BAGHDAD, April 8, 2007
4 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Diyala Province
Explosion Near Vehicle Claims Troops In Volatile Region; Truck Bomb Kills 18 In Baghdad
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Iraqis gather around a car bomb wreck in Sadr City in Baghdad, Saturday, April 7, 2007. At least three civilians were killed and six were injured in the blast. (AP Photo/Ali Abed)
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Separately, the U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of four American soldiers, killed a day earlier in an explosion near their vehicle in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
The bombing in Mahmoudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, involved a pickup truck parked next to the city General Hospital, an Iraqi army officer said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.
Other reports said the explosion was a rocket attack.
The hospital was slightly damaged by flying debris and shrapnel, but shops and residential buildings bore more damage. Many of those wounded were in their homes at the time of the blast.
In Other Developments:
people to the hospital with breathing difficulties from a possible
chemical agent, police said. Doctors said the victims' faces turned yellow and they were unable to open their eyes. One hospital official said the chemical was chlorine, and that the victims were expected to recover. Chlorine has been used in at least nine attacks in Iraq since January, mostly in bombings by al Qaeda in Iraq.
The four U.S. soldiers killed Saturday were assigned to Task Force Lightning, the U.S. military said in a statement. A fifth soldier was wounded in the blast.
Diyala province, which lies northeast of Baghdad, has seen a spike in attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces since the start of a plan two months ago to pacify the capital. Officials believe militants have streamed out of Baghdad to invigorate the insurgency in areas just outside the city.
At least 3,274 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes seven military civilians.
U.S. forces also captured a senior al Qaeda leader and two others in a raid Sunday morning in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
The al Qaeda figure was identified as "the gatekeeper to the al Qaeda emir of Baghdad" and was linked to several car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital, the military said in a statement, without naming the captive.
Thousands of Iraqis streamed toward the Shiite holy city of Najaf for a demonstration Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued the call for a peaceful demonstration to mark the anniversary.
Witnesses said thousands of residents of Baghdad's largest Shiite slum, Sadr City, boarded buses and minivans Sunday for Najaf.
"The faithful should participate in a demonstration in Najaf on April 9, demanding that the occupiers withdraw from our lands. They should carry or wear Iraqi flags," al-Sadr said in a statement released by his office.
On Sunday, Iraqi flags could be seen flying from most houses and shops in Sadr City. Drivers and motorcyclists affixed them to their vehicles. Police escorted convoys of pickup trucks overflowing with young boys waving Iraqi flags, en route to Najaf.
An Iraqi flag was hoisted over a military base in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, as Iraqi troops took control of the facility Sunday from British forces. The Shat al-Arab base is the second base transfered to Iraqi control in Basra over the past month.
A suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint near a market in southwest Baghdad, killing a policeman and four civilians and wounding 22 people, two police officials said.
Roadside bombs also killed two Iraqi policemen in separate attacks in the capital and Fallujah, 40 miles west of the capital, police said.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 129 Commentshttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wiraq08.xml
How would you fell as an American warrior if you had tour after tour in Iraq and had to retake and purge ares that you had retaken and purged previously?
I think you'd be asking yourself "What am I doing here?"
We're getting nowhere fast.
The reason, of course, is that he doesn't have a prayer of getting elected after his brother's stinking up the place so badly.
I imagine #41 would have loved to see Jeb succeed #43 but must, in the final analysis, recognize that Dubya's ineptness, arrogance, and stubborness have precluded any chance of that happening.
Why are US forces attempting to "pacify" the Iraqi people? What purpose is being served by US forces losing life and limb playing bomb detector the Iraqi people?
Obviusly, the Iraqi people have rejected the US's version of a government.
It is time to acknowledge the obvious and remove US combat forces from Iraq. Other than those required to protect the US civil affairs units and contractors who will have to remain behind to clean up the mess George Bush made, there is no reason for US combat forces to be in Iraq.
There is no reason whatsoever for US forces to be "patrolling" in Iraq. Nor is there any reason for them to be protecting the US installed government.
If the US imposed government cannot defend itself against the Iraqi people, that is their problem, not mine. Or any other US taxpayer.
Time to bring the forces home from George Bush's quagmire.
And, to begin Bush & Cheney's impeachments. They are al qaida's top recruiters and supporters.
I think it was Eleanor Clift that described the US as being in a holding pattern in Iraq. I disagree with a lot of what Miss Clift has to say on a lot of things, but on Iraq and with regard to this statement in particular, she is right on the money.
It really does not matter what happens, how many US troops are killed, how many are maimed & wounded or how many more are sent in to replace them. I do not believe this is about victory. What victory? Even General Petraeus states that we cannot win a military victory in Iraq. So what exactly is the victory we are fighting for?
