Pendleton Marines express shock over beheading, prisoner abuse

[thedrifter]

Pendleton Marines express shock over beheading, prisoner abuse <br />
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By: KATARINA KRATOVAC - Associated Press <br />
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CAMP MERCURY, Iraq -- U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton who battled insurgents in...

[thedrifter]

U.S. Soldiers, Militiamen Clash in Iraq

By HAMZA HENDAWI

NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions rocked the holy city of Najaf and residents reported intermittent gunfire in Karbala on Friday as U.S. soldiers again clashed with militiamen loyal to a radical cleric.

Fighting broke out on a road leading from Najaf to the nearby city of Kufa, where cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was scheduled to deliver a sermon at Friday prayers. At least one American tank was stationed on the road. Militiamen took cover at street corners.

Smoke rose from two areas of Najaf and residents scurried for cover. Later, two U.S. tanks moved into the city's cemetery and fired on militia positions. Al-Sadr's fighters retreated to alleyways and residential areas, while American forces moved on the main roads.


Fighting occurred near Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.

Gunfire was heard in parts of Karbala, where American troops and the cleric's militia, al-Mahdi Army, have fought intense battles this week.

On Thursday, Muslim clerics and political leaders in Karbala named Shakir Abdul-Amir, a former major general in Saddam's army, to mediate an end to the fighting. U.S. officials have said they would welcome Iraqis who wanted to resolve the conflict with al-Sadr peacefully, but there was no indication the fiery young cleric was willing to accept Abdul-Amir.

Al-Sadr, a fierce opponent of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, launched an uprising last month in Baghdad and several southern cities. At the same time, a coalition-backed Iraqi judge issued an arrest warrant for al-Sadr in the murder of a rival moderate cleric last year.

In his sermon in Kufa last week, al-Sadr condemned the abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison, and urged his followers to resist the American occupation.

Al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army became a major problem for the United States in April, when his fighters swept across the Shiite heartland south of Baghdad, capturing police stations and government buildings after U.S. authorities announced a warrant for his arrest in the April 2003 killing of a rival cleric.

The fighting came after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made a surprise trip to Iraq on Thursday, visiting the Abu Ghraib prison and telling troops "we'll get through" the international uproar over abuse of inmates there.

Northeast of Baghdad, a bomb exploded in front of the house of a tribal chief, killing him and one of his daughters. The motive for the killing in Muqdadiyah of Roukan Mughir, head of the Miahi tribe, was unclear. However, residents said he had been cooperating with American forces.

Iraqi insurgents often target Iraqis viewed as collaborators with the coalition.

Another daughter and a son of the chief were injured in the blast, hospital officials said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/05/14/ap/Headlines/d82i79gg0.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Submitted by: MCAS Miramar
Story Identification #: 2004513172316
Story by Cpl.



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif.(May 13, 2004) -- Coinciding with President George W. Bush's proposal for a larger U.S. military and expanded force protection measures, military suppliers and Congress are rushing to get new body armor to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For many Marines, the old flak vest is giving way to the new Interceptor body armor-an effective and highly valued piece of gear in the global war on terrorism.

"The Interceptor body armor is saving lives," said Thomas Raleigh, satellite Consolidated Issue Facility manager. "The Marines coming back from Iraq have been telling us that the Interceptor body armor is as good as gold. Wearing this will make the difference between life or death sometimes, and the added neck, collar and groin attachments make this an effective protection system."

Designed to help provide Marines and other servicemembers with the tools they need to get the job done, the Bush administration's new defense budget calls for an additional $25 billion to support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and, in particular, more body armor and armored vehicles for U.S. troops.

Recently the House Armed Services Committee issued a press release applauding the president's announced defense budget plans.

"I applaud the administration for recognizing the needs of our troops," said U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman, House Armed Services Committee. "In my meetings with (President Bush) and (Secretary Donald Rumsfeld) they have always expressed the belief I share: we will not hesitate to provide our military personnel with all the tools they need to prevail in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The congressman from El Cajon, Calif., also said his committee plans to review the Bush administration's request this week and work to provide soldiers and Marines with new force protection measures, including more body armor to meet new threats and better surveillance capabilities, according to the release.

