News from the Colonies - America's War in Iraq

[Tiassa]

The bottom line?

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4065-2004Jul21.html
Title: "War Funds Dwindling, GAO Warns"
Date: July 22, 2004

This ain't good:

The U.S. military has spent most of the $65 billion that Congress approved for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is scrambling to find $12.3 billion more from within the Defense Department to finance the wars through the end of the fiscal year, federal investigators said yesterday . . . .

. . . . Already, the GAO said, the services have deferred the repair of equipment used in Iraq, grounded some Air Force and Navy pilots, canceled training exercises, and delayed facility-restoration projects. The Air Force is straining to cover the cost of body armor for airmen in combat areas, night-vision gear and surveillance equipment, according to the report.

The Army, which is overspending its budget by $10.2 billion for operations and maintenance, is asking the Marines and the Air Force to help cover the escalating costs of its logistics contract with Halliburton Co. But the Air Force is also exceeding its budget by $1.4 billion, while the Marines are coming up $500 million short. The Army is even having trouble paying the contractors guarding its garrisons outside the war zones, the report said.

Comment:

It's a hard target to resist in a political year. Senator Kerry's campaign has weighed in already, of course: "George W. Bush likes to call himself a wartime president, yet in his role as commander in chief, he has grossly mismanaged the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq . . . . He went to war without allies, without properly equipping our troops and without a plan to win the peace. Now we find he can't even manage a wartime budget."

But I think the sound bite misses the point. According to the Post story, the GAO report notes errors in Pentagon troop projections, including a decline to 99.000 by September 30. Among the implications and complications of keeping troop levels over 130,000 for the foreseeable future is the fact that the larger number of troops will be operating in a manner that is lest cost-effective than they would in a more peaceful environment. So in addition to taller troop numbers, there appears to be a higher logistical cost per troop as well.

And given that higher troop levels also mean higher costs in contracts under Halliburton--well, there we see a possible issue of mismanagement, but more than mismanagement I think the real issue behind the incorrect projections is politically-motivated dishonesty on the part of the Bush administration. Few disagree that Bush understated the magnitude of commitment, and that deception still haunts our troops overseas.

Strange, then, that the Democrats should choose the softer criticism. Of course, there is also the consideration that the American electorate is such a collective dullard that it is a wise choice to go with "mismanagement," which, while having more syllables than "lies," is actually an easier concept for people to grasp. A liar is a complex issue. An idiot is a simple issue.

So none of it bodes well for our troops abroad; their boss is f@cking up spectacularly and the opposition is pitching sliders at the corners when all we need is to throw strikes.

The Pentagon is taking a political angle, aiming after bureaucracy: they have the money, but they need more authority from Congress to wrangle it loose from its various accounts. Meanwhile, the GAO, which is supposed to be apolitical, may well be covering Congress' asses. Of course, it may just be telling the truth:

"We believe that the deferral of these activities will add to the requirements that will need to be funded in fiscal year 2005 and potentially later years and could result in a 'bow wave' effect in future years," the report cautioned. "Activities that are deferred also run the risk of costing more in future years."

A "bow wave" refers to a time when deferred costs confront Congress all at once, making it impossible to meet the demands.

Histrionics? The "bow wave" they refer to is the kind that can shatter or sink ships. Grim, and hopefully overstated.
____________________

• Weisman, Jonathan. "War Funds Dwindling, GAO Warns." Washington Post, July 22, 2004; page A01. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4065-2004Jul21.html

 

[Undecided]

This is why the US is losing, her own inability to control herself, and her inability to know what she is doing. To think that 20,000 men or more are making the US dig much deeper into its pockets, worsening that already wild budget deficit and literally stealing $65 billion + from social programs in the US, or badly needed infrastructure programs. Soon America will have to start deciding fighting the so called” war on terrorism” or economically surviving. Unless those ridiculously high tax cuts come down, along with expenditure Americans future retiree’s will be working to a familiar note of motivation Arbeit Mact Frei.

 

[Tiassa]

Another one bites the dust ... when the bullet hits the bone ... wild in the streets

Source: BBC News
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3926395.stm
Title: "Senior Iraqi official shot dead"
Date: July 26, 2004

How large a military presence must the United States and its partners show in order to protect every Iraqi public official?

