BAGHDAD, June 8, 2008
U.S. Soldier Killed In Northern Iraq
20 Wounded In Suicide Car Bomb Attack Targeting U.S. Base
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Iraq: 5 Years At War
Five years after the U.S.-led invasion, the war wears on.
Eighteen of the wounded were American soldiers and two were Iraqi contractors working at the base in Tamim province, according to a brief statement from the military.
Tamim has a mixed population of Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen, with the oil-rich city of Kirkuk as its capital. Three American soldiers were killed last Wednesday by gunfire in Tamim.
Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir, a senior officer in the Kirkuk police department, said the bomber targeted a U.S. patrol base in a mostly Sunni Arab residential area in Rashad, about 25 miles southwest of Kirkuk.
The suicide attacker rammed his vehicle into blast walls outside the gates of the small U.S. base, located in a residential neighborhood of Sunni Arabs, Qadir said. He added that the explosives were concealed under tanned animal hides.
Earlier, the U.S. military issued a statement saying an American soldier died late Saturday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad.
At least 4,094 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
In Baghdad, four police recruits were killed in a blast at the National Police headquarters, authorities said.
Another 22 people were wounded near the building's gate where recruits were gathering, they said. Police gave conflicting reports about whether the attack used mortars or a roadside bomb.
A mortar shell landed just outside Baghdad's Green Zone on Sunday, killing three civilians and wounding seven others, police said. The mortar was apparently targeting the Defense Ministry, which is inside the U.S.-guarded diplomatic zone, but fell short, they said.
Mortar and rocket attacks were once a daily occurrence in the Green Zone in central Baghdad, but have fallen off in recent weeks.
Another civilian was killed by a roadside bomb Sunday in northern Baghdad, police said. Five others were wounded in the attack, which took place about 100 yards (meters) from the Turkish Embassy. The target was believed to be a passing police patrol and not the embassy building.
Meanwhile, six shepherds were killed execution-style before dawn Sunday by suspected militants linked to al Qaeda masquerading as fellow herders east of Baghdad, police said.
The killings took place in a sprawling desert area where such militants are believed to have sought refuge after U.S.-Iraqi offensives against them in western Anbar province and in Baghdad, police said.
In Basra, Shiite extremists fired 10 rockets Sunday morning at the British base at the city's airport in the first attack there in nearly a month. No casualties were reported, but the attack raised concern that Shiite militias were trying to regroup after U.S. and British-backed Iraqi forces gained control of the city from extremists.
The U.S. command also announced that American soldiers in Baghdad captured an Iraqi arms dealer and "assassination squad" leader responsible for trafficking Shiite extremists in and out of neighboring Iran for training.
The arrest followed long-standing U.S. allegations that Iran arms, trains and funds Shiite Muslim militiamen inside Iraq - charges that Tehran denies. The arrest also coincided with a two-day visit to Iran by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his second such trip in a year.
The Iraqi prime minister, himself a Shiite, is struggling to keep Washington happy while reassuring Iran, the largest Shiite nation, that a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security agreement would not make his country an American launching pad for attacks on Iran.
U.S. arrests against Shiite militiamen with alleged ties to Iran was likely to be on the agenda for al-Maliki's talks with Iranian officials.
U.S. soldiers, acting on intelligence from other Shiite militiamen already in custody, captured the Basra-based "special groups" leader late Saturday at a hideout in eastern Baghdad, according to a military statement.
"The wanted man is alleged to be a commander of an assassination squad in Basra, an arms dealer with connections to Iran and a document counterfeiter," the statement said.
He also arranges transportation of criminals into Iran for training, and then back into Iraq, it said. One of the leader's aides was also arrested without incident.
The U.S. military uses the term "special groups" to describe Shiite fighters defying a cease-fire order from anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militiamen fought American and Iraqi forces for seven weeks until a May truce.
The military said in another statement that it captured six more suspected Sunni extremists Sunday in the northern city of Mosul, including an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq leader and another man who is a wiring expert in charge of a bombing cell there.
Two women were injured when American soldiers "breached the door of a target building" during the arrest raid, the statement said. Both were treated at the scene and then transported to an Iraqi hospital, it said.
Mosul is believed to be one of the last urban strongholds of al Qaeda in Iraq, and U.S. and Iraqi forces have battled with militants there in recent months.
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See all 77 CommentsSo what if 4,096 U.S. soldiers have died so far? Oil companies are making record profits and that''s all that matters.
And so it continues in the Middle East - innocents dying so that foraging foreign armies can feed themselves - as it has for thousands and thousands of years.
I don''t know much about religion, but if the timing of the Biblical Armageddon relies upon a sufficient accumulation of the sins of mankind, then Bush, Cheney & PNAC, LLP are certainly hastening its arrival.