But because the Interceptor body armor is still in relative short supply, deploying servicemembers are getting priority at their points of issue.

"All (I Marine Expeditionary Force) and (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing) Marines deploying within 60 days who come here to be issued gear are being issued the newer body armor first," explained Raleigh. "(At Miramar) we've already issued the Interceptor body armor to almost 2,500 Marines from this facility so far."

Raleigh added that the new unisex body armor is equipped with removable throat and groin protectors, as well as front and back removable plates, that are capable of stopping 7.62 mm rounds.

"With the inserts, it weighs 16.4 pounds so it's lighter than the older flak vest," Raleigh said. "Each of the two inserts weighs 4 pounds, and the outer tactical vest weighs 8.4 pounds."

"The (Interceptor body armor's) lighter weight provides more mobility than the older flak vest," Raleigh said. "The new armor also has an outer tactical vest made of Kevlar weave that's capable of stopping a 9 mm bullet, plus the webbing on the front and back of the vest permits attaching other small pieces of equipment. The small-arms protective inserts are made of a boron carbide ceramic with a spectra shield backing that's an extremely hard material."

Recognizing the importance of keeping troops safe in the global war on terrorism, U.S. authorities have been working diligently to field the new equipment for Marines and Soldiers on the ground in foreign lands.

Last fall, Congress approved a supplemental appropriations bill to buy more body armor, with 30,000 destined to complete gear issue for troops in Iraq, according to a recent White House press release.

"We will quickly pass this (new) funding because we must and will prevail in Iraq and elsewhere in the war on terrorism," said Hunter.cellence at Miramar and strive to take care of all the Marines, Sailors, civilians and their families here."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7880298E041AC81485256E9300757CCD?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stack

Armed with cash, U.S. troops attempt to make amends with Iraqi civilians who suffered.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


AL BO ALI DAKEL, Iraq — In accordance with the brutal accounting of modern combat, cash payments were made Thursday to people in this small village who suffered during recent fighting between U.S. Marines and insurgents in nearby Fallouja.

The village leader received $15,000 on behalf of residents in compensation for dead livestock, uprooted trees, damaged fields and other losses. The Marines tried to bargain him down to $10,000, but he stood firm.

The son of a man killed by gunfire while driving in a battle zone received $2,500. And a man who said his 7-year-old daughter was killed as she tended the family's sheep also received $2,500.

Now that the fighting between Marines and insurgents has tapered off in the area, the U.S. military is attempting to make amends with noncombatants who suffered. The Americans hope cash will win friends and help bring peace in this part of the volatile Sunni Triangle.

Under Marine rules, a payment for a death goes directly to the family. Payments for community losses can be funneled through an elder, sheik or village leader.

"I know we cannot replace your loss, but we would like to offer a small apology in the form of $2,500 so we can move on in friendship," Capt. Kevin Coughlin, judge advocate general for the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division, told the man who said his daughter had been killed.

"I accept your apology," said Saady Mohamed Abdala.

Whether his daughter was killed by fire from Marines or insurgents — or whether the man even had a daughter — was not entirely clear.

"There's really no way to verify these accounts," Coughlin said. "It's really irrelevant. In making these payments, the U.S. is not taking responsibility for the loss, only offering an apology for a loss that occurred as a result of combat operations."

With a Marine disburser carrying a satchel with more than $80,000, Coughlin and a civil affairs team spent the afternoon combing rural villages just north of Fallouja, where Marines battled insurgents for weeks until handing over security in the city to an Iraq army unit early this month. Hundreds of civilians are believed to have been killed.

Under Marine Corps rules, the top payment a battalion can make for the loss of a family member is $2,500. There is no limit to the amount that can be paid for loss of possessions and livelihood, but the $15,000 paid to village leader Almas Tirkeq was considered on the high side.

