--------------------
Iraq Violence Taking a Sectarian Twist
--------------------

By Ashraf Khalil and Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writers

May 16 2005

BAGHDAD; The discovery Sunday of nearly three dozen bodies; all Iraqi men apparently abducted and slain execution-style; is the latest grisly episode in an escalating sectarian conflict fueled by this nation's raging insurgency.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,3987683.story

--------------------
Rice Praises Creation of Iraqi Cabinet
--------------------

By ANNE GEARAN
AP Diplomatic Writer

May 16 2005, 5:39 AM PDT

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the new multiethnic government of Iraq deserves credit for organizing a working Cabinet three months after landmark elections in January, not blame for taking so long.

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

Execution-Style Killings Continue in Iraq

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D7D11A:2F72C9D

Discovery of bodies overnight raises number of apparent executions to
46 since Saturday Police found 12 more bodies dumped in northeast
Baghdad overnight, as a wave of execution-style killings of Iraqi men
continues. Insurgents appear to be targeting soldiers or men of
military age. These are among the most visible collaborators with
Iraq's new government, formed in the past three weeks after months of
sectarian political wrangling.

A coffin containing one of 13 blindfolded and bound men who were found
shot multiple times in the head in Baghdad's Sadr City district, is
taken away from morgue The latest discovery was in the Qasr al-Attash
neighborhood of Sadr City, a heavily Shi'ite community on the edge of
Baghdad. Police say the latest victims were shot dead, suggesting a
similarity to other groups of bodies found since the weekend.

On Saturday, Iraqi security forces said they discovered the bodies of
10 Iraqi soldiers in Ramadi, a mainly Sunni city 60 miles west of
Baghdad.

Within the next 24 hours, 13 more bodies turned up in East Baghdad,
and 11 more were found in Iskandariya, a mostly Shi'ite city south of
the capital. Police said the victims, who were all Iraqi men, had been
shot in the head.

The victims' identities have yet to be determined. Residents of
Shi'ite neighborhoods said they assumed the victims were Shi'ite.
However, some Sunni men have also been killed in a similar way before.

The killings - and the dumping of bodies - appear to be aimed at
discouraging Iraqi men from joining the expanding security forces,
which have taken an increasing role in fighting the insurgency.

The latest discovery came the day after U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice made a one-day visit to Iraq, where she met Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and key members of his new cabinet.

Ms. Rice promised that U.S.-led coalition forces would stay in Iraq
until the country is ready to defend itself. She said preparing Iraqi
security forces is a high priority.

"Well, the strategy for the transfer of responsibility to the Iraqi
security forces is to equip and train the Iraqi security forces as
quickly as possible," stated Ms. Rice. "I think that we are all
impressed with the progress that the Iraqi security forces are
making."

According to Mr. Jaafari, training needs to be accelerated. He said
that upgrading Iraqi capabilities will reduce the time that American
and other multinational troops need to stay in Iraq.

Ms. Rice said she had also held discussions with Iraq's Minister of
Interior Bayan Jaber and Minister of Defense, Saadoun al-Dulaimi.

Mr. Dulaimi, a Sunni Arab sociologist, accepted the defense post after
fierce negotiations between Sunni and Shi'ite leaders.

Prime Minister Jaafari wanted an inclusive cabinet and promised the
defense post to the Sunnis - a largely disaffected community seen as
the main base of support for the insurgency. But he ran into
resistance within his own, Shi'ite-dominated parliamentary bloc, with
successive Sunni nominees being rejected over their links with the
former regime of Saddam Hussein.

Sunni politicians say that a meaningful Sunni political role is the
only way to undercut support for the insurgency.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Decries Neighbors' Apathy

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D7D11B:2F72C9D

Hoshyar Zebari accuses others in region of helping terrorists by not
doing enough to control their borders A leading Iraqi official told a
U.S. television network Sunday neighboring countries should do more to
help reduce violence in Iraq. He accused Iraq's neighbors of helping
terrorists by not doing enough to control their borders.

Iraq's foreign minister says if violence is to be contained in his
country, Iraq's neighbors must cooperate with Baghdad on
trans-national security matters. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari spoke
on CNN's Late Edition program. "All of our neighbors are not doing
enough. Their inaction is helping, assisting those foreign fighters
[allowing them] to move at ease," he said. "To cross the borders
without any checks, without any attempts to neutralize them, stop
them. They are not doing enough and this is very dangerous."

U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who also spoke on Late
Edition, would not confirm reports that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who tops
the U.S. list of terrorists operating in Iraq, has been injured. He
said Washington wants to see him captured or killed. "We are in a war
situation, and Zarqawi is an element declaring war on the new Iraqi
government and on Americans and the members of the coalition. His
organization is responsible for the deaths of large numbers of
innocent civilians in Iraq," he said.

