"Iraqi 'proud’ about weapons labs lies" by Associated Press / February 17, 2011
LONDON — An Iraqi man whose testimony the United States used as key evidence to build a case for war in Iraq says he is proud that he lied about his country’s developing mobile biological warfare labs.
The Guardian newspaper published an interview yesterday with Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who has been identified as the informer called “Curveball,’’ and whose claims about weapon labs formed part of then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech to the UN Security Council in 2003, shortly before the war began.
The Guardian quoted Janabi as saying: “I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime. I and my sons are proud of that.’’
I say this guy should be dumped out of a plane over Baghdad.
Although some intelligence agents were skeptical of Janabi’s story, the Senate Intelligence Committee reported in 2004 that the CIA “withheld important information about the informant’s reliability’’ from analysts who were dealing with the case....
You are kidding?
--more--"
Yes, it often seems that the LIES that LED to MILLIONS MURDERED, those TORTURED, and the resulting ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATION are ALL BUT FORGOTTEN -- but NOT HERE, dear readers!
Will NEVER FORGET!
So how have things been going lately?
"Bomber kills 26 on bus of pilgrims
BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday on a bus carrying Shi’ite pilgrims, officials said, killing 26 people headed back from a revered shrine that has been a flashpoint in Iraqi sectarian strife. It was the second attack in three days targeting visitors to the al-Askari mosque in the former insurgent stronghold of Samarra, north of Baghdad, for commemorations of the death of a ninth-century religious figure who is buried there. The shrine is being rebuilt after its golden dome was destroyed in a Feb. 22, 2006, bombing that was blamed on Al Qaeda in Iraq and sparked years of retaliatory bloodshed between Sunnis and Shi’ites. Officials said the mosque was not damaged in yesterday’s attack (AP)."
I'm sure "Al-CIA-Duh" did have something to with it. They always rise up just when we are allegedly leaving.
Related:
"No group has claimed responsibility for the most recent suicide bombing, which has the hallmarks of Al Qaeda or its allied Sunni-dominated militant organizations who consider Shi’ites heretics and enemies.....
Unless they are making peace pacts with them in Pakistan or Iran is arming the Taliban.
--more--"
So when will we really be leaving, if ever, Americans?
"Citing its food needs, Iraq delays buying fighter jets" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press / February 15, 2011
BAGHDAD — Iraq is delaying the purchase of 18 US fighter jets because of budget problems and has decided to funnel the money into food for the poor instead, the Iraqi government’s spokesman said yesterday.
Another rea$on for invading Iraq: create a new market for U.$. weapon$ manufacturer$.
Iraq, like many other Middle Eastern countries since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, is under pressure to demonstrate its commitment to helping its own people.
Why would a U.S.-INSPIRED DEMOCRACY have to be worrying about that?
But delaying the purchase leaves Iraq, which relies on departing American forces to protect its skies, vulnerable....
So we will just have to hang around, huh?
Iraq relies on US planes and drones to protect its skies, and the head of the country’s armed forces has said Iraq will not be ready to protect its airspace until 2020....
I'm already exhausted by eight years (can it really have been that long?), and now they throw out that it could be another decade?
Iraq has been rattled by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, which toppled governments there. In small protests across Iraq, demonstrators have vented their anger at the Iraqi government, which they say is corrupt, and demanded improved services and more jobs. Hundreds rallied yesterday in Baghdad.
Despite having some of the world’s largest oil reserves, Iraq endures electricity shortages that make summer nearly unbearable, while winter leaves people shivering.
I was told we would be making things better for Iraqis after destroying their nation and killing them; you mean that was just another lie?
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, vowed to address the problems.
He sounds like all the other worn-out dictators of the region.
--more--"
"Iraqis burn government buildings in Kut protest; 2,000 demand better services" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press / February 17, 2011
BAGHDAD — About 2,000 demonstrators attacked government offices in a southern Iraqi province, ripping up pavement stones to hurl at a regional council headquarters in a protest over shoddy public services that left dozens of people injured, officials said.
The demonstration was among the most dramatic since Iraqis began venting their anger about dysfunctional government at all levels in relatively small protests across the country, an echo of the tumult happening across the Arab world. Unlike protesters in other countries demanding democracy or regime change, however, demonstrators in Iraq have focused on unemployment, corruption, and a lack of electricity....
