This article partially updated 06/06/2008FOR PRESENT BASRA SITUATION, SEE
THE BATTLE FOR BASRA TIMELINE: Footsteps to U.S. War in Iran? (08.04.08)
CIA 01.03 map of Iraq’s oilfields“
It is important to remember, at this point, that the UN Security Council "mandate" for the occupation troops in Iraq ended by the end of 2005. Apart from ex-prime minister Jafari's "invitation", they do not have any "legal" cover to stay.”
Sabah Ali.
1.
Introduction2.
Camp Falcon-Al-Sarq (Baghdad): [FOB Falcon; Camp Graceland; Rasheed Airbase; Camp Cuervo; Engineer Base Anvil; Camp Whitford; Camp Whitehouse]
3.
Tallil (Camp Adder; Camp Cedar I and II)
4.
Kadisiya (Diwaniya; FOB Echo)
5.
Maysan (Camp Condor; Amarah Air Base; Camp Abu Naji)
6.
Muthanna: As Salman North
7.
Basra: (Shaibah Air Base; Basra Palace; Camp Bucca)
8.
Facts9.
Footnotes10.
Updates:(General; Coalition of the Willing; UK; Troops In/ Out?; Camp Falcon; Basra; Deep Waters off of Basra, Human Rights; Some of the Dead and Future Dead)
Introduction
The CIA ’03 oil map (above) explains the location of US/UK bases in Iraq. There is also a CIA map of oil fields, circa
1992. If one then looks at the Centcom map, one sees that there are nine visibly marked bases, not including the Baghdad complex, along the oil axis. These are: Al Sahra, Kirkuk, Balad and Qayyara West in the North; Tallil and Salman North in the South; Al Taquaddam, H2 and H3 in the West. Some southern UK-controlled areas, including Basra where the UK base is located, cannot be seen.
US/UK Bases in southern Iraq1 focuses on the camps and their facilities as well as some of the human rights abuses of prisoners (“detainees”) within each base. Prison camps are part of the scenery within most - if not all – bases in Iraq. To understand the extent of these 38 prisons, it is important to read Ghali Hassan’s article,
Iraq: A cluster of torture prisons. The effect of the sanctions, the bombing, the prisons, the tortures, the civilian murders
2, the lack of water, electricity, medicine, hospital facilities is - as Mr. Hassan said - to make Iraq
a victim of international terrorism.
According to the 01/03 CIA map, there is a super-giant oil field (5b barrels in reserve) to the SE of Baghdad. This is where Camp Falcon/al Sarq is located. The US vice
3 around Baghdad is thus complete. (See "Updates" on Camp Falcon below)
Camp Falcon-al-Sarq, formerly FOB/Camp Ferrin-Huggins. “By late January 2004 engineers from the 1st Armored Division were midway through an $800 million project to build half a dozen camps,” expected to be finished by 03.04. “The new outposts, dubbed
Enduring Camps, will improve living quarters for soldiers and allow the military to return key infrastructure sites within the Iraqi capital to the emerging government, military leaders said. Plans called for the camps to last
between five to 10 years, possibly even longer.” Dining facility finished 09.03. Spacious PX, Internet café, TV. By early 2005, there were
6000 troops.
Unlike Baghdad, where sewage is a major problem, new
sewage pipes were installed for the US military, also in early 2005.
The Company of Soldiers was an ‘embed’ film made by Frontline in 11.04 about Camp Falcon. Fallujah was bombed by the modern version of Monsanto napalm three days after the filming started. Ambushes on Dog Company are discussed, as is the one ‘insurgent’ killed. No mention is made in this film of phosphorus bombs used in Fallujah by the American troops, later exposed in the
RAI News video.
Sgt. Max Jackson wrote about this US television show: “Being home for 5 months now, I'm finding the hardest thing that I personally have to deal with was our coarse attitude towards all Iraqi's. I am embarrassed to say that we treated stray dogs, camels and goats better than we did the Iraqi people.”
Forward Operating Base Falcon27.07.06. J. Partlow, Washington Post. Some Troops in Baghdad Express Frustration With the War and Their Mission.
'Waiting to Get Blown Up."This article about
milblogging (military blogging) focuses on Camp Falcon. Milblogging is a popular pastime amongst the troops.
Camp Graceland “is the US National Guard side of Camp Falcon,” 20 minutes from Baghdad.
Rasheed Airbase and Military Camp, 11 km SE of central Baghdad. This airbase has an 8,300 ft. long runway. Rasheed Airbase is not part of the Baghdad Airport complex. It was used by
Hans Blix and his team during the UNMOVIC inspection programme.