Earlier, on Fox News Sunday, Mr. Hadley acknowledged that terrorists
and insurgents in Iraq have stepped up their campaign of violence in
recent weeks to thwart political progress. "The numbers are, in some
sense, what we have seen for a while. I think what is new is the
lethality - large numbers of people being killed, overwhelmingly
Iraqis. I think what we are seeing is a reaction of the terrorists to
the progress that is being made in the political sphere. They
obviously oppose that progress. It undermines everything they stand
for. And I think what you are seeing is a major effort to derail the
new government that has recently been out in place," he said.

Mr. Hadley stressed that Iraq's disgruntled Sunni minority must be
coaxed into full participation in Iraq's political process, including
the drafting of a constitution, so that insurgents are unable to play
on local resentments and unable to divide the Iraqi people.

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press program, Egyptian Prime Minister
Ahmed Nazif said much remains to be done if democracy is to survive in
Iraq. "We are seeing an Iraq today that is changing, that is moving
towards democracy," he said. "But at the same time we are still seeing
unrest and instability in the area. So it is still a wait-and-see
situation."

Mr. Nazif added that Iraq's security situation must improve and the
people must see tangible economic gains if their faith in democracy is
to grow.

400 and counting: IRAQ’s Grim death toll for may:

Yesterday eight Iraqis – including five civilians – were shot dead by US forces in Mosul, four were killed by a suicide car bomb attack in central Baghdad, and in the west of the city a hand grenade attack left one policeman dead.
http://www.sundayherald.com/49799

More Bodies Found in Iraq, Total Up to 45:

Elsewhere, mortar barrages, roadside bombings and drive-by shootings killed at least 10 Iraqis, including four soldiers who died in a roadside bomb attack as they raced to a fire station that had come under mortar fire.
http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2005/05/1...s/d8a4a8fg0.txt

http://snipurl.com/exqc

Al-Sadr Demands Americans Leave Iraq :

Al-Sadr criticized the American-led occupation and called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050516/.../iraq_al_sadr_2

http://snipurl.com/exqf

Rice: U.S. will stay in Iraq:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Iraqi government yesterday that U.S. forces would remain until the fledging nation ''can defend itself,'' but more violence throughout the country suggested that was not imminent.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/riceu16.htm

Iraq Says Troops Will Stop Raiding Mosques

By Jonathan Finer and Bassam Sebti

BAGHDAD, May 16 -- The Iraqi government said Monday that its soldiers would no longer raid mosques in their fight against insurgents, ending a practice that Sunni Arab leaders had long opposed on grounds that it provoked sectarian strife.

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

--------------------
2 Bombings Target Shiite Market in Iraq
--------------------

From Times Wire Services

May 17 2005

BAGHDAD; Twin bombings killed nine Iraqi soldiers and a civilian Monday at a mostly Shiite market in the capital, a suicide bomber killed at least five people near the Syrian border and authorities discovered 13 more bodies of people shot in escalating violence.

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

--------------------
U.S. Is Its Own Worst Enemy in Iraq
--------------------

Robert Scheer

May 17 2005

So far this month, more than 450 Iraqis and dozens of U.S. troops have been killed by an Iraqi insurgency that, even after two years, shows signs of intensifying. Yet the Bush administration, which originally expected U.S. troops to be greeted as liberators and then promised that elections would fatally undermine the rebel cause, remains clueless as to the composition of this virulent enemy.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...0,525496.column

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/co...t_id=1000920906

Bush Sold the War on WMDs, Not Regime Change

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/18/...main/index.html

Wave of Iraq car bombings tied to al Qaeda

Insurgents Gun Down Iraqi Interior Ministry Official

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D8682A:2F72C9D

Officials say Brigadier General Ibrahim Khamas targeted in drive-by
shooting Iraqi authorities say insurgents have killed a senior
official from the interior ministry in escalating violence against the
new Iraqi government and security forces.

Officials say Brigadier General Ibrahim Khamas was targeted in a
drive-by shooting in southwestern Baghdad, Wednesday.


Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi, left, meets with Iraqi
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari at Foreign Ministry in Baghdad,
TuesdayMeanwhile, the visiting Iranian foreign minister, Kamal
Kharrazi, is preparing to meet with Iraq's speaker of parliament Hajem
al-Hassani, Wednesday.

Mr. Kharrazi, who arrived in Baghdad Tuesday, has promised not to
interfere in Iraqi affairs and pledged Iran's cooperation on security.

After talks with Mr. Kharrazi, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
said Baghdad looks forward to resolving several issues between the two
countries, including the fate of missing people and the exchange of
remains of soldiers from their eight-year war that ended in 1988.