Is it to support Iraq to become a nation that can "govern itself, defend itself, sustain itself and be an ally in the war on terror." If so, then we are nowhere nearer to achieving that vision than whe we arrived.in fact we are further from it.
Much of the country including Baghdad is ungovernable, Iraq is incapable of defending itself, is in economic free-fall and far from being an ally in the war on terror it is a training ground and mass exporter of it.
In my view, this administration is not fighting for any victory. Rather its strategy is "hang-on and handover." Someone else will sort out the mess this administration has created. If a few thousand more US troops are slaughtered between now and then, so what?
Posted by formrusmcsgt at 07:27 AM : Apr 08, 2007
That's the same tactic used by George Bush.
He was a very popular governor in Texas and was considered the "reluctant president."
He only ran because God told him to do so, not because he wanted to be a power mad dictator.
Don't be fooled by the Bush crime family's charades. They have been master liars and manipulators for nearly 100 years (at a minimum).
Grandpa (Prescott) Bush was a Senator from Connecticut who was investigated for supporting German Nazis. War profiteering, lying and treason run in the Bush family blood.
Posted by heetseeker at 07:33 AM : Apr 08, 2007
Agreed. In my opinion, this is percisely why Bush vows he'll veto any funding authorization with a time-table attached.
He claims that to do so will help our adversaries. The fact of the matter is that Bush is trying desperately to avoid the legacy of an idiot. If he can pass on the war to his successor, he feels he can pass on some of the blame as well.
And the Dems aren't having any of it. They want to see Dubya alone take the fall for his boondoggle. And so do I.
Posted by tuckerndfw at 07:46 AM : Apr 08, 2007
Bro, I lived in Texas during his governorship and he was viewed as more of a joke than anything else.
Ann Richards stated "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth".
A good many of us agreed.
51% support attacks on coalition forces as compared to 2004 when only 17% did.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6451841.stm
How much longer will this fiasco continue? Until 2012 as suggested by the British? What presidential candiate has a detailed plan to end this war? How much longer will congress keep playing games with this war. Fund it or do not fund it, anything else is political grandstanding.
I agree that the legacy aspect of this plays large in the President's thinking. But it seems like an act of utter desperation and callousness. Is the legacy of this (or any other President) worth the lives of our troops? This is a pitiful descent into madness.
If indeed this strategy is really about "shifting blame/responsibility" on an incoming administration, then it is an act of utter cowardice and betrayal. Far from securing his legacy as "the President that did not surrender to the terrorists" the history writers will record that this President initiated a war of choice that led to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and tens (perhaps even hundreds) of thousands of Iraqi's.
His legacy will be one of profligacy with blood and treasure, deception and failure of leadership at a time of war.
It may well be that the incoming US administration will be tarnished by the bloody brush of Iraq as well. But I have no doubt that the many candidates in the presidential race are already well prepared to lay the blame exactly where it belongs.
The question is whose aims do they seek to further if they no longer accurately report the news?
Posted by heetseeker
No one is going to forget who got us into this mess.With the Presidents current plans for this war, we will still be fighting it 2009 unless congress acts with a overwhelming majority to stop funding without strings attached.If they do whatever occurs in Iraq or as a result of withdrawing from Iraq will then be placed upon their shoulders. Can anyone say "check" as in chess.The next president will be faced with the same dilema.
But in just about all other comparrassions, America's frist Fascist Presient ends up ahead of Hitler. My friend made the point that NO leader in modern history has Killed so many and with so little reason. He went zooming by Hitler and his invasion of Poland because Hitlers reason for invading Poland, altheough a Lie, wasn't as blantant and vicious.
The area though that Bush far exceeds Hitler on the Favorite Nazi Score Card is his use of Religion. A good Fascist will merge Religion with the Party until you can't tell the religion from the Party, the Party, in effect, becomes the Religion and the Leader their God. Hitler was good but Bush is far better.
formrusmcsgt, I'm afraid that ship has long since sailed.
America has truly been put up for sale to the highest bidder. Foreign investors control our ports, influence the stock market, manipulate our currency and banking institutions, and own about forty percent of our real estate, and the list goes on and on. Is it any wonder that corporations RULE us?
So, the WAR, as horrible as it is for so many, is but a diversion to keep the masses from learning what is going on until it is too late to reverse.
Could this line of thought explain the "desire to keep it ongoing" when all sane analysts say "it can't be won militarily"?
The area though that Bush far exceeds Hitler on the Favorite Nazi Score Card is his use of Religion. A good Fascist will merge Religion with the Party until you can't tell the religion from the Party, the Party, in effect, becomes the Religion and the Leader their God. Hitler was good but Bush is far better.
Since most Germans are still in denial about what really happened in Germany during WWII, this is equilivant to asking the Japanese about what happened in China during the same period. Most of it is not even taught in schools. So your use of a young German, and I make that assumption because ANYONE who is old enough to have LIVED during those times would NEVER make such a blatantly ridiculous comparision.
