6 Years in Iraq Down 2 to Go?

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the war in and on Iraq. With US forces committed to the country for at least another two years and an escalation in Afghanistan under way, we should not forget the men and women who have had their lives put on the line, nor the hundreds of thousands of civilians who have died during this prolonged conflagration.

With concerns about the economy here at home, we should be doubly aware of the connection between our warring ways and the economic engine that runs it.

Tonight in Iowa City, a Candlelight Peace Walk will commemorate the anniversary of the Iraq War. The walk will begin at 7PM on the sidewalk in front of Old Capitol, on the west side of the intersection of Clinton St. & Iowa Ave. This night we will remember all those who have suffered and died in this humanitarian crisis. This includes U. S. and Coalition soldiers who have died, U.S. and Coalition forces injured, all those who have committed suicide as a result of their experience, as well as innocent Iraqis who have died, been injured, or displaced. And this includes all of their families and friends. Please bring your own candle. The walk will end at Old Brick where refreshments will be served, approximately 9 PM. For more information contact PEACE Iowa - (319) 354-1925.

According to United for Peace and Justice, the war in Iraq has led to:

• at least one million Iraqis killed
• 4.5 million Iraqis displaced and 5 million orphans
• over 4,000 U.S. service people killed, tens of thousands wounded
• more than $600,000,000,000 already spent
• $720 million spent each day
• estimates that in the end we will spend upwards of $3 trillion

The Voice of America probably has one of the more ironic stories stating "As Iraq enters its seventh year of war, he [Robert Gates] predicted the country will emerge much better off by the time U.S. troops finish their scheduled withdrawal at the end of 2011, nearly nine years after they arrived." I'm sure that the facts on the ground do not support that assessment.

Obama Machine Oiled, Fired Up, and Ready to Go?

Not a whole lot has been said about the machine behind Barack Obama and the unprecedented amount of cooperation and planning that has gone on behind the scenes to prepare our soon to be 44th President to take over the reins at the White House. Without the work of former Bill Clinton Chief of Staff, John Podesta to work with the Bush team to set the stage for the Obama administration, it is likely that Obama's movements of the last week would have been awkward to say the least.

Just consider the number of items that have been addressed within one week of the election and the style of how they have occurred:

1) Barack Obama named Rahm Emanual, his WH Chief of Staff.
2) Barack Obama's transition team has been vetting cabinet members, but has been careful about leaks.
3) A website has been set up for the transition period.
4) Barack and Michelle Obama have visited the White House and were welcomed by the Bushes.
5) President-Elect Obama has balanced respecting the sitting President's authority with his own agenda to offer a stimulus package to taxpayers, to reverse Executive Orders, and to address the War in Iraq.
6) Valerie Jarrett's name has been floated to replace Barack Obama in the Senate.

This shows an ability to use political capital and to let the American people know that he is ready to lead, but is willing to wait his turn. The question will be where does he lead us when he steps in?

Clearly with an economy in free fall, his attention will be spent on this albatross and will make other domestic policy decisions more difficult to invoke. However, when the economy turns around, it should allow Team Obama to push through comprehensive Health Care policy and other plans that will not be inexpensive to implement, though are designed to be paid for through other cuts. I doubt we can expect major policy decisions to be enacted in the first 100 days or even the first two years of his administration. Still any legislation that boosts industrial infrastructure to create jobs will be much easier to sell than another large "welfare" federal program.

Secondly, with the Iraqi's now equivocating about our presence in their country, there will have to be careful deliberations about how best to end the war there. It will take the cooperation of the world community to perhaps step in for the peace keeping efforts there and foreign aid from us to make it happen. The larger issue for Obama will be to defend his decision to "surge" in Afghanistan given that his base may be disappointed and angered by what they see as a "politics as usual" approach to a foreign conflict.

If the Democrats are smart, they will put aside the temptation to pass partisan bills and focus on the big picture. If the country is not moving in a good direction by 2010, there will be upheaval again in Congress and this time it will be the Democrats who are kicked to the curb. The Congress should take a page from the calm, reserve of their newly elected leader and move with purpose to enact infrastructure building legislation that will generate the new jobs that Americans need and deserve, should continue to support veterans and their families as an end to war is negotiated, and push back on Obama if his plans for Afghanistan do not have a clear mission.

US Military Death Toll at 4,106, TV News Scaling Back Coverage

After a month that had a decline in military deaths in Iraq, 22 soldiers have been killed in action so far in June. This trend is disturbing in that it reveals that Iraqis, beyond "the insurgency" are growing impatient with the US occupation, as exemplified by an Al-Madaen city council member who opened fire and killed two US soldiers who entered the council building.