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

Suicide car bomb kills two Iraqi police :

Two Iraqi police were killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the oil refinery town of Baiji early Wednesday morning, a police captain said.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=42194

Mortar Attacks Kill Two in Mosul :

Mortar attacks in northern Mosul on Wednesday killed two Iraqis and injured eight others, including seven school children, police and hospital officials said.
http://www.wjla.com/headlines/0505/229154.html

Iraqi Official Killed in Baghdad Shooting:

Drive-by shooters killed a senior member of Iraq's Interior Ministry Wednesday, continuing a campaign against the new government's administration and security infrastructure.
http://snipurl.com/ezke

Iraq Sunni cleric blames Shi'ites for killings:

A top Sunni Muslim cleric publicly accused the militia of the main Shi'ite political party on Wednesday of assassinating Sunni preachers, in the latest sign of sectarian tensions that have raised fears of civil war.
http://snipurl.com/ezkf

Iraqi Girl Blog:

Baghdad has turned into a giant graveyard:

We are hearing of people being rounded up by security forces (Iraqi) and then being found dead days later- apparently when the new Iraqi government recently decided to reinstate the death penalty, they had something else in mind.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2005_05_...636281930496496

http://snipurl.com/ezki

Two Army Officers Staged Mock Executions of Iraqi Prisoners:

In one case, on July 13, 2003, a captain with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in Fort Carson, Colo., took an Iraqi welder out to the desert and had him dig his own grave before staging an attempt to shoot him, according to documents. The captain was looking for information on a bombing two days before.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8872.htm

http://snipurl.com/ezkk

Soldier Gets Six Months in Abu Ghraib Case:

She faced a maximum of five years in prison, though prosecutors asked the jury to give her three years. With credit for time served, Harman's actual sentence will be just more than four months.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=766862

Video: Shoot the Messenger Update:

Two weeks ago, Sophie brought Dateline an exclusive interview with Kevin Sites, the NBC cameraman who last November filmed that American marine shooting dead an unarmed, wounded, Iraqi in a Fallujah mosque. Here's a reminder of that report - and Dateline reminds you that the footage is pretty graphic.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8875.htm

http://snipurl.com/ezkq

There Is Blood On All Our Hands:

George Bush, and you and I have started this bloody war in Iraq, where we are fighting people who not only never attacked us, but who never even had the means with which they could have attacked us. - We don’t even have the decency to count the number of infants we have killed.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8870.htm

http://snipurl.com/ezkr

Iraqis to seek fresh Basra abuse inquiry :

The mistreatment of civilian detainees at the camp emerged in "trophy" photographs that included images of sexual humiliation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,276....html?gusrc=rss

http://snipurl.com/ezkx

An Iraqi family patiently adapts to life in the danger zone
Relief cannot come too soon for the Methboubs, who are shocked by the
extraordinary levels of violence they find all around them. By Scott
Peterson
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0519/p01s04-woiq.html?s=hns

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/n..._democracy_dc_3

Bush acknowledges problems in post war Iraq

A Report Card on Iraqi Troops

By Bradley Graham

Iraqi commanders and their U.S. advisers have begun grading Iraq's military for the first time since the United States started to build a new set of Iraqi security forces from scratch.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/internat...OWGl2tF+Uln+fqw

Generals Offer Sober Outlook on Iraqi War

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0520,schanberg,64027,6.html

Not a Pretty Picture
Looking this war in the face proves difficult when the press itself won't even put in an appearance
Sydney Schanberg

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...al/11684308.htm

Generals, shedding exuberance, say mission may last 'many years'

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13540

US Generals Skeptical of early Iraq drawdown

--------------------
Bush Says U.S. Was Slow to Stabilize Postwar Iraq
--------------------

He says civilian crews were not ushered in swiftly enough after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and calls for the creation of a crisis response team.

By Peter Wallsten
Times Staff Writer

May 19 2005

WASHINGTON; In a rare moment of self-criticism, President Bush suggested Wednesday that the United States did not move civilian workers into Iraq quickly enough to stabilize the country after the military invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

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

--------------------
Zarqawi Reportedly Called for Shift in Strategy
--------------------

He met with other rebel leaders and sought more suicide car attacks, U.S. military official says.

By Jeffrey Fleishman
Times Staff Writer

May 19 2005

BAGHDAD; Militant leader Abu Musab Zarqawi met with heads of Iraqi insurgent groups in Syria a month ago and called for a shift in strategy against Iraqi and American forces by increasing suicide car bombings, a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday.

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

--------------------
General Says U.S. Pullback Depends on Iraq's Police
--------------------

The force has made less progress than the army but is more crucial during the insurgency's final stages, says Central Command's Abizaid.

