A Good Poke in the Eye Makes Angry Neighbors

Mixing metaphors is about the only way to talk about the Bush administration's scrambled thinking.

First Bolton is assigned to the United Nations--the Archie Bunker of international diplomacy; now Wolfowitz to the World Bank--a guy who was wrong about EVERYTHING in Iraq and with no credentials for the job.

The Financial Times is reporting the the Europeans are unhappy with W2, but they don't have much of a choice but to go along; the World Bank is our show.

On 3/8. I wrote about a Bulgarian soldier killed by U.S. soldiers. I asked,"Just how wound-up are our soldiers? How frightened are they that they "spray with bullets" regular soldiers of the coalition?"

Here's a snippet from the Army investigator's report:

"The gunfire against our patrol was preceded by a terrorist attack on an American logistics convoy nine kilometres (5.6 miles) south of communication post number five and a second attack against a rapid deployment unit of post number six, three to five kilometres (2-3 miles) south of the same post," the statement said citing returns from the investigation.

"As a result the American post was brought under alert with a view to answering a possible attack in its sector of responsibility," the statement said.

"There has been no premeditated intent in the actions of the American servicemen ... but it's a fact that they didn't make enough effort to identify the objects moving on the main road ... and directly opened fire without any warning shots," the statement said.

A reasonable inference can be made from the report that the Iraqi rebel irregulars are having a substantial psychological effect on the U.S. soldiers who are under fire. They are extremely nervous (as rational people would be)but that does not excuse the fact that they failed to identify their targets. Another report specifically noted that the Bulgarians were driving a convoy of three humvees. The U.S. soldiers must have fired blindly because I would think that if they saw humvees their first conclusion would be that the convoy was American or coalition.

The situation is out of control and we need to get the U.S. forces out of Iraq as soon as humanly possible.

Got Unilateralism?




http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031005F.shtml

With Allies Like US...

The Bulgarian News agency reports that one of its soldiers was killed by American bullets the same day Giuliana Sgrena was hit and her rescuer was killed.

The Bulgarian's say, "The results from the investigation … give us enough grounds to assume that the death of Jr. Sgt. Gardev was caused by friendly fire," Svinarov said in a statement.

He said U.S. troops located some 150 meters (164 yards) from the spot of the killing sprayed with bullets the three-Humvee Bulgarian patrol after it fired warning shots in the air to halt a nearing Iraqi car."

Just how wound-up are our soldiers? How frightened are they that they "spray with bullets" regular soldiers of the coalition? It's one thing to worry about a 1982 Toyota racing directly toward you; it is quite another to shoot at Humvees that are marked with regular military designations. This sort of behavior requires explanation by the entire chain of command.

Journalist Killed in Iraq

Giuliana Sgrena's rendition of what happened to her a few days ago is troubling. While the President claims to be initiating a comprehensive investigation, the U. S. already repudiating her story. While being a war correspondent is inherently dangerous, a disturbing pattern is emerging as journalists die by U.S. bullets. Below is a listing (partial I believe) of those who have died:

Kamaran Abd al-Razaq Muhammad
6 April 2003, translator working for BBC; killed in northern Iraq in a "friendly fire" incident.Apologies for so little info and no photo. RIP.

Tariq Ayoub
8 April 2003, Aljazeera TV channel correspondent; killed in a US air strike at Aljazeera office in Baghdad. This tribute is from his colleagues. "The blood of Tariq was fair game, as was the blood of other journalists working for Al-Jazeera and the Abu Dhabi network; both were bombed at the same time-followed by an attack on journalists in the Palestine Hotel, an attack that occurred probably because of its name. The message we take from Tariq's killing makes CENTCOM spokesman Vincent Brooks' statement seem quite ironic: "We bomb locations with precision, and we pay attention to locations where journalists are present." In reality, Tariq's killing demonstrates that the U.S. military preferred that Tariq and journalists like him ride on the back of an American tank, follow the troops around, eat and drink with them, and write in line with U.S. military desires. His death is a message directed to the remaining journalists and reporters who are still in the field, who are giving alternate perspectives on what is propagated by Bush, Rumsfeld, and others from the U.S. administration. Ayoub left a wife and a one-year-old daughter. In an interview with the station on the day of his death, his wife Dima said: "Eventually everyone will forget him, but we will never forget him. He is with God now." RIP.

Taras Protsyuk
8 April 2003, Reuters cameraman; killed when a US tank opened fire on Palestine hotel. Protsyuk is survived by his wife and an eight-year-old son. Taras, a Reuter's journalist from Ukraine, died instantly when a US tank shelled the Baghdad hotel where he was staying on April 8 2003. The attack came during heavy fighting between advancing US forces and Iraqis in the area around the Palestine Hotel, which was the base for dozens of media workers. Spanish cameraman Jose Couso was also killed in the attack. Three others, all Reuters journalists, were wounded. RIP


Jose Couso
8 April 2003, cameraman for Spain's Telecinco TV; killed along with fellow journalist Taras Ayoub, when a US tank opened fire on Palestine hotel. Couso, 37, worked for the Spanish television channel Tele 5. He was wounded in the attack on the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel - the Reuters suite where many journalists were known by the US to be staying - and later died from his injuries. RIP.

Mazin Dana
18 August 2003, a Palestinian cameraman with Reuters; shot dead by US soldiers while filming outside Baghdad's Abu Gharaib prison. According to Mazin's colleague Nael al-Shyoukhi, US troops approached the team on Sunday while they were filming and opened without warning fire-hitting Mazen in the chest. Video footage captured by Mazen minutes before his death records the incident and shows that there were no disturbances in the area at that time. He bled to death on the scene. RIP.


Ali Abdul Aziz
18 March 2004, cameraman for Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV channel; shot dead by US troops in central Baghdad. Ali, a journalist for al-Arabiya television, died from wounds after being shot by US soldiers late Thursday, a correspondent from the Dubai-based satellite news channel said. "Ali al-Khatib died 30 minutes ago" in hospital, said Ahmad Salah, an al-Arabiyah correspondent, at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT). "Khatib was shot in the head", Salah said, his voice choked with tears. RIP.

Ali al-Khatib
18 March 2004, al-Arabiya TV channel journalist in Iraq; shot dead by US troops in central Baghdad. His colleague Ali Abdul Aziz, a cameraman with the same station, was shot dead in the incident, which occurred near the Burj al-Hayat hotel in central Baghdad, the target of a rocket attack Thursday night. "My brother had asked US forces if they could film the Burj al-Hayat hotel and they told him it was fine. Moments later, a Volvo did not stop at the checkpoint and the soldiers opened fire," said the cameraman's brother Haidar Abdel Aziz. "My brother and his colleague wanted to leave, they ran to their car and an armoured vehicle opened fire on them." Both Abdul Aziz and Khatib were Iraqi nationals. RIP.

http://www.kirkbytimes.co.uk/antiwaritems/journalists_killed_iraq.html

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How Can We Say These Things?

Democracy Now! reported today that, "In Washington, Republican Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas has recommended to President Bush that the U.S. consider attacking Syria with nuclear weapons. Johnson recently told a church gathering, 'Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore.'"

What astounds me is that he felt it appropriate to say such a thing to a Christian church gathering. Someone needs to remind him that Jesus chose not to call in an air strike at the time he was taken prisoner by the Roman Army:

52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to [his disciple], “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Matthew 26:52-54 (New International Version)

If Jesus could do without the legions of angels, certainly we can do without an F-15 carrying a nuclear payload to Syria! How can a US Senator be so stupid? Johnson's behavior is truly amazing.


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