Camp Cuervo / Camp Rustamiyah (ex Camp Muleskinner). 6 miles S. of Sadr City & SE of Rashid airport. Designated as an
‘enduring’ base. “The quality of life has improved greatly as all of the work areas and soldiers living areas now have air-conditioning.”
“Four two-stories barrack facilities, built at a cost of $2 million … small PX, laundry facility, a 24/7 internet café, a kick boxing/aerobic room and two KBR restaurants, one of which has become famous for its fresh fruit smoothies, while the other serves "cookouts", including baked fish or lamb kabob. Both restaurants serve local cuisine along with American favorites such as pizza, hot dogs, burgers, and fries. The 24/7 internet café fields 22 computers while allowing individual, personal laptop connectivity and is staffed by two civilians. Internet usage there is limited to 30 minutes. These are to be eventually equipped with a flat panel computer connected to the Internet
4. A carpeted dayroom, located on the ground floor, is equipped with a big screen TV with satellite, a pool table, couches, as well as other comforts.” In early 2005, 3000
troops.
Milblogs & ArticlesI was stationed at Camp Cuervo.
Day 13: Coping Skills.
Jeffrey’s 1st Letter HomeAl Juburi’s story.
Camp Cuervo Detention FacilityPrisoners (‘Detainees’) are kept here until transferred to Abu Ghraib. The facility holds 48. An older detention camp at the back was due to be transferred to Iraqis in ’04.
HSB Battery Newsletter (16.07.04) describes moving into the Camp Cuervo facilities, and also gives a description of the Camp Cuervo Detention Facility: “As soldiers begin to occupy their new living facility, others on this camp will be moving into new living quarters as well. They are the residents of the new Cuervo Detention Facility. I know you have become very familiar with a place know as Abu Ghraib. Some of the prisoners who end up there come from Camp Cuervo. When we detain someone, it is usually for questioning and a few nights stay. If they are deemed harmless, they are released. If an interrogation leads to proof of anti-coalition activities, they are held until we are able to deliver them to Abu Ghraib. All detainees will now be housed in the new detention facility which is located on the back portion of the camp. The building was once an indoor pistol range for soldiers in Saddam’s army. The new facility is an air-conditioned building with ceiling fans over each cell. There are 24 cells, each housing two detainees. Unlike the old cells, detainees will have bunk beds and a place to sit while they are here. A hot and cold shower house will be directly outside the front of the building where all of the detainees will be able to clean up. Two chain link fences with strands of razor wire surround the facility. The old detention facility is on the back side of the camp. The back half of the camp will be handed back over to the Iraqi Army. A new group of troops have arrived to help support us in the security of the camp. They are former members of the South African Army and will help guard the back half of the camp.”
Stories: The Americans are allowing the breakdown. See GI Special 3A81,
US Occupation Command Free Local Criminals.
See: 16.06.05, Christian Peacemaker Team story:
Tales from Falcon Camp.
Engineer Base Anvil.
“On 15 April 2003 the Marine's 7th Engineer Support Battalion moved to the outskirts of Baghdad where they set up camp in the compound of the Iraqi Republican Guard Headquarters and named the area Engineer Base Anvil.”
+
Photo: Keith Hadley / Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Air Base occupies 30 sq. kilometres of desert, 310 km SE of Baghdad and near An Nasiriyah, in Dhi Qar. On a map, this area is shown as being under UK control. (?). Nearby is Ur, the birthplace of Abraham - wrecked in Gulf War I. At this base there are 2 airstrips; a weapons storage area (where there is another camp). “40,000 feet of trenched electrical cable; five miles of buried underground water pipe.
AP Reporter
Charles Hanley (23/01.06) said that the air base is to get $22m. for a “double-perimeter security fence with high tech gate controls, guard towers and a moat.”
Camp Adderis the re-supply base within the Air Base. “Soldiers are housed in trailers, and they get to sleep on real beds with relatively new mattresses.”
Camp Cedar I: from whence fuel was moved, now a dustbowl.
Camp Cedar II: about 20 min. from Tallil; now a “vibrant tent city.”
“350,000 square feet of facilities; … Infrastructure courtesy KRB. “Dining facility ($14m), air-conditioned force provider tents, air-conditioned mobile latrines, a post exchange, morale, welfare and recreation tents to accommodate more than 5,000 service members and government civilians and contractors.” First KRB “Freedom Chapel” dedicated 14.09.03. Burger King and Pizza Hut.
The
DCMA South Iraq Satellite Office is located in Camp Cedar.
