As of Thursday, March 26, 2009, at least 4,262 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,425 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.
The British military has reported 179 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Korea, one death each.
Yahoo.news
The Middle East.
26.3.09
Afghan Strikes by Taliban Get Pakistan Help, U.S. Aides Say
WASHINGTON — The Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials.
The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements.
Support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan’s spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the officials said. There is even evidence that ISI operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections.
Details of the ISI’s continuing ties to militant groups were described by a half-dozen American, Pakistani and other security officials during recent interviews in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. All requested anonymity because they were discussing classified and sensitive intelligence information.
The American officials said proof of the ties between the Taliban and Pakistani spies came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants. The Pakistani officials interviewed said that they had firsthand knowledge of the connections, though they denied that the ties were strengthening the insurgency.
NyTimes
The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements.
Support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan’s spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the officials said. There is even evidence that ISI operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections.
Details of the ISI’s continuing ties to militant groups were described by a half-dozen American, Pakistani and other security officials during recent interviews in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. All requested anonymity because they were discussing classified and sensitive intelligence information.
The American officials said proof of the ties between the Taliban and Pakistani spies came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants. The Pakistani officials interviewed said that they had firsthand knowledge of the connections, though they denied that the ties were strengthening the insurgency.
NyTimes
8.3.09
Watching Darfuris Die
The first gauntlet thrown at President Obama didn’t come from Iran, Russia or China. Rather, it came from Sudan, in its decision to expel aid groups that are a lifeline keeping more than a million people alive in Darfur.
Unfortunately, the administration’s initial reaction made Neville Chamberlain seem forceful. The State Department blushingly suggested that the expulsion “is certainly not helpful to the people who need aid.”
Wow.
Since then, the administration has stiffened its spine somewhat. Susan Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations and designated hitter on Sudan, told me, “If this decision stands, it may well amount to genocide by other means.”
That’s exactly what we may be facing, for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is confirming the International Criminal Court’s judgment when it issued an arrest warrant for him on Wednesday for “extermination,” murder and rape. Now Mr. Bashir is preparing to kill people en masse, not with machetes but by withholding the aid that keeps them alive.
More than one million people depend directly on the expelled aid groups for health care, food and water. I’ve been in these camps, so let me offer an educated guess about what will unfold if this expulsion stands.
The biggest immediate threat isn’t starvation, because that takes time. Rather, the first crises will be disease and water shortages, particularly in West Darfur.
The camps will quickly run out of clean water, because generator-operated pumps bring the water to the surface from wells and boreholes. Fuel supplies to operate the pumps may last a couple of weeks, and then the water disappears.
Health clinics have already closed, and diarrhea is spreading in Zam Zam camp and meningitis in Kalma camp. These are huge camps — Kalma has perhaps 90,000 people — and diseases can spread rapidly. Children will be the first to die.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the camps may try to flee to Chad, but that would overwhelm Chad’s own impoverished and vulnerable population. And to top it off, Mr. Bashir has armed a large proxy force of Chadian rebels who are said to be preparing an attack on the Chadian government.
“This is a whole new kind of hell for the people of Darfur,” Josette Sheeran, the head of the United Nations World Food Program, told me. “The life bridge for more than a million people has just been dismantled.”
Full article
Unfortunately, the administration’s initial reaction made Neville Chamberlain seem forceful. The State Department blushingly suggested that the expulsion “is certainly not helpful to the people who need aid.”
Wow.
Since then, the administration has stiffened its spine somewhat. Susan Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations and designated hitter on Sudan, told me, “If this decision stands, it may well amount to genocide by other means.”
That’s exactly what we may be facing, for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is confirming the International Criminal Court’s judgment when it issued an arrest warrant for him on Wednesday for “extermination,” murder and rape. Now Mr. Bashir is preparing to kill people en masse, not with machetes but by withholding the aid that keeps them alive.
More than one million people depend directly on the expelled aid groups for health care, food and water. I’ve been in these camps, so let me offer an educated guess about what will unfold if this expulsion stands.
The biggest immediate threat isn’t starvation, because that takes time. Rather, the first crises will be disease and water shortages, particularly in West Darfur.
The camps will quickly run out of clean water, because generator-operated pumps bring the water to the surface from wells and boreholes. Fuel supplies to operate the pumps may last a couple of weeks, and then the water disappears.
Health clinics have already closed, and diarrhea is spreading in Zam Zam camp and meningitis in Kalma camp. These are huge camps — Kalma has perhaps 90,000 people — and diseases can spread rapidly. Children will be the first to die.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the camps may try to flee to Chad, but that would overwhelm Chad’s own impoverished and vulnerable population. And to top it off, Mr. Bashir has armed a large proxy force of Chadian rebels who are said to be preparing an attack on the Chadian government.
“This is a whole new kind of hell for the people of Darfur,” Josette Sheeran, the head of the United Nations World Food Program, told me. “The life bridge for more than a million people has just been dismantled.”
Full article
6.3.09
Clinton Accuses Iran of Intimidating
Iran wants to "intimidate as far as they think their voice can reach."
Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State was harsh with Irans positions on Wednesday, accusing its hardline leaders of making divisions in the Arab world, as well that Iran is promoting terrorism and as always posing threats to Israel
Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State was harsh with Irans positions on Wednesday, accusing its hardline leaders of making divisions in the Arab world, as well that Iran is promoting terrorism and as always posing threats to Israel
5.3.09
America targets Pakistan’s mostwanted man
The US military, which avoided hitting the forces of Pakistan’s most wanted man, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2007 and 2008 when the Taliban leader waged a campaign of suicide bombings inside Pakistan, and who has been blamed for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has started sending unmanned aircraft to target them to pre-empt a Taliban spring offensive in Afghanistan.
Analysts said this is a potentially significant development because territory controlled directly by Mehsud does not touch the Afghan border.
Source
Analysts said this is a potentially significant development because territory controlled directly by Mehsud does not touch the Afghan border.
Source
Iran: Israeli nuclear sites within missile range
Iran's military chief warned Israel Wednesday that its nuclear facilities are within range of Iranian missiles, the latest message from Tehran that it will strike back if attacked.
Israel, which is itself believed to possess atomic arsenal, has warned that it could attack Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. suspect is a cover for weapons production. Israel's prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, is among those taking a tough line and considered likely to keep open the option of a military strike.
Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iran now has a mighty military force capable of deterring any U.S. or Israeli attack.
"All nuclear facilities in various parts of the lands under occupation of the Zionist regime are within the range of Iran's missiles," the official IRNA news agency quoted Jafari as saying.
A day earlier, his deputy said Iran had a contingency plan for hitting back hard and causing many casualties.
Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a range of up to 1,250 miles, putting Israel within striking distance. Iran has said it has also increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.
Tehran denies any aim to make nuclear weapons and says its atomic program is only for generating power and other peaceful purposes.
Iran has worked hard to increase the accuracy of its missiles. In November, it successfully test-fired the Sajjil, a solid fuel high-speed missile with a range 1,250 miles. Solid fuel is considered a significant breakthrough because it increases accuracy.
Jafari's deputy, Mohammad Hejazi, told the semi-official Fars news agency Tuesday that Iran has drawn up a contingency plan to retaliate against any Israeli attack and "impose high casualties in a short period of time."
"The enemy refrains from taking military action because it has estimated the damages it will sustain in a war against Iran," Fars quoted Hejazi as saying. "Having analyzed Iran's defense capabilities, they have reached the conclusion that military confrontation with Iran is tantamount to an endless quagmire."
AntiWar.com
Israel, which is itself believed to possess atomic arsenal, has warned that it could attack Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. suspect is a cover for weapons production. Israel's prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, is among those taking a tough line and considered likely to keep open the option of a military strike.
Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iran now has a mighty military force capable of deterring any U.S. or Israeli attack.
"All nuclear facilities in various parts of the lands under occupation of the Zionist regime are within the range of Iran's missiles," the official IRNA news agency quoted Jafari as saying.
A day earlier, his deputy said Iran had a contingency plan for hitting back hard and causing many casualties.
Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a range of up to 1,250 miles, putting Israel within striking distance. Iran has said it has also increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.
Tehran denies any aim to make nuclear weapons and says its atomic program is only for generating power and other peaceful purposes.
Iran has worked hard to increase the accuracy of its missiles. In November, it successfully test-fired the Sajjil, a solid fuel high-speed missile with a range 1,250 miles. Solid fuel is considered a significant breakthrough because it increases accuracy.
Jafari's deputy, Mohammad Hejazi, told the semi-official Fars news agency Tuesday that Iran has drawn up a contingency plan to retaliate against any Israeli attack and "impose high casualties in a short period of time."
"The enemy refrains from taking military action because it has estimated the damages it will sustain in a war against Iran," Fars quoted Hejazi as saying. "Having analyzed Iran's defense capabilities, they have reached the conclusion that military confrontation with Iran is tantamount to an endless quagmire."
