31 May, 2004
Iraq Rapidly Disintegrating
By Dahr JamailIraq has been shattered. And now, today, over a year since the horrible regime of Saddam Hussein was overthrown, what is left of the country seems to be unraveling more and more with each passing day
On Their Way To Abu Ghraib
By Mike FernerAs the U.S. now releases hundreds of men from Abu Ghraib prison, another question, “why were so many Iraqis locked up there in the first place?” Visit the village of Abu Siffa 30 miles north of Baghdad, and find out how 83 men were taken on the night of December 16, 2003 and locked up in Abu Ghraib
Colonial Violence Against Women In Iraq
By Ghali HassanWestern Women's movements stood silent when tortures and rapes of Iraqi women detainees came to light. Western "feminists" are ready to attack with ferocity Moslem "fundamentalists" and community leaders, but they failed to lift a finger when innocent Iraqi women and girls are detained, tortured and raped by sick colonial soldiers
29 May, 2004
How To Silence An Awkward Newspaper
By John PilgerThe editor of the Daily Mirror, Britain's most famous mass-circulation newspaper, was sacked because he ran the only English-language popular paper to expose the "war on terror" as a fraud and the invasion of Iraq as a crime
Catch-22 Revisited
By David LeighThe world has focused on US soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners. But the leaked inquiry reveals incompetence worthy of Joseph Heller's novel
Daily Life In Iraq
By Dahr JamailIt's been interesting watching the new influx of retail goods: Pepsi, 7-up, and Coke are all here in force. Snickers, Toblerone, and other western products as well....What other "progress" can I report?
28 May, 2004
Slaughter In The Streets
By Dahr JamailDriving anywhere in Baghdad on any given day, the black funeral announcements of untimely deaths are hanging from buildings, homes, and fences everywhere
27 May, 2004
In Solidarity With The Iraqi People
By Ghali HassanThe invasion and occupation of Iraq is a form of globalisation by armed conquest. This armed conquest is the relic of colonialism and we should not allow it to succeed
Mehdi Army Grows
By Dahr JamailThe fighter is married and has six children, but said he will be honored to become a martyr. "God will save my children if I die because the Mehdi is the army of the people," he stated. "This is an intifada of the people"
25 May, 2004
Face To Face With Injustice
By Dahr JamailI think of how beneath the fury of the fighting of Fallujah in April, lies a bottomless ocean of sadness. Under the bloodshed and fighting that rages in the South even now, there is unfathomable grief
24 May, 2004
Bringing Electricity To Their Asses
By Dahr JamailIn the dark humor that has become so popular in Baghdad these days, one recently released detainee said, “The Americans brought electricity to my ass before they brought it to my house!”
The Marine's Tale: 'We Killed
30 Civilians In Six Weeks'
By Natasha Saulnier"In a month and a half my platoon and I killed more than 30 civilians," Mr Massey said. He saw bodies being desecrated and robbed, and wounded civilians being dumped by the roadside without medical treatment. After he told his commanding officer that he felt "we were committing genocide", he was called a "wimp"
Death Of A Professor
By Luke HardingMohammed Munim al-Izmerly, a distinguished chemistry professor, mysteriously die in Iraq prison. An independent Iraqi autopsy reveal that Dr Izmerly had died because of a "sudden hit to the back of his head"
23 May, 2004
Berg beheading: Some Questions Raised
By Ritt GoldsteinA leading surgical authority and a noted forensic death expert raises serious questions about the authenticity of the Berg beheading video. They suggest the video might have been staged
Iraq's Seething With Rage
By Dahr JamailAs if the unremitting stream of horrendous photographs documenting the widespread torturing of Iraqis within Abu Ghraib prison (among other detention facilities throughout Iraq) are not enough, the recent wedding party massacre has brought the fury to an entirely new level
22 May, 2004
More Horrific Pictures, Stories From Abu Ghraib
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington, Justin Huggler
and Leonard DoyleThe abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison continued yesterday with the publication of fresh pictures and sworn statements that detailed a teenage boy being raped, prisoners being ridden like animals and other Iraqis being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol in contravention of their religion
A Uterus Is No Substitute For A Conscience
By Barbara EhrenreichThe Abu Ghraib did something else to me, as a feminist: They broke my heart. I had no illusions about the U.S. mission in Iraq -- whatever exactly it is -- but it turns out that I did have some illusions about women
21 May, 2004
The Horrific Details Of The Wedding Party Massacre
By Rory McCarthy"I fell into the mud and an American soldier came and kicked me. I pretended to be dead so he wouldn't kill me. My youngest child was alive next to me."
