In case you missed it:

The Secret War: Iraq War already under way: 12/20/02 "The Mirror" - -

THE American and British attack on Iraq has already begun. While the Blair government continues to claim in Parliament that "nofinal decision has been taken", Royal Air Force and US fighter bombers have secretly changed tactics and escalated their "patrols" over Iraq to an all-out assault on both military and civilian targets.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1009.htm

U.S. spending on Iraq may soon surpass Korean War budget :

Lawmakers in the United States were scheduled to vote on Monday to approve $45 billion US in additional funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, making the recent Middle East foray more expensive than the entire Korean War.
http://snipurl.com/fppo

US strategy in Iraq: Is it working?
The gap between tactical victories and tangible improvements widens the
disagreement over US success in Iraq. By Dan Murphy
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0621/p01s01-woiq.html?s=hns

US enlists other nations in efforts to steer Iraqi government
The administration hopes the international community can positively
influence Iraq at a crucial point in the country's reformation. By
Howard LaFranchi
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0621/p02s01-usfp.html?s=hns

There's Progress in Iraq

By Kofi Annan

Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq.

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

How Cheney Fooled Himself

By E. J. Dionne Jr.

President Bush planted the seeds of the destruction of his Iraq policy before the war started. Salvaging the venture will require an unprecedented degree of candor and realism from a White House that was never willing to admit -- even to itself -- how large an undertaking it was asking the American...

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

Bush Defends Strategy In Iraq, Pledges to 'Complete the Mission'

By Jim VandeHei

President Bush said yesterday that "cold-blooded" killers will fail in their attempt to drive the United States out of Iraq prematurely, as he defended the administration's war strategy and its policies for secretly detaining hundreds of alleged terrorists around the world.

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5087947,00.html

US Seeks International Help for Iraq

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial..._short_on_iraq/

Patience Running Short on Iraq
Thomas Oliphant

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/ir...ack=1&cset=true

Bush Sees Iraq Progress, Defends Prison

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...INGEOD8MJR1.DTL

Iraq war started to early
Attacks preceded congressional OK

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050620/...went_to_war.php

Why George Went to War
TomPaine.com
Russ Baker

Two suicide car bombs kill six Iraqi soldiers :

Two suicide car bomb attacks targeted two Iraqi army checkpoints north of Baghdad, killing six Iraqi soldiers and wounding several others, the US-Iraqi joint coordination center said on Tuesday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/...ent_3115003.htm

http://snipurl.com/fqhp



Kurdish security chief slain in Iraq:

A Kurdish security chief and two bodyguards were killed in a car bomb in northern Iraq in the latest violence sweeping the country, police said Tuesday.
http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050621-052011-5943r.htm

http://snipurl.com/fqhq



U.S. Soldier Killed:

One 1st Corps Support Command Soldier was killed as a result of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device attack while conducting a combat logistics patrol west of Ar Rutbah June 21.
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualt...rt=20050627.txt

http://snipurl.com/fqhr



Aid agencies call for access to Karabila;

"The situation is critical in the village of Karabila. Hundreds of injured people are inside the town requiring urgent medical treatment but have been prohibited to leave the village by US forces and we are not authorised to enter there," Dr Hamed al-Alousi, director at the nearby al-Qaim general hospital, said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/I...b5058eed9c2.htm

http://snipurl.com/fqhs



'Am I Next?':

The Question Haunts the Members Of a Casualty-Depleted Platoon
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9219.htm

http://snipurl.com/fqht

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8272786/site/newsweek/

The Enemy Spies
Newsweek
In the shadows: The insurgents' most powerful weapon may be their vast network of infiltrators and spies—forces strengthened by talk of American exit plans. A secret CIA study frets about a whole new generation of master terrorists.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21610094.htm

W. House rebuffs independent probe of Guantanamo

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

Vietnam vets in Iraq see 'entirely different war'