Kut police denied firing on the protesters and blamed the governor’s bodyguards and private security guards at one of the buildings. The governor could not immediately be reached for comment. But the top medical official in Wasit Province, Diaa al-Aboudi,said witnesses and ambulance workers reported that police fired on the demonstrators....
Protesters threw stones at the provincial council headquarters, set a trailer outside the building on fire, and rushed inside the compound, said Sondos al- Dahabi, a spokeswoman for Wasit Province.
She added that authorities imposed a curfew in the city as night fell.
Television footage showed billows of smoke, a palm tree on fire, and protesters, many of them teenagers, filling the headquarters compound.
The sound of gunshots could be heard, and demonstrators could be seen riding on a commandeered police truck and an armored personnel carrier, waving Iraqi flags.
Protesters also went to the governor’s headquarters, leaving a mess in their wake before heading to the governor’s house, Dahabi said....
Yeah, those messy, smelly protesters!
Iraq is one of the few countries with a democratically elected government in the Middle East, but leaders have not been immune from the anger engulfing the region. Iraqis have a long list of grievances against their leaders, including electricity that sometimes works only a few hours a day, unemployment that runs as high as 30 percent, and rampant corruption.
As security has improved in the country following the worst of the sectarian bloodshed of 2006 and 2007, attention has turned to quality of life and economic issues. Wasit is a mostly Shi’ite province bordering Iran and is one of Iraq’s poorest regions.
“It is us who brought the governor and other officials to office through the provincial elections, but in return we got nothing,’’ said Hassan Ali Murwah, one of the protesters. “We will repeat such protests, and no force on earth can stand against us.’’
Not forever: "When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always."
In the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad, hundreds of demonstrators also thronged the streets, demanding better services.
Iraqi leaders have been eager to prevent a repeat of the scenarios played out in Egypt and Tunisia. Earlier this week, Iraq announced it would delay the purchase of US fighter jets and use the money to buy food for the poor.
They have also vowed to reduce electricity tariffs.
Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki has also announced he will not seek a third term when his current one expires in an attempt to set himself apart from Mideast leaders who have held onto power for decades.
Actually, that is what those guys are now saying.
--more--"
"Kurdish soldiers fire on crowd, killing two" by Liz Sly and Ali Qeis, Washington Post / February 18, 2011
BAGHDAD — At least two protesters were killed yesterday when soldiers opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, as the unrest triggered by turmoil elsewhere in the Middle East reached the normally placid enclave of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
Forty-three people were injured when the Kurdish pesh merga fighters fired live ammunition at youths throwing stones at the headquarters of the region’s dominant political party, the Kurdish Democratic Party, witnesses said.
Sticks and stones may break buns, but gunfire will surely put a whole in you.
The shootings brought to five the number of deaths in two days of violent protests in Iraq, where long-standing grievances about inadequate services, unemployment and corruption have erupted on the streets, inspired at least in part by the successes of the recent revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.
As if it is the protesters fault!
Also yesterday, the premises of a local council were burned by a mob near the southern city of Nasiriyah, and there were demonstrations in the oil-rich cities of Basra in the south and Kirkuk in the north.
Protesters also took to the streets for a second day in Kut, about 60 miles southeast of Baghdad, where three people were shot dead by police on Wednesday during protests targeting the headquarters of the provincial governor.
I guess AmeriKa did train them.
The violence in Sulaymaniyah came shortly after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that he had instructed the Iraqi security forces to act with restraint.
“It is prohibited for the security forces to use any kind of force against even one of the demonstrations,’’ he told journalists. He also urged demonstrators not to set fire to buildings and to secure permission for their protests.
--more--"
"Iraqis take to streets in oil hub, decry living standard" by Nabil al-Jurani, Associated Press / February 19, 2011
BASRA, Iraq — Iraqis demanding better public services, jobs, and pensions blocked a bridge yesterday in the southern oil hub of Basra, as spreading Middle East unrest emboldens Iraqis to take on government officials over poor living standards.
I like the idea.
After the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, frustrated Iraqis have staged repeated protests across the country. This week, at least five people were killed when demonstrations in two cities in Iraq turned violent.
About 1,000 people rallied yesterday in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, to demand the resignation of the provincial governor, who they said has failed to boost the quality of life, even as security improves.