In addition, with the US economy and natural disasters situations at home, news organizations are scaling back their coverage in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the International Herald Tribune

According to data compiled by Andrew Tyndall, a television consultant who monitors the three network evening newscasts, coverage of Iraq has been "massively scaled back this year." Almost halfway into 2008, the three newscasts have shown 181 weekday minutes of Iraq coverage, compared with 1,157 minutes for all of 2007. The "CBS Evening News" has devoted the fewest minutes to Iraq, 51, versus 55 minutes on ABC's "World News" and 74 minutes on "NBC Nightly News." (The average evening newscast is 22 minutes long.)

CBS News no longer stations a single full-time correspondent in Iraq, where some 150,000 United States troops are deployed.

DOD Admits Potential Financial Fraud in Iraq

The AP reports that "an internal audit of $8.2 billion paid to U.S. and Iraqi contractors found that nearly every transaction failed to comply with federal laws or regulations aimed at preventing fraud.

In some cases, there weren't even basic invoices explaining how the money was spent.

That's according to results released Thursday of an investigation by the Defense Department inspector general.

The probe said that during a five-year period - from 2001 through 2006 - $7.8 billion in payments skirted billing rules with some violations egregious enough to invite potential fraud.

The findings provided fresh fodder for anti-war Democrats, who say the Bush administration has turned a blind eye to the problem of corruption and fraud by relying too heavily on contractors to manage the war."

The Jurist and Deborah's US Liberal Politics Blog has more.

Have You Been on a 3 Trillion Dollar Shopping Spree?

That's the estimated cost of occupying Iraq.

44 Americans KIA in Iraq in April

The AP Reports

Bombardments by suspected militants killed four U.S. soldiers Monday as troops tried to push Shiite fighters farther from the U.S.-protected Green Zone and out of range of their rockets and mortars.

At least 44 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September.

The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting recently with Shiite militiamen.

A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said.

A showdown between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army — led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — has increasingly drawn U.S. forces into the battles. American commanders are particularly focused on trying to curb a rise in mortar and rocket attacks on the Green Zone.

So You Want to Be a Trillionaire?

Check this out--what we could be doing with the "War Dividend"

Troops Home Now!

Despite the lack of attention being paid to the war in Iraq, at least 19 American troops have been killed in Iraq since last Sunday, making it the bloodiest week in Iraq this year. The death toll is now more than 4,030 since the US occupied the country in 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

Added to this, the Iraqi government has dismissed 1,300 of its soldiers and policemen who deserted or refused to fight during last month’s Shiite-on-Shiite battles in Basra.

The announcement followed the admission that more than 1,000 members of the security forces had laid down their weapons during the fight, which Prime Minister al-Maliki characterized as a campaign to restore law and order to Basra, a strategic and oil-rich southern city.

Three Soldiers KIA, 31 Injured in Iraq

From CNN

Three U.S. soldiers were killed and 31 others wounded in two rocket attacks Sunday afternoon in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Earlier Sunday, fighting between U.S. troops and the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr left at least 20 dead and 52 wounded in Baghdad's Sadr City, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official.

The U.S. military said it had no information about the Sadr City fighting.

Shameful: Women Soldiers More Likely to be Raped than KIA

Congresswoman Jane Harman writes in the Los Angeles Times, "Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."

According to Harman, "numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult."

Added to this, Harman writes, "According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through "nonjudicial punishment," which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of 'insufficient evidence.'"

More here

Michael Moore on the Anniversary of the Iraq War

Friends,

It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn't it, that the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone surprised?

4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.

And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, "two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting." Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: "So?"

"So?" As in, "So what?" As in, "F*** you. I could care less."

I would like every American to see Cheney flip the virtual bird at the them, the American people. Click here and pass it around. Then ask yourself why we haven't risen up and thrown him and his puppet out of the White House.

The Democrats have had the power to literally pull the plug on this war for the past 15 months -- and they have refused to do so. What are we to do about that? Continue to sink into our despair? Or get creative? Real creative. I know there are many of you reading this who have the chutzpah and ingenuity to confront your local congressperson. Will you? For me?

Cheney spent Wednesday, the 5th anniversary of the war, not mourning the dead he killed, but fishing off the Sultan of Oman's royal yacht. So? Ask your favorite Republican what they think of that.

The Founding Fathers would never have uttered the presumptuous words, "God Bless America." That, to them, sounded like a command instead of a request, and one doesn't command God, even if they are America. In fact, they were worried God would punish America. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington feared that God would react unfavorably against his soldiers for the way they were behaving. John Adams wondered if God might punish America and cause it to lose the war, just to prove His point that America was not worthy. They and the others believed it would be arrogant on their part to assume that God would single out America for a blessing. What a long road we have traveled since then.

