'US troops' strike inside Syria

US helicopter-borne troops have carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people including four children, Syrian officials say.

The official Syrian news agency Sana said the raid took place in the Abu Kamal border area, in eastern Syria.

It said that American soldiers on four helicopters had stormed a building under construction on Sunday night.

The US says it is investigating. It has previously accused Syria of allowing foreign militants into Iraq.

Syria has summoned the US and Iraqi envoys in Damascus to protest at the raid.

"Syria condemns this aggressive act and holds American forces responsible for this aggression and all of its repercussions," a government official said.

If confirmed, the raid would be the first known attack by US forces inside Syrian territory, says the BBC's Natalia Antelava.

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In order to whitewash or to give a "perspective" on the event, the US make sure we know that:

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A US military spokesman could not confirm or deny the reports, saying it was a "developing situation".

The area is near the Iraqi border city of Qaim, a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money travelling into Iraq to fuel the Sunni insurgency.

Washington has in the past accused Damascus of turning a blind eye to the problem.

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But we have no proof of the problem ("a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money travelling into Iraq to fuel the Sunni insurgency"), have we? And why bomb a family?... Is this reprisals or a way to create more resentment and more "insurgency" on order to justify more US "presence" in the area?

Report Finds Iraq Water Treatment Project to Be Late, Faulty and Over Budget

A huge American-financed wastewater treatment plant in the desert city of Falluja, which United States troops assaulted twice to root out insurgents in 2004, was supposed to be the centerpiece of an effort to rebuild Iraq, a country smashed by war and neglect, and bring Western standards of sanitation.

Instead, the project, which has tripled in cost from original plans to $100 million and has fallen about three years behind schedule, has become an example of the failed and often oversold program to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure with American dollars and skill.

The project was so poorly conceived that there is no reliable electricity to run pumps and purification tanks, and no money left to connect homes to the main sewer lines, which now run uselessly beneath Falluja’s streets, according to a report by federal investigators to be released Monday.

The report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, an independent federal office led by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., stops short of saying that officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has primary responsibility for the project, or the American Embassy’s own reconstruction bureau, the Iraq Transition Assistance Office, deliberately withheld information on the problems.

Officials Say U.S. Killed an Iraqi in Raid in Syria

WASHINGTON — A raid into Syria on Sunday was carried out by American Special Operations forces who killed an Iraqi militant responsible for running weapons, money and foreign fighters across the border into Iraq, American officials said Monday.

The helicopter-borne attack into Syria was by far the boldest by American commandos in the five years since the United States invaded Iraq and began to condemn Syria’s role in stoking the Iraqi insurgency.

The timing was startling, not least because American officials praised Syria in recent months for its efforts to halt traffic across the border.

But in justifying the attack, American officials said the Bush administration was determined to operate under an expansive definition of self-defense that provided a rationale for strikes on militant targets in sovereign nations without those countries’ consent.

Together with a similar American commando raid into Pakistan more than seven weeks ago, the operation on Sunday appeared to reflect an intensifying effort by the Bush administration to find a way during its waning months to attack militants even beyond the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan, where the United States is at war.

In a brief public comment more than 24 hours after the special forces strike, an Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said Baghdad rejected raids on its neighbours and did not want to be used as a launch pad.

"The constitution does not allow Iraq to be used as a staging ground to attack neighbouring countries," Dabbagh said, though he also called for an end to insurgent activity in Syria.

The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem, last night said Iraqi officials had "started to see the truth" about the raid.

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Meanwhile in the other main theater of biffo...

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One of Britain's most senior military officers warned last night that there was no point in sending reinforcements to Afghanistan until the Afghans themselves were able to control the ground captured by foreign troops.

Lieutenant General Sir Peter Wall, who is responsible for overseeing British military operations, said the notion that "flooding" Afghanistan with a "whole load" more troops was the solution was misleading.

The Afghans had to deliver better governance and build up their own armed forces, he said. There was no point in investing more money and men in the country unless security and economic and social projects were seen to be "inspired by the Afghans themselves", he added. "If we do it for them, it will just not count."