AntiWar.com
3.3.09
Lebanon CLaim Israeli Soldier shot at village on border
"A soldier got out of his vehicle and deliberately fired at the wall bearing the inscriptions," an army spokesman said, explaining that five bullets had hit the wall in the village of Aadaisseh, some 20 metres (yards) from the border.
The mural shows the "hand of resistance," a reference to the Shiite Muslim group that fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006, plunging a stake through a Star of David.
An inscription refers to the "divine victory," a slogan created by Hezbollah to tout claims that it had beaten Israel in the 34-day war.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said "a soldier mistakenly fired his rifle" and that the military was "investigating the incident in order to prevent similar events in the future."
A statement by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) qualified the incident as "serious" and said a probe was underway.
Story
The mural shows the "hand of resistance," a reference to the Shiite Muslim group that fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006, plunging a stake through a Star of David.
An inscription refers to the "divine victory," a slogan created by Hezbollah to tout claims that it had beaten Israel in the 34-day war.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said "a soldier mistakenly fired his rifle" and that the military was "investigating the incident in order to prevent similar events in the future."
A statement by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) qualified the incident as "serious" and said a probe was underway.
Story
Three Taliban rivals join forces to fight off America surge
Three rival Pakistani Taliban groups have agreed to form a united front against international forces in Afghanistan in a move likely to intensify the insurgency just as thousands of extra US soldiers begin pouring into the country as part of Barack Obama's surge plan.
The Guardian has learned that three of the most powerful warlords in the region have settled their differences and come together under a grouping calling itself Shura Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen, or Council of United Holy Warriors.
Nato officers fear that the new extremist partnership in Waziristan, Pakistan's tribal area, will significantly increase the cross-border influx of fighters and suicide bombers - a move that could undermine the US president's Afghanistan strategy before it is formulated.
The unity among the militants comes after a call by Mullah Omar, the cleric who leads the Afghan Taliban, telling Pakistani militants to stop fighting at home in order to join the battle to "liberate Afghanistan from the occupation forces".
The Pakistani Taliban movement was split between a powerful group led by the warlord Baitullah Mehsud and his bitter rivals, Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur. While Mehsud has targeted Pakistan itself in a campaign of violence and is accused of being behind the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Nazir and Bahadur sent men to fight alongside other insurgents in Afghanistan.
Source
The Guardian has learned that three of the most powerful warlords in the region have settled their differences and come together under a grouping calling itself Shura Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen, or Council of United Holy Warriors.
Nato officers fear that the new extremist partnership in Waziristan, Pakistan's tribal area, will significantly increase the cross-border influx of fighters and suicide bombers - a move that could undermine the US president's Afghanistan strategy before it is formulated.
The unity among the militants comes after a call by Mullah Omar, the cleric who leads the Afghan Taliban, telling Pakistani militants to stop fighting at home in order to join the battle to "liberate Afghanistan from the occupation forces".
The Pakistani Taliban movement was split between a powerful group led by the warlord Baitullah Mehsud and his bitter rivals, Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur. While Mehsud has targeted Pakistan itself in a campaign of violence and is accused of being behind the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Nazir and Bahadur sent men to fight alongside other insurgents in Afghanistan.
Source
2.3.09
A Few Questions about Israel and a so called Terror List
Why is Israel not on the terror list, when its occupation of Palestine caused more death to the Palestinians then the actions of all the Palestinian terrorists combined ???????????????
Why is Israel not on the Terror list, when its war on terror is terrifying the WORLD. Protests are every where, all across the globe and here on the vine it's an everyday battle in regards to Israel being justified for protecting its people and it's right to exist.
But anyone who supports Hamas position for trying to protect its PEOPLE and also their right to EXIST, they are terror supporters.
What is this so called terror list and what does it mean??? And why its NOT OK to have terrorist, but when the war on terrorism is more costly, its OK to do it ??
Israel demolished two Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem
Israel demolished two Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem on Monday, a day before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to launch an initial effort to shore up the foundations of a shaky peace process.
Two bulldozers flattened a home owned by Mahmoud al-Abbasi in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan.
Israeli authorities said the house was built without a municipal permit.
Palestinians say building permission is nearly impossible to obtain from Israel's Jerusalem city hall and say this is part of a policy to drive out Arab residents.
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Two bulldozers flattened a home owned by Mahmoud al-Abbasi in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan.
Israeli authorities said the house was built without a municipal permit.
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