Iraqis 'suffer a lack of rights' :

The United Nations special envoy to Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, has told the UN Security Council that greater attention needs to be paid to human rights there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4435315.stm

Italian Journalist: U.S. Lied :

Journalist and former hostage Giuliana Sgrena says that the American military is lying about the shooting at a security checkpoint in Iraq that wounded her and killed an Italian intelligence officer.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/12/...ain687555.shtml

UK: Big rise in deserters 'fuelled by Iraq war' :

The number of soldiers to desert the army or go absent without leave has more than doubled over the past year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,...1458283,00.html

http://snipurl.com/dztg

A Great Victory You Helped Win! - johnkerry.com

2 Suicide Car Bombings in Baghdad Kill at Least 15

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

Officials say insurgents carried out the near-simultaneous explosions
outside an Interior Ministry office building on a crowded street Iraqi
officials say at least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded in two
suicide car bombings in Baghdad Thursday.

A wounded Iraqi man arrives at Yarmouk Hospital after a pair of car
bombs exploded near an Interior Ministry office in BaghdadThe
officials say insurgents carried out the near-simultaneous explosions
outside an Interior Ministry office building on a crowded street, and
that the death toll could rise.

The al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
claimed responsibility for the bombings. But the claim posted on an
Islamic web site could not be independently verified.

To the north, in Tikrit, the U.S. military said a car bomb exploded
outside a military base, injuring one coalition soldier and two Iraqi
troops. The U.S. military said there were no civilian casualties, but
local police said nine civilians were hurt.

Meanwhile, the Arabic-language television station al-Jazeera broadcast
a video showing an abducted American contractor Jeffrey Ake, who urged
the United States to open talks with insurgents to save his life.

And, Romanian authorities say they are in direct contact with
insurgents in an effort to gain the release of three Romanian
journalists, who were abducted in Iraq last month.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

Gains in Iraq, but no 'tipping point'
Despite recent bombings and a kidnapping, insurgent attacks are down as
are numbers of US troops wounded. By Peter Grier and Faye Bowers
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0415/p01s01-usfp.html?s=hns

Ordinary Iraqis bear brunt of war
The Monitor looks at a family hit by a bombing 17 months ago. By Jill
Carroll
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0415/p06s01-woiq.html?s=hns

Attacks in Iraq leave at least 26 dead:

Eight more people, including seven police officers, have died in shooting incidents around the country today.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2005/04/14/story198029.html

http://snipurl.com/e0ms

US soldier killed in fighting :

The soldier was killed while engaging anti-US forces in Ramadi
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9D...FC7A304D279.htm

http://snipurl.com/e0mt

National Guard soldier killed by sniper:

Twenty-one-year-old John Miller of West Burlington was killed yesterday. He was a member of Company A 224th Battalion of Burlington.
http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3206004

American businessman held hostage in Iraq:

Jeffrey J. Ake, 47 years old, from La Porte, Indiana, appeared on Al-Jazeera television, beseeching the US government to withdraw troops from Iraq and save his life.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/2407.html

At least five killed in Baghdad blasts Hindustan Times

Former professor recalls businessman kidnapped in Iraq KWQC-TV

Texan Is Indicted in Iraq Oil Sales by Hussein Aides
By JULIA PRESTON and JUDITH MILLER
A Houston oil trader and a Korean lobbyist were charged in
connection with illegal gains involving the U.N.
oil-for-food program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/internat....html?th&emc=th

Trail of Pain From Botched Attack in Iraq in '03
By JAMES DAO
A chain of errors and poor judgment contributed to one of
the worst cases of "friendly fire" during the invasion of
Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/national....html?th&emc=th

Annan: US, UK Share Blame for Iraq's Illegal Oil Sales

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CE1A45:2F72C9D

UN Secretary-General says most of kickbacks that went to Saddam
Hussein had no connection with oil-for-food program

Kofi AnnanUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the United
States and Britain are partly to blame for Saddam Hussein's regime in
Iraq taking in billions of dollars from illegal oil sales.

Mr. Annan says most of the kickbacks that went to Saddam Hussein had
no connection with the U.N. oil-for-food program, which had
humanitarian aims. The secretary-general contends most of Iraq's
illicit oil profits resulted from shipments that moved through Turkey
and Jordan with the almost certain knowledge of the United States and
Britain.

Mr. Annan said only Washington and London had the forces to stop
Iraq's oil smuggling, which violated U.N. sanctions. Possibly the
Americans and British knew exactly what was going on, the
secretary-general said, but - they "decided to close their eyes to
Turkey and Jordan because they are allies."

U.S. and British officials have yet to respond to Mr. Annan's
comments.