One thing that can be said in the wake of the American handover to the interim Iraqi government is that the insurgents have stepped up to the challenge. In addition to what is now the "usual" taking of hostages, insurgents are aiming for higher-value targets. Egyptian diplomats, for instance.

And as the shooting in general goes on, the new Iraqi government certainly is a popular target. If people can sit around and pop you as you walk out the front door of your home, it might become difficult to replace you.

Musab al-Awadi, the ministry's deputy chief in charge of tribal affairs, was killed along with two of his bodyguards, a ministry spokesman said.

The men were attacked as they left Mr Awadi's house in the al-Baya area of the capital.

____________________

• BBC News. "Senior Iraqi official shot dead." July 26, 2004. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3926395.stm

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35404-2004Aug2.html
Title: "Md. Unit Returns to U.S. After Iraq Prison Scandal"
Date: August 3, 2004

About 100 members of the 372nd Military Police Company returned to American soil Monday evening, ending a tour of duty that found it in the middle of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal . . . .

. . . . Family members and military officials said Monday that the unit's notoriety, which began when the scandal became public in the spring, should not follow the rest of the soldiers as they try to resume their civilian lives. They served courageously in their twice-extended tour and were not part of the abuse captured in stunning detail in photographs published around the world, relatives said.

In brief remarks to reporters last night, Capt. Donald J. Reese, the commanding officer of the 372nd, said the scandal "definitely made it more difficult" for the unit to fulfill its duties in Iraq.

"But we got through it," he said. "I'm sure the military justice system will sort through it all." Reese declined to comment further on the abuse case, saying "the investigation is still ongoing."

During a speech to his soldiers, Reese said, "It's been a long, difficult deployment. . . . I'm proud of every soldier standing here today."

Source: Washington Post

Welcome home. 'Tis good to have you back again.
______________________

• Davenport, Christian. "Md. Unit Returns to U.S. After Iraq Prison Scandal." Washington Post, August 3, 2004; page B02. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35404-2004Aug2.html

 

[Tiassa]

Source: CNN.com
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/08/chalabi.warrant.ap/index.html
Title: "Judge: Warrants issued for Chalabi and nephew"
Date: August 8, 2004

Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for Ahmed Chalabi, a former governing council member, on counterfeiting charges and another for Salem Chalabi, the head of Iraq's special tribunal, on murder charges, Iraq's chief investigating judge said Sunday.

The warrant was a new sign of the fall of Ahmed Chalabi from the centers of power. Chalabi, a longtime exile opposition leader, had been a favorite of many in the Pentagon but fell out with the Americans earlier this year.

His nephew, Salem Chalabi, heads the tribunal that is due to try Saddam on war crimes charges.

Source: CNN.com

Ahmed Chalabi has already spoken with CNN via phone, although his comments are not available online as of this writing. However, Ahmed Chalabi has furiously denounced the charges, explains that this is a political setup, and refers to matters in which he conducted himself properly on behalf and with the knowledge of the Iraq Governing Council. Additionally, Chalabi accused the judge who issued the warrants of trying to undermine Saddam Hussein's tribunal.

The head of that tribunal, Salem Chalabi--nephew of Ahmed--has been named as a suspect in the June killing of finance ministry director general Haithem Fadhil. Coincidentally, Iraq reinstated the death penalty on Sunday, and Salem could be eligible for execution if convicted.

Comment:

Okay, so I say "coincidentally". But it's a fine word, is it not?

Imagine that on September 10, 2001, you were reading a novel that essentially contained the history of the American War on Terrorism from September 11, 2001 to the present Iraqi Bush Sideshow. It's fiction, say. Speculative. Political. Highly controversial.

Just think about it for a moment.

Sean Hannity in his radio nest is screaming for bonfires; Bill O'Reilly calls it literary garbage, and then claims to have never published a novel himself while forgetting to remove it from his website's merchandise page. Revenge of the Clintonites, rage the Hillary-haters. A left-wing conspiracy to poison the well against the Bush administration. A weapon of mass delusion, howl the neocons. Some dude in Idaho blames the Jews and burns Joe Lieberman in effigy.

Would the novel be ... believable?

Would it be anything other than a wild, speculative farce? A caricature of an embittered author with nothing more to give?

Truth, indeed, is stranger than fiction, as fiction must necessarily start making sense at some point. But the gap 'twixt hither and thither is absurdly accentuated, and even celebrated. Plot twists suitable for dime adventures abound, and this latest wrenching seems straight from the invisible hands of cartoon animators. Whether classic Daffy Duck or the abysmal Clerks venture, the gag is best in an illusory, two-dimensional universe.

