[UrukNet] - [Daily Information from Occupied Iraq] - [newsletter 9 Aug 2006 - Part One]

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Lebanon’s Descent into Hell Mike Whitney ...Bush and Olmert agree that the "real enemy" is Arab nationalism and Muslim solidarity; the 2 vital threats to the US/Israeli occupation strategy. The same solution applies to Lebanon as Iraq; divide and conquer; pit one group against the next until the whole society is torn apart in a paroxysm of bloodshed. Will Israel succeed in inciting chaos and civil strife or will they have to jump-start the process by packing explosives in the trunks of cars and detonating them ! in marketplaces and mosques like counterinsurgency operations in Iraq? We’ll have to wait and see. Lebanon is at the beginning of a long descent into hell. Every opportunity for peace has been foreclosed by the Bush administration. The failures in Iraq and Afghanistan have done nothing to slow the machinery of state terror. The ghastly specter of mutilated corpses crushed beneath the twisted iron and powdery debris of bombed-out buildings only whets the appetites of the imperial warlords. They won’t be happy until the fire they stared in Iraq consumes the entire Middle East in a pyramid of flames... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25604 Starving Babies and Making Lebanon Dark Kurt Nimmo It should be obvious by now Israel intends to ethnically cleanse southern Lebanon, all the way up to the Litani River where the United Nations proposed rebuilding a bridge in order to deliver humanitarian aid. "UN officials contacted the Israeli army to inform them that a team of Chinese military engineers attached to the UN force in Lebanon intended to repair the bridge on the Beirut to Tyre road to enable the transport of humanitarian supplies," reports the Gua! rdian. "According to the UN, Israeli officials said the engineers would become a target if they attempted to repair the bridge"... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25582 Did you know? Sabbah's blog Did you know that India have banned Arab TV channels under pressure from Israel. In a country widely referred to as the world’s largest democracy, the Indian government has succumbed to mounting Israeli pressure and ordered a nationwide ban on the broadcast of Arab television channels?! Now you know! Do you know the two nations that stand out above all others as notorious serial abusers of UN resolutions are the US and Israel?! Now you know! Did you know that Israel attempted to kill P! alestinian PM, Esmail Haniya, with "poison gas"?! Now you know!... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25590 War crimes and responsibility of the Bush administration Rodrique Tremblay, Online Journal Guest Writer Can a democracy turn fascist and militaristic? It sure can, and that is the most severe threat a democracy can ever face. The 20th Century example was Germany in the 1930's. The Nazi Party was elected in November 1932, with only 33.1 percent of the votes, but when its leader Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933, it immediately began subverting the German Weimar Constitution by concentrating! political power in its own hands, while increasing military expenditures. The Nazi government then suspended a number of constitutional protections of civil liberties under the pretext of external and internal threats to its security. The following steps taken by Nazi Germany were to initiate a series of illegal wars of aggression against other countries. This culminated with World War II in which more than 50 million people died. After the war, principles of international law were established in order to prevent future mischievous politicians from embarking upon wars of aggression. In the first instance, the U.S. participated in establishing the Nuremberg standard of international criminal justice, which states that it is a war crime to launch a war of aggression... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25597 INDEX ON ISRAELI ‘MISSION’ TO SUPPORT WAR CRIMES Sarah Meyer, INDEX RESEARCH Danny Schechter at Media Channel sent me the following notice:Israel Solidarity Mission, Tuesday August 22nd Saturday August 26th (after Shabbat). 4 days (3 nights at hotel) A Unique Way to Show Our Solidarity with the People of Israel. Not only solidarity but much more: * Touring the embattled North of Israel and personally sharing our friendship with families there who have lived through the terror of Katyusha rockets falli! ng on their homes; * Visiting an air force base where we will thank the brave pilots who are defending Israel and see, up close, the advanced F-16-I jets they fly; * Receiving a briefing from the Brigade Commander and his troops defending against Hamas terrorism in Gaza; * Meeting with top officials of Israel’s government to hear what lies ahead and to learn how we can help.... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25589 The Failures Of The Antiwar Movement, Summer ’06 Joshua Frank Summer is quickly winding down. President Bush is off to Crawford for his usual R&R. Cindy Sheehan, who just purchased a piece of land near the Bush ranch, is setting up camp in hopes of drawing Bush out from his dark quarters and into the light. The war in Iraq, even though it’s bloodier than ever, has taken a back seat to the crisis in Lebanon, where Israel has opted to target and kill innocent civilians to brandish Hezbollah. Conflict in the Middle ! East is worse than it was just one year ago. The only visible opposition to all this madness here in the US is Cindy Sheehan and her followers. If it wasn’t for her bravery and commitment it’s certain the antiwar movement would still be sitting here without a voice or a conscious. But for all the wonderful things Sheehan has done for us, I still don’t think she understands the importance of breaking with the Democratic Party -- the two-faced warmongers that they are... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25588 Morgue body count highlights Iraq bloodshed Alister Bull Almost 2,000 bodies were taken to Baghdad's morgue in July, the highest tally in five months of rising sectarian bloodshed which has forced the United States to boost troop levels in the capital to head off a civil war. Morgue assistant manager Doctor Abdul Razzaq al-Obaidi said on Wednesday that about 90 percent had died violently. "Most of the cases have gunshot wounds to the head. Some of them were strangled and others were beaten to death with clubs," h! e told Reuters... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25592 Bush's Sham 'Ceasefire' Resolution Is A Plan For More War and Aggression Naim I. Farhat It is now clear that tens of thousands of people are coming to Washington, DC on August 12 to condemn the U.S.-Israeli assault and show solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. Now is the time for the people of the United States to stand up and be counted. The whole world is condemning the U.S. and Israeli war that has made nearly one-quarter of Lebanon's entire population, 800,000 people, refugees in their home co! untry. The Israeli military, supplied and supported by the United States government, has destroyed the infrastructure of a nation, deprived families of water and left them starving and foraging to keep alive, and slaughtered hundreds of people, burying children and parents under their homes or in shelters where they have desperately sought refuge... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25591 Three US soldiers killed in western Iraq Turkish Press BAGHDAD - Three US soldiers were killed in action Wednesday in Iraq's restive western province of Anbar, the US military said. "Three soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died from enemy action while operating in Al-Anbar province today," a statement said. Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25593 Bush Wants Wider War Robert Parry, GlobalResearch.ca George W. Bush and his neoconservative advisers saw the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as an opportunity to expand the conflict into Syria and possibly achieve a long-sought "regime change" in Damascus, but Israel’s leadership balked at the scheme, according to Israeli sources. One Israeli source said Bush’s interest in spreading the war to Syria was considered "nuts" by some senior Israeli officials, although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has generally sha! red Bush’s hard-line strategy against Islamic militants. After rebuffing Bush’s suggestion about attacking Syria, the Israeli government settled on a strategy of mounting a major assault in southern Lebanon aimed at rooting out Hezbollah guerrillas who have been firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25594 Israel to expand ground offensive Aljazeera.net Israel has ordered an expansion of its ground offensive in Lebanon aiming to strike harder at Hezbollah and curb its cross-border rocket attacks. The decision was announced on Wednesday by the office of Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, after the cabinet voted to send soldiers deeper into Lebanon, possibly as far as the Litani river, up to 20km north of the border. The statement said: "The security cabinet approved the recommendations of the defence establish! ment for the continuation of operations in Lebanon."... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25595 US Blackhawk down in Iraq, two crew missing AFP A US Blackhawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq and two of the six troops on board are missing, the US military Wednesday. "The aircraft has been located. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing for two missing crewmembers. The remaining four are in stable condition," US Marine Corps spokesman Major Riccoh Player said of Tuesday's crash... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25598 NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE! U.S. OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST! GET YOUR BUS TICKETS TODAY for AUGUST 12! International Action Center ...The obstacles to peace in the Middle East are not Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria or Iran. The obstacle is the U.S. government and its client, the Israeli settler state. Republicans and Democrats alike have united to back the expansionist Israeli war against Palestine and Lebanon. This war is really an extension of the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq. The expansion of U.S.-backed Israeli aggress! ion in the Middle East is 'justified' through a widespread campaign of demonization against Hezbollah and Hamas. These are the movements of national resistance in Lebanon and Palestine. It is an urgent task, for those of us opposed to war and injustice, to clarify for the people of the U.S. he reality--that the problems of the Middle East are not rooted in a struggle between religions. The wars are driven by greedy imperialist policymakers in the U.S., like Bush and his super rich friends, to dominate, colonize, exploit and rob the natural resources (especially oil) of the people of the Middle East... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25601 "Positive Conditions" - The Water Crisis In Gaza Alice Gray The political rhetoric and frequent violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often serve to mask underlying environmental issues which, if not resolved, may pose an even greater threat to the well-being of the Palestinian population than the guns and bombs of the military occupation. Environmental degradation threatens to undermine the viability of any future Palestinian state and create conditions that will make life in many parts of the Palestinian! Territories impossible. Many environmental problems are accelerated and exacerbated by Occupation practices, which prevent effective environmental management. This problem is particularly acute in Gaza in relation to the water resources and the ongoing military conflict... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25587 Israeli war crimes aimed at “cleansing” south Lebanon Bill Van Auken, WSWS On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes struck the southern Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh, killing at least 14 people. Missiles demolished civilian homes just as some 1,500 mourners were participating in a procession to bury 15 of their relatives and neighbors slain just the day before. The explosions sent the crowd running in panic, dropping shrouded corpses in the street. Ghaziyeh’s normal population of 23,000 has reportedly been swelled by a wave of ! refugees. It is a predominantly Shiite town near Sidon, a region where most of the population is composed of Sunni Muslims. Many people from further south had fled there to stay with relatives and friends... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25586 Israel "warns" journalists Siege of Lebanon To members of the foreign press, The IDF has announced a limitation on travel in any kind of vehicle in all areas south of the Litani River in Lebanon. The limitation took effect at 22:00 on August 7, 2006, and will remain in effect until further notice. Information regarding the limitations was communicated to the population in southern Lebanon via media outlets and leaflets as well as through local channels. Passage of humanitarian convoys continues throughout all of ! Lebanon in coordination with the IDF. We would like to stress that these limitations apply to journalists as well... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25602 Kind Regards, The State of Israel Lenin's Tomb Via Angry Arab, Israel's leaflet promising massacres and translation: It reads: To the Lebanese citzens residing south of the Litani River. Read this document with full comprehension and do as it orders. The IDF will escalate its activities and will hit with the most excessive force terrorist elements that uses you as human shields and fires rockets/missiles from inside your houses in the direction of the state of Israel. Every car including any type that moves! south of the Litani river will be bombed because it is suspected in transporting rockets/missiles and military and ruining equipment It is your duty to do so as every person in any car is placing their life in danger. State of Israel... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25585 Tomgram: Dahr Jamail, The Damage in Lebanon -- and Beyond Tom Engelhardt & Dahr Jamail ...According to statistics provided by the Lebanese Government on July 24th, there had already been well over $2.1 billion of damage to the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon -- all three of its airports and all four of its seaports had by then been bombed, and in the weeks to follow it was only to get worse. By estimates that go quickly out of date as the brutal bombing campaign continues, there has already been nearly $1 bill! ion of damage done to civilian residences and businesses, with over 22 gas stations as well as fuel depots bombed and the major highways along which fuel resupply would take place badly damaged. Scores of factories, worth over $180 million, have also been damaged or destroyed. Red Cross ambulances, governmental emergency centers, UN peacekeeping forces and observers, media outlets, and mobile phone towers have all been bombed, each a violation of international law. Mosques and churches have been hit; illegal weapons such as cluster bombs and white phosphorous used; and, as far as can be told at this early point, over 90% of the victims killed have been civilians. As of this writing, the Lebanese government had already announced at least 900 deaths, and that number is now certainly well over 1,000... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25600 WAR NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 09, 2006 Today in Iraq The police found a beheaded body of a man in al-Zab, an area about 35 km southwest of Kirkuk. A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Habibiya, killing one bystander and wounding one U.S. soldier. Police found the bodies of three men who were shot in the head and dumped in two locations in southwestern Baghdad. Gunmen abducted two Iraqi contractors working with the U.S. military on Tuesday in the oil refinery cit! y of Baiji. Five people were killed and 20 wounded overnight when a rocket hit three-storey building in the religiously mixed city of Baquba. The building collapsed and witnesses said more may be trapped in the rubble... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25584 Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Tuesday, 8 August 2006. Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice. In a dispatch posted at 7:45pm Makkah time Tuesday evening, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier, a high-explosive Iraqi Resistance bomb went off by a US military column in the "12 Rabi' al-Awwal" neighborhood of al-Qa’im, nor far from the Syrian border in western Iraq. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses living in t! he area as saying that the blast destroyed a Humvee, killing or wounding all the Americans aboard it. The witnesses said that that explosion was so powerful that it shattered some window glass in nearby buildings. One witness said the explosion and shrapnel hurled one of the American soldiers out of the Humvee, killing him instantly... Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25583 GI Special 4H9: 60% Disapprove Bush On War - August 9, 2006 Thomas F. Barton 60% Of Americans Disapprove Bush On Iraq War 8.3.06 Los Angeles Times A Times/Bloomberg poll found discontent with President Bush's leadership on a variety of key fronts, including the war in Iraq, with 60 percent disapproval, and the economy, with 59 percent disapproval. Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25581 www.uruknet.info: a site gathering daily information concerning occupied Iraq: news, analysis, documents and texts of iraqi resistance available in Italian and English.