Corpwatch (16.06.04) described Halliburton / KBR corruption at Camp Cedar. A Halliburton employee, David Wilson, said: “KBR would run trucks empty quite often," Wilson said. "Sometimes they would have five empty trucks, sometimes they would have a dozen. One time we ran 28 trucks and only one had anything on it. There were several times when we had empty trucks both on the way to Anaconda and then on the way back to Cedar II. I don't understand why KBR would have placed our lives in danger that way for no reason."
Camp Cedar is one of four bases
5 where
“Gangland Grafiti” (see photos) is rife, highlighting “increasing gang activity in the Army in the United States and overseas.” Scott Barfield, a DoD gang detective at Fort Lewis in Washington state, said: “Army recruiters eager to meet their goals have been overlooking applicants' gang tattoos and getting waivers for criminal backgrounds … They are being told less than five tattoos is not an issue. More than five, you do a waiver saying it's not gang-related. You'll see soldiers with a six-pointed star with GD [Gangster Disciples] on the right forearm."
Parsons (19.03.05) signed a contract for the “construction and commissioning of An Nasiriyah Correctional Facility. The specific prison is not named.
Camp Whitford, now TSP Whitford.
‘Enemy’ prisoner of war camp in 06.03; prisoners moved to a larger facility,
TSP Whitford6. …The new facility is more secure and is larger. “The new facility can hold thousands of EPW's until they are moved to the main compound in Umm Qasr. They usually only spend about 72 hours there.”
Camp Whitehorse, near Nassiriya, is a marine prisoner-of-war camp.
Corpwatch, in
Meet the New Interrogators: Lockheed Martin (04.11.05) said that Lockheed Martin paid people $2,000 just for signing up at Camp Whitehorse, Abu Ghraib and Camp Cropper. Very good salaries. Chatterjee wrote: “Known in the intelligence community as "97 Echoes" (97E is the official classification number for the interrogator course taught at military colleges including
Fort Huachuca, Arizona), these contractors will work side-by-side with military interrogators conducting question-and-answer sessions using 17 officially sanctioned techniques, ranging from "love of comrades" to "fear up harsh." Their subjects will be the tens of thousands of men thrown into United States-run military jails on suspicion of links to terrorism.”
Eight marines charged for ‘brutal treatment & possible (sic) death of 52 yr old
Nagem Sadoon Hatab. His
autopsy revealed bone and rib fractures, and multiple bruises on his body. A
key witness, when asked where a broken bone was, said she had no idea and that ‘medication she took for an allergic reaction to sand fly bites during her trip to Iraq may have affected her memory.’
Lance Cpl. William S. Roy, granted immunity for his testimony, said guards often abused prisoners at the Camp White Horse detention center.
Guards also testified that they forced prisoners to
stand for 50 minutes (the “50/10 technique”) in an hour, for 10 hours per day, after which they would be questioned.
Tallil Military Base: for some members of the future 40000 new Iraqi Army.
Nasiriyah's Republic Hospital said seven patients were killed in their beds when a shell hit the building April 7 2003. The Geneva Convention forbids the bombing of hospitals. The US, however, has continued to bomb hospitals.
+
Coalition forces are under UK control in the following Iraqi provinces: Qadisiya, Dhi Qar, Maysan, Muthanna and Basra. “The
UK provides the leadership of the Multi-National Division (South-East) which has UK,
Italian, Romanian, Danish,
Dutch,
Czech and
Lithuanian troops under its command.” There is, however, a continuing US presence in the South.
And the withdrawal of UK troops? The Scotsman claimed on 05.02.06 that although there are plans to withdraw 2000 UK troops from Iraq, there is a
secret plan to keep UK troops permanently in Iraq.”
QADISIYA. There were / are (?) some US camps in
Diwaniya: Camp Anderson, Camp Hope, Camp Edson (a post office). There was (is?) a rail depot at the
Civil-Military Operations Center (CMOC).
Camp / FOB Echo.From 2005, a Polish-led multinational centre. Poland has 900 non-combat troops; commands multinational force south of Baghdad.
Al-Diwaniyah Prison.
In Diwaniya, abuse of Iraqi children was reported by The Washington Post (15.12.04). In July ’03 “four Marines ordered teenage Iraqi looters to kneel alongside holes and then fired a pistol "to conduct a
mock execution."
DHI QAR: See US Base,
TalillMAYSAN:
Camp Condor, Amarah Air Base and
map.
Camp Abu Naji (See Updates, below)
MUTHANNAAS SALMAN NORTH (Airfield)The airport is marked on the Centcom map. As Salman is in SE Iraq, near Muthanna. There is very little information about As Salman North.
