report largely summarizes
previous military probes, and sheds little new light on the ongoing
prisoner abuse controversy.

Two civil rights groups recently sued Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld, saying he approved a list of rough interrogation techniques
and did nothing to stop the abuse of prisoners once he learned about
it.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

The invisible wounded

By Mark Benjamin

Injured soldiers evacuated to the U.S. never arrive in the light of day -- and the Pentagon has yet to offer a satisfactory explanation why.
http://207.44.245.159/article8224.htm

“Sacrifices,” the Cost of War and “War-Resistance” in the Ranks

By: Jack Dalton

When was it the state gained the power to dictate to any of us when, where, how and if, we will participate in the killing of other human beings? When was it the state gained the power over us to tell anyone of us we will go to jail if we are not willing to participate in the mass murder that is war, let alone one launched behind deliberate lies and disinformation as this one in Iraq?
http://207.44.245.159/article7226.htm

Funeral Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 36 :

A suicide bomber blew himself during a funeral in the courtyard of an Iraqi Shiite mosque today, killing at least 36 people and injuring 25.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4237047

5 Policemen killed in Baghdad shootings :

Five people, including two police chiefs, were killed in a series of shootings in Baghdad today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1434569,00.html

Iraq violence continues unabated:

A booby-trapped corpse exploded south of Baghdad, killing four Iraqi police officers.
http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/f...llnews&id=82719

http://tinyurl.com/4w7jd

US soldier killed by roadside bomb north of Baghdad:

One US soldier died and another was injured in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq Wednesday, a statement by the multi-national force said.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Lan...=en&DSNO=711947

http://tinyurl.com/685ox

Seven Polish soldiers arrested after returning from Iraq :

Five Polish army officers and two civilian contractors who served in Iraq have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes for contracts to rebuild the country, the military police said on Thursday.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/2...nd-arrests.html

http://tinyurl.com/54n47

Shia, Kurd strike deal to form govt:

Iraq's Shia-dominated United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurdish coalition have struck a deal that will allow a new government to be named when the National Assembly convenes next week.
http://tinyurl.com/6cvn3

Secret FBI Report Questions Al Qaeda Capabilities:

No 'True' Al Qaeda Sleeper Agents Have Been Found in U.S. A secret FBI report obtained by ABC News concludes that while there is no doubt al Qaeda wants to hit the United States, its capability to do so is unclear.
http://207.44.245.159/article8225.htm

Troops Who Fired On Hostage Were Protecting U.S. Ambassador
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4271539/detail.html

Berlusconi contradicts US friendly-fire account :

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, said today the driver of the car in which an Italian agent was killed by US forces in Iraq last week had obeyed orders to stop.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12...1433938,00.html

US troops get training to avoid friendly-fire attacks on British:

Thirty-two “blue-on-blue” attacks on British and other coalition vehicles have been logged in the past twelve months in southern Iraq, Britain’s area of responsibility.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1517327,00.html

Bombing at Shiite Mosque in Mosul Leaves 40 Dead
By ROBERT F. WORTH and EDWARD WONG
The attack occurred as Shiite and Kurdish officials said
that they had reached an agreement in principle on forming
a coalition government in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/internat.../11iraq.html?th

Mass Funeral for Mosul Suicide Bomb Victims Canceled

[http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C225E3:2F72C9D

Decision came as mortar round landed near Shi'ite mosque where
suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday, killing 47 people

Grieving families in northern Iraq have canceled plans for a mass
funeral for dozens of suicide bomb victims because of concerns it
would be attacked.

Religious leaders say families and politicians agreed to hold private
funerals across the city of Mosul, Friday. The decision came as a
mortar round landed near a Shi'ite mosque where a suicide bomber blew
himself up Thursday, killing 47 people and wounding more than 80
others.

On the political front, Iraq's main Shi'ite alliance, which swept the
January 30 elections, was finalizing a deal with Kurdish leaders to
form a coalition ahead of the new parliament's first session next
Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a Polish newspaper quoted Defense Minister Jerzy
Szmajdzinski as saying Poland will withdraw several hundred of its
troops from Iraq in July.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

UN Envoy to Give Syria Ultimatum on Lebanon

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C225E8:2F72C9D

Officials say international community is united in insisting Damascus
comply with resolution calling for end to Syria's 15-year military
intervention in Lebanon A published report says a top United Nations
envoy will tell Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that his country will
face political and economic isolation if Syria does not quickly and
completely withdraw troops from Lebanon.