Re: "The military said in another statement that it captured six more suspected Sunni extremists Sunday in the northern city of Mosul, including an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq leader and another man who is a wiring expert in charge of a bombing cell there."
Well, we know that this is a lie, since there is no "al-Qaeda-inIraq" in any real sense- never has been- and since our military commanders have recently announced that this imaginary group of boogie-men has already been re-defeated, yet again.
%u201CWhy we stand for immediate withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq%u201D
%u201CTHE U.S. occupation of Iraq has not liberated the Iraqi people, but has made life worse for most Iraqis.%u201D
%u201CTens of thousands of U.S. service people have been killed or maimed, and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis have lost their lives as a result of the U.S. invasion in 2003, the ongoing occupation, and the violence unleashed by them.%u201D
%u201CIraq''s infrastructure has been destroyed, and U.S. plans for reconstruction abandoned. There is less electricity, less clean drinking water, and more unemployment today than before the U.S. invasion.%u201D
%u201CAll of the justifications initially provided by the U.S. for waging war on Iraq have been exposed as lies; the real reasons for the invasion %u2014 to control Iraq''s oil reserves and to increase U.S. strategic influence in the region %u2014 now stand revealed.%u201D
%u201CThe Bush administration has insisted again and again that stability, democracy, and prosperity are around the next bend in the road%u2026But the U.S. has deliberately stoked sectarian divisions in its ongoing attempt to install a U.S.-friendly regime, thus driving Iraq towards civil war.%u201D
%u201CWe call on the U.S. to get out of Iraq %u2014 not in six months, not in a year, but now.%u201D
www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow
Re: "bush the terrorist must be judged and hanged ASAP !"
Posted by kretos
Clearly, this of utmost importance for the people of the U.S. and the planet.
Just remember this you muslim terrorists, you are NOT out of danger until after January....
RE: "It is very apparent that we have terrorists who loathe and hate Americans with a passion on here posing as Americans and trying to divide us, forment discontent and cause anger."
Posted by edintex
How sad it must be for the remaining handful of Bush regime dead-enders to see their world closing in on them. All they have left is their imagination, allowing them to escape "personal responsibility" for their own cowardice and stupidity.
Everywhere they look, "terrorists" are out to get them.
Pathetic.
Ps- You making wine, Ed?
The word is "foment".
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Posted by downsteamjim at 06:49 PM : Jun 08, 2008
+ report abuse
RIGHT!! Folks THIS is a disgusting little Bootlicker who called anyone and everyone who tried with all they had to keep his fuhrer, Sir Lies-A-Lot from invading Iraq names like Un-America or Un-Patriotic. IF we''d have listened to them we aren''t bogged down in Iraq, we have captured those who attacked us and Iran isn''t the power they are today. I''d say this is the LAST creature on Planet EARTH we should be listening to right now. Hard to figure these nazi''s and their bootlicking!! SIEG HEIL BUSH
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Posted by underdogus at 06:15 PM : Jun 08, 2008
+ report abuse
Fascist don''t have a clue anymore.. all they are left with it attacking their fellow citizens... Embarrasssing slime these fascist!
Posted by edintex
Did you miss the 2006 Election you pathetic bootlicker! We the PEOPLE what this rediculous Policy and Occupation SHUT DOWN! Now stand... let the Fuhrer and Shooter you are out here defending the Reich over the People and the Country!! Ready??? SIEG HEIL MEIN FUHRER!! Good little bootlicker!!
The word is "foment"."
Posted by FeelFree4U
True, it is foment.
BUT I believe when you made the ''wine'' comment the word you were looking at was "ferment". ;-)
Yeah, we went into Iraq to protect our oil supply. Let us not forget that Saddam was also gassing the Kurds and had killed and put into mass graves 300,000 and counting.
The question I keep asking myself is: "If a Democrat had acted in the same way with the same result, would he be considered an idiot or a savior and a genius?".
I personally think the latter. Bush has done some good things (and has made big blunders). Is the media''s spin on the situation fair? Not in the slightest.
Good luck to your wet-behind-the-ears Obama. May him and his Allah bless the Middle East for many years. :rolleyes:
Posted by j-whitman at 07:11 PM : Jun 08, 2008
No, those "losers" that are losing their home lost it because they were IDIOTS! They obviously bought WAY more house than they could afford (if you can only afford the interest payments, that should tell you something...).
Good riddance! Hope they end up living in a refrigerator box for what they did to those that made sound financial decisions.
Posted by nonyabiz2 at 07:43 PM
Well hallelujah and praise Jesus. Finally we have a neocon admitting that the motivation to invade Iraq was oil. The cost of the Iraq war will easily exceed $10,000 per taxpayer. Imagine if we had funneled that money instead into alternative energy solutions so we wouldn''t be dependent on middle east oil. Well, the oil men (Bush, Cheney, Rice, etc.) wouldn''t go for that idea.