Map of As Salman, SW of An Najaf;
Full list of all airbases in Iraq.
Global Security reports: “The airfield is served by a single 9,700 foot long runway. As Salman occupies a 17 square kilometer site and is protected by a 18 kilometers security perimeter. As Salman was a new airfield built since the 1991 Gulf war. According to the "Gulf War Air Power Survey, there is an intercept operations center located near As Salman Airbase.”
There was an inaccessible desert
prison built in the 1980’s, at Qalat Al Salman It remains unclear if this is near the present airbase or if it is in use.
07.06.06. Hornsnell / Evans, The Times.
Military justice in the dock after acquittals17.07.06. Reuters.
Japan completes troop pullout from southern Iraq.
BASRA
CIA (1980) Oil mapDCMA Southern Iraq CENTCOM Satellite Office28.07.06. R. Rageh, AP. U.S. officials dropped contractor Bechtel Corp. from the project after it missed deadlines and ran up big cost overruns, Dr. Chasib Latif Ali, executive director of the Health Ministry, told The Associated Press.
Iraq hospital touted by Laura Bush delayed.
Shaibah, 10 miles south west of Al Basrah is the Main Logistics Base for UK troops.
See photo.
Any UK defence information on Iraq is sparse. The present PM is excellent at “transparency”, which, translated, means ‘looking clearly at a wall.’
03.04.05.
Telegraph. “British troops are based in five locations in southern Iraq, including Camp Abu Naji in Al Amarah, which is home to a battle group of about 1,000 armoured infantry troops. The remainder of the 9,000 troops are split between the three camps in Basra and the logistics base at Shaibah, 25 miles south of the city. From next year Camp Abu Naji and the Shaibah logistics base will be the only locations occupied by British forces.”
Military HospitalRichard Norton-Taylor wrote (02.06.06.): “Most of the British troops are based in Shaibah, an arid encampment north-west of the city protected by 24 km. of wire fencing. Every day British soldiers in Land Rovers … escort convoys on a nine-hour trip to Kuwait and back. The sole mission of these daily convoys … is to bring thousands of bottles of safe drinking water from the desert state.”
7David Smith, an Observer ‘embed,’ added (04.06.06) that “smartish cafes have opened and an Iraqi hairdresser and shopkeeper work on site. Unlike in Basra itself, there is a constant supply of electricity, hot running water and air conditioning.” Pizza Hut, TV, Internet. Sgt. Martin said, “I think Iraqis are disappointed they haven't received what they hoped would happened after the war. They want us to go.” L/Cpl. agreed: “'Before, we were welcome, now we're not welcome.” Cpl. Carey said, “We covered the firemen when they were on strike and they earn 27 or 28 grand. We're talking about privates on tour getting just below 14 grand. They're risking their lives more than firemen or anyone else in the UK.” Captain Reid said, “I'd prefer somewhere else: you get a different medal to show at weddings. Afghanistan is the fashionable place to go and we're all very fashion conscious in the army.”
More.
Dog Section. See
photos of accommodation, dogs, Prime Minister at training class, etc.
Shaibah Log Base:
Army Rumour ServiceBasra Palace is still being used to entertain visitors in 2006. The photo of Jack Straw at the palace has been withdrawn, but the photo of the new UK Defense Secretary, taken in May ’06, can be seen
here.
19.10.05. S. Meyer, Index Research. MI5 in Basra.
Basra Shadowlands.
5.6.6.Times Embed Report on Basra.
Daily attacks and abuse - the new reality for British troops.
Theater Internment Facility (TIF).
A $103m renovation project was ongoing at Camp Bucca, near Umm Qasr. In 2005, this facility “operated by the 18th Military Police Brigade and Task Force 134.” The camp is the main prisoner ("detainee") base, following Abu Ghraib. Visitors, other than family members of prisoners, are discouraged.
16-22 April 2003: ICRC delegates witnessed a shooting incident, which caused the death of one person deprived of his liberty and injury of another at Camp Bucca.
In May 2003, the Black Watch regiment was being investigated following the death of two civilians.
More.
02.04. “Since the establishment of Umm Qasr camp and its successor, Camp Bucca, persons deprived of their liberty undergoing interrogation, whether they had been arrested by British, Danish, Dutch or Italian armed forces were segregated from other internees in a separate section of the camp designed for investigation. This section was initially operated by the British Armed Forces who called it Joint Field Intelligence Team (JFIT). On 7 April, its administration was handed over to the US Armed Forces, which renamed it Joint Interrogation Facility/Interrogation Control Element (JIF/ICE). On 25 September 2003, its administration was handed back to the British Armed Forces.” Ror Um Qasr, see 3.3.,
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) ON THE TREATMENT BY THE COALITION FORCES OF PRISONERS OF WAR AND OTHER PROTECTED PERSONS BY THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS IN IRAQ DURING ARREST, INTERNMENT AND INTERROGATION.
