[A-List] Anglo-American Axis Devastates Iraq Now And For Generations To Come

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) International Focus Shifts To Physical, Sexual
Abuse Of Iraqi Women
2) Father Of Slain US Soldier Turns His Grief Into
Action
3) Iraqi Shiite Cleric Al-Sadr Compares Iraq To
Vietnam - Plus
4) Loud Explosions Heard In Shiite Shrine City Of
Najaf As US Forces Launch Latest Assault
5) Italians Shocked At Iraqi Abuse Accusations
6) Italian Parliament To Grill Defense Minister Over
Iraq Prison Abuse
7) US, British Allies Withdraw Military Forces From
Iraq
8) Japan Worried Dutch Troops Will Abandon Iraq,
Leaving Its Forces Without Command Structure, Security
9) Lasting Lethal Legacy: Depleted Uranium Residue To
Deform, Kill For Generations To Come
10) Moroccan Parliament Speaker Condemns 'Immoral'
Abuse Of Iraqis




1)
http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/13/stories/2004051302941300.htm

The Hindu
May 13, 2004

Focus shifts to jail abuse of Iraqi women


BAGHDAD - For Huda Shaker, the humiliation began at a
checkpoint on the outskirts of Baghdad. The American
soldiers demanded to search her handbag. When she
refused, one of the soldiers pointed his gun towards
her chest.

``He pointed the laser sight directly in the middle of
my chest,'' said Professor Shaker, a political
scientist at Baghdad University.

The incident is one of a number in which U.S. soldiers
are alleged to have abused, intimidated or sexually
humiliated Iraqi women.

According to Prof Huda, several women held in Abu
Ghraib jail were sexually abused, including one who
was raped by an American military policeman and became
pregnant. She has now disappeared.

Most of the coverage of the prisoner abuse at Abu
Ghraib has focused on Iraqi men. But there is
compelling evidence that several female prisoners, who
are in a minority at the jail, were abused as well.
``A female colleague of mine was arrested and taken
there. When I asked her after she was released what
happened at Abu Ghraib she started crying,'' Prof Huda
said. ``Ladies here are afraid and shy of talking
about such subjects. They say everything is OK.

Even in a very advanced society in the West it is very
difficult to talk about rape. But I think it
happened.''

Few women released from U.S. detention have come
forward to talk about their experiences.

According to the New Yorker magazine, the photos and
videos so far unreleased by the Pentagon show American
soldiers ``having sex with a female Iraqi prisoner''
and a secret report by General Antonio Taguba into the
scandal confirms that U.S. guards videotaped and
photographed naked female prisoners and that ``a male
MP [military police] guard'' is shown ``having sex
with a female detainee''.
------------------------------------------------------
2)
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=22166

Stars And Stripes
May 12, 2004

Father of soldier slain in Iraq turns his grief into
action
By Rick Scavetta


To mark the first anniversary of the Iraq war, Bill
Mitchell carried a sign during the March 20 protest
that read ?Bring My Son Home Now.?

A few weeks later, Staff Sgt. Michael Mitchell
returned home, unfortunately, in a flag-draped coffin.

A tank mechanic with the 1st Armored Division?s 2nd
Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, Michael Mitchell
volunteered to man a tank?s machine gun April 4, when
Shiite radicals ambushed 1st Cavalry Division troops
in Sadr City, a slum east of Baghdad.

He told his family that his unit, known as the Iron
Dukes, planned to leave Iraq on April 11. He died just
a week before.

Then, his comrades had their tour in Iraq extended by
four months. Instead of coming back to Germany to plan
his August wedding, Mitchell, who was posthumously
promoted, made a final journey back to California,
where he was cremated.

No back-slapping welcomes or long embraces will happen
now. Instead there a sobs of relief replaced by tears
of sorrow.

Over the past few weeks, Bill Mitchell, 53, has been
in Germany, caring for his son?s fiancée, Bianca.

?I?m doing what my son would want his dad to do,? Bill
Mitchell said.

His son?s death also compelled the father, an Army
veteran, to speak out about the war.

He recently stood up for a civilian defense contractor
who lost her job after The Seattle Times published her
photographs of U.S. military coffins leaving Kuwait.
He believes his son?s casket was among those that made
the press.