A man accused of being Osama Bin Laden's media secretary has been convicted by a US military jury at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Ali Hamza al-Bahlul showed no emotion as he was found guilty of conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and making propaganda videos for al-Qaeda.

The 39-year-old Yemeni faces a possible life sentence. He refused to present a defence during the trial.

US Afghan air strike 'killed 40'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said about 40 people were killed in a US air strike in southern Kandahar province.

Many more were wounded when a wedding party was hit. US officials confirmed civilian deaths and are investigating.

"We cannot win the fight against terrorism with air strikes," Mr Karzai said in comments directed at US President-elect Barack Obama.

Mr Karzai has repeatedly criticised the high level of civilian casualties in such bombings.

The latest civilian deaths underline the challenges facing the US president-elect and future commander-in-chief.

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Gus: Please man! Dubya! If you are decent enough, just hold up the hostilities for a couple of months and let the next decider make the decisions. That might prevent you being responsible once more for killing another wedding party. Murderer! And please do not claim the "accidental" clausal excuse... It's careless and smacks of reprisal rather than being a "honest" mistake. A mistake like this is never a honest one...

But then I am dreaming you'd wake up to your own outrageous and dangerous stupidity... An impossibility from where you're starting from, unfortunately...  At least, most people of America have woken up...

Let's hope for better days...

Iraq plans to close a camp for Iranian dissidents who used to cross into Iran to mount assassinations and sabotage - a decision that has sharpened political differences between Baghdad and Washington.

Camp Ashraf, about 80 miles north of Baghdad, came under Iraqi control yesterday in a broad security handover that forms part of the US withdrawal agreement concluded late last year.

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, led a delegation of defence and interior ministry officials to the camp last weekend, warning its 2,500 male and 1,000 female inmates that "staying in Iraq is not an option". The Iraqi government said it "is keen to execute its plans to close the camp and send its inhabitants to their country or other countries in a non-forcible manner".

US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp as well as all overseas CIA detention centres for terror suspects.

Signing the orders, Mr Obama said the US would continue to fight terror, but maintain "our values and our ideals".

Two days after his inauguration, he also ordered a review of military trials of terror suspects and a ban on harsh interrogation methods.

About 250 suspects have been held at Guantanamo Bay for years without trial.

At Mr Obama's request, military judges have suspended several of the trials of suspects at Guantanamo so that the legal process can be reviewed.

'Ongoing struggle'

Mr Obama signed the three executive orders on Thursday, further distancing his new administration from the policies of his predecessor, George W Bush.

He said the Guantanamo prison "will be closed no later than one year from now."

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... restoring "values and ideals".... see toon at top....

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has finished first in provincial elections, strengthening the central government and weakening the religious parties that dominated after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But Iraqis still voted along sectarian or ethnic lines with Mr Maliki's successes all coming in Shia-dominated provinces.

The election commission announced yesterday that the premier's "State of Law" coalition had won 38 per cent of the votes cast in Baghdad and 37 per cent in Basra, Iraq's two largest cities. It also finished first in seven other provinces south of Baghdad. Among the Sunni Arabs, nationalist and secular parties did well.

Mr Maliki will be able to claim that his policy of strengthening the central government, which saw him confront at different times last year the Shia militia of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the US government and the Kurds, has been endorsed by voters. The elections to the powerful provincial councils in 14 out of 18 provinces are seen as a preview for the parliamentary elections in December.

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is it a case of "better the devil you know?"....

and by the way, the US is only loosing about 15 soldiers per month in Iraq... An improvement now steady... The walls of Baghdad mind you are still separating all the ethnicities... See toon at top and comment below it...

A prominent Kurdish politician has defied Turkish law by giving a speech to parliament in his native Kurdish.

Ahmet Turk was addressing his party in parliament when he suddenly switched language from Turkish to Kurdish.

The live broadcast on state TV was immediately cut, as the language is banned in parliament.