I see that Frontline on PBS this week has a documentary called "Bush's War." That's what I've been calling it for a long time. It's not the "Iraq War." Iraq did nothing. Iraq didn't plan 9/11. It didn't have weapons of mass destruction. It DID have movie theaters and bars and women wearing what they wanted and a significant Christian population and one of the few Arab capitals with an open synagogue.

But that's all gone now. Show a movie and you'll be shot in the head. Over a hundred women have been randomly executed for not wearing a scarf. I'm happy, as a blessed American, that I had a hand in all this. I just paid my taxes, so that means I helped to pay for this freedom we've brought to Baghdad. So? Will God bless me?

God bless all of you in this Easter Week as we begin the 6th year of Bush's War.

God help America. Please.

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

Military KIA Reaches 4,000 in Iraq

The AP reports:

A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday,
the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year
warto at least 4,000.

The grim milestone came on the same day that rockets and mortars pounded the
U.S.-protected Green Zone, underscoring the fragile security situation and the
resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups despite an overall lull in
violence.

A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad soldier also was wounded in the roadside
bombing, which struck the soldiers' patrol vehicle about 10 p.m. in southern
Baghdad, according to a statement.

Identities of those killed were withheld pending notification of relatives.

Navy Lt. Patrick Evans, a military spokesman, expressed condolences to all the
families who have lost a loved one in Iraq, saying each death is ''equally
tragic.''

''There have been some significant gains. However, this enemy is resilient and
will not give up, nor will we,'' he said. ''There's still a lot of work to be
done.''

The 4,000 figure is according to an Associated Press count that includes eight
civilians who worked for the Department of Defense.

Last year, the U.S. military deaths spiked along with the Pentagon's ''surge''
-- the arrival of more than 30,000 extra troops trying to regain control of
Baghdad and surrounding areas. The mission was generally considered a success,
but the cost was evident as soldiers pushed into Sunni insurgent strongholds and
challenged Shiite militias.

Military deaths rose above 100 for three consecutive months for the first time
during the war: April 2007, 104; May, 126 and June at 101.

The death toll has seesawed since, with 2007 ending as the deadliest year for
American troops at 901 deaths. That was 51 more deaths than 2004, the second
deadliest year for U.S. soldiers.

Death (Comparisons) Be Not Proud

A story that is widely circulating points out that there were more military deaths during the Clinton Administration than during the war in Iraq. Numbers don't lie, right? Well, it ain't necessarily so.

According to a CRS report to Congress from June 2007, during the 8 years of the Clinton Administration (including peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo and Somalia), the were 76 military personnel that died in battle or by terrorist attack, compared to 2,651 that had been KIA or by terrorist attack from 2001 to 2006 during the Bush administration during which we have been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is true that 7500 soldiers died from 1993-2000 (Clinton's 8 year administration), but 8792 have died in 6 years from 2001-2006 of G.W. Bush's. The important distinction is cause of death.

Many military personnel die in accidents, illness, homicide, and suicide and in the case of Clinton's administration, 1% were killed in action/terrorist attack, 52% died in accidents, 20% committed suicide, 6% by homicide, and 19% died by illness.

In the Bush years through 2006, 30% were killed in action/terrorist attack, 36% in accidents, 11% committed suicide, 6% by homicide, and 15% by illness.

Iowa Citians Turnout to Protest on Iraq War Anniversary

Over 500 people in total attended an all day vigil and candlelit remembrance was held on the Pentacrest yesterday to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War. A cross-section of the community joined together and held signs, sang songs and beat drums to remember those who have died in this war both the military casualties and civilians.

Organized by Peace-Iowa and supported by the community, the vigils were under-reported.

Here's the P-C version and the Gazette.

Bush Does the Safety Dance

With President Bush now touting the relative worth of the war saying "Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning, and whether we can win it. The answers are clear to me: Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight America can and must win."

I wonder if the people of Iraq who have had their lives irreparably changed share his view.

According to the BBC, Iraqis were the largest group among asylum seekers to the world's industrialized countries for the second year running, according to a UN report. More than 45,000 Iraqis applied for asylum in 2007, up from 22,900 in 2006, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

Meanwhile, there are an estimated 4.5 million Iraqis uprooted by the war.

Cheney: Iraq a "Successful Endeavor"

What planet is he living on?

Reuters reports that Vice President Dick Cheney declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor" in a visit to Iraq that included a suicide bombing that killed at least 25 people. "If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor ... and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney said in a news conference in Baghdad.

As it enters it sixth year, the war has cost the U.S. economy $500 billion and seen nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis killed.

