24/12/07

US ignored warnings on security firms in Iraq: report
The US Government ignored numerous warnings over the past two years that private security firms in Iraq were operating with little supervision and instead expanded their role, a media report said.
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/24/2127056.htm

Turkey Hits Kurdish Targets in Iraq
Turkish planes bombed Kurdish rebel targets inside N Iraq.
www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/
news/iraq/2007/12/iraq-071222-voa01.htm

Firm rejects Iraq security claims
The Press Association –
A UK-based security company operating in Iraq has dismissed claims it
routinely withheld intelligence from the British armed forces. …
ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6Jeq20YseEqOeFt2z2668-q1xdg

Al Jazeera: Iraq Vows To Disband Sunni Citizen Groups
By Kevin Gregory(Kevin Gregory)
Iraq’s government has declared that it will disband Sunni groups battling al-Qaeda in Iraq after violence-wracked areas are calmed because it does not want them to become a separate military force. …
cancelthebee.blogspot.com/2007/12/
al-jazeera-iraq-vows-to-disband-sunni.html

Turkish planes strike northern Iraq: Kurd official
Reuters – USA
By Sherko Raouf BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed areas in northern Iraq on Sunday for the second day in a row but …
www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2317952620071224

US: Iraq Successes Means New Challenges
The Associated Press –
BAGHDAD (AP) — The US ambassador to Iraq said Sunday that recent successes such as reducing violence have created a new set of challenges for 2008 — the …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYe
FwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8TNC3I00

US ignored warnings on security firms in Iraq: report
AFP –
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US government ignored numerous warnings over the past two years that private security firms in Iraq were operating with little …
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gB8JpURrGg6xMzu7yEHCxeHyQsUA

In Iraq there is Japan lesbians of oil in the ground
By Blonde Girl
A government that has invaded occupied and destroyed a nation with the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives including more than, of our soldiers who have died in Iraq and more than, who have been seriously wounded. …
adultdailyreview.com/lesbians/in-iraq-there-
is-japan-lesbians-of-oil-in-the-ground-8756/

Me and Iraq
By DAN SAVAGE
I should post something once a day, I suppose, about Iraq, so that folks that would like to let me have it—and, man, I deserve it—for supporting the invasion of Iraq five years ago have a place to vent and don’t need to hijack every …
slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/me_and_iraq

Turkey Bombs Kurdish Rebels in Iraq for 2nd Day, Kurds Say
New York Times – United States
By STEPHEN FARRELL BAGHDAD — Turkish jets bombed separatist Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq for the second day in a row, Kurdish security officials said …
www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/world/
middleeast/24iraq.html?ref=world

Warnings Unheeded On Guards In Iraq
Washington Post – United States
They reflected growing concern about the lack of control over the tens of thousands of private guards in Iraq, the largest private security force ever …
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
story/2007/12/23/ST2007122302511.html

Success in Iraq? Not for Iraqi Women
By Siun
Reporters and too many politicians continue claiming that happy days are here again in Iraq. Golly, that surge has been soooo successful – and things are going just swell. In fact, US soldiers have even been told to treat approaching …
firedoglake.com/2007/12/23/success-in-iraq-not-for-iraqi-women/

Turkish warplanes bomb rebel positions in Iraq
Times of India – India
ISTANBUL: Turkish fighter jets bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, a spokesman for Iraqi Kurdistan’s Peshmerga security forces has said.…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/Turkish
_warplanes_bomb_rebel_positions_in_Iraq/articleshow/2646429.cms

US warns against early Iraq pullout
Aljazeera.net – Qatar
The US military commander in Iraq says progress has been made to reduce the country’s bloodshed. But General David Petraeus said what had been achieved…
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B54797
0C-1C38-4F52-BF13-460217179F2E.htm

