Aid worker uncovered America's secret tally of Iraqi civilian deaths:

A week before she was killed by a suicide bomber, humanitarian worker Marla Ruzicka forced military commanders to admit they did keep records of Iraqi civilians killed by US forces.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article8598.htm

http://snipurl.com/e55i

Counting the dead in Iraq:

In 2004 the US-based scientist Dr Les Roberts led a survey into deaths caused by the invasion of Iraq. His results showed that approximately 100,000 Iraqis had been killed after the invasion. He spoke to Joseph Choonara about his survey
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.p...article_id=6271

http://snipurl.com/e55l

Journalists tell of US Falluja killings:

All is quiet in Falluja, or at least that is how it seems, given that the mainstream media has largely forgotten about the Iraqi city. But

independent journalists are risking life and limb to bring out a very different story.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/689...2C060978A07.htm

http://snipurl.com/djmc

Pepe Escobar : The shadow Iraqi government:

The only way Iraq's transitional government can garner any measure of popular credibility is to demand a firm deadline for total American withdrawal.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GD21Ak02.html

Put Down Your White Man's Burden, Support Iraqi Resistance :

While the ostensible savagery of targeting of civilians does help the US government label the freedom fighters of the present as terrorists, the simultaneous media censorship omnipresent throughout the war in Iraq blinds us to the equally if not more savage violence perpetrated by our state against the Iraqi civilians.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article8603.htm

http://snipurl.com/e55q

U.S. Military Regrets Incident with Iraq Lawmaker:

al-Sheikh, an independent, told parliament a U.S. soldier had grabbed him by the throat, handcuffed him and shoved him to the ground after he parked his car.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=686886

===

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/21/internat...artner=homepage

Iraq Chief Says a Mass Killing, Under Dispute, Did Take Place

--------------------
Iraqis Find 70 Bodies in River, Arena
--------------------

Those in the Tigris may have been Shiite hostages; soldiers were killed at a stadium. Many fear a leadership void has stoked violence.

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Solomon Moore
Times Staff Writers

April 21 2005

BAGHDAD; On one of the grisliest days of the nearly 2-year-old insurgency, Iraq's new president on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of more than 50 slain hostages in the Tigris River south of the capital.

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

US Commercial Helicopter Shot Down In Iraq Boston Channel.com

Military Sources Say Commercial Helicopter Shot Down in Iraq

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D03DDD:2F72C9D

Military sources say Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter may have been hit
by rocket-propelled grenade; 9 killed

U.S. military officials say a commercial helicopter has been shot down
north of Baghdad, killing all nine people on board.

Military sources say the Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter may have been
hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The aircraft is believed to have
carried three Bulgarian crew members along with six passengers of
as-yet unknown nationality.

Hours earlier, a bomb blast hit a convoy carrying foreign contractors
on the road to Baghdad's airport, killing at least two people and
wounding several others. The nationalities of the victims have not
been revealed.

Meanwhile, al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed responsibility for an
assassination attempt on Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Mr.
Allawi escaped harm when a car bomb exploded near his motorcade in
Baghdad late Wednesday.

On the political front, last-minute disagreements are threatening
Thursday's plan to announce a new Iraqi cabinet, nearly three months
after elections were held.

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

Commercial Helicopter Shot Down in Iraq, 11 Dead:

Guerrillas shot down a Bulgarian commercial helicopter in Iraq on Thursday, killing all 11 on board including six Americans, the aircraft's Bulgarian owner said.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=8255689

http://snipurl.com/e5yj

US Company Has Chartered the Bulgarian Helicopter Downed in Iraq:

Sources of the US army told AP that the aircraft was chartered by the Pentagon, but the US Embassy in Baghdad does not confirm this information.
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=1...atte=2005-04-21

http://snipurl.com/e5yl

Three "Contractors" Killed in Iraq:

The three -- an American, a Canadian and an Australian -- were shot on the highway leading to Baghdad's airport on Wednesday, Edinburgh Risk Inc. said in a statement.
http://www.reuters.com/locales/c_newsArtic...storyID=8253363

http://snipurl.com/e5yn

Allawi escapes assassination attempt:

At least two policemen were killed in the attack that occurred late on Wednesday night while Allawi was being driven home from a meeting.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1C0...EDFB27D4AF2.htm

http://snipurl.com/e5yq

Citing 50 bodies, Iraq president keeps story alive :

In his comments to reporters Talabani offered no documentation that could help independently verify his statement, like a list of victims, photographs of the bodies or the names of witnesses.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file.../news/iraq.html

http://snipurl.com/e5yr

Kuwait bars Iraqi paper critical of US:

Kuwait has barred an Iraqi newspaper from printing in the Gulf Arab state for allegedly criticising US and British policy in Iraq, the paper's owner said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/776...ED95EB4F3C8.htm

http://snipurl.com/e5ys

Horror Glimpsed From the Inside of A Humvee in Iraq:

Life was draining out of Knott. Blasted from the Humvee along with the gun turret, he had suffered severe head trauma. His jugular vein cut by shrapnel, he was loosing copious amounts of blood. Soon, a medic at the scene said Knott was gone
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8610.htm

http://snipurl.com/e5yt

Levin Releases Newly Declassified Intelligence Documents on Iraq-al Qaeda Relationship :

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., today released documents recently declassified at his request that illustrate that some claims of a cooperative relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda made by top administration officials in support of the Iraq war were contrary to what U.S. intelligence officials believed to be true.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/levin041505.html

http://snipurl.com/e5yv

Father of slain soldier plots Blair "regime change":

Reg Keys, whose son died at the hands of a mob in June 2003, is standing against Blair in his Sedgefield constituency in County Durham, arguing his son had died in an illegal war and that the premier had lied over the reasons for it.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050421/325/fgta4.html

http://snipurl.com/e5yx

Iraq's rising industry: domestic kidnapping
This week, Iraqi officials said they discovered the bodies of 50
kidnapping victims in the Tigris River. By Jill Carroll
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0422/p06s01-woiq.html?s=hns

--------------------
Many Corpses, but Few Details
--------------------

Weeks of Iraqi sectarian killings--not a single episode--appear to be behind bodies in river.

By Raheem Salman and Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writers

April 22 2005

SUWAYRAH, Iraq; The young woman clad head-to-toe in black glanced through dozens of police mug shots of slain victims Thursday looking for signs of her husband, missing now for six days.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,7610564.story

Car Bomb Targets Baghdad Shi'ite Mosque

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D09D5C:2F72C9D

At least two killed, 20 wounded in explosion during midday prayers,
Friday

Police in Iraq say a car bomb has exploded at a Shi'ite mosque in
Baghdad, killing at least five people and wounding at least 20 others.

Authorities say the explosion occurred during midday prayers Friday,
at the al-Subeih mosque.

Also Friday, the U.S. military said an American soldier was killed by
a roadside bomb north of Tall Afar, a city about 150 kilometers east
of the Syrian border.

On Thursday, the Iraqi militant group Islamic Army in Iraq claimed
responsibility for shooting down a civilian helicopter north of
Baghdad and killing the six American contractors, three Bulgarian crew
members and two Fijian guards on board.

The group posted video footage on the Internet of what is says was the
wreckage of the helicopter. It also showed a purported survivor of the
crash being shot on the ground after asking for help.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...gence_service_3

Iraq Leaders May Recruit Ex Saddam Agents

Let A Thousand Militias Bloom :

In devising a strategy to defeat Iraq’s insurgents, the Pentagon may be gaining the upper hand but at the cost of pushing Iraq toward civil war. A report by the Wall Street Journal from Feb. 16 revealed that “pop-up militias” are proliferating in Iraq. Not only is the U.S.
aware of these illegal militias, but the Pentagon is arming, training and funding them for use them in counter-insurgency operations. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8628.htm

http://snipurl.com/e6q3


In case you missed it?:

Iraq's Bootstrap Battalions :

There’s something new on the ground in Iraq. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Greg Jaffe reports that in the fall of 2004, privately funded militias connected to key political figures in Iraq began popping up around the country as Iraq’s elections approached. http://www.dailypundit.com/newarchives/200...bootstrap_1.php

http://snipurl.com/e6q4


U.S. Funding Iraqi Militias Led by Baathists As Part of Counter-Insurgency Operation:

Most disturbing, one militia in particular – the “special police commandos” – is being used throughout Iraq and has been singled out by a U.S. general as conducting death squad strikes known as the “Salvador option.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8630.htm

http://snipurl.com/e6q5

--------------------
Videos Show Downing of Helicopter, Killing in Iraq
--------------------

Footage on the Internet and TV shows crash and the slaying of crewman who survived it.

By Solomon Moore
Times Staff Writer

April 23 2005

BAGHDAD; Video recordings showing the downing of a commercial helicopter in central Iraq and the execution of the sole surviving crew member emerged Friday on the Internet and an Arab satellite news channel.

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

Purple Hearts

Injured Soldiers Tell Their stories.

A story that President Bush would probably prefer not to see propagated.

In detail, they recount what happened on the day they got injured; how they arrived back home, blind or legless; how they have to try to forget the war now, in small towns around Alabama and Pittsburgh, or in Washington and L.A. Officially recognised as “heroes,” a Purple Heart on the uniform in the closet, most of these soldiers long to go back to an army that has no use for them anymore.