The city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, is a microcosm of postwar Iraq’s many woes.
“We’re living in miserable conditions: no electricity; dirty, muddy streets,’’ said one of the protesters, Qais Jabbar. The 32-year-old father of three said that despite having a college degree, he works as a taxi driver and shares a small house with his three brothers and their families in eastern Basra.
It's AmeriKan liberation!
Basra is the hub of the oil industry in a country that has some of the largest oil reserves in the world. But little of that wealth has trickled down to the city’s people.
Poor settlements ring the city. Piles of garbage and pools of stagnant water and sewage blot its dust-covered streets, where donkeys, stray dogs, sheep, and goats roam. As in many of Iraq’s cities, the well-off turn on generators during the frequent electricity shortages while Basra’s poor residents swelter for hours in the summer.
Last summer, protests focusing on a lack of electricity were orchestrated by followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But this time the Sadrists, now a central part of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government, said they are not playing a role in the demonstrations, which instead seem to be driven by a medley of political groups, nongovernmental organizations, and a frustrated public.
Translation: can't blame Sadr for this one.
Economic frustration has spread to railway workers, who said they will go on strike Monday.
--more--"
"Iraq station that aired protest is attacked" by Associated Press / February 21, 2011
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Gunmen burst into a Kurdish television station in northern Iraq yesterday morning, shooting up equipment and setting fire to the building, apparently in retaliation for footage it aired earlier in the week of a deadly protest, station officials said....
Smells like pesh merga to me.
Forty to 50 gunmen wearing military-style clothes stormed the network’s headquarters in Sulaimaniyah, spokesman Farhang Hars said....
Looks like pesh merga, too!
Later, about 2,000 demonstrators took to the streets of this Kurdish city, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad, for a fourth consecutive day to demand political and economic reforms from the parties that control the region....
Time for the "terrorists" to divert attention from the protests:
"Bomber kills 12 Iraqi police officers" by Associated Press / February 22, 2011
BAGHDAD — A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb yesterday at a police station north of Baghdad, killing at least 12 police officers, police and health officials said.
The attack in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, came nine days after a suicide bomber targeted Shi’ite pilgrims returning from a religious ceremony at the city’s al-Askari mosque. Thirty-six were killed in that attack....
The police battalion that came under attack had been dispatched from a southern Shi’ite province two weeks ago to help protect pilgrims during the ceremony, said Niyaz Oglu, a member of the area’s provincial council.
Oglu accused Al Qaeda in Iraq of organizing the attack. “They are taking revenge on the security forces that have foiled their attempts to ignite sectarian violence,’’ he said.
No group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s bombing, but such attacks bear the hallmarks of Al Qaeda or its allied Sunni-dominated militant organizations.
Samarra has been a flashpoint since a 2006 attack by Al Qaeda destroyed part of the golden-domed mosque there revered by Shi’ites....
See: Islam's 9/11
The thing stands for centuries until we get there?
Also yesterday, police and hospital officials in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah said two protesters died, including a teenager, and 46 were wounded as a result of injuries sustained during overnight protests.
The "toilet" propaganda is much more important than that.
--more--"
"Maliki decries plans for protest" by Associated Press / February 25, 2011
Iraq’s prime minister warned his people to boycott a planned antigovernment protest scheduled for today, saying it was being organized by supporters of Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
He is REALLY REACHING now! Those lies didn't even work before the war!
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gave no proof for his assertion in a nationally televised speech yesterday, which echoed similar blanket statements he’s made blaming terrorists and Saddam loyalists for an array of problems in the country.
Religious figures including anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the leader of Iraq’s majority Shi’ite community also have raised doubts about the rally.
--more--"
Time to take my shoes off:
"Bush shoe thrower detained by Iraqi Army" by Associated Press / February 25, 2011
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi reporter arrested for throwing his shoes at former President George W. Bush has returned to the country for his first public visit since being freed from prison and was forcibly detained for questioning yesterday by the Iraqi Army.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi became a celebrity in the Arab world after throwing his shoes at Bush during a news conference in December 2008 and calling him a dog. After he was freed from an Iraqi prison in 2009 at the end of his nine-month sentence, he left the country and had not appeared publicly in Iraq since.
