[A-List] Iraq: Another Day Of Carnage Amid Talk Of 'Strategic Failure'

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) Iraq: 59 Killed In Latest Day Of Carnage
2) US Troops Slay 41 Iraqi Resistence Fighters
3) American Forces Kill 21 Iraqis In Baghdad
4) British Soldiers Kill 20 Militiamen, Suffer Four
Casualties In Ambushes
5) US, British, Italian Troops In Firefights
Throughout Iraq's Shiite Zones
6) Damage To Key Shiite Religious Site Triggers
Regional Outcry
7) Kuwaiti Shiites Lambast US Forces, Demand Their
Withdrawal From Shrine Cities
8) Britain: Blair On The Ropes As Commons Considers
New Iraq Vote; Military Hints At 'Strategic Failure,'
'Collapse Of Coalition'
9) In Upcoming Vatican Visit, Bush Should Sink To
Knees And Beg Forgiveness For Iraq: Venezuelan
President
10) Korea: Protest Against Troop Deployment As
Two-Thirds Of Nation In Opposition




1)
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-5-2004_pg1_1

Daily Times (Pakistan)
May 15, 2004

59 killed in Iraq mayhem

 * Troops warn residents to leave Karbala
* Huge explosions heard in Najaf, Baghdad
* Bush says US troops will stay in Iraq after June 30


KARBALA: Five US soldiers and 54 Iraqis were killed on
Saturday including militia members belonging to
Moqtada Sadr?s Mehdi Army and Iraqi policemen.

Witnesses said at least two members of Sadr?s militia
were killed and seven wounded in fighting near the
shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Karbala
while Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said four Iraqi fighters
had been killed.

US-led coalition forces urged residents to leave
Karabala on Saturday. US warplanes flew low overhead
and coalition soldiers drove through town telling
people to leave over loudspeakers following clashes
between US-trained Iraqi paramilitaries and loyalists
of Sadr.

In nearby Najaf, after heavy fighting on Friday, at
least two US tanks took up position outside the main
police station about 2 kilometres from the Imam Ali
mosque. A series of loud explosions were heard in
Najaf on Saturday. The blasts were heard starting at
about 7:45 pm (1545 GMT).

A huge blast rumbled across central Baghdad at around
10:45 pm (1845 GMT) Saturday, correspondents said.

A spokesman for the US military confirmed the blast
and helicopters could be heard flying overhead.

Two civilians were killed and five wounded on Saturday
during clashes between Italian troops and Shia
militiamen, who also shelled the Nasiriyah
headquarters of the US-led occupying force, police
said.

British troops heading for Amarah from their base in
Basra killed up to 20 Iraqis on Friday as the soldiers
fought their way out of three ambushes, A British
Defence Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

US forces killed 21 Iraqis and wounded at least 10 in
operations in Sadr City in the past 24 hours in an
effort to restore stability to the capital, US
military spokesman Brig Gen Kimmit said on Saturday.

In Mosul a mortar attack on Iraqi civilians lining up
to join the new army killed as many as four people and
wounded 17 on Saturday, hospital staff said.

Unidentified gunmen killed two policemen and a guard
overnight near Tikrit, the hometown former Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein, police said on Saturday.

The US military on Saturday announced the deaths of
five soldiers: three from wounds suffered in militant
attacks, one in a vehicle accident and one from
natural causes.

A rocket attack on the ?Green Zone? compound that
houses the headquarters of the US-led administration
in Baghdad on Saturday wounded a soldier and a
civilian, the US military said.

President George W. Bush vowed on Saturday that US
troops would stay in Iraq after the June 30 handover
of sovereignty or until the country was secure.
....
------------------------------------------------------
2)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aPPRbGMEXxBg&refer=home

Bloomberg News
May 15, 2004

U.S. Forces Clash With Iraqi Fighters, Killing 41, CNN
Reports


Clashes between U.S. soldiers and Iraqis have left 41
Iraqi militiamen dead in the last twenty-four hours,
Cable News Network reported, citing coalition
officials.

Twenty-one Iraqi insurgents were killed in the Baghdad
area, 16 near Amarah and four in Karbala, where U.S.
forces have been battling Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr's militia for the last four days, CNN said.

A mortar or rocket-propelled grenade hit a line of
Iraqi civilians outside an army recruitment center in
the northern city of Mosul, killing four and wounding
15, CNN said.

Five U.S. soldiers died in the last day, with three
killed in separate strikes, CNN said. One soldier died
of natural causes and another in a vehicle accident,
CNN said.
------------------------------------------------------
3)
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?newscode=53284&catcode=ENG4&subcatcode=

Reuters
May 15, 2004


U.S. forces kill 21 Iraqis in Baghdad clashes


BAGHDAD - U.S. forces have killed 21 Iraqis and
wounded at least 10 in operations in Baghdad in the
past 24 hours in an effort to restore stability to the
capital, a U.S. military spokesman said today.

Brigadier-General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of
operations for the U.S. military in Iraq, said most
were killed during operations in the Sadr City
neighbourhood of northeast Baghdad, where radical
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr draws support.

''In the Thawa district (Sadr City), coalition forces
continue to conduct offensive operations to restore
stability resulting in 14 enemy killed and 10
wounded,'' Kimmitt told a news conference, saying the
toll was from the past 24 hours.

He said there had been a ''minor uprising'' in several
spots, including the southern cities of Nassiriya and
Amara, where Shi'ite Muslim militants loyal to Sadr
are concentrated, and in Sadr City itself, but said
militants had been quelled.

''There was a minor uprising, and the coalition forces
handled those and things seem to be much quieter
today,'' Kimmitt said.

In a separate incident, a U.S. patrol in western
Baghdad came under fire earlier today from insurgents
using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms,
Kimmitt said. U.S. troops returned fire, killing seven
people.

In Kerbala, a Shi'ite holy city about 110 km southwest
of Baghdad, Kimmitt said four Iraqi fighters had been
killed in fighting between U.S. troops and militiamen
loyal to Sadr, who has been leading an uprising
against U.S. forces for the past month.
------------------------------------------------------
4)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/16/wirq316.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/05/16/ixnewstop.html

Sunday Telegraph (Britain)
May 16, 2004

British troops kill 20 militiamen in five-hour gun
battle
By Philip Sherwell in Baghdad


British forces killed 20 Iraqi rebels in a five-hour
gun battle with militia fighters after an Army convoy
was repeatedly ambushed outside the town of Amara, it
emerged yesterday.

Two British soldiers were wounded at the start of a
rolling series of firefights with guerrillas loyal to
the radicalShia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. Both soldiers
sustained wounds when gunmen attacked their Land
Rovers with rocket-propelled grenades and assault
rifles in the first of three ambushes.

The convoy came under further heavy assault as it
fought its way north on the road from Basra. British
troops sent to help the first unit also came under
attack from rockets, roadside bombs and machine guns
in the dramatic exchange.

By the time the fighting had died down, 20 militants
were dead, 13 wounded and nine captured, according to
the military spokesman Sqd Ldr Jon Arnold, while the
British forces suffered only the two injuries. Two
other British soldiers were wounded in a separate
clash in the same region.

An Army spokesman said that the fighters appeared to
be members of the Mehdi army militia of Sadr, who
launched an insurgency against Coalition forces early
last month.

Fresh clashes broke out yesterday between American
troops and the Mehdi army in the holy Shia cities of
Kerbala and Najaf as American commanders tightened
their military squeeze on Sadr's forces.

Further south in Nassiriya, Mehdi militiamen laid
siege overnight to the offices of the Coalition
Provisional Authority, trapping about 20 Italians,
Britons and Americans, as they bombarded the
buildingwith mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

The American military reported the deaths of three
more soldiers in attacks near Baghdad, bringing the
total of US servicemen killed in action in Iraq to at
least 565 since the invasion that overthrew Saddam
Hussein.
------------------------------------------------------
5)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3718249.stm

BBC News
May 15, 2004

Fighting flares across Shia towns


There have been further clashes in Iraq between US-led
coalition forces and supporters of radical Shia Muslim
cleric Moqtada Sadr.

The US military says 18 Shia militiamen were killed by
American troops in the Sadr city area of the capital
Baghdad.