?It was 20 dead soldiers,? Bill Mitchell said. ?It was
showing the care and respect they give the coffins.?

Since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon banned
journalists from taking photographs at Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware, the first stateside stop for fallen
soldiers returning home.

In April, the Air Force released more than 350
photographs, in response to a Freedom of Information
request. The photos show airmen arranging flags on
caskets inside a C-17 Globemaster and honoring them as
they depart the aircraft.

Both the Pentagon and the White House said the ban on
photos of soldiers? coffins is in place to protect the
privacy of soldiers? families.

But Mitchell said he believes the motive is political.

?They don?t want people to see the true cost of war,?
Mitchell said. ?The $87 billion they are spending is
not the true cost. It would not pay to bring my son
back alive.?

A letter recently arrived from Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, containing standard condolences,
Mitchell said. But the letter from the Pentagon lacked
feelings, he said.

?It?s just a form letter. It?s in [a] computer, and
you add someone else?s name,? Mitchell said. ?I don?t
believe [Rumsfeld] signed it.?

Rumsfeld?s brief letter began, ?All of us are deeply
saddened ?,? the father said, his voice filling with
anger. ?I don?t believe all the Pentagon employees
knew my son, so how could they be deeply saddened by
his death??

On May 4, one month after his son?s death, Mitchell
mailed a harsh reply to Rumsfeld. He sent a copy to
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with a
flier for his son?s memorial fund.

Mitchell inherited his son?s life insurance, his
stocks and about $12,000 the Army sent for funeral
expenses. He?s used some of the money to help Bianca,
to include redecorating her home ? filled with
memories of Michael ? with ?a new look and feel.?

While caring for Bianca is Mitchell?s priority, he
also hopes to erect a memorial for Michael at a
California park and send care packages to his son?s
fellow soldiers.

He headed back to America this week, hoping to explain
things to family and friends.

And he?s still grieving.

?My life has been turned upside-down,? Mitchell said.
?I?ve had a couple of cries in, but I haven?t let it
out.?

As part of the grieving process, Mitchell is trying to
understand just how his son died. He?s been told
conflicting information. His son was manning a machine
gun and had killed three Iraqis before receiving a
fatal shot to the head, Mitchell said.

Tankers from 2/37 Armor were by his son?s side when he
died.

He hopes to meet those soldiers later this summer,
when they return from Iraq, Mitchell told his son?s
company commander in a recent letter.

?I will be there to hear the stories from those who
served with Mike, as unfortunately, my son will never
be able to tell me himself.?
------------------------------------------------------
3)
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/05/12/world/iraq_040512


Canadian Broadcasting Company
May 12, 2004

Al-Sadr compares Iraq to Vietnam


-"Let [me] remind you of Vietnam - The means of
victory that are available to us are much more than
what the Vietnamese had," said al-Sadr.


BAGHDAD - Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Wednesday urged
his supporters to keep fighting Americans as U.S.
soldiers killed 25 members of his militia during
fighting in Karbala.

In his first news conference since his Mehdi Army
militia took control of government and police offices
in the cities of Karbala, Najaf and Kufa a month ago,
al-Sadr urged his supporters to resist an American
invasion. The cities are home to some of the holiest
sites in Shia Islam.

U.S. forces have been camped out around the cities
throughout the standoff, but have avoided a full-out
assault because of the religious importance of the
cities.

Al-Sadr compared the fight in Iraq to the war in
Vietnam.

"Let [me] remind you of Vietnam - The means of victory
that are available to us are much more than what the
Vietnamese had," said al-Sadr.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. forces used tanks and
helicopters in an assault on Karbala. American
officials say at least 25 Iraqi fighters were killed.

They say seven coalition soldiers were injured.

Heavy damage has been reported in the city. A mosque
al-Sadr used as an office was destroyed, seven hotels
were on fire and most of the city's central market was
destroyed.

On Tuesday, Iraqi tribal leaders said al-Sadr would
call off his militia if the U.S. postpones a legal
case against him and establishes an Iraqi force to
patrol the city.