23/12/07

Iraq’s Sovereignty Violated…Once Again
By socialjustis
But with a strong corporate attachment to Iraq, just exactly who will be allowed to evacuate? Protection – politically and militarily speaking – will be needed to sustain corporate interests of Iraq. Or we could see a larger war blossom …
socialjustis.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/
iraqs-sovereignty-violatedonce-again/

Now is the Winter of Our Discontent …
I doubt if anyplace in Iraq looks like this, but it is the only Christmas picture I have on my computer. White Christmas? Yesterday night the temperatures dipped into the 20s and it was even colder with the wind chill. …
johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2007/12/no
w_is_the_winter_of_our_disco.html

Navy Chiefs in Iraq Spready Holiday Cheer
This holiday season members of the International Zone (IZ) chief’s mess gathered together as Santa’s helpers. Chief’s stationed in Baghdad handed out over 175 donated holiday gift boxes to fellow Navy personnel who are spending …
www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=34101

Turkey Bombs Iraq for Second Straight Day
Washington Post – United States
23 — Turkish warplanes bombarded areas of northern Iraq for the second straight day Sunday, according to an Iraqi Kurdish official, as part of Turkey’s …
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/12/23/AR2007122301512.html

Bombs, Gunmen Leave Five Dead in Iraq
The Associated Press –
Despite the attacks, Iraq has seen a clear improvement in security in recent months, with the US military saying violence is down by about 60 percent. …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYe
FwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8TN6S9O0

Rudd accused of being misleading on Iraq withdrawal
ABC Online – Australia
PM Kevin Rudd met the troops of the Overwatch Battle Group (West) at Ali Air Base in southern Iraq at the weekend. (File photo) (Reuters) Queensland federal …
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12
/24/2126443.htm?section=justin

War strain in Iraq may speed troop cuts
Christian Science Monitor – Boston,MA,USA
To ease the Army’s burden, Gates said Friday he hopes 10 brigades could leave Iraq by the end of 2008. By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian …
www.csmonitor.com/2007/1224/p01s01-usmi.html

US: Iraq Successes Means New Challenges
ABC News – USA
(AP Photo/ Loay Hameed) The Associated Press By PATRICK QUINN Associated Press Writer The US ambassador to Iraq said Sunday that recent successes such as …
www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4045232

Iraq’s divided sects unite over terror
The Australian – Sydney,Australia
THIS is the front line of the war with al-Qa’ida in Iraq. In other parts of the country, al-Qa’ida fighters are like ghosts, using car bombs and remotely …
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/s
tory/0,25197,22967119-2703,00.html

WOMEN AND CHILDREN IMPRISONED IN IRAQ
By 22rants
Last night, I watched the Evening News on CBS, and one of its segments talked about women and children being held in Iraq’s only women’s jail, all because of terrorism accusations linked to the husbands of the women. …
22rants.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/women-and-children-imprisoned-in-iraq/

ABC News: US praises Iran curbs on Sadr militia in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The US ambassador to Iraq praised Iran on Sunday for helping to curb Shi’ite militia violence in Iraq on Sunday, using some of the warmest language Washington has employed toward its arch foe over Iraq.
digg.com/world_news/ABC_News_U_S_
praises_Iran_curbs_on_Sadr_militia_in_Iraq

Turkish Jets Strike PKK Positions in Northern Iraq (Update2)
Bloomberg – USA
23 (Bloomberg) — Turkey bombed and shelled Kurdish militants in neighboring northern Iraq in the third of a series of cross-border attacks in the past week …
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=
20601087&sid=avL9OAnzYaw4&refer=home

Iraq progress remains ‘fragile:’ Petraeus
AFP –
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US commander General David Petraeus Sunday hailed“fragile” progress towards damping down sectarian bloodshed in Iraq but cautioned …
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJiOrzqiVdzlx1WZwamh5EXZ1bpQ

Bush’s Iraq commander says he is not interested in presidency in …
International Herald Tribune – France
AP WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush’s top Iraq war commander said Sunday that as far as he knows, his command performances now and in the future will be …
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/23/a
merica/NA-GEN-US-Petraeus-Politics.php