Click here to watch it now.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7799.htm

http://snipurl.com/e7ah

Iraq Blast Kills Nine Soldiers, Wounds 20:

When the surviving soldiers responded by opening fire, they shot and killed the driver of a civilian car, said police Lieutenant Ahmad Abud.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2FA...AF4F663D3BE.htm

http://snipurl.com/e7ai

Bomb explosion near a Shiite Mosque kills two.
http://snipurl.com/e7aj

Chief of Associated Press office in Mosul Killed:

The journalist was killed in an exchange of fire between US soldiers and anti occupation forces.
http://snipurl.com/e7ak

U.S. soldier killed in Iraq :

An American soldier was killed Saturday when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/113/world/...in_Iraq_:.shtml

http://snipurl.com/e7am

Car bomb hits US military convoy in Baghdad :

A suicide car bomb attack targeted a US military convoy near Baghdad airport on Saturday, killing a civilian and wounding 25 others
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/...ent_2868649.htm

http://snipurl.com/e7an

Guess what?:

Army Clears Top Abu Ghraib Case Officers:

The Army has cleared four top officers - including the three-star general who commanded all U.S. forces in Iraq - of all allegations of wrongdoing in connection with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and will not be punished, officials said Friday.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050422/D89KOOI80.html

http://snipurl.com/e7ao

Iraq: Tigris corpses still a mystery:

Medical sources in the town of al-Madain have cast doubts that 60 bloated bodies recovered from a river in Iraq are those of civilians thought to have been taken hostage there last week.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A3A...B64753C5F54.htm

http://snipurl.com/e6q2

Halliburton ends Iraq contract one-year early amid surging violence:

Halliburton announced today the "completion" of its contract with the Pentagon to restore Iraq's dilapidated oil infrastructure. The announcement came as a surprise since the U.S. State Department reported last week that Iraq's oil infrastructure is far from restored.
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/earnings042205.html

http://snipurl.com/e7at

Balancing the Iraq Equation:

A humanitarian aid worker's death in Iraq last week is spurring calls for a public accounting of civilian casualties by the United States government and more attention to the issue by the U.S. media.
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28421

In case you missed it?:

How The U.S. Murdered a City :

Fallujah: The Truth at Last : Doctor Salam Ismael took aid to Fallujah. This is a report of his visit.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8093.htm

http://snipurl.com/e7au

Insurgent Violence Escalates In Iraq

By Ellen Knickmeyer

BAGHDAD, April 23 -- Violence is escalating sharply in Iraq after a period of relative calm that followed the January elections. Bombings, ambushes and kidnappings targeting Iraqis and foreigners, both troops and civilians, have surged this month while the new Iraqi government is caught up in power struggles over cabinet positions.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Rights Groups Reject Prison Abuse Findings

By Josh White

Human rights groups expressed dismay yesterday over the Army's findings exonerating U.S. generals of prisoner abuse in Iraq, and renewed requests for an independent probe to examine the culpability of senior military and civilian defense officials.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

--------------------
Leadership Void Fuels Disarray in Iraq
--------------------

The delay in forming a government boosts the insurgency and imperils the new prime minister.

By Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writer

April 24 2005

BAGHDAD; The protracted delay in forming an Iraqi government is imperiling the appointment of its prime minister, providing a new impetus for the insurgency and fanning renewed suspicion of the U.S. role here, Iraqi and Western observers say.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,4102621.story

http://www.sundayherald.com/49360

Military fear Zarqawi 'spectacular'

Experts say insurgents have retaken momentum as politicians 'dither' over cabinet posts.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0425/dailyUpdate.html

--------------------
Allawi's Demands Said to Be Sticking Point in Iraq
--------------------

Ex-premier is delaying the formation of a new government, lawmakers say, and may be shut out. In Baghdad and Tikrit, bombs kill 21.

By Ashraf Khalil
Times Staff Writer

April 25 2005

BAGHDAD; As haggling over the formation of a new Iraqi government continued Sunday, members of the largest parliamentary bloc blamed the delay on brinksmanship by outgoing interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and predicted they would form a new administration without him.

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

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=5715

Prime Minister Chalabi?
Justin Raimondo

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/internat...9d6b0ee&ei=5070

Rice and Cheney Are Said to Push Iraqi Politicians on Stalemate

Toughest commute in Iraq? The six miles to the airport.
Why the vital strip of road from central Baghdad to the country's main
airport is still so difficult to protect. By Jill Carroll and Dan murphy
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0426/p01s03-woiq.html?s=hns

Four Car Bombings in Iraq Leave 21 Dead :

Two car bombs in a Baghdad market and two more in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Sunday, killing a total of 21 Iraqis and wounding 73 in one of the bloodiest days since Iraq's historic elections.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/usworld...x?storyid=36036

http://snipurl.com/e8hc

American killed by bomb in Iraq :

The official says the blast hit the soldier's convoy in Baghdad. Military officials say it was one of three bombs today that targeted U-S convoys.
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=3256691

http://snipurl.com/e8hd

Eastern Shore Marine Killed Near Fallujah :

Pfc. Robert "Bobby" Guy, 26, died after being shot in the head, his mother, Ann Guy, told The (Salisbury) Daily Times.
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4411350/detail.html

http://snipurl.com/e8he

Iraqi forces desert posts as insurgent attacks are stepped up:

On average 20 Iraqis and two coalition soldiers have died every day this month.
http://snipurl.com/e8hf

Lest we forget the ultimate price of warfare:

We live in a national culture that glamorises soldiers, yet the sight of a military uniform with its obvious connotations of morbidity and violence provokes in me the question: "What sort of person is attracted to the killing professions?"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8643.htm

http://snipurl.com/e8hg