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/internat...059&partner=AOL

Iraqi Rebels Refine Bomb Skills, Pushing Toll of G.I.'s Higher

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/internat...html?oref=login

Iraq May Be Prime Place for Training of Militants, CIA Report Concludes

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/internatio...Conference.html

International Community Supporting Iraq

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles...620/20hagel.htm

National Security Watch: Sen. Chuck Hagel criticizes President Bush's performance on Iraq

Official: Attacks must be stopped Detroit Free Press
The new US ambassador to Iraq expressed horror Tuesday at the violence wracking the country and said Muslim extremists and Saddam Hussein loyalists are trying to start a civil war. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who arrived from Afghanistan, said militants are using Iraqis as "cannon fodder" in a quest to dominate the Islamic world. "I will work with Iraqis and others to break the back of the insurgency," Khalilzad promised on a day that saw more than a dozen gunmen launch an assault on a Baghdad police station, wounding two policemen. Also, a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier on patrol in western Iraq, officials said, and a mortar attack killed a woman and a child in their home in Tal Afar, 95 miles east of the Syrian border. "Foreign terrorists and hard-line Baathists want Iraq to descend into civil war. Foreign terrorists are using the Iraqi people as cannon fodder," said Khalilzad, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to his native Afghanistan. He succeeds John Negroponte. Iraqi terrorism unit: Al Qaeda in Iraq said it has formed a unit of potential suicide attackers who are exclusively Iraqis, an apparent bid to deflect criticism that most suicide bombers in Iraq are foreigners. The terror organization announced the unit in an Internet posting signed by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, its purported spokesman. The statement could not be authenticated. The U.S. military has said foreign fighters make up about 5% of the insurgents fighting the U.S. presence in Iraq. The military said the foreigners do a disproportionate amount of killing, however, in part because they are more likely to carry out suicide bombings. Insurgents work for pay: Many insurgents conducting attacks in Iraq are primarily motivated by money, instead of ideology, and can receive $150 for setting a bomb and more for other types of assaults, a top U.S. general asserted Tuesday. Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of the Multinational Corps in Iraq, also said he was not ready to recommend any U.S. troop reductions, but he held out hope they may be possible early next year. Several generals have expressed similar hopes in recent months. Marines lack weapons: Marine Corps units fighting in some of the most dangerous terrain in Iraq don't have enough weapons, communications gear or properly outfitted vehicles, according to an investigation by the Marine Corps' inspector general, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday. The report says the estimated 30,000 Marines in Iraq need twice as many heavy machine guns, more fully protected armored vehicles and more communications equipment. The Marine Corps leadership has understated the amount and types of ground equipment it needs, according to the investigation, concluding that all of its fighting units in Iraq "require ground equipment that exceeds" their current supplies, "particularly in mobility, engineering, communications and heavy weapons."
Compiled from the Associated Press and Boston Globe
EU, US rally help for Iraq, urge full Sunni role Reuters.uk
Iraq insurgency still strong, official says Bradenton Herald
People's Daily Online - Christian Science Monitor - kgw.com (subscription) - Middle East Online - all 126 related »

25 people killed and 60 injured in Iraq

BAGHDAD: Eighteen people were killed on Wednesday when five car bombs exploded in Baghdad, drowning out cheers from an international forum in Brussels that trumpeted support for the new Iraq.
http://snipurl.com/frou



Six killed, including former judge :

Gunmen on Wednesday killed a former judge, officials said. Separately, a Filipino hostage was released after almost eight months in captivity.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/185317

http://snipurl.com/frn2



Prominent Sunni lawyer shot dead :

A Sunni Muslim lawyer who had been invited to join a committee that will draft the Iraqi constitution has been shot dead with his 15-year-old son.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4120180.stm

http://snipurl.com/frn3



U.S. Soldier Killed:

A Soldier assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in action June 21 by small-arms fire.
http://snipurl.com/frn4



U.S. was big spender in days before Iraq handover:

Cash was loaded onto giant pallets for shipment by plane to Iraq, and paid out to contractors who carried it away in duffel bags.
http://snipurl.com/frn6