US praises Iran curbs on Sadr militia in Iraq
Reuters – USA
By Peter Graff BAGHDAD, Dec 23 (Reuters) – The US ambassador to Iraq praised Iran on Sunday for helping to curb Shi’ite militia violence in Iraq, …
www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL23441484

News of the Day for Sunday, December 23, 2007
By Cervantes(Cervantes)
Iraq’s Shiite-led government declared that after restive areas are calmed it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists because it does not want them to become a separate military force. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File) …
warnewstoday.blogspot.com/2007/12/news
-of-day-for-sunday-december-23-2007.html

Bombing, Gunmen Leave 5 Dead in Iraq
ABC News – USA
Security volunteers check a car entering the primarily Sunni Azamiyah neighborhood of north Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. …
www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4044766

Australia’s prime minister confirms troop withdrawal from Iraq
International Herald Tribune – France
By Tim Johnston SYDNEY: Making surprise visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, Australia’s new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, said he would withdraw his country’s …
www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/23/asia/australia.php

Al-Qaida confirms death of top operative in Iraq
International Herald Tribune – France
AP CAIRO, Egypt: The purported leader of al-Qaida’s umbrella group in Iraq has confirmed the death of a top operative who the US military said was killed in …
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/23
/africa/ME-GEN-Al-Qaida-Iraq.php

EPIC’s Year-End Appeal
By Erik K. Gustafson(Matteo Tomasini)
Together we generated more than 3000 constituent letters in support of critical legislation, including the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, introduced by Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR). We contacted key offices, …
thegroundtruth.blogspot.com/2007/12/epics-year-end-appeal.html

Fox Focuses on MRC Study of Declining MSM Iraq Coverage
By Mark Finkelstein
A recent study, “Good News = Less News on Iraq War,” by Media Research Center, NB’s parent organization, revealed the way that coverage of Iraq by the big three evening newscasts has declined as the news from Iraq has improved. …
newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2007/12/23/
fox-focuses-mrc-study-declining-msm-iraq-coverage

JAMESTOWN ON AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ
By Sukant Chandan(Sukant Chandan)
Al-Qaeda Adapts its Methods in Iraq as Part of a Global Strategy By Abdul Hameed Bakier Jamestown Foundation For the last few months, reports from Iraq have been indicating a tangible decline in insurgency and terrorist operations. …
ouraim.blogspot.com/2007/12/jamestown-on-al-qaeda-in-iraq.html

Clinton, Edwards, and Obama on Ending the Iraq War
By Team Member(Team Member)
The most important part of Hillary’s plan is the first: to end our military engagement in Iraq’s civil war and immediately start bringing our troops home. As president, one of Hillary’s first official actions would be to convene the …
mcdac.blogspot.com/2007/12/clinton-
edwards-and-obama-on-ending.html

Turkey Attacks Kurds in Iraq Third Time in Week, AFP Reports
Bloomberg – USA
23 (Bloomberg) — Turkey attacked Kurdish separatists in Northern Iraq yesterday in its third cross-border attack within a week, Agence France-Presse …
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2
0601087&sid=aRHhQ1KwfNY4&refer=home

Iraq Gov’t Vows to Disband Sunni Groups
The Associated Press –
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Shiite-led government declared Saturday that after restive areas are calmed, it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3
oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8TN12NG0

US Official Says Iran Restraining Shi’ite Militias in Iraq
Voice of America – USA
By VOA News A US official says Iran has reined in the Shi’ite militias it supports in Iraq – causing a sharp drop in sophisticated roadside bomb attacks. …
voanews.com/english/2007-12-23-voa9.cfm

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Dec 23
Reuters – USA
BAGHDAD – US forces detained 12 gunmen during operations targeting al Qaeda networks in Diyala province north of Baghdad and in northern Iraq, …
www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSANW339081

