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A Soldiers News Blog
Saturday, August 28, 2004
 
Iraq War News
Powell stays to monitor Iraq, Sudan... Possible Pentagon spy investigated in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



War-weary Iraqis begin inspecting damage from Najaf clashes in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Yemeni militants convicted of terrorism: "A court convicted 15 Yemeni militants Saturday on terror charges including the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker and plotting to kill the U.S. ambassador."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



in



Iraq Militants Leave Shrine in Peace Deal: "Militants filed out of the Imam Ali Shrine, closed the doors behind them and turned over the keys to Iraq's top Shiite cleric Friday, symbolizing their acceptance of a peace deal to end three weeks of devastating fighting in this holy city. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

  6:48 AM
Friday, August 27, 2004
 
Iraq War News
Iraq Cleric Urges Fighters to Drop Arms: "Thousands of pilgrims streamed into the Imam Ali Shrine on Friday and filed out mixed with militants who had been holed up inside, leaving the holy site nearly empty after Iraq's top Shiite cleric brokered a peace deal to end three weeks of fighting in this holy city."

In Kansas City Star: Iraq



Najaf Alone Breathes Peacefully: "The peace deal negotiated by Iraq's top Shiite leader appears to be holding in Najaf but the peace isn't shared elsewhere. In Baghdad, fighting with U.S. forces; in Mosul, a bomb; and on TV, a unconfirmed claim that a journalist has been killed."

In CBS News: Iraq Crisis



Thousands March to Holy Shrine in Najaf: "Guns were largely silent in Najaf for the first time in weeks and thousands of Iraqis thronged the revered Imam Ali shrine Friday after Iraq's top Shiite cleric made a dramatic return to this holy city and won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end the fighting between his militia and U.S.-Iraqi forces. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Bush Admits Iraq 'Miscalculations' - NY Times: "President Bush acknowledged for thefirst time on Thursday that he had miscalculated post-warconditions in Iraq, the New York Times reported. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

  9:46 PM
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
 
Iraq War News
Iraq's Sistani to Return, Calls for March on Najaf: "Iraq's most influential Shi'itecleric will return to the country within hours and wants Iraqisto march on the "burning city" of Najaf, where fresh fightingerupted near a sacred shrine on Wednesday. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Iraqi-American Recounts Capture of Saddam: "Back in the Iraq he once fled, Samir couldn't see down the darkened hole enough to see who was hiding there. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Spokesman: Top cleric returning to Iraq: "Iraq's powerful top Shiite cleric was returning home Wednesday from medical treatment abroad and called on followers to join him in a march to reclaim the violence-torn holy city of Najaf, his spokesman said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Gunmen shoot senior Palestinian official: "Gunmen opened fire at a convoy carrying the deputy Palestinian intelligence chief on Wednesday, wounding him the chest, Palestinian medical officials said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



U.S. strikes insurgent positions in Iraq: "U.S. warplanes and tanks bombed suspected insurgent positions in the volatile city of Fallujah for more than two hours on Wednesday, killing at least four people, hospital officials and residents said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Australian detainee next to face military commission hearing at Guantanamo in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Iraq Najaf URGENT in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Searching for victims...Bombing strikes in Fallujah...Car seat award in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Iraq Fallujah URGENT in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Officials say Sudan militias still armed: "As a U.N. deadline for action nears, the Sudanese government has not reined in Arab militias accused of attacking, raping and killing villagers in the western Darfur region, diplomats said a U.N. official told the Security Council."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Terror fears as Russian jets crash: "A Russian passenger jet crashed and another apparently broke up in the air almost simultaneously after they took off from the same airport, raising fears of a double terrorist atrocity."

In Ananova: War In Iraq



'Missing' plane sent hijack signal: "The Russian plane that went missing as another passenger jet crashed issued a signal indicating a hijacking or seizure before disappearing from radar screens."

In Ananova: War In Iraq



Off to Najaf, inshallah...: "Going to try to head to Najaf tomorrow."

In Back to Iraq 2.0



Inside the Imam Ali Shrine: "A day in the Shrine"

In Back to Iraq 2.0



Prison Abuse Report Cites Top Commanders: "The blame for abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison lies mainly with the American soldiers who ran the notorious jail, but senior commanders and top-level Pentagon officials including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld can be faulted for failed leadership and oversight, an independent commission said Tuesday. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq: "As of Tuesday, Aug. 24, 962 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003, according to the Defense Department. Of those, 720 died as a result of hostile action and 242 died of non-hostile causes. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Iraqi government in charge of US forces in Najaf? in IraqWar.info



Iraqis in Najaf fed up with Sadr in IraqWar.info



Teens abused in Iraqi prison in IraqWar.info



Iraqi forces surround shrine in IraqWar.info



Iraqi Rebels Want Talks: "As U.S. and rebel forces clashed, an aide to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr asked for negotiations. But the interim government warned the "decisive hours are near" in the standoff in Najaf."