Some one-fifth of Turkey's population are ethnic Kurds, but speaking Kurdish in public was banned until the 1990s, as it was seen as a threat to unity.

The Kurdish language is, however, still banned in all state institutions and official correspondence.

Fight for votes

When Mr Turk defied the law, party members gave him a standing ovation. There was praise from Kurds here in the south east too - where people described the speech as a brave move, long overdue. They also called for all restrictions on the use of Kurdish to be lifted.

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see toon at top and the comments below it....

Robert Fisk’s World: Right to the very end in Iraq, our masters denied us the truth

The sentence ‘millions of Iraqis now live free of oppression’ is pure public relations

...

Not so "SM's" reply. Here is another quotation from his execrable letter. "It is important to remember that our decision to take action (sic) in Iraq was driven by Saddam Hussein's refusal to co-operate with the UN-sponsored weapons inspections... The former Prime Minister has expressed his regret for any information, given in good faith, concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which has subsequently proven to be incorrect."

I am left breathless by this lie. Saddam Hussein did not "refuse to co-operate" with the UN weapons inspectors. The whole problem was that – to the horror of Blair and Bush – the ghastly Saddam did co-operate with them, and the UN weapons team under Hans Blix was about to prove that these "weapons of mass destruction" were non-existent; hence the Americans forced Blix and his men and women to leave Iraq so that they and Blair could stage their illegal invasion. I saw Blix's aircraft still on the ground at Baghdad airport just two days before the attack. Note, too, the weasel words. Blair did not give his information "in good faith", as SM claims. He knew – and the Ministry of Defence knew (and I suppose SM knew) – they were untrue. Or "incorrect" as "SM" coyly writes.

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See potted history above, below the toon... read more of Robert Fisk at the Independent...

Blair lied, Bush lied, Howard lied...

Furious protests threaten to undermine the Iraqi government's controversial plan to give international oil companies a stake in its giant oilfields in a desperate effort to raise declining oil production and revenues.

In less than two weeks, on 29 and 30 June, the Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussain Shahristani, will award service contracts to the world's largest oil companies to develop six of Iraq's largest oil-producing fields over 20 to 25 years.

Senior figures within the Iraqi oil industry have denounced the deal. Fayad al-Nema, the director of the South Oil Company, which comes under the Oil Ministry and produces most of Iraq's crude, said on the weekend: "The service contracts will put the Iraqi economy in chains and shackle its independence for the next 20 years. They squander Iraq's revenues." Mr Nema is reported to have since been fired because of his opposition to the contracts, which he says is shared by many other officials in Iraq's state-owned oil industry.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraqi-oil-minister-accused-of-mother-of-all-sellouts-1707906.html

The reception at Guildhall, in London, was also attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William.

The royals mingled with military personnel and their families and the young prince laughed and posed for photos with eager veterans.

Lance Corporal of Horse James Shaw, 28, of the Household Cavalry in Windsor, was pleased to see Prince William again after training at the same base.

He said: "When we got here, we realised what a momentous occasion it was.

"We've lost a couple of lads out there and it was nice to think of them."

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see toon at top and story below it...

A senior Foreign Office lawyer who quit in protest at the invasion of Iraq will this week lay bare the sharp divisions within the Blair administration and its Whitehall advisers as Britain careered towards war in 2003.

On Tuesday, three days before Tony Blair faces the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war, Elizabeth Wilmshurst will make perhaps the most explosive contribution to date by revealing the confusion and infighting between officials and ministers over the legality of deposing Saddam Hussein without United Nations support.

Her first public account of the circumstances leading to her dramatic resignation threatens to permanently undermine the Government's insistence that it was united behind the fateful decision to join the United States in attacking Iraq in March 2003.

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see toon at top and story below it...

From Al Jazeera

Iraqis are scared to travel to Diyala, a province that experiences bombings and killings on a regular basis.

"It is still not a safe place" was what many people told Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr on a visit to Diyala, despite the fact that Iraqi security forces and US troops have a heavy presence in the area, particularly in Baquba, the provincial capital.