Improvements in Iraq hurt Dems’ mission to get out
Detroit Free Press – United States
BY JOHN YAUKEY WASHINGTON — Improving conditions in Iraq and Republican unity on Capitol Hill will make it difficult for Democrats to derail President …
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20
071223/NEWS07/712230561/1009/NEWS07

Waiting out the surge
San Francisco Chronicle – CA, USA
No one can debate now that violence in Iraq has declined. An accounting for the month of November found that just more than 700 Iraqis were killed, …
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=
/c/a/2007/12/23/ED6BU1HE8.DTL

Turkey Bombs Iraq Again; Massive Bombing in Pakistan
By Juan Cole(Juan Cole)
Turkey bombed the Amadiya area of northern Iraq on Saturday. Ankara said that it was targeting bases of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla organization. The PKK stands accused of killing over two dozen Turkish troops in recent …
www.juancole.com/2007/12/turkey-bomb
s-iraq-again-massive-bombing.html

Dear Santa: All I Want for Christmas Is For FOX News to Report …
By Marie Therese
I have my two front teeth so I don’t need teeth, but I would appreciate it if you could put in a good word over at FOX News and tell them a lot of us would like to hear about EVERYTHING that is happening in Iraq, not just carefully …
www.newshounds.us/2007/12/23/dear_santa_all_i_want_for_
christmas_is_for_fox_news_to_report_everything_that_is_
happening_in_iraq.php

Worldview | Now, Iraq needs a surge of political will
Philadelphia Inquirer – Philadelphia,PA,USA
After two weeks in Iraq, I can report that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is as dysfunctional as ever, the prime minister’s staff a…
www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20071223_Worldvi
ew___Now__Iraq_needs_a_surge_of_political_will.html

Iraq and Hillary
By Alec Brandon(Alec Brandon)
Feinstein could be found on CNN saying that he was “fairly confident” that WMD would turn up in Iraq. Asked if the war would be a failure if no weapons were found, he said, “I don’t think that that’sa situation we’ll confront. …
the-editors.blogspot.com/2007/12/iraq-and-hillary.html

The GOP camp’s changing worldview
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
John McCain of Arizona thinks Bush hasn’t sent enough troops to Iraq and has been too easy on Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. …
www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-go
pworld23dec23,0,4770498.story?coll=la-home-center

US Military Deaths in Iraq at 3897
The Associated Press –
22, 2007, at least 3897 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gqgQ
Ccv26kB1dkgZRZNHmbn_1J8gD8TMQTR00

Pelosi’s first year as House speaker marked by little change on war
San Francisco Chronicle – CA, USA
Then Pelosi, whose party took control of Congress pledging to change course in Iraq, watched the House approve $70 billion in war funding, part of a budget …
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f
=/c/a/2007/12/22/MNOUU26C5.DTL

Pew Research: 2007 Media Coverage was Pessimistic in Iraq
By Amy Proctor(spree)
Through the first 10 months of the year, the picture of Iraq that Americans received from the news media was, in considerable measure, a grim one. Roughly half of the reporting has consisted of accounts of daily violence. …
wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2007/12
/pew-research-2007-media-coverage-was.html

Turkey in fresh Iraq air strikes
Turkey has launched fresh air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, the Turkish military says. Fighter planes attacked positions held by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a 35-minute raid, the army said. …
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/d
uboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3111714

Turkey Bombs Kurds in Iraq; 2 Sides Differ on Casualties
New York Times – United States
By SEBNEM ARSU and STEPHEN FARRELL ISTANBUL — In its third large cross-border attack into Iraq within a week, Turkey said Saturday that its warplanes had …
www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/world/
middleeast/23iraq.html?ref=europe

Iraqi villagers battle to hold off Al-Qaeda
Times Online – UK
In other parts of Iraq their fighters are like ghosts, using car bombs and remotely triggered mines to deadly effect but rarely revealing themselves.…
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3087088.ece