Bearing in mind that this leftist was born of a discord between two teachings, one of which was mistakenly phrased in the form of a question°, I'm wondering how far gone this country will be in twenty years, when my daughter is aiming to get her college degree in whatever, and how abysmally dim will our students have to be if they aren't in the streets tearing it up? I mean, let's be honest here: this is three years into what may be a half-century operation or longer. The War on Terror will only end with the collapse or near-collapse of the United States. By the time our government has killed a significant enough portion of the Islamic population to frighten the rest into a new kind of submission, there will be plenty of folks around the world with a bomb in their pocket and a grudge to pick with our leaders and the people who endorse them. And we will also, by that time, have developed a fairly-efficient way of killing people and making excuses for it simply out of practice.

In the meantime, though, this is a fairly young venture, and bound to bear some bitter and ugly returns. But does such a statement begin to cover the range of unanticipated liabilities collected along the way?

This is a very grimly comedic situation. Ahmed Chalabi was America's boy for a while, but not so much so that he could be entrusted to lead the liberation of Iraq after Congress appropriated $98m for the purpose of overthrowing Saddam Hussein during the Clinton administration. And now perhaps some liberals might smirk and think of what Sean or Bill or Rush might say if a guest of Hillary Clinton's at the State of the Union Address had fallen so far from grace so quickly or publicly. In the long run, though, liberals should spend about four seconds at the maximum on that notion, as there are certainly more important things to worry about. Hangovers, for instance. Not that I'm hung over at the moment, but still, it's a more important consideration of what rabid conservatives would have to say were Clinton or, presumably, Kerry in the same situation.

I would introduce the Bush administration to the Pooch, but I think they all know it ... er ... intimately.
____________________

Notes:

° two teachings, one of which ... a question - The two teachings were, (1) a Lutheran children's creed, acquired during various ill-fated attempts to entrust my brother's and my consciences to Christ: "God first, others second, self third"; (2) "Do you want to be able to spend your money on what you want or do you want the government to make you take care of people that don't deserve it?" The second represents the essence of my father's attempt to develop my appreciation of capitalism and the Republican Party. Then again, how could he possibly compete? Even without people trying to get you to believe in God at the same time other people are trying to get you to believe in Republicans, there's still Mr. Spock to contend with. No, not Dr. Spock, the baby-thinker. I mean Mr. Spock, the guy with the pointy ears. What, you've never seen Wrath of Khan? Or what about Star Blazers? I'm thinking of the time they captured and released the Gamilon pilot, or in the third series when--and I can't even remember his name--died opening the bay by hand in order to fire the weapon into the Sun and save the solar system. I mean, really ... what chance did my father have?

• Associated Press. "Judge: Warrants issued for Chalabi and nephew." CNN.com, August 8, 2004. See http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/08/chalabi.warrant.ap/index.html

 

[hypewaders]

To Iraqis, Jordanians, and to anyone anywhere vaguely familiar with Ahmed Chalabi's career prior to being seated at the Right Hand of the 1st Lady at the last State-of-the-Union, there was not surprise, but amazement at the Bush Administration's torpid realization that he is an unreliable crook. I think Chalaby's fall made perfect embarassing sense here in America's neocolonialist amatuer hour.

 

[Tiassa]

Truth, indeed, is stranger than fiction, as fiction must necessarily start making sense at some point. But the gap 'twixt hither and thither is absurdly accentuated, and even celebrated. Plot twists suitable for dime adventures abound, and this latest wrenching seems straight from the invisible hands of cartoon animators. Whether classic Daffy Duck or the abysmal Clerks venture, the gag is best in an illusory, two-dimensional universe.

Aw, hell. Just because ... ten points to anyone who guesses the gag referenced in that paragraph.