By John Hendren
Times Staff Writer

May 19 2005

WASHINGTON; Problems plaguing the Iraqi police are continuing to forestall the reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, requiring the American military to maintain a higher profile there, the U.S. general directing the war said Wednesday.

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

Senior Iraqi Oil Ministry Official Shot Dead in Baghdad

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D8B30A:2F72C9D

US military official says upsurge in violence came after meeting of
top lieutenants of Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Iraqi
authorities say a senior oil ministry official was shot and killed
outside his home in Baghdad, Thursday.

US, Iraqi security forces inspect scene of roadside bomb in Baquba,
ThursdayAnd, in Baquba, to the north, two policemen were killed in a
roadside bomb blast.

A wave of car bombings and other violence in Iraq has killed more than
300 people this month, with most of the victims Iraqis.

A U.S. military official in Iraq says the upsurge in violence came
after a meeting of top lieutenants of Iraq's most wanted man, Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi.

General John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, said he could
not confirm the meeting, which is said have taken place in Syria. But
General Abizaid said Syria is not doing enough to prevent terrorists
from using its territory.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.

Sadr urges Iraqis to trample on US flag over Koran desecration :

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr urged Muslims across Iraq to paint US and Israeli flags at mosque entrances for worshippers to walk on in protest at the alleged desecration of the Koran at the US detention camp in Guantanamo.
http://snipurl.com/f0jb

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-05-19-voa64.cfm

Rice Stresses Democracy as Key to Defeating Iraq Insurgency
David Gollust

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi-breakin...23259-4282r.htm

Iraq asks Jordan to pardon Chalabi

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi-breakin...25541-7294r.htm

Analysis: Bad week in Iraq

--------------------
U.S. Moves to Reassert Itself in Iraq Affairs
--------------------

As insurgent attacks grow, American officials are returning to a more active role to improve services and foster an inclusive government.

By Paul Richter and Ashraf Khalil
Times Staff Writers

May 20 2005

WASHINGTON; Facing an intensifying insurgency and a frail government in Baghdad, the Bush administration has reluctantly changed course to deepen its involvement in the process of running Iraq.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,1497343.story

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

US generals say Iraq outlook 'bleak' Christian Science Monitor

Growing insurgency, sectarian violence, force military to reexamine US situation in Iraq.

http://csmonitor.com/2005/0520/dailyUpdate.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/20/afr...eb.0520iraq.php

Iraq protests against US lead to clashes

Sunnis, Shi'ites Protest in Iraq

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D93A2C:2F72C9D

Sunni mosques in Baghdad close for three days amid simmering sectarian
violence

Security guard stands in front of locked gate of Ibn Taymiyah Sunni
mosque in western Baghdad, Saturday

Sunni Muslim mosques in the Iraqi capital are closed Saturday, to
protest sectarian violence.

Sunni clerics ordered the three-day closure to protest what they call
deliberate killings of some of their preachers by members of a Shi'ite
militia. The militia has denied the charge.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari wrapped up a visit
to neighboring Turkey.

Mr. al-Jaafari discussed a wide range of topics with Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials.

Turkey is especially concerned about Kurdish separatists in northern
Iraq, and Mr. al-Jaafari pledged that Iraq will not allow "any group
to harm" Turkey. He also said Kirkuk will continue to reflect Iraq's
diverse demographic makeup and will remain a part of a united Iraq.

For his part, Mr. Erdogan said Turkey seeks to end the use of Iraq as
what he called a "virtual terrorism training ground."

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

Sunnis Step Off Political Sidelines

By Ellen Knickmeyer and Naseer Nouri

BAGHDAD, May 21 -- More than 1,000 Sunni Arab clerics, political leaders and tribal heads ended their two-year boycott of politics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq on Saturday, uniting in a Sunni bloc that they said would help draft the country's new constitution and compete in elections.

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

Commanders Plan Eventual Consolidation of U.S. Bases in Iraq

By Bradley Graham

BAGHDAD -- U.S. military commanders have prepared plans to consolidate American troops in Iraq into four large air bases as they look ahead to giving up more than 100 other bases now occupied by international forces, officers said.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/internat...059&partner=AOL

Sunni Arabs Are Uniting to Compete with Shiites

--------------------
Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek to Unite to Build Political Clout
--------------------

Prominent leaders hold a congress, unveiling an alliance to promote the community's interests. They demand that the Interior minister quit.

By Carol J. Williams
Times Staff Writer

May 22 2005

BAGHDAD — A newly formed alliance of Sunni Muslim leaders held its first meeting here Saturday to forge plans for gaining a greater voice in Iraq's emerging political culture.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,1034005.story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4537065.stm

Analysis: Surge in Violence escalates

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05...otos/index.html

Pentagon Vows to probe Saddam photos