What About The Women Prisoners?
By Luke HardingA note slipped out from inside the jail written by a woman prisoner claimed that US guards had been raping women detainees and several of the women were pregnant, the women were forced to strip naked in front of men. The secret inquiry launched by the US military in January has confirmed that the letter was entirely and devastatingly accurate
20 May, 2004
Wedding Party Massacre
By Rory McCarthyIraqi officials last night said an American helicopter fired on a wedding party in western Iraq killing more than 40 people, including many children
Thumbs Up America- More Photos Surface
By ABC NewsMore Photos Surface of soldiers giving thumbs up sign by body of dead Iraqi prisoner
19 May, 2004
Ramadi- A Delicate Lid
By Dahr JamailThe city of Ramadi, about 120km west of Baghdad, appears to be much more stable than nearby Falluja, where the U.S. military currently won’t enter the city after the failed siege of April.But one must not forget that calm is a relative term in occupied Iraq
17 May, 2004
How A Secret Pentagon Program
Came To Abu Ghraib
By Seymour M. HershThe roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was not the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Why Dont They Count The Dead?
By Kim Sengupta and Marie WoolfSince the start of the invasion, 566 members of the American military and 211 US civilians have died. The British figures are 59 and 8. But the Americans and the British do not bother to keep count of the people they have "liberated" and then killed
Press Freedom In Iraq
By Dahr JamailWith a wave of adrenaline I yelled, “I am press! I just want to get a comment from someone!” Two soldiers gestured their heads “no” with their heads while another waved me away, all the while the soldier kept his gun trained on me
Examinations, Fainting Children
Girl Blog From IraqThe end-of-the-year examinations have started in most of the schools. It's already unbearably hot and dusty and the heat gets worse as summer progresses. Last year children were fainting in the summer heat in schools with no electricity. We're hoping to avoid that this year
Who Commands The Private Soldiers?
By David LeighAllegations of abuse have raised wider questions about the role - and accountability - of civilian contractors in Iraq
15 May, 2004
1600 Abuse Pictures Shown In Secret
By Associated PressThe unreleased pictures of prisoner abuse in Iraq include images of corpses, military dogs snarling at cowering prisoners, women commanded to expose their breasts and sex acts, including forced homosexual sex
Who Cares If Iraqi Prisoners Die - US Soldier's Diary
By Mark SageAn American soldier's video diary shows her saying coldly about two Iraqi prisoners who died in custody: "Who cares? That's two less for me to worry about."
13 May, 2004
'They Abused Me And Stole My Dignity'
By Rory McCarthySaddam Salah al-Rawi, 29, who was held for four months at the Abu Ghraib jail describes how he spent 18 days naked alone in a cell, often with his hands and feet bound together, and was frequently beaten, urinated on and occasionally photographed hooded and naked by American troops
The story of Nick Berg - A Tale That Haunts America
By Andrew BuncombeOne senses that Nick Berg's murder has shocked America in a way perhaps more powerful even than the 700 US soldiers who have been killed in Iraq
Do You Know Why They Hate USA?