A trillion dollars wasted and 4100 American lives lost and now we are paying $4 a gallon for gas in large part due to the instability we created in the middle east. The oil industry is loving it. Bush, Cheney, McCain and all the war supporters in this country can go to h3ll.
Re: "True, it is foment."
"BUT I believe when you made the ''wine'' comment the word you were looking at was "ferment". ;-)"
I realize that, but the joke is not as funny using the correct spelling.
Posted by nonyabiz2 at 07:43 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Let''s also not forget that Reagan authorized the sale of the chemicals to Saddam that he used to make those weapons.
Re: "Let us not forget that Saddam was also gassing the Kurds and had killed and put into mass graves 300,000 and counting."
A. That has been disputed. (see Stephen Pelletiere)
B. That is irrelevant. There is no legal justification at all for attacking/destroying a country because we say there leader is a "bad guy".
C. This was not the primary justification offered for the illegal invasion.
Anyway, when do we get to be "liberated"?
Posted by FeelFree4U at 08:01 PM : Jun 08, 2008
FeelFree, Do you actually think we need to be liberated?
Posted by FeelFree4U
FeelFree- Were these FACTS substantiated while you were visiting IRAQ and uplifting our troops? Or,,,where you visiting the blog''s again...
RE: "yea everyone, its important in your life to never forget that"
Posted by jamesm12341
Good point. It exposes yet another Bush regime lie.
We all remember the famous handshake photo too, of Saddam and his buddy, Donald Rumsfeld.
So far 4094 Dead Americans, caused by 935 lies.
As Reverend Harry Powell said, "A liar is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord!"
Goerge W Bush - An abomintaion in the eyes of the Lord!
Son of Satan.
Damned for all time!
Damned for all time!
Bill Clinton - An abomintaion in the eyes of the Lord!
Son of Satan.
Damned for all time!
Now wouldn''t it be terrible if the post looked like this? After all, He lied under oath! Which also is a felony and reason for impeachment.
But I would never wish it upon him as you wish it upon Bush (I am not a Bush fan).
Posted by tcandrews62 at 09:09 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Sure you''re not a Bush fan! (liar!)
Yeah, one lie cost us one dry cleaning bill.
935 lies cost us 4094 Dead Americans.
$3 trillion.
$4.50 a gallon gas.
That''s a hard one to decide, which liar is worse.
George W Bush is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord!
George W Bush - Son of Satan.
Damned for all time.
Posted by FeelFree4U
FeelFree, Do you realize what would happen to all of the Iraqi''s that have helped or not attacked the US if we were to pull out immediately? I agree, I certainly don''t wan''t my son or daughter having to serve in Iraq dealing with the same issues 10 years from now. But, the idea of a timeline withdraw is foolish in the course of war. Why give the enemy hope? The type of government that the enemy wish to place on Iraq would be similar to what the taliban had in place. That type of government has no tolerance for anything but true fascist Islam (extremist version). This would mean it would be legal for husbands to beat there wives (many). For family members to enforce "honor" killings. Children will be brought up to hate Jews and anyone who disagrees with the koran. They believe it is their right to enslave Christians and Jews who will not submit to "allah" as it is written in the koran. For you non-believers, death is the future. By the way, the God of the Christian and Jews is not the same as the god of the muslims. Just because we are both monotheistic, it doesn''t make it the same God.
Posted by tcandrews62 at 09:40 PM : Jun 08, 2008
You give yourself away again.
Someone posting from Tel Aviv.
If you Israelis wants us to do your dirty work for you again, we ain''t got no more money and manpower.
If you have a problem with the arabs, go nuke them yourself! You got the bombs!
One war for Israel is enough.
Posted by underdogus at 09:46 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Sure and what are you?
Hiding behind your keyboard while other Americans die for you in Iraq?
You''re as brave as your hero - Alabama Bush who singlehandedly defended Alabama from the Vietcongs!
LOL
Posted by tcandrews62 at 09:40 PM : Jun 08, 2008
By the way, the God of the Christians and Jews gave us Ten Commandments.
# 6 - Thou Shalt Not Kill.
What part of "Thou shalt not kill" do you not understand?
Many families suffer he and his friends get richer
Yeah, one lie cost us one dry cleaning bill.
935 lies cost us 4094 Dead Americans.
$3 trillion.
$4.50 a gallon gas.
That''''s a hard one to decide, which liar is worse.
George W Bush is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord!
George W Bush - Son of Satan.
Damned for all time.
Posted by jerr11 at 09:29 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Jerr11, I disagreed with bush going into Iraq. I believe that he was misled into believing all of the "facts". Cheney pushed hard for this war and I believe that he coerced Bush and the rest of the cabinet to "go for it". There is only one odd thing. The security group, comprised of Democrats & Republicans, were privy to the same intel as the President. Either for political cowardness or in agreement with the President, they went along with the decision to attack.