And at least three people died in fighting in the holy
city of Karbala, close to important Shia shrines.

The clashes follow Friday's heavy fighting in Najaf.

Mr Sadr, who is wanted by the US in connection with
the assassination of a rival Shia cleric, launched an
uprising against coalition forces last month.

The Americans said the 18 members of Mr Sadr's Mehdi
Army militia who died in Baghdad were killed in a
dozen separate encounters on Friday night and Saturday
morning.

In Karbala, the Mehdi Army clashed with US forces
close to the Iman Hussein and Iman Abbas shrines. A
doctor counted three dead civilians and seven wounded
at the city hospital.

And correspondents reported hearing loud explosions in
Najaf on Saturday evening.

Other Shia towns have seen outbursts of fighting
between Mr Sadr's fighters and coalition troops:

British troops travelling between Basra and Amara
fought off ambushers, killing some 20 militants; two
Britons were wounded

In Nasiriya, Italian troops fought the Mehdi Army in a
battle which Iraqi police said left two civilians dead
and five wounded.

Saturday also saw a mortar attack on an Iraqi army
recruitment centre in the religiously and ethnically
mixed northern city of Mosul kill four Iraqis and
wound at least 15.

Clerics in Iran and Kuwait have urged the US to pull
back from shrines.

"We strongly demand that these forces put out the fire
of strife raging in holy Najaf and Karbala by pulling
out from the two holy shrines," said the Congregation
of Muslim Shia Olama in Kuwait, an umbrella group.

In Iraq, an influential Sunni Muslim body, the
Committee of Ulemas, condemned the "criminal acts"
against Shia Iraqis and called for national unity.
-----------------------------------------------------
6)
http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/16/stories/2004051602751200.htm

The Hindu
May 15, 2004

Damage to shrine triggers outcry
By Atul Aneja



MANAMA - The U.S. incursion into the heart of Najaf,
which has resulted in slight damage to a key religious
site in the city, has triggered an outcry among Shias
in the region, with leaders in Iran and Lebanon taking
the lead in the widening protests.

The fall-out of the fighting between the Mehdi Army
loyal to the Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr on Friday in
Najaf resulted in damage to the golden dome of the
Imam Ali shrine-a symbol of Shia religious identity
across the globe.

The dome appears to have been hit by small arms fire,
driving four holes in the structure. A representative
of Mr. Al Sadr has blamed American forces for the
damage. But the U.S. military spokesperson in Iraq,
Mark Kimmitt, rejected the allegation, and said that
militiamen appeared to have harmed the shrine.
Fighters from the Mehdi Army and U.S. forces, backed
by tanks, traded fire on Friday in a sprawling
cemetery, close to the Imam Ali mausoleum. Aware of
the widespread impact if religious sites were
targeted, a representative of the top Shia spiritual
leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani urged both U.S.
forces and the Mehdi army to leave Najaf.

Alarmed by the American presence in Najaf, Iran, which
has a majority Shia population and exercises
considerable influence among Shias beyond its borders,
has issued a strong protest.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hamid Reza
Asefi, said, "We are concerned at the intensification
of the fighting in Iraq especially in Najaf and
Karbala. The responsibility for the insecurity in Iraq
falls on the occupiers, and we want the occupying
forces to leave Iraq as soon as possible."

After heavy fighting on Friday, there was relative
calm in Najaf. The city centre was under the control
of the Mehdi Army and militiamen had replaced the
force that had earlier been assigned to protect the
Imam Ali shrine.
------------------------------------------------------
7)
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=5/16/2004&Cat=2&Num=024

Reuters
May 15, 2004

Kuwait Shi'ites Ask U.S., Militia to Quit Iraq Sites


KUWAIT - An umbrella group of Shi'ite Muslim religious
leaders in Kuwait on Saturday lambasted the U.S.-led
forces for entering Najaf and Karbala and demanded
that they pull out from the holy cities in Iraq.

"We strongly demand that these forces put out the fire
of strife raging in holy Najaf and Karbala by pulling
out from the two holy shrines," said a statement by
the group which includes an aide to top Shi'ite cleric
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "The Shi'ites of the
world did not expect this hasty and wrong behavior
from the coalition forces in Iraq by entering the holy
sites."