In early 2004, an Iraqi judge issued an arrest warrant
for al-Sadr on charges relating to the murder of Abdul
Majid al-Khoei, a senior Shia leader.
------------------------------------------------------
4)
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/dr/Airaq-najaf.RVGz_EyC.html

Associated Press
May 12, 2004

Loud Explosions Heard in Najaf

NAJAF - Large explosions were heard late Wednesday in
the center of Najaf, and residents said U.S. forces
appeared to be making an armed incursion into the
Shiite holy city.

At least one civilian was killed and another was
wounded, Iraqi authorities said.

Militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been holed up in
Najaf since early April, when he launched his
rebellion against the U.S.-led coalition with his
armed militia.

American forces have been pressuring al-Sadr but have
avoided a major assault for fear of damaging the Imam
Ali shrine, which would inflame passions in the
majority Shiite community.

Skirmishes continued through the night, witnesses
said, and a comprehensive casualty toll could not be
obtained.
------------------------------------------------------
5)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3707997.stm

BBC News
May 12, 2004

Italy shock at Iraq abuse claims


-The widow of an Italian major killed in Iraq has said
he told her how prisoners "were treated like
cockroaches".
-"We sometimes saw detainees who were half dead with
iron burns on their bodies and terrifying bruises from
beatings."


Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino has said he
was surprised by claims that Italian forces in Iraq
knew prisoners were being abused.

Soldiers are accused of sending prisoners to an
Iraqi-run detention centre where inmates were
mistreated.

The widow of an Italian major killed in Iraq has said
he told her how prisoners "were treated like
cockroaches".

Opposition parties have called for Italy to withdraw
troops in protest at abuse by Iraqi, US and UK
personnel.

Lashes

Mr Martino told parliament on Wednesday the government
"was surprised and outraged" when it learnt about
abuse of prisoners "which it firmly condemns".

But Giuseppina Longo, the widow of Italian officer
Massimiliano Bruno, who was killed in Iraq in
November, told the Italian media that her husband
described how inmates at one prison were beaten and
treated worse than cockroaches.

Colonel Carmelo Burgio, chief of the Carabinieri
regiment Tuscania, who has returned to Italy after his
stint in Iraq, backed up her claims.

"We sometimes saw detainees who were half dead with
iron burns on their bodies and terrifying bruises from
beatings," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Asked if Italian forces complained to the Iraqi guards
he said: "Of course, but they were amazed that we were
scandalised.

"For the Iraqi police, it is normal practice to greet
detainees with 30 lashes."

Revulsion

The publication of photographs apparently showing
abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners by US and UK
forces has caused a political storm on both sides of
the Atlantic.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, meeting US
President George Bush next week, expressed revulsion
at maltreatment documented in a leaked report by the
International Committee of the Red Cross.

But Francesco Rutelli, leader of the centre-left Olive
Tree coalition, called for troops to be pulled out of
Iraq unless there was a change in the situation within
seven days.

"The prime minister must go to Bush and make a formal
request for the UN to take over the decision-making
and the responsibility from the US military command,"
he said.
-----------------------------------------------------
6)
http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040512124123.yylbpsn7.html

Agence France-Presse
May 12, 2004


Italian defense minister to be grilled by parliament
over Iraq prison scandal


ROME - Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino was to
appear before parliament Wednesday amid calls for
Italy to withdraw its troops in Iraq following the
prisoner abuse scandal.
Martino is scheduled to brief lawmakers on the overall
situation in Iraq and to answer questions about
allegations of prisoner abuse by coalition forces in
the war-torn country.

His appearance comes amid mounting calls for Italy to
withdraw its 3,000 troops serving with the US-led
occupation force in Iraq in protest at the torture
scandal.

The moderate left-wing opposition urged Tuesday the
immediate return of the soldiers, a day after
Berlusconi himself expressed revulsion at the abuse of
Iraqi prisoners in British and US detention documented
in a leaked report by the International Committee of
the Red Cross.

"Berlusconi must come before parliament before he goes
to the United States next Thursday and say that he is
no longer acting as a vassal," said Francesco Rutelli,
leader of the centre-left Olive Tree coalition.

Berlusconi is heading to Washington on May 19, shortly
before US President George W. Bush visits Italy in
June to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the
liberation of the city from the Nazis during World War
II.