He is a hero to more than just the Arab world; he is a hero to all peace-loving people.
One of Zeidi’s brothers said he returned Tuesday to join antigovernment protests scheduled to take place all over Iraq today.
Iraqi officials are on high alert ahead of today’s protests, billed as a Day of Rage. Iraqis have been holding a number of small-scale protests around the country to demand better government services, more assistance for widows and orphans, and greater protection for human rights.
Zeidi left a mosque in a Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad yesterday and then visited a nearby cemetery. He was then confronted by an Iraqi army commander backed by soldiers who said Zeidi should come with them for questioning.
A news photographer who witnessed the exchange said the former journalist asked whether he was under arrest, and the commander said he was not.
Zeidi refused to go with them and was forcibly led away by soldiers who gripped his arms on either side and escorted him to a waiting Humvee.
But you are not under arrest!
Zeidi was convicted of assault for the 2008 incident in which he threw both his shoes at Bush and shouted: “This is your farewell kiss, you dog!’’
--more--"
"At least 19 dead in Iraq as tens of thousands join protests; US says army, police mostly don’t use force" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff / February 26, 2011
BAGHDAD — Tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets yesterday in nationwide protests that left at least 19 dead and dozens wounded, but the US military consciously and conspicuously remained on the sideline.
This encounter, American officials said, posed a key test for Iraqi troops and riot police following the transfer of lead security responsibilities from the US military to the Iraqi government on Sept. 1.
Two protesters were shot dead by Iraqi security forces in the northern city of Mosul, and one was killed in Ramadi. A crowd of more than 1,000 demonstrators in Baghdad, some tossing bricks and rocks, clashed with troops and riot police on a key bridge leading to government offices in the protected international Green Zone.
But according to US Embassy officials, the Iraqi Army and police appear to have passed this test following years of high-priority training by US military advisers to help them function as a standalone, sovereign force.
Yeah, they only killed a few dozen.
“What we have seen . . . is that Iraq’s security forces generally have not used force against peaceful protesters,’’ Aaron Snipe, deputy spokesman for the US Embassy, said last evening. “There have been reports of violence in separate incidents. But Iraqi security forces appear to have followed Prime Minister Maliki’s directive by ensuring that citizens who choose to protest peacefully would be allowed to do so.’’
Whatever self-serving statements apply.
That assessment was echoed in Baghdad by an eyewitness to clashes on the Tigris River bridge leading to the Green Zone. A woman, who asked that her name not be used, said the army appeared to restrain its response as the swelling crowd, which she estimated at 5,000 people, began tearing down concrete barriers on the bridge and pelting about 1,500 soldiers and riot police with rocks and bricks.
“The army was good in that they kept their soldiers under control,’’ the woman said. “The riot police, though, were heavy-handed.’’
The police, brandishing shields and armed with clubs, waded into the crowd and injured many protesters, she said. “They were chasing people down.’’
Water cannon and concussion bombs also were used by Iraqi government forces, the woman said.
And your tax dollars trained them, Americans.
Although the Iraqi demonstrations had been modeled after the protests spreading against autocratic regimes in the Arab world, their goal appeared to be different. Instead of seeking to topple a long-ensconced dictator, the Iraqis clamored for the new elected government to work to eliminate corruption, improve basic services, and create more jobs.
The woman said she had expected larger protests, but that appeals for calm from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Shi’ite religious leader Moqtada al-Sadr appeared to have limited crowd sizes....
For a US military that toppled Saddam Hussein with devastating force and then waged a protracted fight against a stubborn insurgency, yesterday’s role of uninvolved observer represented another signpost on the road to the Dec. 31 deadline of total troop withdrawal....
Now, the American military’s primary mission is to advise, train, and assist the 600,000-member Iraqi Army and police force. However, US troops retain the right to defend themselves and are available if the Iraqi government requests their help.
Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces here, said Iraqi security forces use an adapted US curriculum to train for responding to civil unrest “while still preserving the people’s right to peaceful demonstrations.’’
“Freedom of expression is an important part of any democracy,’’ he added. “We see that as a fundamental human right.’’
We just won't listen to it at home.
Colonel Doug Harding, who works in the US transition effort as director of the Commander’s Initiative Group, said yesterday’s response of Iraqi security to an Iraqi protest shows that the complex US withdrawal is well underway.