 

[Undecided]

America’s little adventure in Najaf poses a serious challenge to American power and the future of the Middle East:

American commanders say they have killed hundreds of the militiamen in the past week; Mr Sadr’s spokesmen claim their casualty count is much lower. What is clear is that any final assault would be hugely risky. The outrage among Shias might be uncontrollable if, say, an American shell hit the Imam Ali mosque, the holiest place in the city—which is, of course, where many of Mr Sadr’s men are dug in. Already, the Iraqi authorities are struggling to impose a night-time curfew in the Shia slums of Baghdad, where renewed unrest has been triggered by the fighting in Najaf. There are many frustrated, unemployed young men in Iraq, ready to take up arms—and plenty of guns. The repercussions could also spread beyond Iraq’s borders. On Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denounced the American military operation in Najaf as “one of the darkest crimes of humanity” and said that Muslims across the world would respond to it.
---------------------------------
Mr Sadr has promised to battle on “to the last drop of my blood” and has urged his men to fight on even after it has been shed. Though they are no match for the American marines in terms of training and weaponry, they make up for it in fanatical determination.
-------------------------------
If, in fact, American commanders and Mr Allawi are bluffing when they say they are poised to crush Mr Sadr’s rebels, this would be just as dangerous, since Mr Sadr seems determined to call their bluff, come what may. If the risks of triggering a wider conflagration force America to pull back from the brink, the Shia militiamen and all the other insurgent groups across Iraq would claim a resounding victory.
------------------------------
Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks are a sign of increasing strain in relations between Iraq and the Shia theocratic government of Iran, even though some members of the new Iraqi government have strong links with Iran and several of the most senior figures, including Mr Allawi himself, are themselves Shias. Some of Mr Allawi’s officials have accused Iran of arming and encouraging the insurgents: last week Hazem Shalaan, the Iraqi defence minister, called Iran the “first enemy” of Iraq; and this week he claimed that Iran was sending weapons to Mr Sadr’s fighters. Iran has since invited Mr Allawi to visit Iran, in the hope of defusing the tensions between the two countries. But a bloodbath in Najaf might cause a serious setback in relations, if not worse.
-------------------------------
Thus it now looks like America’s forces are inevitably heading for a showdown, or a backdown, against Mr Sadr’s rebels. If they can be crushed swiftly and without triggering a violent backlash across the rest of the country, then a positive outcome is still imaginable. But the stakes are very high indeed.
---------------------------------
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3083683

It is painfully obvious that if the US even touches that mosque with a weapon the war in Iraq will spread to unknown an proportion at least that’s the expectation. It would be like the Muslims in Rome in the 1400’s ready to attack Catholic rebels in the Vatican. The US seems to have gone way too far with its bluff, because now the US along with the interim Iraqi government has now put themselves in a deep dark corner. As stated in the article if the US pulls back from Najaf then it will be perceived as a victory for Al-Sadr, and his popularity will raise to challenge that of Al-Sistani whose own fate rests with a heart operation in London. The recent agitation in Sadr city in Baghdad (where the Shi’a outnumber the Sunni in Baghdad) is a indication of a future that is very possible in Iraq, and Iran who is the defender of Shi’a Islam that is a true wild card.

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Scotsman.com
Link: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3339889
Title: "Kidnapped British Journalist Freed in Iraq"
Date: August 13, 2004

British journalist James Brandon was tonight recovering at a British base in Basra after he was released by Iraqi militants 24 hours after he was kidnapped and threatened with execution . . . .

. . . . It is believed he was freed following the intervention of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Mr Brandon’s mother Hilary confirmed that he is in good spirits . . . .

. . . . “I’m OK, I’m recovering,” he said.

“I’ve been released thanks to (al-Sadr’s) Mahdi Army, because they intervened and negotiated with the kidnappers.”

He refused to comment on the nature of his release, but confirmed that he had not been wounded by a gunshot as had earlier been suspected.

Mr Brandon said: “Initially I was treated roughly, but once they knew I was a journalist, I was treated very well" . . . .

. . . . A spokesman for al-Sadr said: “We apologise for what happened to you – this is not our tradition, not our rules. It is not the tradition of Islam.”

Source: Scotsman.com

Never let it be said there's not good news buried in this topic, too.
_____________________

• Gammell, Caroline and David Stringer. "Kidnapped British Journalist Freed in Iraq." Scotsman.com, August 13, 2004. See http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3339889

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Reuters
Link: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=5RPAFHBMLBXXYCRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=5998826
Title: "Army Won't Pay 15 Pct of Halliburton Bill"
Date: August 17, 2004

The U.S. Army will withhold payment on 15 percent of future invoices of Halliburton Co.'s logistics deal in Iraq due to a billing dispute that could cost the company $60 million a month, the military said on Tuesday.