By Roshnisen GuptaAn open letter to the president of the United States of America
12 May, 2004
American Beheaded On Live Video In Iraq
By Andrew Buncombe and Justin HugglerA group linked to al-Qa'ida released a video showing five of its members beheading an American businessman in Iraq, in what it said was revenge for the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail by US troops. The man's body was found dumped in Baghdad
British Army 'Killing Civilians'
By Sanjay SuriThe British army has been killing civilians in areas of southern Iraq that it controls, says a report by Amnesty International
Accounts Of Atrocities Emerge
From The Rubble Of Falluja
By Dahr JamailAlong with the daily publication of photos documenting the atrocities occuring in Abu Ghraib, stories like these underscore what most people in Iraq now believe -- that the liberators have become no more than brutal imperialist occupiers of their country
Across America, War Means Jobs
By Jonathan WeismanFrom the manufacturers of armoured vehicles to apparel manufactures are doing great business. But it wasn't President Bush's tax cuts, Federal Reserve interest rate policies or even a general economic turnaround that did the trick. It was war
11 May, 2004
Fallujah Celebrates As Marines Leave
By Dahr JamailAfter the Marines left, thousands upon thousands of residents of the defiant city, joined by mujahideen fighters and US-trained Iraqi police and soldiers, poured into the streets to celebrate what Fallujans saw as their "victory" over US forces in the battle for their city
10 May, 2004
Bush's Rape And Torture Rooms
By Seymour M. HershMore revalations on the Abu Ghraib torture chambers and pictures published on the New Yorker Mag
Imposing A Flag With Tanks And Guns
By Dahr Jamail"I have yet to see the new “flag” anywhere, aside from seeing it burned in Fallujah. Anywhere it is flown, it is promptly torn down. Nobody would dare hang one in their car"
Support The Iraqi ResistanceMovement!
By James PetrasSince the resistance began a year ago…not a single US intellectual, of the dozens of progressive, critical thinkers ("Not in My Name") has dared to declare their solidarity with the anti-colonial struggle. "But", they protest, "we oppose the war" while they scramble to endorse candidate Kerry who does support the war and even calls for 40,000 more troops to pour missiles into crowded neighborhoods
A Baghdad Love Story
By Toufic HaddadTaking pictures of themselves smiling at hooded Iraqi prisoners' genitalia, arranging them in naked pyramids, or putting dog leashes around their necks.... This is the story of Lynndie England and Spc. Charles Graner.The occupation of Iraq's first love story
09 May, 2004
More Horrific Pictures To Follow
By Andrew BuncombeThe Bush administration is bracing itself for the release of new pictures and video footage from Abu Ghraib which show US soldiers having sex with an Iraqi woman prisoner, troops almost beating a prisoner to death, and the rape of young boys by Iraqi guards at the jail
The Pornography Of Pain
By Joanna BourkeThe pictures of American soldiers humiliating Iraqi detainees are reminiscent of sadomasochistic porn
Savages Of The 21st Century
By Robert FiskThe American torturers in Iraq are creatures of our century. For if you are taught to despise your enemy as inhuman, you will - if you get the chance - cease to be a human yourself
Just Go...
By An Unknown Iraqi GirlI sometimes get emails asking me to propose solutions or make suggestions. Fine. Today's lesson: don't rape, don't torture, don't kill and get out while you can
08 May, 2004
Fresh Graves Of Falluja
By Dahr JamailRows and rows of fresh graves fill the football stadium in Falluja. Many of them are smaller than others. My translator Nermim reads the gravestones to me: “This one is a little girl.” We take another step. “And this one is her sister. Next to them is their mother.”
The Immoral war
By Robert FiskThe Abu Ghraib pictures have the status of those most damaging snapshots of the Vietnam war: the police chief in Saigon executing his Vietcong prisoner, the naked girl burnt by napalm, the pile of bodies at My Lai. For Arabs, read Deir Yassin and the corpses piled in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra and Chatila in 1982
Nothing New, It's Racism
By John PilgerIn boasting openly about killing "rats in their nest," US marine snipers, who in Falluja shot dead women, children and the elderly, just as German snipers shot dead Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, were reflecting the racism of their leaders
07 May, 2004
The couple At The Centre Of A Scandal
That Horrified The World
By Andrew BuncombeA journey into the backyard of the couple Lynndie England and Charles Graner who gained notoriety by the torture pictures of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq
Hellish Scenes From A Suicide Bomb Explosion
By Dahr Jamail"A leg was found 200 meters from the blast site. Broken glass covers the grass near the line of blasted cars.Ambulance sirens blared, soldiers yelled at people who got too close, and the overall feeling of doom and sadness pervaded the hellish scene."
