Ludicrous. Nothing short of ludicrous !

Militiamen ambush drives back US patrol in Sadr City (click here)

Residents walk past a burned house in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Many parents are afraid to send their children to school, and many street markets are almost empty as residents fear being caught in a gun battle or airstrike. Sadr City is the Baghdad stronghold of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia, but it's also home to nearly half the city's population who are caught up in a violent struggle for power. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)


Rep. Jones calls for monthly moment of silence to honor war dead (click here)
May 9, 2008 - 7:34PM
Nikie Mayo
Sun Journal
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (click here) introduced a resolution this week calling for a monthly moment of silence to honor veterans killed or wounded in the war.
The moment of silence would be held in the U.S. House of Representatives and would also honor the families of those veterans killed or wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.
It would serve as "a solemn thank you from a grateful nation," Jones said.
"Each of the men and women who wear the uniform in defense of our nation is an American hero," Jones said in a prepared statement. "We must never forget that many members of the U.S. Armed Forces have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives to defend the freedoms that all Americans enjoy today. For their courage and selfless commitment to duty, these service members deserve our gratitude and unwavering support."
The resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California who worked in former President Ronald Reagan's administration.
Jones' resolution, introduced Thursday, came on the heels of a North Carolina Republican primary that was watched nationwide.
Some political pundits believed Jones' call for a troop-withdrawal timetable could cost him his 3rd District seat. He defeated his challenger, Joe McLaughlin, garnering about 60 percent of the votes....

Dead American Marines in Baghdad
(Stock photo. Scarey. This is a photo unrelated to the reality of the notice of the dead. This scenario repeats itself over and over everyday in Iraq.)

Names of the Dead (click at title to entry)
Published: May 9, 2008
The Department of Defense has identified 4,066 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans on Thursday:

CASANOVA, Casey L., 22, Lance Cpl., Marines; McComb, Miss.; First Marine Expeditionary Force.

GUZMAN, Miguel A., 21, Cpl., Marines; Norwalk, Calif.; First Marine Expeditionary Force.

KIMPLE, James F., 21, Lance Cpl., Marines; Carroll, Ohio; First Marine Expeditionary Force.

MARTINEZ, Glen E., 31, Sgt., Marines; Boulder, Colo.; First Marine Expeditionary Force.

It would appear the Shia Militias of The Middle East 'got the picture' long time ago.

Ever see that film Fahrenheit 911? I did.

Hezbollah Fighting Escalates in Beirut (click at title to entry)


A sign advertising the availability of a private villa inside the heavily fortified Green Zone is seen in Baghdad, Iraq Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Basra Battles: Barely Half the Story (click here)
Ramzy Baroud
May 09, 2008
When it comes to Iraq, reporters appear intent on omitting or fabricating news....


...Al-Hakim is pushing for what is being termed a super Shia province with its centre in Basra;...


...Sadr is demanding a unified Iraq with a strong central government. Al-Hakim wishes to see a permanent American presence in the country; Sadr insists on a short timetable for withdrawal. The US's major quandary is that Sadr reflects the views of most Iraqis. His possible victory in the south in fair elections could position him as the new nationalist leader, and a unifying force for Iraqis....



Workers mix concrete in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. The U.S. military is pushing a five-year, $5 billion development plan to dramatically transform Baghdad's Green Zone, the secured enclave where the American Embassy and the Iraqi government is based, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Bradley Brooks)


In this undated image released by the U.S. military, planners envision a Tigris riverfront park in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. (click here)

Sadr City's neighborhoods are tightly packed, with an estimated 2 million people living in an area of 8 square miles (about 20 sq.km). (Source: DigitalGlobe, 11/03/02) (click here)


Sadr City, Baghdad is enormous. (click here)

Bad Day in Baghdad

The Iraqi Displacement Crisis (click here)
One in five Iraqis have been displaced. According to the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration in 2007, almost 5 million Iraqis had been displaced by violence in their country, the vast majority of which had fled since 2003. Over 2.4 million vacated their homes for safer areas within Iraq, up to 1.5 million were living in Syria, and over 1 million refugees were inhabiting Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Gulf States. Most Iraqis are determined to be resettled to Europe or North America, and few consider return to Iraq an option. Iraqis have no legal work options in most host countries and are increasingly desperate and in need of humanitarian assistance. They face challenges in finding housing, obtaining food, and have trouble accessing host countries’ health and education systems. Their resources depleted, small numbers of Iraqis have returned to Iraq in the past few months, but Iraq’s struggling government recently warned that it can’t accommodate large numbers of returns. Most of those who returned were subsequently displaced again....


A man looks at debris in the aftermath of an air strike in Hay al-Turath district, southwestern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. According to eyewitnesses, US helicopters fired missiles targeting several gunmen. Three civilians died and seven were wounded in the shelling. (AP Photo/Loay Hameed)


Iraqi Strikes Truce with Forces Loyal to Shi'ite Cleric (click title to entry)
By VOA News 10 May 2008
An aide to radical Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says the movement has reached a cease-fire with the government to end fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City.
The aide announced the truce Saturday in Najaf. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi says the agreement will take effect on Sunday.
Fighting in Sadr City has intensified since late March, when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shi'ite militias loyal to the anti-American cleric. Hundreds of people have been killed.
In the latest violence, Iraqi medics in Sadr City say 13 people, including women and children, have been killed and 77 others wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and Shi'ite militias since Friday....

Making news out of non-news for the sake of fear tactics...still out and about...but, then...so is bin Laden

In this undated image released by the U.S. military, planners envision an information kiosk and ATM machine in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq.

For Green Zone Iraqis "Life's Good."

In this June 15 2006 file photo, a U.S. soldier at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq stands by a photograph that purports to show Abu Ayyub al-Masri who is the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday, May 8, 2008 that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been arrested in the northern city of Mosul. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

Mulkiya Methour gestures as she talks about her son who was arrested by Iraqi security forces, just outside Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Methour's family and four other families fled the violence in Sadr City and took refuge inside a sports club last week. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)



Iraqi civilians flee fighting in Baghdad militia stronghold (click here)
By Selcan Hacaoglu
Associated Press Writer / May 6, 2008
BAGHDAD—A rocket slammed into Baghdad's city hall and another hit a downtown park Tuesday as more frightened civilians fled a Shiite militia stronghold where U.S.-led forces are locked in fierce street battles.
more stories like this
The American push in the Sadr City district -- launched after an Iraqi government crackdown on armed Shiite groups began in late March -- is trying to weaken the militia grip in a key corner of Baghdad and disrupt rocket and mortar strikes on the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
But fresh salvos of rockets from militants arced over the city, wounding at least 16 people and drawing U.S. retaliation that escalated civilian panic and flight to safer areas.
One rocket -- apparently aimed at the Green Zone -- blasted the nearby city hall. Three 122 mm rockets hit parts of central Baghdad, including destroying some playground equipment in a park. An Iraqi police station was damaged by a rocket that failed to detonate, the U.S. military said....

In this undated image released by the U.S. military, planners envision the "Tigris Woods Golf and Country Club" in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq.