[A-List] Iraq: Fighting Rages, Deaths Mount, Condemnation Of Abuses Increases

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) US Deaths Reach 757 As Fighting Erupts Throughout
Iraq
2) American Soldier Killed, Two Injured In Baghdad
Attack
3) Southern Iraq: Twelve Killed In Fighting Between
Western Troops, Insurgents
4) Iraqis Protest Abuse In US Jails, Fighting Flares
In South
5) Furious Iraqis Wait At The Gates Of Abu Ghraib
6) US-Appointed Rights Minister Resigns Over
Widespread Prisoner Abuse
7) Iraqi Accuses Americans Of Torturing Prisoners
8) 116-Nation Non-Aligned Movement Set To Condemn
Abuse Of Iraqis
9) Canadian Citizen: US Soldiers Tortured Me, Ottawa
Did Nothing
10) The Fable Of American Democracy: What It Means To
Iraqis



http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=776975&PageNum=1

Itar-Tass
May 5, 2004

US losses in Iraq add up to 757 men, fighting
continuing


CAIRO - Fire was exchanged in Karbala on Tuesday
between men of the Shi?ite ?Mahdi Army?, commanded by
radical leader Muqtada al-Sadr, and Polish soldiers of
the coalition forces, the Al-Jazeera Television
reports. The ?Mahdi Army? has warned the American
occupation authorities that it would attack any
control posts established between the holy Shi?ite
cities of An-Najaf and Karbala.

Al-Jazeera also reported on Tuesday that there was a
powerful blast in the area of the Baghdad
international airport. It gave no details. At the same
time, Al-Jazeera has learned that the Americans had
released 208 Iraqis from the Abu-Greib jail west of
Baghdad.

The situation in El-Fallujah, which the Americans had
besieged for a whole month, is relatively calm. U.S.
marines have abandoned several of their positions in
the northern districts of the city. Peaceful
civilians, who had fled from the constantly shelled
city, are now returning to El-Fallujah.

In the meantime, clashes flared up again on Tuesday
near the city of El-Kufa between Shit?ite resistance
fighters and American servicemen. There are no reports
on the casualties sustained by both sides. Five Iraqis
were killed and about twenty others were wounded the
day before not far from El-Kufa, in the city of
An-Najaf in the course of the battle with the
Americans.

Fierce clashes flared up again last night in the area
of An-Najaf, which is controlled by the Iraqi
Shi?ites. According to Wednesday reports, the
coalition forces tried to drive the ?Mahdi Army? out
of the town of Diwaniyah, which is sixty kilometres to
the south of the holy Shi?ite city of An-Najaf. The
fighting is still going on. There are yet no reports
on the casualties and destructions.

Four American soldiers were killed in a traffic
accident on Monday evening, which occurred sixty
kilometres to the north of Baghdad, near the village
of Halis, says a Tuesday report of a U.S. Command.

According to official U.S. figures, the total American
losses in Iraq since the beginning of the military
operation there have added to 757 officers and men.
Five hundred and fifty of them were killed in action.

Four Iraqi resistance fighters were killed on Tuesday
northwest of Baghdad when the Americans had shelled
their positions. The latter decided to do it after the
Iraqis opened fire on an American army aircraft, which
was furnishing air cover to U.S. land patrols.

An American helicopter had reportedly crashed at
El-Kufa. According to Al-Jazeera, it was shot down by
men of the ?Mahdi Army?.

An activist of Baath Party, which had ruled the
country in Hussein?s days, was killed near the holy
Shi?ite city of Karbala, approximately 110 kilometres
to the south of Baghdad. The body of Wahhab Abdel
Razzak Abeid Leis, an adherent of Saddam Hussein, was
reportedly found in a bullet-riddled car near his
house. The man was a medium-rank activist and member
of the ?Jerusalem Army? ? a volunteer corps, which was
set up in 2001, when Hussein was in power. It had put
up resistance to the American troops for a short while
at the beginning of April 2003, before the fall of
Baghdad.
------------------------------------------------------
2)
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/124/world/1st_Armored_Division_soldier_k:.shtml

Associated Press
May 5, 2004

1st Armored Division soldier killed in Baghdad, two
wounded


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents opened fire Monday in the
Iraqi capital, killing one American soldier and
wounding two others, the U.S. military said.

The troops were providing security at a weapons cache
that was discovered the night before, the command
said. The soldiers were from the Germany-based 1st
Armored Division.

The latest attacks brought the U.S. death toll to 152
since a wave of violence began on April 1. At least
754 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began
in March 2003.
------------------------------------------------------
3)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/83330/1/.html

Agence France-Press
May5, 2004

Twelve killed in coalition-militia clashes in southern
Iraq


KARBALA, Iraq : Twelve people were killed in clashes
between coalition forces and rebel Shiite militia
overnight in the southern cities of Diwaniyah and
Karbala, coalition and Iraqi sources said.

Nine militiamen were killed in clashes in Diwaniya,
Ali Kharsan, spokesman for rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr,
said from the Shiite shrine city of Najaf.

Late Tuesday, Kharsan told AFP "violent clashes are
currently taking place in the middle of the city," 180
kilometres (100 miles) from Baghdad.

A US military spokesman confirmed fighting took place
but had no further details.

Violence also ripped the Shiite shrine city of
Karbala, where Polish troops conducted night patrols
and traded fire with Sadr's followers. At least three
people were killed, including a coalition soldier.

The soldier, whose nationality was not immediately
given, was killed in a battle in which coalition
forces took over several buildings occupied by the
Mehdi Army, a coalition statement said.

Polish forces form the command element in Karbala, 110
kilometres (68 miles) south of Baghdad. They started
distributing pamphlets late Tuesday warning they would
conduct nightly patrols in order to disarm the Medhi
Army.

In addition to the coalition soldier killed in
Karbala, Police Captain Mohammed Salem and doctor Ali
al-Ardawi, director of Karabala's emergency hospital,
said two other people were killed and one wounded in
the battles.

On Tuesday, three insurgents were killed in fighting
near Najaf, where Sadr has dug in with his militia
around the Imam Ali mausoleum, the city's holiest
site.

Sadr is wanted in connection with the murder of a
rival cleric last year.

Five Iraqis were also killed and 20 wounded Monday
during several hours of fighting between the two sides
in Najaf.

The cleric, the scion of an illustrious religious
family, vowed to lead his followers to martyrdom, in a
visist to his armed supporters in Kufa, the town
neighboring Najaf.

The coalition, which has dispatched a force of 2,500
US troops to the Najaf area, insists Sadr must face
justice and disband his militia.
------------------------------------------------------
4)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/83355/1/.html

Agence France-Presse
May 5, 2004

Iraqis protest abuse in US jails, fighting flares in
south

-"Abu Ghraib, witness of American savagery," said one
banner. "US Army go home. Your families are waiting
for you - this country is for Iraqis," said another.
-Violence also ripped the Shiite shrine city of
Karbala, where Polish troops took over several
buildings occupied by the Mehdi Army. At least three
people were killed, including a coalition soldier,
coalition and hospital sources said.



BAGHDAD : Enraged Iraqis protested against "American
savagery" in US-run jails as fresh fighting between
coalition forces and guerrillas loyal to radical
Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr killed 17 people.

Some 500 Iraqis protested outside Abu Ghraib, the
US-run jail at the centre of a damaging scandal over
prisoner abuse, a day after US officials revealed that
25 detainees had died in US custody in Afghanistan and
Iraq since December 2002.

"Abu Ghraib, witness of American savagery," said one
banner. "US Army go home. Your families are waiting
for you -- this country is for Iraqis," said another.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced plans
Tuesday to maintain a force of about 138,000 troops in
Iraq through next year, and ordered the deployment of
10,000 combat troops to replace units serving extended
tours of duty.

Fighting flared again overnight between Sadr's
militiamen, the Mehdi Army, and coalition troops who
raided the militia's offices in two mainly Shiite
Muslim towns south of Baghdad.

At least 16 Iraqis and a coalition soldier were killed
in the clashes, according to hospital sources and
officials.

Coalition forces seized Sadr's main office in the
southern city of Diwaniya, 180 kilometres (100 miles)
from Baghdad, and confiscated a cache of arms,
according to an AFP correspondent.

Nine militiamen were killed in clashes there and
several others injured, according to a spokesman for
the cleric. Five civilians were also killed in the
fighting around the office, hospital sources said.

Violence also ripped the Shiite shrine city of
Karbala, where Polish troops took over several
buildings occupied by the Mehdi Army. At least three
people were killed, including a coalition soldier,
coalition and hospital sources said.

Polish forces, which command the force in Karbala,
started distributing leaflets late Tuesday warning
they would conduct nightly patrols to disarm Sadr's
followers.

A US base near the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where
Sadr has dug in with thousands of armed followers,
came under fresh mortar attack early Wednesday morning
but there were not reports of casualties, officials
said.

At least 20 people have been killed in fighting
between coalition troops and Sadr's followers since
Monday, after the cleric vowed to lead his men to
"martyrdom".

"We want you to be more vigilant and more disciplined
and, God willing, I'm leading you to martyrdom," Sadr
told thousands of followers in a mosque near Najaf,
according to video film footage distributed by his
office.

Sadr, the scion of an illustrious religious family, is
wanted for the murder of a rival cleric last year, but
has issued dire threats against US troops camped
around Najaf where he has been holed up for a month.

Following the insurgency in Fallujah, west of Baghdad,
and continued clashes around Najaf, US Secretary State
Colin Powell said Tuesday he was "surprised" over the
intensity of the fighting.

And US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed
that the United States will keep about 135,000 troops
in Iraq beyond the 90-day extension announced last
month.

But most of the US leadership's energies were focused
on trying to damp down the row over the abuse of
prisoners as further details emerged of inquiries into
deaths at US-run jails in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Among the 25 deaths in custody, one involved a soldier
who shot and killed an Iraqi for throwing rocks at
him. He was found guilty of homicide and thrown out of
the army, spokesman Colonel Joe Curtin told AFP.

As well as the 25 deaths, another 10 cases of assault
and abuse are being investigated, which are separate
from the latest allegations at Abu Ghraib, said Major
General Don Ryder, the army's chief law enforcement
officer.

A criminal investigation has already led to charges
against six soldiers, and four other soldiers remain
under investigation for the alleged abuse of prisoners
here. Seven US army officers have been reprimanded.

The abuse was exposed to a shocked world last week
when photographs showing detainees stripped naked and
in humiliating sexual poses were broadcast on the US
media.
------------------------------------------------------
5)
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/mayo/mier5/19abu.html


Granma International (Cuba)
May 5, 2004


Furious Iraqis wait at the gates of Abu Ghraib


GRIPPING photographs, waving pieces of paper bearing
the numbers assigned to prisoners, many Iraqis are
furiously awaiting the hypothetical release of
relatives being held in the sinister Abu Ghraib
prison. In recent days, for many Iraqis this prison
has become a telling symbol of the U.S. occupation
after the revelation of abuses suffered by the
prisoners being held there.

?We would rather have Saddam?s hell than Bush?s
paradise,? affirms Haidar Hassan, whose brother Ahmad,
25, has been held at the prison for nearly four months
after having been arrested near the site where a
homemade bomb exploded.

On Tuesday, indignation grew among the crowd after the
revelations about abuse of the imprisoned Iraqis.

Built by British business during the 1960s, the prison
sprawls over 115 hectares, with high walls,
watchtowers and barbed wire.

In spite of the revelation of torture inflicted by
U.S. troops on the prisoners, accusations against six
prison guards and denunciations against seven
officers, few Iraqis are convinced that any changes
have taken place inside.

?They are animals, not human beings,? said Faruk
Jalaf, whose three brothers are imprisoned in Abu
Ghraib.
------------------------------------------------------
6)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.prisoners05may05,0,7635909.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines


Associated Press
May 5, 2004

U.S.-appointed rights minister resigns in Iraq



-Abdul-Basat al-Turki said he resigned "not only
because I believe that the use of violence is a
violation of human rights but also because these
methods in the prisons means that the violations are a
common act."


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's U.S.-appointed human rights
minister said yesterday that he had resigned to
protest abuses of Iraqi detainees by American guards,
and the interior minister demanded that Iraqi
officials be allowed to participate in the running of
prisons.

Abdul-Basat al-Turki said he resigned "not only
because I believe that the use of violence is a
violation of human rights but also because these
methods in the prisons means that the violations are a
common act."

He did not say what day he submitted his resignation,
but Iraqi news media said al-Turki quit on Sunday.

Al-Turki told the Arab television station Al-Jazeera
that he had complained in December about human rights
violations by Americans to the top U.S. administrator
in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III. He did not say whether
his complaints brought results.

"I never imagined that what I saw in those pictures
was going on," al-Turki said. "I was horrified."

Interior Minister Samir Shaker Mahmoud al-Sumeidi said
Iraqi officials should have a role in running the
prisons, which are now managed entirely by Americans.
Iraqi government officials must ask U.S. permission to
even visit the prisons.

"We have been calling for greater participation - or
at least at the beginning, some participation - by
Iraqi authorities in the running and management of the
prisons," al-Sumeidi told reporters in Baghdad.
------------------------------------------------------
7)
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=4271528&startrow=11&date=2004-05-05&do_alert=0


Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
May 5, 2004

IRAQI SHEIKH ACCUSES AMERICANS OF TORTURING PRISONERS
Igor Popov

-Sometimes the Americans entertained themselves by
watching the trained guard dogs tear at the
horror-stricken prisoners. Sheikh Karim also said
local doctors were ordered to stitch the specially
made deep cuts without giving the prisoner
painkillers, or poured a liquid that left burns, all
of this to make the luckless men say what the
Americans wanted to hear.
-"I cannot calmly talk about everything they did to us
there. By doing this, the occupiers are increasing the
ranks of Iraqi resistance. Those who had been in the
American prisons will never forgive them for the
humiliation and torture to which they and their
compatriots were subjected. They - and I - will take
revenge for that day and night, until the least
American and British soldiers leave our land."



BAGHDAD - An Iraqi sheikh who had been in the Abu
Greib prison said torture was used there. This
correspondent met with Karim Rashid, sheikh of a large
and respected tribe al-Janabi, was released from the
Abu Greib prison, which has become notorious
throughout the world, three months ago.

I left Baghdad, with its hot and dusty streets and
traffic, and drove towards Babylon and the southern
provinces of Iraq. The road seemed extremely
comfortable and high-speed and only the burned out
carcasses of cars reminded me of the dangers of
travelling in Iraq. After the 80-km mark on the
roadside, the road forked and there was the sign
pointing to the village of el-Bumhammed. I drove the
last few kilometres and turned towards my goal - a
giant house behind a high stone wall, which could
easily be taken for one of Saddam Hussein's palaces.

I climbed out and saw several people waiting to take
me across the clean shady yard to the building.
Embarrassed by the large number of men in the
traditional white floor-length didasha shirts, I did
not immediately see the tall bent old man in a white
kufiyya (head shawl), with a sickly, haggard face. It
was the master of the house, Karim Rashid. Following
several minutes of traditional exchange of
pleasantries, we addressed the main subjects of our
conversation.

The sheikh said he had long been looking for a
journalist who would listen to his tribulations during
the six-month imprisonment. However, until recently,
even his close relatives had refused to believe his
story, thinking he exaggerated because of shock.

The Americans arrested Sheikh Karim in August 2003.
First he heard the thunder of military helicopters and
then saw soldiers around his house. Without waiting
for somebody to open the gate, they blew it up and
stormed into the house, where they ordered up every
man in the house - male guests from the sheikh's
tribe, who frequently stayed overnight. They were
taken to the nearby military base where the Americans
put sacks over their heads, tied their hands behind
and left them lying on the floor for several hours.

Some time later a man in a mask, whom soldiers brought
into the room, pointed at the sheikh. After that, the
other men were released. Sheikh Karim was not told why
he was arrested. The next day he was taken to the
Baghdad air force base, where he spent two days in a
metre-by-metre stone pit. He was given a piece of
bread and a bottle of water a day.

During the interrogations, the sheikh learned that he
was accused of connections with Saddam Hussein, who
was hiding from the occupation authorities then, and
of giving shelter to Saddam, who allegedly spent a few
days in his home.

Eventually, Sheikh Karim was moved to the Abu Greib
prison, to the block for highly dangerous criminals.
He says, relying on his personal experience and
conversations with other prisoners, that Americans
used various tortures in the prison, trying to find
the best way to suppress the will of each prisoner. In
particular, the military frequently used sticks and
gun butts to beat prisoners on the most sensitive
parts of their bodies. Or they beat them with their
heads against the stone wall and floor, said the
sheikh.

Sometimes the Americans entertained themselves by
watching the trained guard dogs tear at the
horror-stricken prisoners. Sheikh Karim also said
local doctors were ordered to stitch the specially
made deep cuts without giving the prisoner
painkillers, or poured a liquid that left burns, all
of this to make the luckless men say what the
Americans wanted to hear.

The sheikh, who became an ill man during his months in
the prison, was once put into a cage where the man
cannot even move his arms or legs.

Another former inmate of Abu Greib, an officer from
the Iraqi security service who did not reveal his
name, said flogging and finger breaking were the
simplest torture used in that prison. Those who were
stronger were used as the punch bag: they were hung
from the ceiling for the Americans to train in
delivering all kinds of blows at them. The former
inmate also said salt water was frequently poured on
the wounds of Abu Greib inmates. He inferred that the
inmates were subjected to sexual violence.

Apart from physical influence, the inmates were
constantly humiliated. For example, they could be not
allowed to sleep, ordered to clean the corridors and
toilets several times a night and in the morning they
were forced to lie down naked on the floor where
excrements had been poured.

"I cannot calmly talk about everything they did to us
there. By doing this, the occupiers are increasing the
ranks of Iraqi resistance. Those who had been in the
American prisons will never forgive them for the
humiliation and torture to which they and their
compatriots were subjected. They - and I - will take
revenge for that day and night, until the least
American and British soldiers leave our land," said
the interlocutor who had spent eight months in Abu
Greib.
------------------------------------------------------
8)
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/05/05/447131-ap.html

Associated Press
May 5, 2004

Non-Aligned Movement likely at Malaysian meeting to
condemn Iraq prisoner abuseminister said Wednesday.

Malaysia, chair of the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement
of mostly developing nations, last month scheduled a
meeting for May 13 of a key committee
By SEAN YOONG


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Non-aligned countries are
expected to condemn the alleged abuse of Iraqi
prisoners by U.S. and British troops during a meeting
next week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's foreign  to
consider the surging violence in Iraq.

Recent reports of prisoner abuse, which have triggered
global anger, are now expected to dominate the talks
and should bring new pressure on the U.S. and British
governments over the occupation of Iraq. The outrage
has been fueled by photos that emerged in the media
showing guards gloating over naked Iraqi prisoners in
degrading positions.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told
reporters that the Non-Aligned Movement would probably
issue a declaration condemning what he called "very
obnoxious behavior with no respect for humanity."

Syed Hamid warned the U.S. and British governments not
to use investigations to justify the abuse of Iraqi
prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, controlled
by U.S. forces, and by British forces in the southern
city of Basra.

"It is important that they do not sweep these things
under the carpet," Syed Hamid declared. "The whole
issue must be investigated thoroughly. There is no
justification for these types of acts."

Malaysia is a moderate, mostly Muslim country in
Southeast Asia that has been a U.S. ally in the war
against terrorism but strongly opposes the war in
Iraq, saying it was unjustified and would breed new
acts of terror.

Now-retired Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took over
the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement on the
eve of last year's invasion of Iraq and delivered a
scathing speech characterizing the war as racist.

Malaysia also chairs the 57-member Organization of the
Islamic Conference, the world's largest body of Muslim
countries. At a meeting in Malaysia last month,
foreign ministers urged the United Nations to quickly
take a central role in running Iraq.

Syed Hamid told reporters that that Islamic countries
have expressed anger over the treatment of prisoners
in Iraq, but did not say whether the organization was
planning to issue a joint statement.

"Individually, the OIC countries have expressed, in no
uncertain terms, their feeling of disgust and dismay,"
Syed Hamid said.
------------------------------------------------------
9)
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=13bbbdf4-e68b-44d1-89a4-d66124438aec

Ottawa Citizen
May 5, 2004

U.S. soldiers tortured me in Iraq; Canada did nothing
businessman: Man held for 5 weeks in 'torture
chamber'
Glen McGregor



-"Once the RCMP knew I was a prisoner of war, they
should have contacted me in prison. But they didn't
care. I just wanted the Canadian government to stand
for me."
He called the prison "a torture chamber."


A Canadian businessman who claims he was tortured by
U.S. troops in Iraq last year says the Canadian
government knew he was being held prisoner, but did
nothing to help him during his five weeks in
captivity.

In a complaint filed against the U.S army last week,
Hossam Shaltout, 57, alleges that he was captured
outside his Baghdad hotel in April 2003 and taken to a
detention facility in southern Iraq, where he was
repeatedly beaten and threatened.

His claim comes amid swirling allegations of brutality
by U.S. forces and an announcement yesterday that the
U.S. Senate will investigate reports of "egregious
acts" committed by U.S. soldiers against Iraqis in
another prison. The army also said yesterday there are
20 ongoing investigations into treatment of prisoners
in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Shaltout is an Egyptian-born Canadian citizen who
lives in Los Angeles. He says he was invited to Iraq
by Saddam Hussein's regime as a member of the peace
group Rights and Freedom International to help
negotiate a peaceful solution before the coalition
invasion.

During a riot outside his Baghdad hotel on April 9,
Mr. Shaltout says he was arrested by American troops
and taken to Camp Bucca in Umm Qasr, where he was
repeatedly beaten.

"Apparently being a Canadian did not mean favourable
treatment, for Mr. Shaltout was then interrogated and
tortured on a daily basis," his lawyer, Thomas Nelson,
wrote in the eight-page complaint.

The document also alleges that Mr. Shaltout's captors
knew his nationality, and even wrote "Canadian" in
black marker on the front and back of his shirt.

"The Canadian government knew two weeks after I was
arrested," said Mr. Shaltout when reached in Saudi
Arabia yesterday. "They did nothing. Zero."

Mr. Shaltout claims the Canadian officials knew he had
been taken prisoner because his landlady in Toronto
was visited by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
during his detention and asked what she knew about her
tenant. But he says the only assistance he received
was the replacement of his passport after he was
released.


A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs
said it was difficult to provide consular assistance
in Iraq, because Canada had closed its embassy. But
Marie-Christine Lilkoff said foreign affairs did help
arrange a reunion with Mr. Shaltout's brother when he
was released from prison. The department also sent a
diplomatic note to the U.S. regarding the case in
October. Ms. Lilkoff declined to discuss the note or
the response.

According to Mr. Shaltout's complaint, U.S. soldiers
accused him of being Saddam Hussein's "right-hand man"
and "speechwriter." When he refused to confess
involvement with Mr. Saddam, he claims, "he was hit
with open hands, fists, shoes, and gun butts.

"The most alarming form of torture was when the
interrogators put gun muzzles at his head or body,
which put Mr. Shaltout in great fear of imminent
death."

He also contends he was forced to stand in the sun for
interrogation and was denied medication he needed to
treat his glaucoma and depression.