Linda Theis, a spokeswoman for the Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, Illinois, said the 15 percent withholding would be applied from Wednesday to invoices filed by Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown and Root, the Army's biggest contractor in Iraq.

"We notified the company today. The withhold will not affect any past invoices but will be applied to future ones from tomorrow, August 18," said Theis.

Halliburton, which was run by Dick Cheney from 1995-2000 before he became U.S. vice president, said the company would fight the Army's decision and argued the 15 percent withholding should not apply to any of its Iraq work, which according to government estimates could top $18 billion.

"Halliburton is confident the government action is not justified and expects that its legal arguments will be upheld in litigation," said a company statement.

The 15 percent withholding is being implemented under Federal Acquisition Regulations which Theis said were commonly used and not done specifically to target KBR.

Source: Reuters

Comment:

With friends like Halliburton, Bush doesn't necessarily need political enemies. I think the real test is whether that potential $60m price tag can be trusted as legitimate. While I have no problem believing Halliburton's revenues might decline by that portion, I'm still unsure whether any of it trespasses on "legitimate" receipts brought by appropriate pricing.

Perhaps if Halliburton hadn't played the role of "crony" so openly, I might have some sympathy for "the little guy" against the "big evil government regulators," but they did so I owe them none of that sentiment.

I can see how some might think Halliburton "deserved another chance" after changing CEO's, especially in light of false financial statements made during the tenure of former CEO Cheney, but just as a Christian is expected to forsake sinful behavior as part of forgiveness and redemption, so the people have the right to expect Halliburton to conduct itself with a small measure of dignity and forthrightness at least.

Hmm ... maybe we can blame this on the French?
____________________

• Pleming, Sue. "Army Won't Pay 15 Pct of Halliburton Bill." August 17, 2004. See http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=5RPAFHBMLBXXYCRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=5998826

 

[DeeCee]

Government documents show that the US military medical system failed to protect detainees' human rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings.

There is a substantial and well supported article on these issues in the current edition of the Lancet.

http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol364/iss9435/full/llan.364.9435.review_and_opinion.30574.1#top

Registration is required I'm afraid but a useful synopsis resides here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1287158,00.html

When your doctors put aside the objectivity they have sworn to uphold it is indeed the beginning of the end.
I am very disappointed and intend to pursue these issues with certain medical practioners of my aquaintance.
Dee Cee

 

[Tiassa]

I hesitate to wonder aloud lest the whisper reach the ear of some soulless network pimp, but what would Hawkeye Pierce have done?

 

[DeeCee]

what would Hawkeye Pierce have done?

The right thing I guess.
I remember when that sentiment was the ethical baseline of medical practice.

How times change
Dee Cee

 

[Undecided]

Well it seems that there is a colony we have forgotten…Afghanistan:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An explosion tore through the office of an American security contractor in the heart of the Afghan capital Sunday, killing seven people, including two Americans, officials and witnesses said.
-------------------------------------
The explosion hit the office of Dyncorp Inc., a U.S. firm that provides security for Afghan President Hamid Karzai and works for the U.S. government in Iraq, said Nick Downie of the Afghanistan NGO Security Office.
-------------------------------------
"Two Americans, three Nepalese and two Afghan nationals, including a child, have been confirmed dead."
--------------------------------------
Karzai and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad expressed shock at the Kabul attack. An embassy statement described the contractor as also helping train Afghan police
--------------------------------------
NATO forces patrolling Kabul have warned that anti-government militants, including the ousted Taliban, could try to mount spectacular attacks in a bid to disrupt landmark presidential elections scheduled for October 9.
-------------------------------------
"It was a very, very big explosion, and there were a lot of injured," said Ahmad Emal, a young shopkeeper watching from behind the police cordon. "These foreigners should leave the residential areas."
-------------------------------------
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/08/29/afghan.explosion.ap/index.html

How quickly we forget about that other “liberated” place, now that elections are supposedly coming up (after how knows how many delays) the frequency of Afghani attacks should increase to disrupt the election process. About the election I wouldn’t really call it one if the only place where a fair election can be held is in Kabul. Also how many real parities are there going to be on these elections? The attack against Dyncorp is symptomatic of the privatization of the military (otherwise known as mercenaries), which has little laws to control their actions.

