More from War on Iraq ”
Right-Wingers Can’t Cover Up Iraq’s Death Toll Catastrophe
By John Tirman, AlterNet
The warmongers who got us into Iraq are blaming everyone but themselves for the humanitarian disaster they created.
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There have been 60 prosecutions of U.S. troops for serious crimes against Iraqis. Most observers agree that the lion’s share of charges never get as far as a court room and the number should be much higher.
That’s only part of the story. U.S. troops make up a minority of the forces occupying Iraq; there are 180,000 security contractors of various stripes in the country, compared to 160,000 coalition troops. According to a new report by Human Rights First (PDF), only one “security contractor” — mercenary — has been prosecuted for crimes committed in Iraq, despite the fact that there have been a slew of serious human rights allegations against them, including charges of murder. Nobody knows how many Iraqis have been killed or maimed by our unaccountable private troops, but one gets a sense that the numbers are significant. The watch-dog group reviewed 600 “serious incident reports” involving “the use of force by or attacks upon private security contractors in Iraq over a nine-month period in 2004-2005.” That’s 600 “serious” incidents of violence in just 9 months.
More on that story this weekend. In the meantime, there’s plenty of interesting content to choose from. Dig in.
Joshua Holland
Editor, War in Iraq special coverage
Study: Bushies Lied 935 Times to Sell Iraq Invasion
By Charles Lewis, Mark Reading-Smith, The Center for Public Integrity
Bush and his top officials waged a campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
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U.S. Military, Oblivious of Iraqi Culture, Enlists Anthropologists for Occupation
Middle East Online
American soldiers say anthropology professor helped them understand situations in Iraq better.
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Chinese Take-Out Returns to Baghdad
By Herve Bar, Middle East Online
Security fears haven’t kept a Chinese restaurant from opening in Baghdad’s popular Karrada neighborhood.
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2&c=FQ19amOQPCZJofmfJwdcZrjlqZG99RrI
Iraq: A Failure to Think
By Jonathan Steele, Comment Is Free
Defeat in Iraq? The neocon project has been a cataclysm caused by a total lack of analysis.
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2&c=lqKKEAeoZugiAhq7gG49vLjlqZG99RrI
Iraq: See no Evil, Hear no Evil
By Brian Katulis, Comment Is Free
The US has deluded itself for far too long by projecting its own paradigms and internal debates onto Iraq.
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2&c=exVucQldMIwbw3sY4lv587jlqZG99RrI
Desperate Iraqis Lack Fuel, Electricity
By Ben Lando, UPI
Blackouts and long lines at gas stations, as subsidized, state-controlled supplies run dry.
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2&c=znrX6tTPE9ZfYymKe4B3mLjlqZG99RrI
Rift Grows Between Iraqi Army and U.S.-Backed Militias
By Dahr Jamail, Ali Al-Fadhily, IPS News
Former resistance fighters are now being paid 300 dollars a month to stop attacking occupation forces.
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PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web
US to Demand Free Reign in Iraq Long After Bush Leaves
By Attaturk, Firedoglake
So Iraq is now more democratic than we are?
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2&c=bkXpoVqbBxfYTEFQBQAmrLjlqZG99RrI
Is This the Iraq Recession?
By Matt Stoller, Open Left
Highlights from the New America Foundation forum on the economic crisis, the closest any of us will get to the conference going on in Davos.
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Petraeus: I Need Another Six Months to Determine Whether “We’ve Reached a Turning Point”
By Amanda Terkel, Think Progress
These six months appear to be never-ending, and are used by the right wing to constantly beg more time for the war.
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2&c=8I4S9iH8x%2BtN%2FTXd5WqA9rjlqZG99RrI
New York Times Identifies Shooter in Blackwater Massacre
By Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise
Paul Slough was a member of a Blackwater convoy that killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Nissour Square on September 16, 2007.
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