One of his captors, he claims, was Master Sgt. Lisa
Girman, a military police reservist who was discharged
last year over allegations she and other soldiers
mistreated Iraqi prisoners at Camp Bucca.

According to the complaint, she "handcuffed and placed
leg irons on Mr. Shaltout. Master Sgt. Girman then
started beating Mr. Shaltout severely in his face and
body, cutting his lip, and also kneeing him in the
groin."

Mr. Shaltout says he was released after five weeks and
deported to Egypt, instead of Canada or the U.S.,
where he was a permanent resident.

As a result of the torture, he claims to have suffered
depression, memory loss, post-traumatic stress
disorder and an exacerbation of his glaucoma and
hernia problems. He also alleges that he lost his
passports, identification and $119,000 U.S. in cash,
which he says he left in his hotel room after
completing a business deal.

None of Mr. Shaltout's allegations have been proven. A
spokesman for the U.S. Central Command said it was
policy not to comment on an ongoing legal action.

Mr. Shaltout emigrated from Egypt to Canada in 1976,
according to his complaint. He spent four years in the
Toronto area but then moved to Los Angeles. He still
visits Toronto two or three times a year, he says, and
until two months ago, rented an apartment on Bay
Street.

Mr. Shaltout says he is an aerospace engineer and
licensed pilot who works as importer of
global-positioning systems. He is listed as the only
contact for Rights and Freedom International, which he
claims tried to convince the leaders of Mr. Saddams
regime to step down peacefully. On its website, the
organization implores U.S. citizens and Arabs to
oppose the war in Iraq.

"While we must keep America safe and secure, we should
and can achieve that peacefully," the site says. "A
military conflict would increase terrorism and counter
terrorism activities besides crippling the world's
economy. Restore America's peace and sanity!"

Mr. Shaltout said he is considering legal action
against the Canadian government over its alleged
inaction. But his lawyer said that is a lower priority
compared to the claim against the U.S. army.

Mr. Shaltout says he plans to return to Canada.

"I'm proud to be a Canadian. I lived in America 25
years but I didn't want to take American citizenship."
------------------------------------------------------
10)
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=4271158&startrow=11&date=2004-05-05&do_alert=0


Russian Information Agency (Novosti)
May 5, 2004

FABLE ABOUT AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: WHAT IT MEANS TO
IRAQIS
Igor Popov


BAGHDAD - Rumours that coalition troops "fighting for
freedom and democracy in Iraq" sometimes dealt harshly
with its inhabitants started spreading among the
Iraqis almost from the first days of the occupation.
Witnesses would come forward, testifying to the
violence shown by the American military towards the
locals.

But the coalition authorities and the provisional
Iraqi leadership have until recently preferred to
avoid accenting this fact, still explaining such
excesses by the difficult security situation in the
country and the need to carry out determined action in
the fight against terrorism.

The publication in the western media of documentary
evidence of tortures and insults against Iraqi
prisoners seems to have shocked both the Iraqis and
the coalition authorities. The latter, which a couple
of months previously leaked reports about
investigations of cases of brutal treatment of Iraqis
kept in prison by "some of the American military",
tried to improve their image of "dedicated and just
friends" of local population.

A still more tickling situation, ahead of elections to
new provisional bodies of authority, is facing members
of Iraq's governing council, who have not until now
given any plausible explanation for their position on
this issue.

As regards ordinary Iraqis, "such a present from
occupying troops," according to a taxi driver in
Baghdad, "could hardly have been expected by the Iraqi
resistance just a couple of days ago." Abdel-Jabbar
al-Qubeisi, a leading member of the Committee of Sunni
Ulemas (theologians), has stressed: "The American
behaviour in Iraq provokes only hatred from locals.
Even those who have until recently seen no reason for
resisting the occupation are now coming round to
avenging themselves on the invaders for their insulted
country and people".
And this is not easily forgotten. Now even a child in
Iraq will remember all his or her life what American
freedom and democracy means in practice," said
al-Daraji.









	
		
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