That's a lot of cash to average Iraqis, in a land where unemployment is high, a private in the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps makes about $60 a month and a colonel less than $200.

Tirkeq, a large, ebullient man with a wide grin and ingratiating manner, had come prepared with an itemized list of losses, including two cows, five sheep, two donkeys, seven trees, several buildings and acres of farmland in this village of several thousand person.

"I hope this will better the lives of him and his people and we will be able to continue to work together," Coughlin told an interpreter, who passed on the words to Tirkeq.

"This area was neglected by the old regime, and we consider what you are doing a sign of friendship," Tirkeq replied. "Thank you, thank you."

Tirkeq received the money on behalf of the village with the understanding that he would make sure residents who suffered losses are compensated. By making the payment in public, Marines hoped to ensure that he does.

Proof needed for payment Thursday was minimal: the word of village leaders, a story that seemed plausible, some face-to-face contact for reassurance.

"We're giving them the benefit of the doubt," said Marine Capt. Steve Coast, head of a civil affairs team.

The benefit of the doubt was needed most in the case of the man who said his daughter had been killed. Early in the discussions, villagers sought compensation for the man, who wasn't present. A resident was sent to fetch him, but returned alone. The Marines refused to pay.

Then, as the Marines were preparing to leave, a man approached Coughlin and, through the village leader, announced he was the father of the dead child. "Weren't you here the entire time?" Coughlin asked, in a slightly incredulous tone.

"No, no, no," Tirkeq said. "He is my friend. He just walked up here. He is the father."

Coughlin quickly polled other Marines and Westerners standing in the dusty courtyard near the chickens, cows, donkeys and sheep. "Did anybody see him before this?" he asked.

When the village leader had first discussed the dead child, there was a reference to a 6-year-old boy; the man identified as the father said the child was a 7-year-old girl. No account was made of the discrepancy.

In the end, the Marines took Tirkeq and the man at their word.

The outreach method for payments being practiced in the village is unusual. Most of those who say they lost relatives or property will be required to work through the Fallouja mayor's office; their claims will be vetted by an Iraqi judge before being presented to the Marines.

But the Marines have lavished extra attention on the villages around Fallouja. Although U.S. combat units have largely withdrawn from the city, Marines are still searching for insurgents and weapons smugglers in the outlying areas. Friendship with residents out here has a strategic value.

Marines believe the villages to have been neutral territory during the fight, with few of the area's young men joining the insurgency. Although the brunt of the fighting took place inside the city limits, there were skirmishes in the countryside, including nightly ambushes, which the Marines blame in part on "foreign fighters" from outside Iraq.

The village leader reminded Coughlin that residents had helped Marines when one of their tanks became bogged in the mud. "We are a peaceful village," he insisted.

The 1st Marine Regiment recently received $2.7 million to pay for structural damage done by the fighting. Commanders also can take money from their own budgets. Payments for deaths come from the Marine Corps' operations and maintenance budget.

Bahjat Ali Abed, a sad-eyed man in his 30s, said his father, Ali Abed Farham, was killed while driving near the Fallouja train station, a site of numerous skirmishes. He said the Marines later searched the slain man's car for weapons but found none.

On the hood of a mud-colored Humvee, as a curious crowd of men from the village pressed forward, Coughlin asked Abed to sign a document and offered an apology. And he offered a personal word, apparently trying to reach out to the Iraqi.

"I too lost my father not long ago," Coughlin said.

Abed did not reply but stepped back into the crowd, carefully counting 25 crisp $100 bills.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-money14may14,1,3403599.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Killed in Convoy

FALLOUJA, Iraq — One Marine was killed and five were wounded Thursday when their Humvee was destroyed by a powerful bomb in a paved road outside the farming village of Saqlawiya.

The U.S. military also announced that a Marine had been killed Wednesday in Al Anbar province, which includes Fallouja. Neither Marine was immediately identified.

Violence in the area persists despite a security deal to end the Marine siege of Fallouja and replace U.S. forces with Iraqis.