Shortly after Cheney spoke, a woman suicide bomber blew herself up in a cafe in the southern holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala and killed 25 people. Bombs in Baghdad killed four and wounded 13.

Five US Troops KIA in Baghdad by Suicide Bomber

Five US soldiers have been killed by a suicide bomb attack while they patrolled in Baghdad, the US army said. The suicide bomber approached the patrol on a Baghdad street and blew himself up, Iraqi police told Reuters.

Three other troops and an Iraqi interpreter were also injured in the attack, the US military said.

The attack follows the killing of Thaer Ghadban al-Karkhi, a Sunni tribal leader, in a suicide bomb attack on his house near Baquba earlier on Monday.

The US military told the BBC that the attack on its troops took place in the Mansour district of Baghdad.

In other Iraq War news: US envoy to Iraq, Ryan Crocker intends to retire in early January of 2009 and leave the post he has served since March of last year.

I am prepared to remain in Baghdad until early 2009, when I intend to retire," Mr Crocker told the Washington Post.

"That will make two years in Iraq and 37 years in the Foreign Service - it's enough!"

Gen David Petraeus is also expected to leave Iraq on a scheduled rotation of duties just before Mr Crocker has said he will retire.

65th Iowa Serviceman Killed in Iraq

Spc. Chad Groepper, 21, of Kingsley, died Sunday morning in Diyala Province as a result of wounds suffered from small arms fire, family members said. Groepper was assigned to 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division of Fort Lewis, Wash.

Groepper was the 65th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan and is one of 3,972 members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war since March 2003.

Groepper had graduated from Kingsley-Pierson High School in December 2004 and enlisted in the Army 12 days later, said his mother, Darcy Groepper. She and her husband, Dave, were notified of their son’s death by Army soldiers on Sunday, she said.

He wasn't scared of anything," Dave Groepper told The Associated Press. "That's why he was infantry." The father called Chad Groepper an "action figure" who always wanted to be in the front line.

Groepper's sister Denae, 26, of Granger, Iowa, remembers her kid brother as "a natural daredevil."

"A dirt bike, a four-wheeler, it didn't matter," she said. "Chad loved them all. He said they helped him to relax," Denae said with a laugh.

He had been serving in Iraq for nearly one year with an Army infantry unit and was scheduled to return to the United States as early as May.

Groepper enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2004 from Kingsley-Pierson High School. He leaves behind his wife,Stephanie and 4-month-old daughter, Clarissa.

Groepper's unit had been scheduled return to the United States as early as May. "We'd just been counting the days until he came home," his mother said.

His funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday 2/27 at Kingsley-Pierson High School.

US Troop Levels To Become Surge-ier

Reuters via the New York Times reports that we are likely to have more troops in Iraq than before the Surge.

The United States will probably have more troops in Iraq this summer than it did before pouring in forces last year - even after a planned drawdown, a U.S. general said on Friday.

There were some 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq before President George W. Bush ordered a surge of about 30,000 more to curb rampant violence that threatened to plunge the country into all-out civil war.

By summer, U.S. commanders plan to have withdrawn more than 20,000 combat troops deployed as part of the surge. But officials indicated some support units sent around the same time would remain or be replaced.

"It's likely that... the (total) number will be a little bit larger than the 132,000 or so that was the number of personnel on the ground pre-surge," said Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations on the Pentagon's Joint Staff.

Sattler said he could not be more precise yet as commanders had still to complete their plans, but a Pentagon source said the number could be as high as 140,000.

At the same news briefing, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Sattler said Iraqi forces would continue to need substantial help from U.S. support troops in areas such as logistics.

"We will still be required for a period of time to provide those enablers," said Sattler, the Joint Staff's director of strategic plans and policy.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Baghdad this week, backed the idea of a pause in drawdowns after the extra combat troops have pulled out.

That increased the prospect that troop levels could still be around 130,000 when Americans choose a successor to Bush in early November.

Def Sec Gates May Slow Down Drawdown

From the Washington Post

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that it "probably does make sense"
to pause troop withdrawals from Iraq late this summer after the last of the
forces sent in as part of an offensive surge have gone home.

Gates told reporters traveling with him in Baghdad that he was leaning toward recommending "a brief period of consolidation and evaluation" before further reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, according to a Defense Department release.

He spoke a day after a series of bombings targeting Iraqi security
forces and U.S.-backed Sunni guards killed as many as 37 people in northern
Iraq. The violence continued Monday, with two suicide car bombs detonating
outside the compound of a top Sunni tribal leader, Ali Hatam al-Suleiman,
killing at least eight people and wounding 23.

General Petraeus echoes the sentiment.