Your use of revisionist history is sad.
Try again.
A poor word choice!!!!!! This is not what you are actually stating but still a bad word choice.
A master of mass manipulation is more appropriate. Another sad period in the human race and comparing Bush to Hitler is not a accurate comparision either. Hitler through his policies murdered 6 million Jews not counting the all the other casulities by this WWII from the Germans.I am no fan of Bush but your comparison is way off.Some 63 million people, or 3% of the world population, died in the war (though estimates vary): about 24 million soldiers and 38 million civilians.A far cry from the total deaths in Iraq.
Alexander, Lamar- (R - TN)
Allard, Wayne- (R - CO)
Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)
Cochran, Thad- (R - MS)
Coleman, Norm- (R - MN)
Collins, Susan M.- (R - ME)
Cornyn, John- (R - TX)
Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID)
Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
Enzi, Michael B.- (R - WY)
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE)
Inhofe, James M.- (R - OK)
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
Roberts, Pat- (R - KS)
Sessions, Jeff- (R - AL)
Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR)
Stevens, Ted- (R - AK)
Sununu, John E.- (R - NH)
Warner, John- (R - VA)
As for al-Aqta Sadr he must have had his puppet strings pulled-on by Iran now that Iran has demonstrated its outlaw politics with the capture and "propagandist" release of British naval personnel. Oh yeah, I don't think we should be surprised by the call by Sadr's Islamic facists to make war against American troops. He's already tortured and killed enough fellow Iraqi's, he's bored and needs a change of focus. Of course, the coward is hiding in Iran.
Hey - I read just the other day that Sen. John McCain stated that "It's safe to walk down the Baghdad street now."
If you have a hand in the invasion of IRAQ - I'm not sure HE will ever forgive you.
McCain is a political has been. Every congressperson and every citizen that did not question in the 9-11 aftermath hysteria the war in Iraq has blood on their hands. I questioned the legitamcy of the war before it was a reality.Unfortunately the majority of congress and the American public did not.
Our nation too.
The only way out of Iraq is to remove the PNAC traitors running the show.
As long as they are in power, there will be killing in the name of oil profits.
make no mistake, ANY GOVERNMENT CREATED UNDER THE SHADOW OF AN OCCUPATION (NO MATTER WHO THE OCCUPIER IS) IS A SHAM GOVERNMENT. There can be no legitimate government under an occupation. Because such a government cannot follow the will of its own citizens but must do the will of the occupiers. Al Maliki and every Iraqi who supports this government are collaborators and as far a country patriotism is concerned; collaboration is tantamount to traitor and will always be a dirty word.
Very true. JEB was going to run in 2012 if Hillary won, but now I doubt that he will. Imagine, that would give us over 30 years with two dynasties running the country. I thought that's one of the reasons our forefathers left Europe.
Actually though, JEB was the the Bush son that the family expected to succeed. George, on the other hand, being the family clown, joker, renegade, and just plain lazy, did not have the family confidence to succeed in anything except spending friends' money in failed businesses.
Go figure.
DEBKAfile%u2019s sources reveal here the sense of the four-point blueprint, which Assad read out to his American visitors from a piece of paper:
1. The US must recognize that the situation in Iraq has no military solution, only a political one. No indigenous Iraqi group or faction may be shut out of the political process. DEBKAfile%u2019s sources interpret this point as a demand to reinstate Saddam Hussein%u2019s Baath party in Iraq%u2019s political life as an integral part of the political solution.
2. No religious or ethnic community must be given a sense of victory over the others, and no group feel itself defeated. In other words, neither Shiite nor Sunni Muslims may be allowed triumph over the other.
3. Following point 2., the US must cease its practice of categorizing the various groups in Iraq and treat them all as equals. This means that America will no longer be allowed to regard the Sunni Arabs as enemies.
4. The US must generate circumstances in Iraq that provide its neighbors %u2013 Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey %u2013 with an interest in achieving an accommodation that guarantees Iraq%u2019s unity, security and stability.
Bush/Chimp supporters have pretty freakin' short memories...Lest we forget Chimp's brillant quotes
"Bring it On" safely at home at the White House
"Mission Accomplished" Three years ago on an Aircraft carrier.
"We're gonna bring Bin Ladin back dead or alive" and later recanting and saying "I don't think about him much"
And "Al Quaeda is in it's death throes" by his 2nd in command, D*ck Cheney.
Now, one would ask, who in their right mind would support someone that stupid, arrogant and incompetent? Your typical right wing neoclown monkey worshipper.
I think most of them were oxygen starved and didn't inhale much oxygen, likely explanation for their braindead rants.
"Associated Press April 8, 2007,
BAGHDAD %u2014 The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday."
And with this wonderful plan of imbedding small groups of our soldiers in hostile neighborhoods with Iraqi soldiers, who may now have a green light from their exhaulted a$$hole to slit throats, there's not going to be much sleep for our people...