“We wouldn’t be out there. It’s not the way we’re operating now,’’ Harding said of the dwindling US military presence.
--more--"
And just in case you were thinking of leaving:
"One dead as bombing shuts down Iraq’s largest oil refinery; Damage could jeopardize supply of fuel to millions" by Jack Healy, New York Times / February 27, 2011
BAGHDAD — The bombing — carried out by two gunmen, according to refinery officials — raised questions about the security of Iraq’s oil facilities....
Although Iraq has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, it has struggled to increase production beyond about 2.6 million barrels per day, hampered by creaky pipelines and other infrastructure, as well as political and security uncertainties.
Which is about the level Saddam was pumping before all this.
Elsewhere across Iraq, the residual anger of Friday’s nationwide protests continued as demonstrators turned out in the streets. Their numbers were far smaller, and the protests less deadly than a day earlier, when at least 16 protesters were killed across the country.
Also yesterday, one person was killed in confrontations between security forces and demonstrators in the city of Kirkuk.
In the south, stick-wielding security forces in Hilla attacked a group of demonstrators who had been staging a sit-in at the provincial governor’s office, wounding six. About 200 protesters in Ramadi clashed with policemen, who dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
They passed the test, huh?
Iraq’s most revered Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, issued a statement yesterday calling on Iraq’s government to heed the protesters’ demands....
How come governments never listen?
--more--"
And these guys all think alike:
"Maliki calls for new local elections; Iraqi is pressured by deadly protests" by Hamid Ahmed, Associated Press / March 1, 2011
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister called for new provincial elections yesterday after antigovernment protests that killed 14 people last week in a demonstration of the simmering anger many Iraqis feel at an administration they say fails to provide basic services....
Yeah, right, rigged elections are going to do it. Pfffft!
Thousands of Iraqis protested in at least twelve cities on Friday, many in demonstrations that turned violent, as protesters clashed with authorities, set fire to government buildings, and toppled concrete barriers....
The war-promoting paper always makes it sound like its the protester's fault (unless it is in Iran).
The prime minister also raised the specter that the upcoming Arab League summit slated to take place at the end of March in Baghdad for the first time in years could be delayed. But he said he was optimistic the summit would still be held and that the Arab League is insisting on holding it in Iraq.
He cautioned, however, that Arab League foreign ministers would meet later this week, and could decide to change the date.
Also yesterday, an Iraqi court convicted a British man and sentenced him to 20 years in prison over the shooting deaths of two contractors, making him the first Westerner convicted in an Iraqi court since the US invasion in 2003.
Danny Fitzsimons, 30, was found guilty in the 2009 fatal shootings of a British and Australian contractor who worked with him and with attempting to kill an Iraqi guard.
Apparently, contractors can still kill Iraqis with impunity.
--more--"
"Opposition leader rejects post in Iraq" by Associated Press / March 4, 2011
BAGHDAD — The decision by Ayad Allawi brings to light the deep fissures within the government at a time when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces widespread protests across the country. It also highlights a frequent complaint about Maliki: his unwillingness to share power....
Kinda like the guy we got rid of, right?
And what a crock; he just offered a share of power to Sadr to keep the PM post.
Will the lies, distortions, and obfuscations ever stop?
Yesterday, Allawi traveled to the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf where he met with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr — currently an Maliki ally. But in recent days Sadr has voiced frustration with Maliki’s running of the government at a time when protests continue almost daily.
It was not immediately clear how serious the overtures are between Allawi and the Sadrists, or whether the discussions were instead a negotiating gambit from Allawi.
I'm not taking the report seriously at all.
Baghdad-based political analyst Hadi Jalo said it is unlikely Allawi’s decision to drop the council would lead to the fall of the government, pointing out that none of the ministers from his Iraqiya bloc joined him....
Sort of like a one-man protest, huh?
--more--"
Agenda-pushing aper sure made it sound more important than that, didn't they?
What in the hell are Sunnis doing backing a Shi'ite, anyway?
"Thousands rallied across Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq yesterday in antigovernment demonstrations that defied security checkpoints and a vehicle ban that forced many to walk for hours to the heart of the capital.
Wow, what dedication!
It was the second Friday in a row of Iraqi demonstrations -- a show of force that has unnerved Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, which is worried that the turmoil in the rest of the region is spreading to Iraq.