US 'concealing' Saddam's secrets :

"There should be transparency and there should be frankness, but there are secrets that, if revealed, won't be in the interest of many countries," Mr Shandal said. "Who was helping Saddam all those years?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4115976.stm

http://snipurl.com/frn8



Rejection of Iraq War Continues in U.S. :

According to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 59 per cent of respondents oppose the war with Iraq, a 12 per cent increase since March.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?...tem&itemID=7750

http://snipurl.com/frna



The Beginning of the End?:

It's finally over. My despair is over. Something has happened these last ten days that has revived the antiwar issue. It has to do with public opinion polls and casualties and Republicans like Walter Jones and more Democrats standing up. I won't say how optimistic I am. But something is coming together--you can feel it."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050619...thenation/73614

http://snipurl.com/frnc



Court Backs Soldier's Anti-Iraq War Stance :

A German court ruled Wednesday that a soldier, who refused to follow orders because he did not want to support the US-led war in Iraq, had every right to do so.
http://snipurl.com/frnd



In a desperate attempt to divert attention from the U.S. disaster in Iraq, congressmen release :

Memos: U.N. Knew Saddam Violated Sanctions :

The U.N. Security Council had detailed knowledge of how Saddam Hussein was violating U.N. sanctions, but was so divided that many violations went largely unchecked, according to documents released Tuesday by a congressional panel.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9225.htm

http://snipurl.com/frnf



Aljazeera Guantanamo inmate 'abused':

An Aljazeera cameraman who has been incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay since 2001 has suffered extreme physical, sexual and religious abuse, his lawyer has said.
http://snipurl.com/frnj



Hicks at breaking point, says lawyer:

The new Australian civilian lawyer for Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks says he is shocked by his client's appearance and mental health, after their first meeting.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9234.htm

http://snipurl.com/frnl



W. House rebuffs independent probe of Guantanamo:

The White House on Tuesday rebuffed Democratic calls for creation of an independent commission to investigate treatment of foreign terror suspects at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21584490.htm

http://snipurl.com/frnn



Sen. Durbin's Regret for Remarks Not Enough for GOP:

Durbin said that had he read from the report without disclosing that it was about an American-run prison, "you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags or some mad regime.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9237.htm

http://snipurl.com/frno



How does Guantanamo compare to the Soviet Gulag?:

From Solzhenitsyn's Gulag: The Simplest Methods which Break the Will :

An excerpt on interrogation methods from Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9236.htm

http://snipurl.com/frnp

http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=6399

Withdrawal: Seize the Moment
Tom Engelhardt

Car Bombs Kill Dozens in Baghdad

By Andy Mosher

BAGHDAD, June 23 -- Seven car bombs killed more than three dozen people in Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of Baghdad over a 10-hour span on Wednesday night and Thursday morning in what appeared to be a new attempt to inflame Iraq's sectarian divisions.

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

Evangelicals Building a Base in Iraq

By Caryle Murphy

BAGHDAD -- With arms outstretched, the congregation at National Evangelical Baptist Church belted out a praise hymn backed up by drums, electric guitar and keyboard. In the corner, slide images of Jesus filled a large screen. A simple white cross of wood adorned the stage, and worshipers sprinkled...

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

http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050622145859.a7wgu63b.html

British troops out of Iraq as 'quickly as possible'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8202434/

Bombs jolt Baghdad awake - Iraq's New Chapter

--------------------
Bush Faces Hurdles to Rallying Support on Iraq
--------------------

Barring improvements in security, the president will struggle to reverse the erosion of backing for the war seen in recent polls, experts say.

By Ronald Brownstein
Times Staff Writer

June 23 2005

WASHINGTON; President Bush launches a major effort this week to reinvigorate support for the war in Iraq, but he faces a fundamental question: Can his words about the conflict still move public opinion?