Oh, and didntinhale,
yes... when the chips are down, we can come together... but I would suggest you gain control of your drools because if you think Pelosi's jaunt to Syria is going to result in a landslide for the f*cked up Republion party, then you my friend, are dillusional.
Although it is appropriate for both "Georges" she said it about Bush41 in 1988. I think it was a reference to the "dyslexia of the mouth" that both suffer.
They both lack the ability to engage their brain before putting their mouth in gear.
Well, its good to see Nancy Pelosi trying to use diplomacy instead of intimidation and military force to resolve the mess the Monkey in the White House created.
It's pretty pathetic when Bush and his supporters keep using the term "Terrorists" and "Enemies" when they have no idea who they "enemy" is.
If one can make an analogy, replace the "Terror" with the word "Crime" and replace the word "Enemy" with the word "Criminal".
Get the idea? We're fighting a "war", that will last for an eternity. U.S. forces are bombing "Shia" Militia groups. The government we put in place is a "Shia" majority. The U.S. public is so clueless, they probably don't see the connection.
Apparently, once the Limberger talking points are posted, the best they can do forever after is to copy/paste the same message over and over...
Such limited brain power is truly sad..
How much longer? Sadly a very long time.
Until 20012? Sadly, beyond that. We built massive bases to protect the pipeline that (will) take oil out through Israel. There's no way in hell these bases will be handed over to Iraqi (or Iranian) control, or any other control.
Just like we have troops in S. Korea to protect the S. Koreans and our bases, we will have troops in Iraq to protect our bases and also protect our "oil interest" at least until we have a viable alternative for oil. That won't be any time soon, probably not in my lifetime.
The difference is we are welcome in S. Korea; we are definitely not welcome in the middle east and never will be.
These Chimp worshippers are so delusional they can't seem to get their time periods or countries straight. We're talking 2007 and the Middle East, not the 1960's and Vietnam. Get it?
If Limbaugh, Cheney or Bush told these idiots Nancy Pelosi was a Communist Vietnamese insurgent spy who's working undercover for the Syrians; these inbred morons wouldn't question it. To call Bush supporters idiots is an insult to idiots.
How can one not get a belly aching laugh from some of these ludicrous rants. We have to thank all of the Chimp worshipping braindead idiots on this board. They're hilarious.
Re: "make no mistake, ANY GOVERNMENT CREATED UNDER THE SHADOW OF AN OCCUPATION (NO MATTER WHO THE OCCUPIER IS) IS A SHAM GOVERNMENT. There can be no legitimate government under an occupation. Because such a government cannot follow the will of its own citizens but must do the will of the occupiers."
Exactly right!
Out of Iraq!!!
www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow
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The AP is afraid of the Bush administration. They've seen how he and his neocons destroy anyone who get's in their way.
Dan Rather is an example. Rather was right about the memo; the memo was real, and given time, would have been proven real. The font technology did exist (IBM Selectric). But Rather was destroyed and the memo was dropped like a hot potato.
With dictators like Bush we don't have freedom of the press...
Since the end of the war in Iraq, thousands of civilians have died in violence on the streets. Support for the coalition forces based in Iraq is low - with 82% expressing a lack of confidence in them and 69% thinking they had made the security situation worse.
51% support attacks on coalition forces as compared to 2004 when only 17% did.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl
e_east/6451841.stm
"BAGHDAD (AP) - The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged the Iraqi army and police to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate on pushing American forces out of the country, according to a statement issued Sunday."
Also:
"NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis flocked to the holy city of Najaf on Sunday for a big demonstration called by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against the U.S. presence in Iraq.
"Sadr has urged Iraqis to protest in Najaf on Monday, the fourth anniversary of the day on which U.S. forces swept into central Baghdad in 2003. It is remembered around the world as the day a large statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in the Iraqi capital."
Monday's protest is expected to attract tens of thousands of Iraqis angry at the violence that grips their country, four years after U.S. forces ousted Saddam. Demonstrations will begin at a mosque in nearby Kufa, then move to Najaf.
I really don't blame Bush for all this suffering, its the millions of idiots who help vote him into office not once but twice and were too ignorant and stupid to see what a irresponsible numbskull that guy was and is.
"NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis flocked to the holy city of Najaf on Sunday for a big demonstration called by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against the U.S. presence in Iraq."
"Sadr has urged Iraqis to protest in Najaf on Monday, the fourth anniversary of the day on which U.S. forces swept into central Baghdad in 2003. It is remembered around the world as the day a large statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in the Iraqi capital."
"Monday's protest is expected to attract tens of thousands of Iraqis angry at the violence that grips their country, four years after U.S. forces ousted Saddam. Demonstrations will begin at a mosque in nearby Kufa, then move to Najaf."
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