News & Views 10/09/07

Photo: Shi'ite refugees wait for food rations in a refugee camp in the outskirts of Baghdad October 8, 2007. A Red Crescent official said they evacuated some 50 families from a village in Diyala province after some of them were killed and others were threatened by insurgents to leave the area. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

The Fertile Crescent

This week on War News Radio, Iraqi farmers are in trouble. They are now cut off from the government support they used to receive and are hampered by an uncertain market. Listen now to Anne Kolker’s report. Then, we examine how pollution is affecting daily life in the Iraqi city of Kut. Listen now to Candice Nguyen’s report. And, in Iraq 101, we profile Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and take a look at his influence on Iraqi politics and daily life. Listen now to Alex Imas’s report. Finally, in our A Day in the Life series, an Iraqi ministry worker shares her story. Listen now. These stories, plus the week’s news, from War News Radio.

US Military Destroys Iraqi Homes By Mistake

House demolitions in Adhamiya have been one of many tactics employed by the United States Military in its attempts to quell violence and insurgents in the troubled neighborhood. The tactic of house demolition has been a familiar one to the United States, used as early as 2003 to destroy the homes of suspected insurgents. This tactic was taken from the experience of Israeli Defense Force’ behavior in the West Bank and Gaza. It’s easy to believe the American forces were acting on what they believed to be noble intentions. In 2003 Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told the USA Today, “If I saw that house go away, I’d feel more secure,” in reference to the destroying the home of a “terrorist across the street“. Unfortunately Brigadier General Kimmitt was not considering the impact of home destruction in dense urban areas such as Raghiba Khatoon in Adhamiya. In this neighborhood one empty house was demolished, according to neighbors, they were told by US soldiers that the house had bombs inside. Rather than searching the home and clearing the suspected ordnance, Iraqis in the area told Alive in Baghdad the soldiers detonated the home, severely damaging several others in the area.

IRAQ: Shortage of safe water in Missan Province poses heath risk

A shortage of chemicals for water purification is adversely affecting water quality in Missan Province, a predominantly Shia region some 380km south of Baghdad, and posing a health risk as people resort to drawing water from the polluted River Tigris, according to aid agencies. The river, with its tributaries, is the main source of the province's water which is pumped through water treatment facilities to the main towns. Amarah, the provincial capital, has not had its mains water supply treated since early September for lack of chemicals. The problem is compounded by the daily arrival in the province of displaced families. Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from central and northern provinces have flocked to Missan since February 2006, which is considered to be relatively safe, and this is putting pressure on the limited water resources. According to a November 2006 report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the available water supply meets only 60 percent of the needs of Amarah and the main towns. "Rural areas rely on drinking water directly from the marshes, water that is highly saline, untreated and often contaminated because of the lack of sanitation systems," the report said.

In Baghdad, elusive electricity is rare delight

Child: "Mother, mother! Daddy was electrocuted!" Mother: "We have power?" — Popular Iraqi joke. It was October, but still too hot to sleep inside, so the eight members of the Faekh family climbed onto the roof of their house for another night of torment. It wasn't just the nagging fear of a bomb on their road and the thumping passage of U.S. helicopters. It wasn't just the clatter and exhaust from generators all over the neighborhood. It was impossible to sleep well when they had to keep constant watch on a light by the front gate, a light that wasn't even on. "God bless Prophet Muhammad," said the mother, Akhbal. She and her teenage daughter, Abeer, leaped up. No matter that it was after 2 a.m. The power was on and so was the race to harness it. They had an hour to wash clothes and iron them so that Akhbal's husband, Haidar, and the six children could be presentable at work and school.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

Turkey says ready to send troops into N. Iraq

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gave the green light on Tuesday for a possible military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels hiding there after a series of deadly attacks on Turkish security forces. Erdogan is under heavy pressure from Turkey's powerful army and opposition parties to take tough action against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after they shot dead 13 soldiers on Sunday near the Iraqi border. Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said Turkey's parliament would need to authorize any large-scale military operation -- a scenario most analysts say remains unlikely -- but he said such permission was not required for limited, "hot pursuit" raids. Washington has urged Turkey, a NATO ally, not to take military action in mainly Kurdish northern Iraq, fearing this could destabilize the most peaceful region in the country. [I guess Washington wants to be the only ones who destabilize the region. – dancewater]

HISTORY

Haditha Marine squad leader should not face murder charges: investigating officer
October 5, 2007 [JURIST] The investigating officer who headed the Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder] for US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website] has recommended that Wuterich not face unpremeditated murder charges but instead be tried for negligent homicide, defense lawyers said Thursday.

Federal judge refuses to dismiss Murtha defamation lawsuit over Haditha comments
September 29, 2007 [JURIST] A federal judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against US Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and ruled that Murtha must provide a deposition in the case. US Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website], who is facing charges [JURIST report] for his alleged role in the.

Dereliction of duty charges dropped against US Marine in Haditha case
September 18, 2007 [JURIST] A US Marine Corps commanding officer ordered Tuesday that charges be dismissed [press release] against Marine Capt. Lucas McConnell for failing to report the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive]. McConnell was granted immunity from prosecution by.

US Marine officer accused in Haditha probe rejects 'cover-up' plea bargain
September 11, 2007 [JURIST] A lawyer for US Marine First Lt. Andrew Grayson, an intelligence officer accused of mishandling an investigation into the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive], said Monday that Grayson has rejected a plea offer from military prosecutors requiring..

US Marine officers censured for handling of Haditha Iraqi murders probe
September 6, 2007 [JURIST] The Secretary of the Navy on Wednesday handed down letters of censure [press release, PDF] to three US Marine officers for improper performance of duties related to the reporting and investigation of the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] in.

Haditha Marine commander faces Article 32 hearing
August 30, 2007 [JURIST] A preliminary hearing began Thursday at Camp Pendleton [official website], California, in the court-martial of US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website], commander of the platoon implicated in the killing and suspected cover-up of the death of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha.

Haditha investigator recommends dropping murder charges against US Marine
August 24, 2007 [JURIST] A US Marines investigating officer has recommended that murder charges be dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum [advocacy profile] for his role in the killing and suspected cover-up of the death of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] in November 2005.

Charges dismissed against two US Marines in Haditha Iraqi civilian killings
August 9, 2007 [JURIST] US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Mattis [official profile] has dismissed all charges against Lance Cpl. Justine I. Sharratt and Capt. Randy W. Stone for their alleged roles in the killing and suspected cover-up of the death of 24 Iraqi civilians [JURIST report] at Haditha

Nutcases in the Wall Street Journal: Haditha

The indictment of U.S. troops was inevitable. You knew it had to happen. Haditha, an "incident" involving American troops in Iraq, is now part of the erosion of support for the war in Iraq. The Iraq Syndrome has finally arrived. [Got that? Anyone who questions or opposes the killing of civilians is undermining the support for war in Iraq, and this means the “Iraq Syndrome” has arrived – and that we are somehow “weak” for questioning or opposing the killing of innocent civilians. And, as the reports above show, it is highly likely that no one will be prosecuted for killing of civilians, even when the Marine in question states in advance that he would do exactly that. – dancewater]

Quote of the day: "Cowardice asks the question: is it safe?
Expediency asks the question: is it politic?
Vanity asks the question: is it popular?
But conscience asks the question: is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular---but one must take it because it is right."
-- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.