Italy's troop deployment in Iraq is third in size only
to the United States and Britain, whose governments
are scrambling to contain the firestorm over the
prisoner abuse.

The wife of an Italian policeman killed in an attack
in Iraq last November said Tuesday that Italian
authorities were aware of the abuse taking place in
Iraq's prisons where detainees were "treated worse
than cockroaches".

"My husband saw a prison, a horrible place, where
detainees were imprisoned naked," said Pina Bruno.

Her allegations prompted the defense ministry to issue
a statement denying "having been informed by any
source whatsoever of treatment of prisoners contrary
to international humanitarian law".

There is also concern over the fate of three Italian
security guards -- Maurizio Agliana, 37, Umberto
Cupertino, 35, and Salvatore Stefio, 34 -- held
hostage in Iraq since April 12.

A fourth hostage, Fabrizio Quattrocchi, 36, who was
kidnapped the same day, was killed two days later.
------------------------------------------------------
7)
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040512/2004051202.html

Arabic News
May 12, 2004

Armies withdrawal from Iraq


In the context of the implications of killing one
Dutch soldier in al-Samawa to the south of Iraq and
the beginning of the withdrawal of Honduras forces
from Iraq, the Japanese prime minister said that his
country's position from the deployment of the forces
in Iraq has not changed because these forces are
deployed in a non- fighting area.

Units of Dominican army actually arrived back home,
after their withdrawal from Iraq. The decision of the
two countries came a short time after the decision
taken by Spain to withdraw its forces from Iraq after
the socialists won the elections.

However, southern Korea postponed dispatching
additional forces to Iraq amid the escalations of
opposition for the deployment of these forces,
especially after the dissemination of the abuse
practices by the American soldiers to Iraqi prisoners
in Abu Ghrieb prison.The spokesman for the Southern
Korean ministry of defense explained that the matter
needs more discussions.
------------------------------------------------------
8)
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=9&id=298161

Japan Today
May 13, 2004

Japan worried Dutch will quit Iraq, leaving SDF minus
security


TOKYO ? Japan is keeping a close watch on the
Netherlands after Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende suggested Tuesday his government may
consider pulling Dutch troops from Iraq in the wake of
the killing of a Dutch soldier there.

Dutch troops are in charge of the security in the
southern Iraqi city of Samawah, where 550 Japanese
troops have been deployed for humanitarian assistance.
"We will keep our eyes on the matter," Chief Cabinet
Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a press conference
Wednesday. (Kyodo News)
------------------------------------------------------
9)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=520733

The Independent (Britain)
May 13, 2004

Rise in birth deformities blamed on Allies' deadly
weaponry
By Nigel Morris


-"Women in Basra are afraid to become pregnant because
there are so many deformed babies. We are leaving a
deadly legacy for generations to come."
-[T]he number of Iraqi babies born with serious
deformities has risen from 3.04 per thousand in 1991
to 22.19 per thousand in 2001. Babies born with Downs
Syndrome have increased nearly fivefold and there had
been a rash of cases of previously little-known eye
problems.
-[M]alnutrition had worsened since the Anglo-US
invasion and unpolluted water was in short supply
while standards of hospital care had fallen because of
shortages of medical supplies.




The number of babies born deformed and children
suffering leukaemia have soared because of the "deadly
legacy" of depleted uranium shells used by British and
American forces in Iraq, human rights campaigners
claimed yesterday.

Releasing details of health problems and human rights
violations suffered by Iraqi children in the past
year, they claim the country's youngsters faced a
worse existence today than they did under Saddam
Hussein's dictatorship.

Depleted uranium was widely used by Allied forces to
penetrate Iraqi tank armour in the Gulf Wars of 1991
and again last year.

Opponents claim the dust it releases upon impact is
rapidly absorbed into the body, causing an upsurge of
serious health problems inherited by Iraqi children
during the past 13 years from their parents.

Caroline Lucas, a Green Party Euro-MP who recently
visited Basra, said doctors there had told her that
the number of children born with severe deformities,
such as shortened limbs or eye defects, had increased
sevenfold since 1991. In addition they were treating
several new cases of leukaemia every week - before
1991 the condition was very rare.

"Women in Basra are afraid to become pregnant because
there are so many deformed babies," she said. "We are
leaving a deadly legacy for generations to come."

