American forces, above, and Iraqi police commandos killed five insurgents in a battle at a house in a Baghdad neighborhood on Wednesday. (click here)
Did the USA and Iraqi governments, including Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, actually think killing citizens was a benchmark?
If the Bush/Cheney Executive Branch along with the Iraqi government can't find peaceful ways of reconciling differences with its citizens then there needs to be a new government. The current 'authority' composed of Green Zone Iraqis was instilled by Bush and Bremer. It may very well be that it is so corrupted by measures by this USA Executive Branch to maintain control of the dynamics in Iraq to maintain 'political capital' in the USA for the Republicans that it simply is NOT a workable government in Iraq at all.
Maliki’s gamble (click here)
...Sadr is the main rival to Maliki’s Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and its associated Badr militia for the loyalty of Iraq’s Shiite majority. Basra is a key battleground for this struggle, not only because its two million people are almost all Shiite, but because most of Iraq’s oil is produced nearby and exported through Basra. The militias need money, and Basra, with its flow of cash and oil, is the best place to cream it off.
The Mehdi and Badr militias have been waging a low-intensity battle in Basra for control of these resources for more than a year, and you can see why Maliki would want to use the army to tip the balance in favour of his side.
You can also see why the Bush administration wants Maliki to win, for his party supports - indeed, depends on - a continued US military presence in Iraq, while Sadr insists that all US troops go home. But it’s harder to see why they thought Maliki could win....
"War Made Easy"
Get this, NPR already had 'in place' a radio program to run propaganda back to the USA to be sure the 'agenda' of the Bush/Cheney - Maliki slaughter happened without reason to believe it was a slaughter. Amazing. What the heck is the FCC doing to the USA media?
National Pentagon radio? (click here)
By Norman Solomon
While the Iraqi government continued its large scale military assault in Basra, the NPR reporter’s voice from Iraq was unequivocal on the morning of March 27, heard by National Public Radio listeners across the United States: “There is no doubt that this operation needed to happen.”
Such flat-out statements, uttered with journalistic tones and without attribution, are routine for the US media establishment.
In the “War Made Easy” documentary film, I put it this way: “If you’re pro-war, you’re objective. But if you’re anti-war, you’re biased. And often, a news anchor will get no flak at all for making statements that are supportive of a war and wouldn’t dream of making a statement that’s against a war.”
So it goes at NPR News, where - on “Morning Edition” as well as the evening programme “All Things Considered” - the sense and sensibilities tend to be neatly aligned with the outlooks of official Washington. The critical aspects of reporting largely amount to complaints about policy shortcomings that are tactical; the underlying and shared assumptions are imperial. Washington’s prerogatives are evident when the media window on the world is tinted red-white-and-blue....
Iraqi troops raid Shiite militias in central Basra (click here)
Tensions continued in Iraq on Monday, as Iraqi troops launched a wide-scale raid targeting Shiite militia in central Basra, and residents in Baghdad dealt with the aftermath of recent fierce fighting....
VIDEO (click here)