The secretary-general was speaking Thursday at a meeting about news
coverage of the United Nations after word came that U.S. prosecutors
charged three businessmen - one each from the United States, Britain
and Bulgaria - with siphoning off millions of dollars from the
oil-for-food program between 2000 and 2003.

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

Roadside Bombs Kill 2 in Iraq

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CE1A47:2F72C9D

Eight injured in explosion targeting US Army convoy in Baghdad's
exclusive Mansour district

Iraqi residents work to contain fire that resulted from car bomb
attack which targeted U.S. Army patrol in Baghdad, FridayMilitants in
Iraq detonated several roadside bombs Friday, killing at least two
people and injuring eight others.

Police in Iraq say insurgents set off a bomb near a U.S. Army convoy
in Baghdad's exclusive Mansour district. The explosion killed one
person and wounded at least five others -- some seriously.

Across town, a bomb targeting Iraqi National Guard troops killed one
person and wounded at least three others.

The attacks followed twin suicide car-bomb blasts Thursday that killed
at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 others.

Bombs Kill 4 Policemen and Wound 9 Civilians as Iraq
Violence Surges
By ROBERT F. WORTH
A car bomb intended to hit a U.S. military convoy exploded
and another bomb exploded where U.S. forces were patrolling.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/16/internat....html?th&emc=th

--------------------
Mass Graves a Grim Token of the Old Iraq
--------------------

The discovery of two sites with up to 7,000 bodies may be used to help build tribunal cases against former Baathists accused of mass murder.

By Solomon Moore
Times Staff Writer

April 16 2005

BAGHDAD; Two mass graves that appear to contain the remains of as many as 7,000 people killed by Saddam Hussein's government have been discovered in southern Iraq, an Iraqi government minister said Friday.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,5831914.story

Preaching the Rule of Law in a Tribal Land

By Anthony Shadid

BASRA, Iraq -- Mohammed Musabah arrives at work at a different hour every day. Security precautions, the new governor of Basra explained. The political parties in the city that oppose him, some little more than armed gangs, are determined to see him fail. As many as four out of five of his policemen are loyal to his opponents. And in a land blighted by corruption, he wants to be an honest politician.

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

Iraqi Cleric Hails Amnesty Idea

By Ellen Knickmeyer

BAGHDAD, April 15 -- A prominent Sunni Muslim cleric on Friday welcomed an amnesty offer for Iraq's Sunni-led insurgency and called on President Jalal Talabani to make it a general amnesty that would also apply to those in U.S. detention.

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

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...da_050416171848

Intelligence reports undercut US claims of Iraq-Qaeda link: top US Senator

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/internat...artner=homepage

Arms Equipment Plundered in 2003 is Surfacing in Iraq

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/internat...ast/17iraq.html

At Least 20 are killed in Wave of Violence in Iraq

--------------------
Iraqi Leaders Flexing Muscles
--------------------

U.S. officials may have limited influence on the direction of the new government, including its stance toward American troops.

By Paul Richter and Mark Mazzetti
Times Staff Writers

April 17 2005

WASHINGTON; For the last two years, U.S. authorities have had firm control of the mission in Iraq. They have set rules for military operations and worked with Iraqi leaders blessed by Washington. But the arrival of an elected government this month will take the partnership in new directions that the Americans may find difficult to control.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,2742535.story

150 Hostages and 19 Deaths Leave US Claims of Iraqi 'Peace' in Tatters
By Patrick Cockburn
The Independent UK

Sunday 17 April 2005

Iraqi and United States-led forces were last night preparing to launch a rescue mission for up to 150 Shia hostages held by Sunni insurgents.

The threat by Sunni militants in the town of Madaen, south of Baghdad, to execute the hostages unless Shias leave the area, intensified the growing sectarian fears.

The upsurge in violence across Iraq in the past four days has left claims made by the Pentagon that the tide is turning in Iraq and there are hopeful signs of a return to normality in tatters.

At least 17 Iraqis were killed during the day and two US soldiers were reported dead after a series of attacks.

Ironically, one reason why Washington can persuade the outside world that its venture in Iraq is finally coming right is that it is too dangerous for reporters to travel outside Baghdad or stray far from their hotels in the capital. The threat to all foreigners was underlined last week when an American contractor was snatched by kidnappers.

When I was travelling in the northern city of Mosul this week, my guards - Kurdish members of the Iraqi National Guard - said it was too dangerous for them to travel with me in uniform in official vehicles. They donned Arab gowns, hid their weapons and drove through the city in a civilian car.

Most violent incidents in Iraq go unreported. We saw one suicide bomb explosion, clouds of smoke and dust erupting into the air, and heard another in the space of an hour. Neither was mentioned in official reports. Last year US soldiers told the IoS that they do not tell their superiors about attacks on them unless they suffer casualties. This avoids bureaucratic hassle and "our generals want to hear about the number of attacks going down not up". This makes the official Pentagon claim that the number of insurgent attacks is down from 140 a day in January to 40 a day this month dubious.