She made the claims at the launch in London of a new
charity, Child Victims of War (CVW), to help Iraqi
youngsters "innocently suffering malnutrition,
disease, disability and psychological trauma".

The amount of depleted uranium used by coalition
forces in the two Gulf Wars is not known, but some
estimates suggest it was 300 tons in 1991 and five
times as much last year.

CVW says the number of Iraqi babies born with serious
deformities has risen from 3.04 per thousand in 1991
to 22.19 per thousand in 2001. Babies born with Downs
Syndrome have increased nearly fivefold and there had
been a rash of cases of previously little-known eye
problems.

The Ministry of Defence insists depleted uranium poses
a "minimal" risk to civilians. But, in a finding
strongly disputed by the MoD, researchers recently
discovered radiation levels from destroyed Iraqi tanks
to be 2,500 times higher than normal and 20 times
higher than normal in the surrounding area.

Joanne Baker, the director of CVW, who has just
returned from Iraq, said children had also been maimed
by cluster bombs, blamed by Human Rights Watch for
"hundreds of preventable civilian deaths".

She said youngsters were also vulnerable both to
coalition forces and local militia resisting western
forces.

She said malnutrition had worsened since the Anglo-US
invasion and unpolluted water was in short supply
while standards of hospital care had fallen because of
shortages of medical supplies.

Those children who went to school - and a Christian
Aid survey showed two-thirds of poor youngsters did
not - were "so malnourished they can't concentrate".

Ms Baker claimed: "Every child in Iraq had a degree of
psychological trauma.

"I have been to Iraq under Saddam and sanctions - most
people know how bad things were - but what has
happened this year has plunged Iraq into a plight
which is actually far, far worse," she said.

Ms Baker added: "I am not an apologist for Saddam but
I have spoken to people saying they suffered terribly
and they are in tears saying 'I wish he was back'.

"If it is worse than sanctions and Saddam then we are
really talking about a humanitarian catastrophe."

CVW has applied to the Charities Commission for
charitable status, and plans to open an office in Iraq
to monitor abuses, counsel those who have been
detained, train human rights groups and provide
medical help to young victims of war.

VICTIM OF DEPLETED URANIUM?

At the age of seven, Fadel, from Basra in southern
Iraq, developed a devastating, and extremely rare,
liver and kidney complaint which caused her abdomen to
swell dramatically. The condition - which has only
been seen in Iraq since 1991 - is thought to be caused
by abnomally high levels of toxic materials in her
body.

She underwent agonising hospital treatment, which
involved injections to draw out the huge amounts of
water that accumulated. Her cries of pain were so loud
they could be heard down the hospital corridor.
Fadel's father was serving in the Iraqi army during
the first Gulf War when she was conceived. Fadel is
believed to have died shortly after this photograph
was taken.
------------------------------------------------------
10)
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040512/2004051220.html

Arabic News
May 12, 2004

Moroccan Speaker condemns as 'immoral' US military
abuse against Iraqi Detainees


Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives,
Abdelouahed Radi, condemned Tuesday as immoral the
mistreatment by US military forces of Iraqi detainees
at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

The speaker, who was addressing the 44th session of
the African Parliamentary Union (APU) convening, this
May 11-12 in Rabat, said: we seize the opportunity of
this parliamentary meeting to firmly condemn these
immoral acts which are in utter contradiction with the
fundamental principles of freedom and human dignity.
Commenting on the global scandal which erupted after
the publication of photographs of naked detainees
being humiliated by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib
prison, Radi pointed out that it is with deep concern
that the public opinion worldwide has been witnessing
the humiliating images and degrading treatment
inflicted upon the Iraqi prisoners.

Radi called upon the international community to
shoulder its responsibility to bring these acts to a
halt, and take the necessary measures to try the
perpetrators in conformity with the provisions of the
international treaties and conventions. He added that
the tragic situation endured by the Iraqi people
requires us to call upon all peace-loving forces to
deploy all efforts in order to speed up the process of
granting the Iraqi people full sovereignty and
independence, so that it may exercise its right to
conduct and manage its national affairs.




	
		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Movies - Buy advance tickets for 'Shrek 2'
http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/movie?mid=1808405861