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...=la-home-nation

--------------------
Rumsfeld Faces Questions on Troops in Iraq
--------------------

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

June 23 2005, 1:21 AM PDT

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats are demanding answers about the future presence of U.S. troops in Iraq as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld heads to Capitol Hill to testify on progress in training Iraq's own security forces.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wi...0,1230576.story

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF24Ak03.html

Iraq, the New Afghanistan
Pepe Escobar

30 dead in Baghdad bombs:

Four car bombs shook Baghdad after dawn on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens in the second wave of attacks within hours, police said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22706115.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjk



Three U.S. soldiers killed in combat west of Baghdad:

Three U.S. soldiers were killed by small-arms fire during combat operations west of Baghdad, the military announced Wednesday.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-932143.php

http://snipurl.com/fsjl



Two Iraqis killed, 10 injured in car bomb explosion in Kirkuk:

Iraqi police sources said, the car exploded early today in front of a gas station killing two Iraqis, one of them was a police officer, and ten others were injured and transported to the hospital.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Lan...=en&DSNO=745492

http://snipurl.com/fsjn



Japan Suspends Mission in Iraq:

The government of Japan has decided to suspend the mission of the Japanese contingent in Iraq, announced the Secretary General of

Japan’s Government Hiryuki Hosoda
http://snipurl.com/fsj8



CIA says Iraq is now a terrorist training ground:

The CIA believes the Iraq insurgency poses an international threat and may produce better-trained Islamic terrorists than the 1980s Afghanistan war that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, officials said on Wednesday.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9244.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjo



Iraq, the new Afghanistan:

It's virtually impossible for US President George W Bush's Iraq to be "on its way to democracy" when real unemployment reaches a staggering 50% (a scarier prospect for most people than car bombs or snipers), 25% of children under five years old are malnourished, 78% of the households in the country (and 92% in Baghdad) have electricity only a few hours a day, only 37% of urban households (and a mere 4% in the countryside) have sewage-disposal systems, only 61% have access to drinking water.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9249.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjp



Top Commander Says Insurgency Still Strong :

The top American commander in the Persian Gulf told Congress on Thursday that the Iraqi insurgency has not grown weaker over the past six months, despite a claim by Vice President Dick Cheney that it was in its "last throes."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9253.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjq

Senior aides refuse to testify against Saddam:

Senior Iraqi aides currently in U.S. custody have refused to testify against former leader Saddam Hussein when recently questioned by magistrates.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?f...\10416.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjv

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1398727.htm

Iraq insurgency may have international ramifications: CIA

Polls Open in Iran's Presidential Runoff Newsday
Iranians voted Friday in their first presidential runoff, the climax of a hard-fought campaign that left the Islamic state at a crossroads between a well-known political moderate and his ultraconservative rival. The election was considered too close to predict. First results were expected early Saturday. The first round winner, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, had strong support from progressive and business groups. His surprise opponent, Tehran's hard-line mayor Mahoud Ahmadinejad, was backed by Iran's impoverished classes and powerful forces opposed to relaxing Iran's Islamic regime. "This is the beginning of a new movement," Ahmadinejad declared after casting his ballot. Early turnout appeared strong. About 63 percent of Iran's nearly 47 million voters cast ballots in the first round. Election overseers warned the elite Revolutionary Guards and its vigilante wings, both key Ahmadinejad followers, to stay clear of polling sites following accusations of intimidation and other abuses in last Friday's balloting. The two rivals represent a distinct vision and voice for a nation struggling to find its priorities. The race also exposed the estrangement between those who feel empowered and those who feel embittered by Western-friendly reforms that began in the late 1990s. The 70-year-old Rafsanjani became the default choice for reformists after their main hopeful finished the first round back in the pack. Rafsanjani stumbled to first place with just 21 percent of the vote, well short of predictions. Right behind was Ahmadinejad with about 19.5 percent, forcing Iran's first presidential runoff as no candidate got a majority. The Interior Ministry's election supervisor, Mojtaba Rashad, called on the judiciary Thursday to ban members of the Revolutionary Guards and paramilitary Basij forces from acting as observers at polling stations. It was not immediately clear if authorities would comply. At least 26 people, including a military figure, have been arrested for suspected electoral violations in last week's vote, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. This week's brief campaign was all about attracting voters from the defeated first-round candidates, who ranged from reformers to staunch conservatives. Rafsanjani only had to sit back and collect support. Political factions and other groups flocked to his side in fear that a Ahmadinejad victory would push Iran back toward the rigid system of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Rafsanjani, a self-proclaimed moderate, represents the status quo. Backers feel confident he will continue the many social changes introduced by outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, including youth-supported freedoms such as dating, music, and colorful headscarves for women. Rafsanjani was Khatami's predecessor, serving as president from 1989-97. He then became a key adviser to the ruling theocracy, which holds near-absolute power over any elected official, including the president. He is also the head of a family conglomerate that has an airline, the contract to expand Tehran's subway, and the bulk of the nation's $400 million pistachio export business. He is seen as one of the few leaders with the background and authority to challenge Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his hand-picked inner circle. Rafsanjani also portrays himself as the best hand to guide the sensitive nuclear talks with the West. Washington claims Iran's nuclear power program is a cover for building atomic bombs. Iran denies this. "Rafsanjani can manage the important issues of Iran, especially the nuclear story, in a moderate way," said Reza Khatibi, 47, a bookstore owner. "If he's not elected, I will leave this country. It will be so dangerous." Ahmadinejad, 49, draws indirect strength from Rafsanjani's power. In a campaign video broadcast Wednesday, he contrasted his humble populist style with shots of the villa of a previous mayor. "What we need is justice," he said. "We ask officials: 'Why are you living in palaces?'" It is a message that resonates strongly in a nation of vast stretches of poverty, despite its oil and gas riches. Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, urges a return to the values of sacrifice and common purpose that were espoused after the revolution toppled the U.S.-backed monarchy and the 1980-88 war with Iraq. His list of promises targets Iran's underclass: higher wages, more development funds for rural areas, expanded health insurance and more social benefits for women. He also tried to soften his image in his TV pitch on Wednesday, saying "I am against extremism." Critics are not convinced. They believe he will stifle the lifestyle reforms and could even clamp down on economic engines, such as the stock market and banks. For the nuclear talks, Ahmadinejad is expected to introduce a new team that could include some of Iran's most anti-Western clerics. Ahmadinejad told a news conference last week he could not foresee improved ties with any country that "seeks hostility" against Iran, a clear reference to the United States.
Voting of Iran's presidential election runoff starts EastDay.com
Iranians vote in tight presidential run-off Independent Online
Ireland Online - Washington Post - Jerusalem Post - Reuters.uk - all 537 related »

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=6429

Iraq: What Price 'Victory'?
Justin Raimondo

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgere...cs/11969433.htm

US General's remarks contradict Cheney on strength of insurgency

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americ...sp?story=649225

Rumsfeld claims Iraq is not a quagmire

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...2302111_pf.html

Rumsfeld Under Fire on the Hill
Bradley Graham

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/23/che...view/index.html

Cheney: Iraq will be 'enormous success story'

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/news/ci_2799077

US May Need to Baby Sit Iraq Army for Years

http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/latimes706.html

Bush faces hurdles to rallying support on Iraq

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/498

Heads in the Iraqi Sand
Los Angeles Times

--------------------
Iraqis Fear Era of Relentless Chaos, Cruelty
--------------------

The mood darkens among residents as a wave of bombings swells the death toll. The new violence quiets talk of success against rebels.

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Ashraf Khalil
Times Staff Writers

June 24 2005

BAGHDAD; The explosions Thursday came not long after dawn, just hours after a triple bombing had torn through Baghdad's Shula neighborhood the previous evening.