US casualties have fallen to about one dead a day in March compared with four a day in January and five a day in November. But this is the result of a switch in American strategy rather than a sign of a collapse in the insurgency. US military spokesmen make plain that America's military priority has changed from offensive operations to training Iraqi troops and police. More than 2,000 US military advisers are working with Iraqi forces.

With US networks largely confined to their hotels in Baghdad by fear of kidnapping, it is possible to sell the American public the idea that no news is good news. General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, said recently that if all goes well "we shall make fairly substantial reductions in the size of our forces". Other senior US officers say this will be of the order of four brigades, from 17 to 13, or a fall in the number of US troops in Iraq from 142,000 to 105,000 by next year.

The real change leading to the US troop reduction is probably more in the US than in Iraq. The White House finds its military commitment in Iraq politically damaging at home. The easiest way to bring the troops home is, as in Vietnam, to declare a victory and full confidence in US-trained Iraqi forces to win the war. These soldiers and police supposedly number 152,000, but it is not clear who is being counted.

The figure may include the 14,000 blue-uniformed Iraqi police in Nineveh province, the capital of which is Mosul, with a population of 2.7 million. But Khasro Goran, the deputy governor and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader in Mosul, told the IoS that the police had helped insurgents assassinate the previous governor.

Mr. Goran said that when guerrillas captured almost all of Mosul on 11 November last year, the police had collaborated, abandoning 30 police stations without a fight. "They didn't fire on terrorists because they were terrorists themselves," he said. Some $40m-worth of arms and equipment was captured by the insurgents. It is a measure of how far the reality of the war in Iraq now differs from the rosy picture presented by the media that the fall of Mosul to the insurgents went almost unreported abroad because most journalists were covering the assault by the US marines on Fallujah.

Despite the elections on 30 January, the US problem in Iraq remains unchanged. It has not been defeated by the Sunni Arab guerrillas but it has not defeated them either. The US army and Iraqi armed forces control islands of territory while much of Iraq is a dangerous no-man's land.

After overthrowing Saddam Hussein in 2003 the US tried direct rule, dissolving the Iraqi army and state. This provoked the Sunni rebellion. By early 2004 there was a danger that part of the Shia community would also rise up. Elections were promised. The victors at the polls in January were Shia parties, mostly militantly Islamic and often sympathetic to Iran. Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, visited Baghdad this week to stop Shia radicals taking over the Interior and Defence Ministries.

Iraq is now more sectarian. Sunnis boycotted the elections. The Kurds and Shias triumphed. The interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, despite heavy US support, got only 14 per cent. If the Shia hostages taken on Friday are executed or Shias are forced to flee, then we are closer to a sectarian civil war.

The Sunni insurgency is not going to go away. US generals say there are only 12,000 to 20,000 guerrillas. But the real lesson of the past two years is that, though many of the groups in the resistance are fanatical or semi-criminal, they will still be sheltered by the Sunni community.

If the new Iraqi government succeeds in establishing itself it will be a largely Shia state with no more interest than the Sunnis in retaining a US presence. Iraqis say they sense that the US wants Iraq to be a weak state, and this they are bound to oppose.

Roadside bomb kills three Iraqis north of Baghdad :

"The bomb blasted at 8:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) in the town of Duluiyah as a civilian car passed by, killing two police officers and a civilian,"
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/...ent_2841585.htm

http://snipurl.com/e2jk

Three people including U.S. Aid worker killed in Baghdad:

AN American humanitarian worker was among three people killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy travelling on Baghdad's airport road, the US embassy said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15004326-23109,00.html

http://snipurl.com/e2jl

Three U.S. Troops Killed in Iraqi City of Ramadi:

Seven servicemen were also wounded in the attack, three of them seriously, the military said in a statement.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=8202396

http://snipurl.com/e2jm

Iraqi troops call halt to Maidan assault:

Iraqi troops battling in a town near Baghdad to rescue Shia hostages held by Sunni fighters, have halted their offensive after meeting fierce resistance, government officials said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C26...948C2EC830B.htm

http://snipurl.com/e2jn

Mystery Shrouds Hostage Crisis in Iraqi Town:

US-backed Iraqi troops launched on Sunday, April 17, an operation to rescue Shiites reportedly held hostage by militants in Al-Madaen town, with some locals charging the whole thing was a fabricated prelude for a Fallujah-like onslaught.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/20...article02.shtml

http://snipurl.com/e2jp

Intelligence reports undercut US claims of Iraq-Qaeda link: top US senator:

A top Democratic senator released formerly classified documents that he said undercut top US officials' pre-Iraq war claims of a link between Saddam Hussein's regime and the Al-Qaeda terror network.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8568.htm

http://snipurl.com/e2jq

Tony Benn: Time for change:

It is beginning to become apparent that the greatest threat to world peace may not really be individual terrorists but the United States Administration itself
http://www.tonybenn.com/time.html

--------------------
Young Activist's Life Cut Short in Iraq Blast
--------------------

By Doug Smith
Times Staff Writer

April 18 2005

BAGHDAD; She hugged and laughed her way through war zones with an effervescence belying her seriousness of purpose.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,3661141.story

--------------------
Britain Estimates on Pullout
--------------------

From Associated Press

April 18 2005

LONDON; Britain's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said Sunday that he expected British troops to leave Iraq within the next two years.

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

The Grim Reaper, Riding a Firetruck in Iraq

By Steve Fainaru

HUSAYBAH, Iraq -- Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Butler shook himself from the rubble of a suicide truck bombing. He staggered to the ledge of his three-story guard tower and stared into a cloud of white smoke.

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


Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/a...er=emailarticle

Facing Global Sanctions, Iran Uses Oil Fields to Seek
Alliances
By JAD MOUAWAD
Iran is arranging energy sales with influential countries,
including China and India, as a way to win stronger
friendships.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/business....html?th&emc=th

http://www.antiwar.com/wanniski/?articleid=5598

The Real Oil-for Food Scandal
What crime did Bayoil commit?
Jude Wannski

http://www.zaman.com/?bl=hotnews&alt=&trh=20050418&hn=18592

Talabani not to Sign Saddam's Death Warrant

Soldiers' 'Wish Lists' Of Detainee Tactics Cited

By Josh White

Army intelligence officials in Iraq developed and circulated "wish lists" of harsh interrogation techniques they hoped to use on detainees in August 2003, including tactics such as low-voltage electrocution, blows with phone books and using dogs and snakes -- suggestions that some soldiers believed spawned abuse and illegal interrogations.

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

Why a black market for gasoline vexes Iraq
Iraq expects to import $3 billion of refined oil this year because its
refineries are in such disrepair. By Jill Carroll
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0420/p06s01-woiq.html?s=hns

--------------------
Recent Violence Stirs Sectarian Tensions in Once-Quiet Basra
--------------------

In a Shiite-dominated city with many Sunnis, a series of assassinations and other attacks threaten to ignite widespread bloodshed.

By Solomon Moore
Times Staff Writer

April 20 2005

BASRA, Iraq; A series of recent daytime assassinations of Shiite and Sunni Muslim officials here has led to fears that Sunni insurgents, Shiite radicals and Iranian agents may be seeking to destabilize this southern city, which had remained relatively calm since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq two years ago.

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

--------------------
10 Iraqis Die in Baghdad Car Bombing
--------------------

Suicide attacker targets a busy army recruiting center, and west of the capital, insurgents kill four soldiers. Assembly can't agree on a Cabinet.

By Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writer

April 20 2005

BAGHDAD; At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in a suicide car bombing in the capital as resurgent violence and sectarian tensions raised the stakes for lawmakers struggling to finalize a government 11 weeks after landmark elections.

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

100 bodies plucked from Tigris river :

According to the newsparer, another 12 corpses have been found in a poultry farm nearby.
http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=190566&n=35

http://snipurl.com/e556

Bodies of 50 "Hostages" Found in Iraq:

"More than 50 bodies have been brought out from the Tigris and we have the full names of those who were killed and those criminals who committed these crimes," Talabani told reporters.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=687124

19 bodies discovered in Iraqi soccer stadium:

Residents said they believed the victims -- all men in civilian clothes -- were soldiers
http://snipurl.com/e559

Fourteen killed after upsurge in violence :

An attack by a suicide car bomber near a United States patrol in southern Baghdad killed two American soldiers and wounded four, an official said on Wednesday.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&cl...13978780887B262

http://snipurl.com/e55b

Two more Iraqis killed as wave of attacks continues in Iraq :

In Sadr city, a poor section of eastern Baghdad, gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on policeman Ali Talib as he walked toward his car, killing him, said police Col. Hussein Abdulwahid. In eastern Baghdad, a Health Ministry car was attacked by gunmen, killing the Iraqi driver and wounding one unidentified passenger.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050420/w042006.html

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed:

Two Task Force Baghdad Soldiers died April 19 after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their patrol around 7 p.m. in southern Baghdad.
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualt...rt=20050421.txt

http://snipurl.com/e55d

Dispute escalates between Shiites, Sunnis:

Iraq's Shiite Muslim-dominated National Assembly again delayed appointing a Cabinet on Monday amid a growing political dispute between Shiites and Sunnis.
http://snipurl.com/e55f