The group, known as the "Congregation of Muslim Shia
Olama in Kuwait", also demanded the pullout of militia
forces of rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr from the holy
shrines.

They were similar demands made on Friday by
Kuwait-based Sistani aide Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer
al-Mohri, the group's secretary general, who said then
he feared for Sistani's life.

Witnesses on Saturday said that at least two members
of Sadr's militia were killed and seven wounded in
fighting near the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam
Abbas in Karbala, some of the most sacred ground in
Shi'ite Islam.

In nearby Najaf, after heavy fighting on Friday, at
least two U.S. tanks took up positions outside the
main police station near Imam Ali mosque. "We also
demand the militias present in the holy shrines to
commit to not shed blood in the holy grounds and leave
them immediately," the statement said, adding the
U.S.-led forces should hand over responsibility there
to the Iraqi tribes "who we hope can stop the
bloodshed."

One third of Kuwait's indigenous population is Shi'ite
and the vast majority of the rest are Sunnis. Kuwait
was the launchpad for the U.S.-led war last year that
toppled Saddam Hussein whose forces invaded the
Persian Gulf Arab state in 1990.
------------------------------------------------------
8)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/16/nirq16.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/05/16/ixportaltop.html

Sunday Telegraph (Britain)
May 16, 2004

Labour MPs call for new Commons vote on Iraq
By Patrick Hennessy, Sean Rayment and Melissa Kite


-The Telegraph has learned that a contingency plan -
called the "evacuation con plan" - has been drawn up
by staff officers in Basra and agreed by the Chief of
Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters
in Northwood. After a month of worsening problems, the
mood within the Ministry of Defence has switched from
how do "we achieve strategic success" to "how do we
avoid strategic failure".
One senior official described this as: "The collapse
of the coalition and the inability to achieve the
strategic objective of a safe, democratic Iraq".


Tony Blair was last night furiously resisting mounting
pressure to hold a new Commons vote on Britain's
military commitment in Iraq as it was revealed that
defence chiefs are privately discussing "strategic
failure" in the war.

Ministers are expected to announce next week that up
to 4,000 more soldiers will be sent to take control of
Najaf, the Shi'ite holy city, and large swathes of
central Iraq.

Labour MPs, including Robin Cook, the former foreign
secretary, and some supporters of the war, are
insisting, however, that the troops should not be sent
without a new mandate from Parliament.

A vote on new deployments would be the first since the
crucial Commons debate on March 18 last year, shortly
before the war, when 139 Labour MPs voted against
sending troops into battle.

Many of those who voted for the Government then have
admitted they might have acted differently had they
known that intelligence reports about weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq were inaccurate.

Concern about the deteriorating security situation in
Iraq, and anger over the abuse of prisoners by
American troops, have heightened opposition to the
Prime Minister's support for President George W Bush,
adding to the possibility of a substantial rebellion
against Mr Blair in a new vote.
....
Many Labour MPs accept, however, that the demand for a
vote is gathering momentum, adding to the pressure on
a prime minister already facing a series of
destabilising blows. These include the public
admission by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister,
that senior Labour figures are beginning to consider
their options for the post-Blair era.

Eric Illsley, a Labour member of the Commons foreign
affairs select committee, described Mr Blair as
"rattled", and added: "His main problem is that he has
been kicked in the balls by President Bush."

Mr Illsley said that he wanted a fresh Commons vote
and claimed that, while he would back the Government,
there was a "bloody good chance" that a majority of
Labour MPs would vote against Mr Blair. Such a result
would deal a potentially fatal blow to the Prime
Minister's authority, spark a crisis for the Coalition
and gravely affect the morale of the 7,500 British
troops in Iraq.

The Tories last night declined to join calls for a new
vote for fear of being called opportunist. Senior
figures said the party's response would depend on the
precise nature of the deployment.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said:
"Before any further British troops are sent, the
Government should consult with and listen to
Parliament about the role they are expected to
undertake."

Alan Simpson, a Left-wing Labour MP who opposed the
war, said: "There is absolutely no case for the
commitment of further British troops without a fresh
political mandate. To do anything else would set up
the new troops as a turkey shoot."