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42712-2004Aug28.html
Title: "The Tribunals Begin"
Date: August 29, 2004

THE UNITED STATES has not conducted trials by military commission since World War II -- and those were hardly a model of fairness. So it's no surprise that the military tribunals that got under way last week at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba had some anomalies . . . it is crucial that the military process delivers trials that are fair, and appear to be fair to reasonable observers.

The initial signals on this score are mixed . . . .

. . . . Officials need to exercise the discipline -- a discipline the Bush administration has rarely shown to date -- of taking the long view and doing the right thing without being forced.

Source: Washington Post

The Washington Post editorial board sounds off on the tribunals of suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The opinion is broadly-considered; it would be inappropriate to leave intact the suggestion that the editorial focuses entirely on the Bush administration; while the article notes that Congress is "once again ... missing in action", and discusses the ups and downs of the tribunal process so far along, the most identifiable theme is, indeed, to demand what has not been apparent so far and lay responsibility for that at the feet of the Bush administration.
_____________________

• Washington Post. "The Tribunals Begin". August 29, 2004; page B06. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42712-2004Aug28.html

 

[Kunax]

ever sinve d. 20 march last year an increasing number of americans have been freed from the burden of paying tax, today that number rounded 1000 to a total of 1002.

On the other hand iraqies seems to be dropping like ducks in a shooting gallery, yesterday over a 100 was kill compared to 0 americans, all that fancy equipment must be paying off.

 

[Tiassa]

Now that is tax reform--one American at a time.

 

[Tiassa]

(Insert Title Here)

Source: New York Times
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/13/international/asia/13herat.html
Title: "Afghan Crowds Loot and Burn Over Governor's Dismissal"
Date: September 13, 2004

HERAT, Afghanistan, Sept. 12 - Violent demonstrators ransacked and burned at least four United Nations office compounds and a human rights office here on Sunday as they clashed with the national police and army in an angry protest at the removal of Gov. Ismail Khan by the central government.

Four people were killed and up to 50 wounded, most of them civilian demonstrators suffering from gunshot wounds, doctors at the provincial hospital said. Fifteen American soldiers and two national army soldiers were injured, mostly from stones and bricks hurled at them, said Anne Bodine, an American State Department official based in Herat.

Source: New York Times

The news isn't the best from the colonies.

The reasons for Khan's removal are not immediately apparent. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told reporters in Kabul that the change was necessary and in the bests interests of both Mr. Khan and the people of Herat. Mr. Khan complied with his dismissal, and has apparently refused an opportunity to continue serving the government in Kabul.

The new governor, Sayed Muhammad Khairkhwa, comes from the same faction--Jamiat-i-Islam--as Mr. Khan, who made a televised appearance to ask the people for calm.

The violence and extensive damage was a major blow to the central government of President Hamid Karzai, which had sent 1,000 soldiers and hundreds of national police officers to secure the area for the arrival of the new governor from Kabul. Now, with the Oct. 9 elections nearing, the United Nations' activities will be severely hampered in the whole western part of the country . . . .

. . . . Among the offices looted and burned were those of the United Nations refugee agency, the World Health Authority and the International Office of Migration, as well as the Afghan Human Rights Commission. The offices of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan were also looted and nearby cars burned. The police station was strewn with rocks, and only held because some of its 90 officers were local residents. An orthopedic center of the International Red Cross alone stood untouched on the street.

Two adjoining streets were littered with debris and abandoned office material. Ten United Nations vehicles were set on fire in one compound, two more in another. Packets of medical equipment, syringes and plastic vials were scattered across the World Health Organization courtyard, and a United Nations car had its windows smashed and its radio ripped out. A United Nations pickup truck was overturned and burned in the main street, and barricades of smoldering tires, burned air conditioners and computers blocked the road in several places.

Source: New York Times

Four people were reported killed, and 50 injured. Mr. Khan, in his televised remarks, criticized the national army for firing at demonstrators and causing deaths. The wounded apparently blame the army for the trouble. Juma Ahmadi, a painter, assisted a friend to the hospital: "We were just walking home from work and they shot at us; my friend got shot in the leg."

At the looted compounds, police officers were under orders to not shoot, and thus could not prevent the damage.

"They were shouting 'Death to America,' 'Death to Karzai,' 'Death to the army,' " said Gul Muhammad, 26, a soldier from Parwan in central Afghanistan. "You could not talk sense to them. They were not listening."