Terje Roed-LarsenThe Washington Post says U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen
plans to deliver the message to Syria at a meeting Saturday in
Damascus.

The newspaper quotes U.N. officials as saying the international
community is united in insisting that Damascus comply with U.N.
resolution 1559 calling for an end to Syria's 15-year military
intervention in Lebanon.

Syrian troops there were continuing a redeployment that began earlier
this week after Mr. Assad announced plans to move Syrian forces in a
phased pullback to the country's border with Lebanon.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/n...buse_ghost_dc_1

Documents Describe US Pact on Iraq Ghost Detainees

http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-715166.php

Children were held at Abu Ghraib, transcript reveals

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-pent11.html

Probe blaming GIS for jail abuse fails to silence Rumsfeld foes

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4274567/detail.html

Documents Show Children Held at Abu Ghraib
ACLU Releases Hundreds of Pages

--------------------
Iraq War Compels Pentagon to Rethink Big-Picture Strategy
--------------------

By Mark Mazzetti
Times Staff Writer

March 11 2005

WASHINGTON; The war in Iraq is forcing top Pentagon planners to rethink several key assumptions about the use of military power and has called into question the vision set out nearly four years ago that the armed forces can win wars and keep the peace with small numbers of fast-moving, lightly armed troops.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...0,2104419.story

50 killed in Mosul bombing :

At least 50 Iraqis were killed and 100 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up at a Shi'ite funeral in Mosul yesterday.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?A...L&IssueID=27356

http://tinyurl.com/5ly97

Rebel Mortar Attack Kills Two Iraqi Troops:

Rebels launched Friday a mortal shell attack against an Iraqi military base in Dhuluiya, 43 miles north of this capital, killing two Iraqi troops and wounding others
http://tinyurl.com/3jzkf

Headless bodies found in mass graves:

A new wave of horror swept across Iraq yesterday after police discovered 41 headless or bullet-scarred corpses at two separate mass graves.
http://tinyurl.com/3qsb7

===

UK went to war on one page of legal advice :

The cabinet secretary yesterday astonished politicians by disclosing that Britain went to war against Iraq on just one page of legal advice from Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general.
http://207.44.245.159/article8237.htm

--------------------
A Case Study in Postwar Chaos
--------------------

The dealings of coalition officials in Iraq and a contractor now accused of fraud illustrate what went wrong in early rebuilding efforts.

By T. Christian Miller
Times Staff Writer

March 12 2005

WASHINGTON; Mike Battles needed money fast. It was June 2003 and his cash-starved company had just won a contract to guard the Baghdad airport.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...aq_mean_streets

Random violence a part of Baghdad Life

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/9aeaab52-91ba-11d...000e2511c8.html

US Senate ends probe into prewar intelligence on Iraq

http://www.browndailyherald.com/news/2005/...ys-892406.shtml

US unaware of realities of Iraq war, vet says

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GC12Ak02.html

Hunting Deadly Treasure in Iraq

Seven killed in Iraq violence :

Three Iraqi policemen were gunned down in Mosul and a foreign truck driver killed near Baiji on Saturday
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13692109

Shiites, Kurds reach deal on top posts :

Iraq’s main Shiite and Kurdish coalitions agreed in Baghdad on a deal divvying up the top three posts in the new government, but differences remained over the deployment of Arab troops in ethnic Kurdish areas
http://nsnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll...3120040/-1/news

http://tinyurl.com/445ht

International group of doctors blast official toll of Iraqi civil dead:

A group of top public-health physicians has branded the official toll of civilian dead from the Iraqi war as a serious underestimate and demanded an independent probe to establish the full casualty figures.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ns_050311001143

http://tinyurl.com/5cxnj

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/internat...059&partner=AOL

Looting at Iraqi Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Official Says

Roadside Bomb Kills 2 Americans in Iraq

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C2B90F:2F72C9D

Contractors worked for private security firm, Blackwater Security
Consulting

U.S. officials in Iraq say a roadside bomb explosion near Baghdad has
killed two American civilians.