In March 2003 Mr Blair won a majority of 179, partly
with the help of Conservative MPs. Anti-war MPs now
argue that the situation inside Iraq has degenerated
so badly that a new vote would see an increase in
Labour backbenchers opposing the Government.

Last night the Prime Minister's official spokesman,
asked whether Mr Blair would bow to calls for a fresh
vote, said: "We are not going to get into discussing a
hypothetical situation at this stage."

Although the number of additional troops has yet to be
agreed, it is expected to number between 3,000 and
4,000, including members of 3 Commando Brigade HQ, the
Black Watch infantry battalion, a commando battalion,
and 1 Para.

The Telegraph has learned that a contingency plan -
called the "evacuation con plan" - has been drawn up
by staff officers in Basra and agreed by the Chief of
Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters
in Northwood. After a month of worsening problems, the
mood within the Ministry of Defence has switched from
how do "we achieve strategic success" to "how do we
avoid strategic failure".

One senior official described this as: "The collapse
of the coalition and the inability to achieve the
strategic objective of a safe, democratic Iraq". He
said that the British mission had been a success, but
could not be guaranteed to remain so because of the
deteriorating situation elsewhere in Iraq.

"It is a case of we all win or all fail. We are not at
the point of strategic failure yet but there has been
a mood change. Strategic failure is now an option that
is being considered."
------------------------------------------------------
9)
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=2813&art_id=qw1084605488224B231&click_id=2813&set_id=1


Independent Online (South Africa)
May 15, 2004

Bush should 'ask Pope's pardon for Iraq war'


Caracas, Venezuela - United States President George
Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for
forgiveness for abuses committed by US soldiers in
Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday.

In his latest jibe against the US leader, the
outspoken left-wing Venezuelan president urged Bush to
use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to
announce the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

"Even though he's not a Catholic... he should ask
God's forgiveness at the Vatican... go down on his
knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness
of the world, not just the Iraqi people," Chavez told
a news conference in Caracas.

While he criticized the actions of US troops, the
Venezuelan leader also condemned as "a horror" the
decapitation of US businessman Nick Berg by Islamic
militants in Iraq.

He made the comments after noting that senior Vatican
officials had criticized the abuse of Iraqi prisoners
by American soldiers which has caused an international
scandal.

Over the last few months, Chavez has repeatedly
condemned Bush for waging the war in Iraq. He called
the US president a "jerk" earlier this year and
accuses his administration of seeking to topple him, a
charge denied by Washington.
------------------------------------------------------
10)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/85081/1/.html


Agence France-Presse
May 15, 2004

South Korean demonstrators oppose troop dispatch to
Iraq

-The survey published Saturday showed 64 percent of
respondents believe the government should call off the
troops dispatch, up from 52 percent a month earlier.



SEOUL : Opposition to a government decision to send
troops to Iraq flared here as South Korean President
Roh Moo-Hyun returned to office to face the sensitive
issue.

"Don't send our boys in harm's way for an unjust war,"
read a banner as some 200 people, including human
rights activists and leftist students, chanted slogans
opposed to the planned troop deployment outside the US
embassy in central Seoul Saturday.

They urged the government to resist US pressure and
reject "the humiliation" of sending troops to the
war-torn country.

Hundreds of riot police with shields surrounded the
protestors to bar their way to the heavily guarded US
diplomatic compound.

The protest lasted an hour before the protestors broke
up peacefully. There were no arrests or injuries.

An opinion poll by the independent Hankyoreh daily
indicated that reported mistreatment of Iraqi
prisoners by US troops had stoked opposition to South
Korea's decision to send more than 3,000 troops to
Iraq.

The survey published Saturday showed 64 percent of
respondents believe the government should call off the
troops dispatch, up from 52 percent a month earlier.

The percentage of those who believe the government
should abide by its commitment to sending the troops
fell to 30 percent from 39 percent.

Roh, suspended from office for two months, was
reinstated Friday after the Constitutional Court
rejected a parliamentary vote to impeach him,

He said in a statement Saturday that he would address
the dispatch of troops at a later time.











	
		
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