Pictures Of Wounded Men
Being Shot Censored By TV
By Robert FiskAs a wounded Iraqi crawls from beneath a burning truck, an American helicopter pilot tells his commander that one of three men has survived his night air attack. He received the reply: "Hit him, hit the truck and him." As the helicopter's gun camera captures the scene on video, the pilot fires a 30mm gun at the wounded man, vaporising him in a second
06 May, 2004
A torture Victim Recalls The Humiliation
By Andrew Buncombe and Justin HugglerHayder Sabbar Abd, the man in the hood, who was stripped, humiliated, beaten and abused by American reservists and interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison speaks of his humiliation
Ali Baba's Of Iraq
By Dahr JamailDaily life is a struggle for most Iraqis, and it isn't helped by the brutal occupation or by the corrupt police department who act like Ali Babas (thieves) of the street
05 May, 2004
The Horror Story Of Sadiq Zoman
By Dahr JamailAmerican soldiers detained Zoman at his residence in Kirkuk on July 21, 2003 when they raided the Zoman family home.More than a month later, on August 23, US soldiers dropped Zoman off, already comatose, at a hospital in Tikrit where he is still lying in coma
Abu Ghuraib Prisoners Speak of 'Torture'
Ex-detainees say acts of abuse were too immoral to talk about
Washington Fields Mercenary Army In Iraq
By Harvey ThompsonAccording to recent estimates there are around 15,000 private bodyguards and security personnel operating inside Iraq, of which at least 6,000 are believed to be armed—making them the second biggest military presence after the US Army
04 May, 2004
The Psychodynamics Of Occupation
By Stephen SoldzWhat happened at Abu Graib prison is the direct consequence of the logic of occupation and the planners and organizers of that occupation bear primary responsibility
03 May, 2004
Subcontracting The War
By James ConachyOperating behind a veil of state and corporate secrecy military work is being subcontracted to private security firms. It is one of the most outrageous forms of war profiteering taking place under the auspices of the Bush administration
Indians Back Home From Iraq After
Ordeal In U.S. Camp
By Ignatius PereiraAfter facing great difficulties, four natives of Velichakala, Kerala state, India, who worked as kitchen assistants at U.S. military camp in Iraq, escaped from there and reached home today
Torture At Abu Ghraib
By Seymour M. HershAmerican soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go?
02 May, 2004
Iraqis Declare Victory Over U.S. In Falluja
Many returning Falluja residents found their homes damaged or destroyed, but saw the absence of American soldiers in their city as a victory over the U.S.-led forces occupying Iraq
1,361 Iraqis Killed In April
By Lee KeathA count by The Associated Press found that around 1,361 Iraqis were killed from April 1 to April 30 _ 10 times the figure of at least 136 U.S. troops who died during the same period
01 May, 2004
Lured By Dollars Indian Soldiers Are In Iraq
By Siddharth SrivastavaIn a very discreet operation, US and British security sub-contractors are seeking out Indian ex-servicemen known for their professionalism and discipline for deployment in Iraq
Bush Can't Count On The Saudis
By Marshall AuerbackThe hope that Saudis would try to fine-tune oil prices to prime the U.S. economy for the election -- a move that would favor Bush's reelection could be very misplaced
Mutiny In Iraq
By Naomi KleinThe last month of inflammatory US aggression in Iraq has inspired what can only be described as a mutiny: Waves of soldiers, workers and politicians under the command of the US occupation authority are suddenly refusing to follow orders and abandoning their posts