Source: New York Times

• • • •​

While the present telling of the story focuses on Afghan issues, and while nobody can in any way blame the American presence for this trouble, we can surely enough expect to be blamed for it. But more than blame, the important aspect insofar as American interests are concerned is that we cannot on the one hand trust George W. Bush to tell us how well things are going, while to the other we can only do so much to fix the situation. Liberty will not descend to a nation, reads the epitaph. A nation must raise itself to liberty.
____________________

• Gall, Carlotta. "Afghan Crowds Loot and Burn Over Governor's Dismissal". New York Times, September 13, 2004. See http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/13/international/asia/13herat.html

 

[neoclassical]

The situation didn't need fixing in the first place. Now we've got Vietnam II: The Crusaders Return to Arabia.

Great.

 

[Tiassa]

The News Ain't Good
Wave of violence in Iraq takes heavy toll

We can start with Baghdad. I tried to follow this story as it developed yesterday, but gave up because my one question about the idea of firing into the crowd simply was not addressed until I found this Washington Post article early this morning.

In Baghdad, the scene of some of the most intense fighting in months, at least 27 people were killed and 107 were wounded.

A U.S. military helicopter fired into a crowd of civilians who had surrounded a burning Army armored vehicle in the capital, killing 13 people, said Saad Amili, spokesman for the Health Ministry. Among those killed was a Palestinian journalist reporting from the scene for the Arab satellite network al-Arabiya.

The U.S. military said it was trying to scatter looters who were attempting to make off with ammunition and pieces of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which had been hit by a car bomb early in the morning on Haifa Street, a troublesome north-south artery west of the Tigris River.

Source: Washington Post

For some reason, my mind wanted to dither over whether 13 died in the general fracas or in that one shot; it appears to be the latter.

This is not good news, now matter how you cut it. There are legitimate concerns to having the functional ammunition from a Bradley looted by the mob, but what will be remembered on the ground is that the United States military fired into a crowd and exploded additional ammunition on the ground with the result of 13 deaths.

A surge of violence across Iraq has left more than 80 civilians dead dead, with reports that American strikes are killing women, children, and in Fallujah, a doctor.

The violence continues today, and as with each resurgence of major violence (as if a car bomb or donkey-rocket is somehow minor?) we take a moment to wonder if this is the flashpoint where things really go to hell.

The Associated Press reports on the situation at Tal Afar:

U.S. troops barred anguished crowds from returning to their homes in the besieged city of Tal Afar on Monday as residents described corpses scattered across orchards and the collapse of essential services such as water and electricity.

U.S. troops and Iraqi forces on Sunday overran Tal Afar, one of several Iraqi cities they say had fallen into the hands of insurgents, after a nearly two-week siege that forced scores of residents to flee and left a trail of devastated buildings and rubble.

Source: MSNBC

At checkpoints around Tal Afar, the crowds are desperate to return home, to seek loved ones and attempt to recover their lives. But US troops will not permit this, "for their own safety". Hazem Saleh, deputy head the Kurdish Democratic Party, told the AP that the police and paramilitary presence in the city was insufficient to maintain order if the thousands of displaced residents return home at once. He said, "There are still bodies lying in the battlefields (and) orchards". With no government offices or hospitals working in Tal Afar, "Who would take them away?" Water and electricity services are not operating, and US and Iraqi forces are still hunting militants within the city.

U.S. commanders said they moved in on Tal Afar at the behest of regional officials who lost control of the city, populated mainly by Iraq’s ethnic Turkish minority known as Turkmen. American intelligence believed Tal Afar had become a haven for militants smuggling men and arms from across the Syrian border.

Turkmen officials have said that 58 people were killed during a 12-day assault by U.S. and Iraqi government forces. Turkmen residents who fled the city to nearby Mosul spoke of bodies lying under the hot sun and wrecked buildings.

Source: MSNBC

Nonetheless, around Tal Afar, the people are trying to keep their hopes up. One mother, cooking eggplant for her family in a Red Crescent camp, said, "It is hard here, but I am in peace because there are no tanks and planes firing at us."

So, yeah ... there is a glimmer of hope: Iraqi civilians have not yet given up.
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• Spinner, Jackie. "At Least 80 Civilians Die in Iraqi Violence". Washington Post, September 13, 2004; page A01.
• Associated Press. "Crowds beg for return to city under siege". MSNBC.com, September 13, 2004. See http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5993764/