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

US acknowledges torture at Guantanamo; in Iraq, Afghanistan - UN

By AFX News

06/24/05, GENEVA (AFX) - Washington has, for the first time, acknowledged to the United Nations that prisoners have been tortured at US detention centres in Guantanamo Bay, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, a UN source said.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9266.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftb4

U.S. doctors linked to POW ` torture'

Such tactics are considered torture by many authorities, the authors note.

Tanya Talaga And Karen Palmer

"Since late 2003, psychiatrists and psychologists (at Guantanamo) have been part of a strategy that employs extreme stress, combined with behaviour-shaping rewards, to extract actionable intelligence from resistant captives," it states.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9256.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftb5

Voluntary Amnesia in the Service of War

Forget it!

by Norman Solomon

While American viewers, listeners and readers are apt to be aware that in 1979 some radical Iranians took American diplomats hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held them for more than a year -- other historical facts tend to be hazy or entirely absent. That suits the White House just fine. From a Machiavellian standpoint, the best remedy for unpleasant historical facts -- distant or recent -- is silence about them.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9257.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftb7

6 Americans killed in Iraq car bombing:

A suicide car bomber slammed into a 7-ton U.S. military vehicle in Fallujah, killing five Marines and a Navy sailor, Marine Corps sources told NBC News, adding that at least three of the dead were female Marines and that 13 others were wounded.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8202434

http://snipurl.com/ftb9



At least five al-Qaida-linked militants killed in - Baghdad
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/210561

http://snipurl.com/ftba



Four dead in Iraq bomb, assassination:

Police said two soldiers were among the dead in the blast that cut through a convoy of 10 military vehicles in the village of Bouzayla.
http://snipurl.com/ftbb



Violence in Iraq reaps more dead, injured victims:

Police in the Alexandria province said today that they had discovered in a village the murdered bodies of four men who had previously been thought to have been kidnapped by armed gunmen in a car.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Lan...=en&DSNO=745739

http://snipurl.com/ftbc

Pepe Escobar ; The first, not the last throes

"The insurgency in Iraq is in its last throes." Vice President Dick Cheney, in May : Even the Central Intelligence Agency now admits that Iraq is the new Afghanistan - breeding a new, lethal generation of jihadis. Iraq has also been the new Vietnam since the day the resistance was born, April 18, 2003, in front of the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF25Ak04.html

http://snipurl.com/ftbf



Two years on, the echoes of Vietnam are getting louder :

There is no hint of shared purpose, mutual sympathy and respect between the armoured columns rolling along the roads, intermittently belching fire, and the hapless mass of local people, caring only for survival.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,...1513338,00.html

http://snipurl.com/ftbh



In case you missed it:

The road to Baghdad was paved by 'Scoop' Jackson:

Overseeing the CIA's "black budget", he was one of a handful of senators who gave a nod to two U.S.-backed coups in Iraq, one in 1963 and again in 1968. Those plots brought Saddam Hussein to power amid bloodbaths in which the CIA, exacting the price for its support, handed Saddam and his Baath Party cohorts lists of supposed anti-U.S. Iraqis to be killed
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9258.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbj



In case you missed it:

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal:

International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5259.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbk



Censorship:

So the American government is pressuring foreign countries to censor their news. Aside from the fact that this act is the height of arrogance by the United States, it makes it exceedingly clear why so many Americans who rely on the corporate media for their news continue to be so misinformed/un-informed about the goings on in Iraq.
http://snipurl.com/ftbl



World Tribunal On Iraq: Opening Speech Arundhati Roy :

Saddam Hussein is being tried as a war criminal even as we speak. But what about those who helped to install him in power, who armed him, who supported him - and who are now setting up a tribunal to try him and absolve themselves completely?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9259.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbm

Bloodshed Shadows Iraqi's Trip To the U.S.

By Jim VandeHei

President Bush said yesterday that the United States will not set a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq and predicted victory in what he repeatedly described as a difficult battle against fanatical "killers."

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/politics...059&partner=AOL

Bush Vows He's 'Not Giving Up' in Iraq