Yeah, now PEACEFUL PROTESTS are a SHOW of FORCE to the WAR-PROMOTING PAPER!
Most of the protests were peaceful, but police used water cannons against demonstrators in the southern port city of Basra and beat some journalists who were covering the demonstrations.
The rallies, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, concentrated on demands for improved government services, better pay, and an end to corruption in Iraq. They also reflected the level of unhappiness many Iraqis feel nearly eight years after Saddam Hussein's ouster (AP)."
Translation: this occupation is a colossal failure.
"Roadside bomb misses convoy, kills six on bus" by Associated Press / March 7, 2011
BASRA, Iraq — A roadside bomb killed six people and wounded 12 yesterday morning in the oil-rich city of Basra in southern Iraq, local officials said.
A police officer in Basra said the bomb hit a bus after it missed a passing US Army patrol....
There was no way to immediately reconcile the difference in numbers. Conflicting reports on casualties are common in the immediate aftermath of attacks....
By the end of December and the US operations will shift to the State Department.
So we are NOT REALLY LEAVING, folks!!!
There are now fewer than 50,000 US troops in Iraq.
The troops are not intended to have a combat role, but they still come under attack almost daily.
And yet we NEVER READ ABOUT THEM!!!!!!!
Also yesterday, police said someone broke into a radio station in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and damaged equipment.
Pesh merga.
It was the second attack on a media outlet in the self-ruled region since thousands of protesters began taking to the streets Feb. 17, inspired by the demonstrations going on across the Middle East, and demanding political and economic reforms....
While the three provinces that make up the Kurdish region have enjoyed relative stability and prosperity compared to the rest of Iraq, many Kurds chafe at the tight hold that the region’s two main political parties retain on the economy and politics.
The U.S. allies that work with Mossad?
--more--"
I'm sorry, who was guarding that bomb site?
"Truck bomb kills 10 Iraqi soldiers" by Associated Press / March 15, 2011
BAGHDAD — A harsh reminder of the nation’s continuing instability....
So we just can't leave, Americans.
A senior Iraqi intelligence official in Baghdad blamed the attack on Al Qaeda....
So do I.
In Baghdad yesterday, protesters demanded the resignation of Iraq’s president for making comments they said could incite violence....
Kurds are crypto-Khazars?
--more--"
That is one hell of a crater for a truck bomb.
Although Iraq has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, it has struggled to increase production beyond about 2.6 million barrels per day, hampered by creaky pipelines and other infrastructure, as well as political and security uncertainties.
Which is about the level Saddam was pumping before all this.
Elsewhere across Iraq, the residual anger of Friday’s nationwide protests continued as demonstrators turned out in the streets. Their numbers were far smaller, and the protests less deadly than a day earlier, when at least 16 protesters were killed across the country.
Also yesterday, one person was killed in confrontations between security forces and demonstrators in the city of Kirkuk.
In the south, stick-wielding security forces in Hilla attacked a group of demonstrators who had been staging a sit-in at the provincial governor’s office, wounding six. About 200 protesters in Ramadi clashed with policemen, who dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
They passed the test, huh?
Iraq’s most revered Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, issued a statement yesterday calling on Iraq’s government to heed the protesters’ demands....
How come governments never listen?
--more--"
And these guys all think alike:
"Maliki calls for new local elections; Iraqi is pressured by deadly protests" by Hamid Ahmed, Associated Press / March 1, 2011
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister called for new provincial elections yesterday after antigovernment protests that killed 14 people last week in a demonstration of the simmering anger many Iraqis feel at an administration they say fails to provide basic services....
Yeah, right, rigged elections are going to do it. Pfffft!
Thousands of Iraqis protested in at least twelve cities on Friday, many in demonstrations that turned violent, as protesters clashed with authorities, set fire to government buildings, and toppled concrete barriers....
The war-promoting paper always makes it sound like its the protester's fault (unless it is in Iran).
The prime minister also raised the specter that the upcoming Arab League summit slated to take place at the end of March in Baghdad for the first time in years could be delayed. But he said he was optimistic the summit would still be held and that the Arab League is insisting on holding it in Iraq.
He cautioned, however, that Arab League foreign ministers would meet later this week, and could decide to change the date.