In CBS News: Iraq Crisis



Abu Ghraib accused in plea deal: "One of the soldiers in the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal has agreed a guilty plea with prosecutors, his lawyer says."

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq



Iraq Guardsmen Surround Shrine: "
NAJAF, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf on Tuesday, and Iraqi National Guardsmen surrounded the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine (search), where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks.

Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the guardsmen will use loudspeakers to urge al-Sadr's followers to evacuate the shrine and surrender.

"If they don't ? listen to reason, then certainly there will be a very simple operation, a very simple raid," Shalaan told al-Arabiya television.

"The decisive hours are near," he said.

"

In Command Post: Irak

  7:45 AM
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
 
Iraq War News
U.S. Denies Claim It Damaged Najaf Shrine: "Plumes of black smoke rose above the embattled city of Najaf Tuesday after American warplanes bombed insurgent positions overnight and supporters of a radical cleric charged that shrapnel from a U.S. attack had hit parts of the Imam Ali Shrine. The military denied the claim. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Two Iraqi Ministers Survive Bomb Attacks, 5 Killed: "Insurgents tried to assassinate Iraq'senvironment and education ministers in separate bombings onTuesday that killed five of their bodyguards and wounded morethan a dozen people, officials said. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Reports Cite Abu Ghraib Investigations: "Top defense officials and military leaders are at least partly responsible for the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib and other prisons because of leadership deficiencies and a failure to address worsening conditions at the facilities, according to newspaper reports citing two separate investigations. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



U.S. Soldier Wants Rumsfeld to Testify on Iraq: "Lawyers for a U.S sergeantaccused of abusing Iraqi detainees will seek on Tuesday toforce Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to testify in thesoldier's pending court martial. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



U.S. GIs Step Up Pressure on Najaf Rebels: "U.S. infantrymen engaged in fierce battles with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militants Monday and U.S. tanks moved closer to the revered Imam Ali Shrine as the American military stepped up pressure on the insurgents to leave the holy site and end their uprising. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Group Threatens U.S.-Led Troops in Iraq Over Najaf: "A hitherto unknown Islamist group hasthreatened to attack U.S.-led troops and American citizens inIraq if foreign forces do not leave the holy city of Najaf in48 hours, according to an Internet statement posted on Monday. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Rights expert demands access to Afghan prisons (22 Aug 04) in Radio Free USA

  8:19 AM
Monday, August 23, 2004
 
Iraq War News
Israel OKs more West Bank settlement homes: "Israel announced plans Monday to build hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank, following an apparent U.S. policy shift on settlements that the Palestinians warned "will destroy the peace process.""

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Freed U-S journalist hopes to stay in Iraq in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Marine goes on trial in death of Iraqi prisoner in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



New overtime rules...More fighting in Najaf...Olympic medal stripped in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Fierce battles for Najaf: "Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf amid fierce battles between US forces and Shiite militants, who remained in control of a revered shrine there as negotiations dragged on for its handover to religious authorities."

In Ananova: War In Iraq



Military chaplains provide troops with prayer, comfort: "NAJAF, Iraq ? The Marines screamed for a medic. But in the end, there was nothing they could do."

In Kansas City Star: Iraq



Four U.S. Soldiers Face Hearing in Germany: "Four U.S. soldiers charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison face pretrial hearings before an American military judge in Germany. Two are slated to face the court Monday, with the other pair scheduled to appear the following day. (AP)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Trial of Americans accused of being vigilantes resumes in Afghanistan in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



More Reserve Training Set as Result of Abuse Inquiry: "The Army Reserve is reorganizing training for reservists, after an inquiry into abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison uncovered an inferior command climate."

In New York Times: World Special



Weary of War, Iraqis in Najaf Blame 2 Sides: "A family in Najaf is caught between U.S. soldiers, followers of Moktada al-Sadr and nightly firefights."

In New York Times: World Special



Reporter Freed as Rebel Cleric Brokers a Deal: "The journalist was released after Moktada al-Sadr intervened, even as his Shiite militia engaged in heavy fighting in Najaf."

In New York Times: World Special



U.S. soldier marries woman he met in Iraq: "PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - A Washington state soldier has married the Iraqi woman he met and fell in love with while in Baghdad."

In kgw.com: Iraq News

  5:18 AM
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