Iran: Bush’s Tonkin Gulf Tale Unravels
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=uYGGwMsD7ohMn%2B%2BtEPCj%2FNjhDEmedLlp
By Gareth Porter, IPS News
Evidence contradicts U.S. hawks’ claim that Iranian patrol boats threatened U.S. ships, but the media keep reporting it as fact.
 
Two very different stories about pregnant Iraqi women caught in a combat zone emerged this week, one in the Iraqi media and the other in the Washington Post. The WaPo story details a U.S. Army unit’s heroic efforts to deliver a very pregnant Iraqi woman — “she’s about to pop,” one soldier is reported as saying — to a hospital in the midst of a combat operation. They accomplish their unscheduled mission, but their celebration is cut short by the news that 6 of their comrades had fallen in a neighboring town. The story is bitter-sweet, and portrays the troops in Iraq as earnest young guys trying to do their best in a hopeless situation.

In Iraq, the biggest news story by far was the tale — disputed by coalition authorities as a matter of course — of an Iraqi soldier on patrol with U.S. troops. The Americans became frustrated with how little help they were getting from the locals and, according to witnesses, started pushing people around, including a pregnant woman. After the Iraqi soldier tried to intervene, unsuccessfully, witnesses say he snapped and opened fire on his American colleagues, killing two of them before running away. The Iraqi soldier — a product of the so-called “Sunni Awakening” who was later captured — is now a national hero in Iraq. The narrative is that he’s an earnest and simple tribesman who reacted on instinct when he saw an Iraqi woman being manhandled by foreign invaders.

I have no reason to doubt the veracity of either account, and I think that’s the interesting point.

There’s some very strong content this week, so have at it.

-Joshua Holland
Editor, War on Iraq Special Coverage

The Myth of Sectarian Violence in Iraq
By Dahr Jamail, International Socialist Review
The policy is divide to rule.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=CUky3Ousga22Ta7BJPlphdB3bNzXE%2B7c
 
Iraq’s Insurgents Are Ordinary People
By Emily Wilson, AlterNet
A new film delves inside Iraqis’ reasons for getting involved in the violent resistance movement.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=eWiUm1BhkR3iPxcI89xMetjhDEmedLlp
 
Saddam Redux: U.S. Allies Itself with Sunni Strongmen
By Basil Adas, Gulf News
Sunni awakening has decreased attacks on U.S. troops, but increased Iraqis’ suffering.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=MRecLPgkToDRYeS7UcMKYtjhDEmedLlp
 
Kurds, Arabs in Maliki Regime Remain Divided
By Mohammed al-Shabout, Azzaman
With so much attention security issues, the fact that the political situation remains hopelessly deadlocked isn’t being discussed.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=rv%2FP3Sol3MU6EWJusIyLV9jhDEmedLlp
 
Iraqi Soldier Who Killed U.S. Troops is a Hero in Iraq
By Ali Al-Fadhily, IPS News
The story of an Iraqi soldier defending a pregnant woman against U.S. troops is front page news in Iraq.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=c5jALhrgo5j4fGleu0MI0tjhDEmedLlp
 
Iraq (and DC): 2008 Preview
By Erik Leaver, Foreign Policy in Focus
What’s in store for those trying to end the occupation?
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=kyK5Rbhgk8kdOUKeQVHou9jhDEmedLlp
 
U.S. Troops Storm Iraqi Health Ministry (Again)
Azzaman
Authorities have refused to issue a statement with regard to the ‘attack’ or the reasons behind it.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=qN%2Bv1dnbcqjYYpt9UObECdjhDEmedLlp

PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web

The Surge in Delusions Is Working
By Scarecrow, Firedoglake
McCain and Lieberman are proclaiming the surge a success, even though the surge achieved none of the President’s stated goals.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=F6l8ZjxaDErzPRar29AMe9jhDEmedLlp
 
Abu Ghraib: Only Officer Charged With a Crime Is Cleared
By GottaLaff, Cliff Schecter’s Blog
Makes you proud, doesn’t it? “Support the troops” doesn’t always mean what you think it does.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=gWQCrG0Dto4wP7viW4YrQdjhDEmedLlp
 
Blackwater Gassed US Soldiers
By Paddy, Cliff Schecter’s Blog
They’re going to need all the good PR they can get.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=f9wiwiVkElFV3buRCSLwhdjhDEmedLlp
 
Murders of Iraqi Women Cannot Be Explained by ‘Cultural’ Reasons
By Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network
A look at the real reasons for the extreme escalation in the the number of women being murdered in Iraq.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=
2&c=jE5jSVeB92%2B2Ta7BJPlphdB3bNzXE%2B7c