Also yesterday, an Iraqi court convicted a British man and sentenced him to 20 years in prison over the shooting deaths of two contractors, making him the first Westerner convicted in an Iraqi court since the US invasion in 2003.
Danny Fitzsimons, 30, was found guilty in the 2009 fatal shootings of a British and Australian contractor who worked with him and with attempting to kill an Iraqi guard.
Apparently, contractors can still kill Iraqis with impunity.
--more--"
"Opposition leader rejects post in Iraq" by Associated Press / March 4, 2011
BAGHDAD — The decision by Ayad Allawi brings to light the deep fissures within the government at a time when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces widespread protests across the country. It also highlights a frequent complaint about Maliki: his unwillingness to share power....
Kinda like the guy we got rid of, right?
And what a crock; he just offered a share of power to Sadr to keep the PM post.
Will the lies, distortions, and obfuscations ever stop?
Yesterday, Allawi traveled to the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf where he met with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr — currently an Maliki ally. But in recent days Sadr has voiced frustration with Maliki’s running of the government at a time when protests continue almost daily.
It was not immediately clear how serious the overtures are between Allawi and the Sadrists, or whether the discussions were instead a negotiating gambit from Allawi.
I'm not taking the report seriously at all.
Baghdad-based political analyst Hadi Jalo said it is unlikely Allawi’s decision to drop the council would lead to the fall of the government, pointing out that none of the ministers from his Iraqiya bloc joined him....
Sort of like a one-man protest, huh?
--more--"
Agenda-pushing aper sure made it sound more important than that, didn't they?
What in the hell are Sunnis doing backing a Shi'ite, anyway?
"Thousands rallied across Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq yesterday in antigovernment demonstrations that defied security checkpoints and a vehicle ban that forced many to walk for hours to the heart of the capital.
Wow, what dedication!
It was the second Friday in a row of Iraqi demonstrations -- a show of force that has unnerved Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, which is worried that the turmoil in the rest of the region is spreading to Iraq.
Yeah, now PEACEFUL PROTESTS are a SHOW of FORCE to the WAR-PROMOTING PAPER!
Most of the protests were peaceful, but police used water cannons against demonstrators in the southern port city of Basra and beat some journalists who were covering the demonstrations.
The rallies, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, concentrated on demands for improved government services, better pay, and an end to corruption in Iraq. They also reflected the level of unhappiness many Iraqis feel nearly eight years after Saddam Hussein's ouster (AP)."
Translation: this occupation is a colossal failure.
"Roadside bomb misses convoy, kills six on bus" by Associated Press / March 7, 2011
BASRA, Iraq — A roadside bomb killed six people and wounded 12 yesterday morning in the oil-rich city of Basra in southern Iraq, local officials said.
A police officer in Basra said the bomb hit a bus after it missed a passing US Army patrol....
There was no way to immediately reconcile the difference in numbers. Conflicting reports on casualties are common in the immediate aftermath of attacks....
By the end of December and the US operations will shift to the State Department.
So we are NOT REALLY LEAVING, folks!!!
There are now fewer than 50,000 US troops in Iraq.
The troops are not intended to have a combat role, but they still come under attack almost daily.
And yet we NEVER READ ABOUT THEM!!!!!!!
Also yesterday, police said someone broke into a radio station in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and damaged equipment.
Pesh merga.
It was the second attack on a media outlet in the self-ruled region since thousands of protesters began taking to the streets Feb. 17, inspired by the demonstrations going on across the Middle East, and demanding political and economic reforms....
While the three provinces that make up the Kurdish region have enjoyed relative stability and prosperity compared to the rest of Iraq, many Kurds chafe at the tight hold that the region’s two main political parties retain on the economy and politics.
The U.S. allies that work with Mossad?
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I'm sorry, who was guarding that bomb site?
"Truck bomb kills 10 Iraqi soldiers" by Associated Press / March 15, 2011
BAGHDAD — A harsh reminder of the nation’s continuing instability....
So we just can't leave, Americans.
A senior Iraqi intelligence official in Baghdad blamed the attack on Al Qaeda....
So do I.
In Baghdad yesterday, protesters demanded the resignation of Iraq’s president for making comments they said could incite violence....
Kurds are crypto-Khazars?
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That is one hell of a crater for a truck bomb.