The FACT is that we are now in a war with a real enemy. We need to break the will of the enemy to attack as was done with the Japanese, Italians, and Germans during WW2. Even Abe Lincoln made the Civil War so treacherous for the south in order to break the will of the people and that such a war would never happen again. aka atom bomb on Japan & fire bombings on Germany.
If we are going to fight a war, fight it as a war. Not a nation building expose!
Posted by underdogus at 09:46 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Interesting how the neocons love to label others cowards while none of them ever ever served in combat.
Their specialty is to start wars that they and their children don''t believe in enough to fight themselves.
So they send other people''s kids to fight and die for them.
And their idea of bravery is to stay in the homeland and get rich from the war.
Notice how rich the neocons have all gotten since this endless war on terror started, especially the sham war in Iraq.
The Iraq war is basically Halliburton''s business plan.
Before the war Halliburton''s stock was trading at $10 a share. After the war it went to over $40 a share.
War is great for business!
# 6 - Thou Shalt Not Kill.
What part of "Thou shalt not kill" do you not understand?
Posted by jerr11 at 09:51 PM : Jun 08, 2008
What I do understand jerr11 is that you blend killing in self defence and murder into one group. In the Ten Commandments of God, He is referring to murder. God allowed for the death penalty for certain offenses committed by the offenders. Unless you believe that death in any manor is murder?
By the way, I am not from Israel. But I do support its'' democratic government and existence.
This is because they believe they are special children of god. Make no mistake. Their philosophy is that god has chosen them to be better than everyone and all the rest, doomed to hell, are supposed to be slaves for their every want and desire. So yes, if as the chosen of god, they want a war, you the not-chosen, the lower class, must do and obey because they are special.
I don''t know if this is what they believe, but the bible puts it this way. The Hebrews were chosen to be an example before the world. If they did not follow God''s law, they were punished. And if they obeyed God, they were blessed. God was using them before the world as an example.
GRAB THE MORAL HIGH GROUND AND LEAD!
THERE IS NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE EAST AMERICA NEEDS!
STAND UP OR SHUT UP!
Indeed! They suffered for the lack of concern about their fellow man. Read Isaiah 1. God told them that when they prayed He couldn''t even look at them, as their hands were full of blood. But many people, along with their nationalistic thinking, think they are above God''s censure because they are so special that they are chosen to be rich and better off than others. I am very familiar with this warped thinking as I see it here everyday by the so-called evangelical christians, who are merciless in their attacks on others.
Posted by tcandrews62 at 10:07 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Good point, but that''s precisely the point!
What has invading Iraq got to do with defending the US?
We all know it was for personal revenge.
It was for Halliburton and ******** Cheney''s friends.
It was to remove a threat to Israel.
But it had nothing to do with our security.
And now all truth is all coming out (Thanks Scott McClellan)!
All the fake intel, the lies, the posturing, the fearmongering.
I was and still am for the war in Afghanistan and I was happy to see the Talibans vanquished.
But Iraq?
It''s a costly sham war based on 935 lies!
And George W Bush will pay for it in his next life!
George W Bush - Son of Satan
Damned for all time!
"The security group, comprised of Democrats & Republicans, were privy to the same intel as the President. Either for political cowardness or in agreement with the President, they went along with the decision to attack."
I believe that most politicians who "supported" this war, did so out of fear of being labeled "un-American" or "un-patriotic", just as those who disagreed with the Patriot Act were.
In post 9/11 America, the Republicanazis labeled many true patriots as either being cowardly or un-patriotic because they disagreed with the Bush admin - or rather, those neo-con criminals known as PNAC.
This is what happens when we have an idiot as President.
Posted by downsteamjim at 06:49 PM : Jun 08, 2008
Wasn''t the original reason for invading Iraq that they had WMDs and posed a threat to the US. Then it was al-Qaida and then spreading democracy. Where and when did Israel come into the grand formula ?
It is amazing that none of these problems existed until Bush became president but now you are worrying about the next president. Just where have you been ?
Related:
Boop, boop, boop....
"Poland to fully withdraw troops from Iraq by mid-October"
Posted by IOWEIGN at 12:39 AM : Jun 09, 2008
You can tell these Israeli trolls a mile away from their constant references to Israel.
I tell them, if you guys don''t like the Arabs, nuke them off this planet. They''ve got the bombs and what do I care!
That''s the only way to achieve their aims of dominating the Middle East.
But we ain''t got no more money and manpower to start another war for them.
One war is quite enough!
In the meantime, everytime I pump my $4.50 a gallon gas, I thank Bush, Cheney, Halliburton, Wolfowitz and all the Neocon-Israeli Coalition for creating the economic mess we''re in right now!
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