The Humvee destroyed Thursday was part of a convoy that was beginning a morning mission to visit villages to aid in post-combat rebuilding.

Fighting continued elsewhere in Iraq, including in Karbala and Najaf, where fighters loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr refused to end their standoff with American forces.

U.S. troops are trying to disband the cleric's army and sideline its leadership before handing power to a new Iraqi government June 30.

Sadr's Al Mahdi militia became a major problem for the United States in April, when his fighters captured police stations and government buildings after U.S. authorities announced a warrant for his arrest in the April 2003 killing of a rival cleric.

In Washington, officials continued to discuss the prison abuse scandal and the cost of the war. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Democrats asked Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, No. 2 official at the Pentagon, and Marine Gen. Peter Pace about interrogations of Iraqi prisoners.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) asked whether holding a prisoner, naked, with a bag over his head and forcing him to squat for 45 minutes would be permitted under the Geneva Convention on treatment of war prisoners.

"I would describe it as a violation, sir," Pace said.

Wolfowitz agreed that it sounded like a violation.

U.S. defense officials told a Senate committee Wednesday that misconduct shown in photos from Abu Ghraib prison would be punished, but that military interrogation techniques approved for use in Iraq did not violate international law.

Later, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) viewed the photos after returning from a campaign trip. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee declined to comment after seeing the images. But he told Fox News: "I am convinced this didn't happen just because six or seven people decided to make it happen."

He also blamed the Bush administration for casting doubt on the protections afforded prisoners by denying detainees from Afghanistan formal standing under the Geneva Convention.

Addressing budget issues, Wolfowitz said operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would cost more than $50 billion next year.

In London, British officials said Thursday that photographs allegedly showing British troops threatening and urinating on a hooded Iraqi prisoner were "categorically not taken in Iraq."

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram told the House of Commons that the truck in photos published by the Daily Mirror newspaper "was never in Iraq."

But editor Piers Morgan said: "We have listened to what Mr. Ingram has said today, but he has still not produced incontrovertible evidence that the pictures are faked."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-fg-iraq14may14,1,6951743.story?coll=la-iraq-complete


Ellie

[thedrifter]

American Tanks Charge Into Najaf <br />
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May 14, 12:20 PM (ET) <br />
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By HAMZA HENDAWI <br />
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NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - Backed by helicopters, American tanks charged into the center of this holy city on Friday...

[thedrifter]

Article Last Updated: Friday, May 14, 2004 - 9:58:42 AM EST <br />
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'I did my job; I protected them' <br />
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Local Marine recalls brush with death in Iraq firefight <br />
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Local Marine recalls brush with death in...

[thedrifter]

Tanks in sacred cemetary.
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NAJAF, Iraq (May 14) -- The golden dome of the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of the most sacred sites for *****e Muslims, was hit by what appeared to be four gunshots in fighting Friday between U.S. soldiers and militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Four holes, each about 12 inches by 8 inches, were seen on the landmark structure by an Associated Press reporter.

The holes appeared to have been caused by machine gun fire but it was unclear which side was responsible. Three were on one side of the dome and one on another.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said al-Sadr militiamen probably were responsible for damage to the shrine. The chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said he was unaware of the damage to the shrine, but added: ''I can just tell you by the looks of where we were firing and where Muqtada's militia was firing, I would put my money that Muqtada caused it.''

He said the militiamen were using religious sites ''much like human shields.'' During their crackdown on al-Sadr's militia, U.S. forces have been careful to avoid damage to shrines in Najaf and other holy cities for fear of enraging Iraq's *****e majority.

Al-Sadr's spokesman, Qays al-Khazali, told The Associated Press that the Americans were responsible. He carried the casing of a bullet that he wrapped up in a paper tissue.

''I picked this up from the shrine. Only Americans have such bullets,'' he said outside al-Sadr's office near the shrine.

''They are Jews, they are Jews,'' screamed al-Mahdi Army militiamen standing nearby, alluding to the Americans.