But soon US troops will leave and those who are meant to protect are viewed with suspicion.

"The Iraqi police is infiltrated by armed groups," Abdel Hussein Ali Damouk, Diyala's police chief, told me.

"We have made a number of arrests including officers.

"We are now checking the background of each policeman ... the problem was they were hired by security agencies without any security checks because we needed a force in place as soon as possible."

Such an admission coming from the head of the force is an indication of the challenges ahead, just months before US combat troops withdraw under an agreement with the Iraqi government.

The man who led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq before the 2003 invasion is set to appear before the war inquiry.

Hans Blix was a key figure in the months before the war as his team sought to determine the extent of Saddam Hussein's weapons programme.

He is likely to be asked whether war could have been prevented if his inspectors had been given more time.

He has subsequently accused the UK and US of "over-interpreting" intelligence on weapons to bolster the case for war.

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The Iraq inquiry was accused on Monday of been "too easygoing" in grilling witnesses about the lead-up to the war.

Carne Ross, a former UK diplomat to the UN, told the BBC that Sir John Chilcot was running a "narrow" investigation, with the standard of questioning "pretty low".

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see toon at top and article below it...

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS and YASMINE MOUSA

MOSUL, Iraq — Members of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia have been holding up blood banks and hospitals at gunpoint, stealing blood for their wounded fighters rather than risk having them arrested at medical facilities, according to Iraqi doctors, employees at health centers and the Sunni insurgents themselves.

Iraqi health officials say the raids have been occurring for some time in provinces with large Sunni Arab populations and appear to signal an insurgency desperate to safeguard its core group of fighters. But the insurgents have a diminished ability to intimidate hospital staffs into caring for them directly and dwindling support among fellow Sunni Arabs, including doctors, the officials said.

The Iraqi security force members that guard medical facilities have often stood idly by as the armed robberies take place, according to workers. This has reinforced doubts about Iraq’s ability to take on even a diminished insurgency as the United States continues to reduce its troops in the country.

Hadad Hamad, a doctor in Anbar Province, said the raids occurred in western Iraq as early as 2005, when “Al Qaeda fighters burst into Al Qaim Hospital’s blood bank, seized large quantities of blood and took it” to a nearby village, apparently to treat their wounded.

The hospital, near the Syrian border, continues to be the focus of Qaeda raids. This summer, the hospital was ordered closed for several days to protect workers after doctors and other staff members had received death threats for refusing to cooperate with Al Qaeda’s demands for blood and other aid.

What is not clear, however, is whether the stolen blood would do an injured person any good. Imperfectly matched blood can prove fatal. “Even if you had the same blood type, you’d have to make a perfect match,” said Dr. Yaseen Ahmed Abbass, director of the Red Crescent Society in Iraq. “It is not an easy procedure.”

But some Iraqi doctors working in Sunni areas believe that Al Qaeda has its own specialists who perform blood transfusions and treat shrapnel and bullet wounds — and carry out more gruesome procedures as well.

In nearly three hours of testimony, Hans Blix gave a fascinating word picture of the war factions in the British and American governments. It was a testosterone-driven team seemingly bent on action – or "high on military" as he colourfully put it. "Were they (the Iraqis) a danger?" he asked rhetorically. "No they were not – they were prostrate. So what we got from this was anarchy, and it was an anarchy worse than tyranny."

Blix stated several times yesterday that he thought that Tony Blair had been "sincere." He had hoped always to get full backing from the UN, but in the end had been "taken prisoner on the American train" to military action. He said that the case put forward by the Blair government was based on "a very constrained legal explanation... You see how Lord Goldsmith [Blair’s Attorney-General] wriggled about and how he, himself, very much doubted it was adequate."

Dr Blix was long the bête noir of the Bush neo-cons, and Vice President Cheney tried to get him sacked several times.

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/66424,news-comment,news-politics,was-iraq-leader-saddam-hussein-a-danger-to-the-world-no-says-blix#ixzz0uxdeb3Ix