The victims worked for private security firm, Blackwater Security
Consulting that guards and protects U.S. diplomats in Iraq.

The bomb went off as the Americans were driving out of the Iraqi
capital Saturday, heading for the southern town of Hilla.

A third man from the same security firm was wounded in the attack.

Four employees of Blackwater Security Consulting died in an ambush one
year ago in the town of Falluja, and their bodies were burned and hung
from a bridge by an angry mob. A recent report says at least 232
American civilian contractors have been killed while working on
reconstruction projects in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is about to begin a staged withdrawal of its 1,650
troops in Iraq. News reports say 150 Ukrainian soldiers will return
home on Tuesday, and that all of Kiev's military units assisting
coalition forces in Iraq should be out of the country by October.

The Iraq war has been unpopular in Ukraine, and the country's new
president, Victor Yushchenko, had promised during his campaign to
bring the troops home once he took power.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

Iraqi Politicians Still Negotiating to Form Government

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C3227E:2F72C9D

Kurdish negotiators to resume talks Monday with country's dominant
Shi'ite alliance Iraqi Kurdish negotiators say they will resume
talks Monday with the country's dominant Shi'ite alliance to hammer
out details of a coalition government.

One of the negotiators, Fuad Masoum, says there are further, important
issues that need to be resolved before a government is formed.

Negotiators have been hoping to agree on a government before Iraq's
National Assembly convenes for the first time on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb south of Baghdad killed two American
security contractors Sunday. To the north, in Mosul, witnesses say
three Iraqi civilians were killed when a U.S. helicopter fired on
insurgents.

Also Sunday, a previously-unknown group claimed responsibility for
last week's bomb attack on a Shi'ite funeral that killed 50 people. It
says the attack was to demonstrate opposition to Shi'ites who are set
to take control of Iraq's new government.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Car bomb blast kills four Iraqis south of Baghdad :

A car bomb exploded at an Iraqi police and army checkpoint in a town south of Baghdad on Monday, killing two police officers and two civilians, police said.
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=7416

Four peoples killed in firefight:

Four Iraqis were killed in an armed clash that erupted on Monday in the Iraqi town of Al-Qaem in Al-Anbar in the west of the country, witnesses said.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Lan...=en&DSNO=713287

http://tinyurl.com/4dkac

US helicopter opens fire in Mosul, wounds five civilians:

According to witnesses and hospital sources, three people were killed, including a woman and two children.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38629

US troops kill woman, kids:

Three civilians were killed and another 10 injured, including five children, when US troops retaliated to an earlier missile attack by insurgents from a residential region in Qaim on Monday, said hospital sources.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,...1676037,00.html

http://tinyurl.com/43bqf

Iraqi cameraman working for Kurdish television killed in Mosul :

An Iraqi cameraman working for a Kurdish-language television station was gunned down in Mosul on Monday
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6417

Juan Cole: Shiite-Kurdish Deal Collapses :

The Shiite/Kurdish negotiations to form a government before parliament is seated on March 16 have fallen apart, apparently because the Kurds reneged on the deal they had worked out with the United Iraqi Alliance.
http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/shiite-kur...s-al-hayat.html

Irritated Iraqis Wait for Change:

Nearly six weeks after a landmark election, no new government has formed and people who risked their lives to vote wonder why they did.
http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/latimes564.html

Pain and anxiety grip wounded soldier :

Terrell Dawes regrets that he ever followed his dream to go into the Army. When his fellow soldiers pulled him out of the wreckage, his upper body was badly burned, his skin beginning to peel. His femur had been shattered and he was missing toes on his left foot.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/031...ded14dawes.html

This war walks among us:

Most of the injured in Iraq are surviving, and their homecoming could undercut Bush
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpi...oints-headlines

http://tinyurl.com/3wmzg

Left Behind: Children of the Fallen:

Over 1,000 American kids have lost a parent in the Iraq war. Who they are, and how they're coping
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7169451/site/newsweek/