Much of the fighting in Najaf happened in the city's vast cemetery, a maze of footpaths and tombs that offers ample hiding space for militiamen. Several tanks rumbled into the cemetery, known as the ''Valley of Peace'' and thought to be the world's largest.

http://cdn.news.aol.com/aolnews_photos/04/06/20040514111709990001

A central hotel where many international journalists were staying was hit by gunfire, which ruptured the rooftop water tank and blew a soccer-ball-sized hole on the ledge. Several rounds struck rooms but there were no injuries.

Reports of the damage to the shrine, which includes the tomb of the son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali, were widely reported across the Middle East by Arabic language television stations.

Shawqi Mushtaq al-Khafajji, an al-Sadr aide, told Al Arabiya television that the dome was struck by U.S. gun fire and ''confrontations still ongoing. We have three martyrs (dead) and five injured.''

''More is expected from the occupation forces,'' he added.

For the world's nearly 120 million Muslim *****es, Najaf is the third holiest city, behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The city, whose name in Arabic means ''a high land,'' is the burial place of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law and *****es' most revered saint. It is located about 100 miles south of Baghdad on a high desert plateau overlooking the world's largest cemetery where *****es aspire to bury their dead.

Ali's shrine in the city center, with its silver-covered tomb, ceramic ornamented walls and resplendent golden dome and minarets is considered one of the landmarks of Islamic art.

Najaf is also the seat of *****es' spiritual leaders, known as ayatollahs, and the center for scientific, literary and theological studies for the Islamic world.

The holy shrine is believed to have been built by Persian kings who filled them with priceless objects and gifts.

The shrine was badly damaged in fighting between Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards and *****e rebels during their brief uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.


05-14-04 11:15 EDT

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Powell doubts Iraq govt will ask troops to leave
The United States, Britain, Italy and Japan would pull their troops out of Iraq if the new interim authority that takes control after June 30 says they should, according to the foreign ministers of the four countries.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said, however, that it was highly unlikely they would be asked to leave.

"Were this interim government to say to us, we really think we can handle this on our own and it will be better if you were to leave, we will leave," Mr Powell told a joint news conference after chairing a foreign ministers' meeting of the Group of Eight industrial countries.

Mr Powell said he had no doubt that the interim Iraqi government would welcome the continued presence and operation of the US-led coalition's military forces.

"So I'm losing absolutely no sleep thinking that they might ask us to leave during this interim period while we're building up their forces," he said.

An opinion poll conducted for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and quoted by Thursday's Washington Post showed 80 per cent of Iraqis mistrust the CPA and 82 per cent disapprove of US and allied forces in their country.

The results of the survey, which was not released to the public, are disheartening for occupation and Washington officials because they seem to indicate that the US effort in Iraq is not winning over Iraqi public opinion, said the Post.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking alongside Mr Powell, said his country "does not intend to remain at all against the wishes of a government, which is a transitory government with the new period that starts on July 1st."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also agreed with Mr Frattini and Mr Powell.

"To underline what the secretary has said: On the 30th of June, sovereignty transfers to the Iraqi people and to the Iraqi government. And were they to ask us to leave, we would leave," Mr Straw said.

Mr Powell explained that under UN Resolution 1511 and the administrative law that the Iraqi governing council put into effect, the United States believed there was authority for coalition troops to continue providing a security role through June 30 and beyond.

"It is really when the national assembly is formed in January of 2005, and it puts in place another government, a transitional government, replacing the interim government," Mr Powell said.

"At that point we would expect that, that transitional government would want to discuss with the multinational force leaders" such issues, he said.

But if the troops stay on, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier made it clear again that France will never send troops there.

"I'm saying once again there will be no French troops, not here, not now, not tomorrow," he said.

"This being said, I will say once again in public, France alongside its European partners, will shoulder its burden, training, police officers... be involved in economic development programs and managing the Iraqi debt.

"We will do our job."

--AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1108849.htm


Ellie