"Since May 2003, the ICRC repeatedly recommended to the CF to use non-lethal methods to deal with demonstrations, riots or escape attempts. The ICRC reminds the authorities of the CF that the use of firearms against persons deprived of their liberty, especially against those who are escaping or attempting to escape is an extreme measure which should not be disproportionate to the legitimate objective to be achieved (to apprehend the individual) and shall always be preceded by warning appropriate to the circumstances (Art. 42 Third Geneva Convention)." Camp Bucca Report.
“Bone-crushing”
abuse has been reported here. 11 detainees have escaped from this Camp; and 4 dead, 6 injured in a 2005 riot were
reported.
In January 2005, there was a riot during which 4 Iraqi prisoners died and 6 were wounded.
“In May 2005, to cope with the continuing influx of detainees, the Pentagon announced that Bucca, which has eight compounds, would construct two more compounds. These new compounds would add the ability to hold an additional 1,400 prisoners. The expansion was estimated to cost $12 million.”
An Iraqi journalist, Salaam Al-Jubouri, was
imprisoned here (02.06). He was member of the Jury of Conscience at the June 2005 BRussels World Tribunal on Iraq in Istanbul.
“As of March 2006, Bucca was Iraq’s largest detainee facility with over 8,500 detainees.”
05.06.06. About 3,500 soldiers at Leonard Wood (Missouri, USA) will get hands-on training this year at Camp Charlie, which is modeled after Camp Bucca. May 26 was the first day of training, and the Army opened the camp to reporters. (NB: reporters are not allowed at Camp Bucca, Iraq).
Mock detainee center opens at Leonard WoodFACTS
08.05.06. Irin
IRAQ: UN report cites vast under-nutrition among children. Despite rising poverty, the government has decided to
cut the food ration budget from four to three billion US dollars in 2006.
IRAQ: Displaced from 2003 still homeless, say analysts.
Of the
136 water projects first envisioned in Iraq, only 49, or 36%, will be completed.
Initial plans called for completing 180
medical clinics by December 2005, but only four are finished
Electricity Production in Iraq Remains Below Pre-War Levels. Matters are now worse than when Dahr Jamail wrote this article in 2004.
Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule. “The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to knowledgeable military officials, a step that would mark a further, potentially permanent, shift away from strict adherence to international human rights standards.” (05.06.06, Julian Barnes, LA Times)
Footnotes[1] See:
US Bases in Iraq: Part I: Baghdad. See also:
Iraq, US Bases: Intentional Obfuscation.
[2] Civilian ‘body counts’ are still disputed. The number of Iraqi academics and doctors murdered can be seen
here.
[3] See: Big News Network (01.05.06):
Ring of steel protects Iraqi oil terminals.
[4] An undated website provides information about
US/UK Internet companies operating in Iraq[5] Others: Camp Anaconda, Taji, Camp Scania
[6] Mentioned in the
Taguba Report (04.05.04).
[7] The details given in
Iraq in officially sanctioned numbers of the food served at al-Faw Palace, Baghdad, are staggering!
Key Source Material:
John Pike's website, www.globalsecurity.org, forms the bedrock of this research. Within this site, there is a key treasure trove, into which one can dive for further information:
Military Facilities. Permission by John Pike was given for the use of his excellent site.
Updates
War on TerrorSecret report: Terror threat worst since 9/1125.02.07. S. Rayment, Sunday Telegraph.
Oil (continued)
Kirkuk to Haifa Pipeline: Reason for the War?18.02.07. E. Vuillimy, Observer (20.04.03) . US discusses plan to pump fuel to its regional ally and solve energy headache at a stroke.
Iraq Labor vs. ExxonMobil, BP and Shell21.02.07. Kathlyn Stone, Oped.
Scramble for Iraq's oil begins as troops start to pull out23.02,.07. Saeed Shah, Independent. 'We are about to find out if the invasion of Iraq really was a war for oil. The country is on the verge of passing a petroleum law, which will set down rules for investing in its oil industry. That will set off a race among the foreign oil giants, scrambling for their slice of Iraq's vast oil riches.'
Iraq poised to hand control of oil fields to foreign firms25.02.07. H. Stewart, Observer. 'a leaked draft of the oil law, seen by The Observer, would see the government sign away the right to exploit its untapped fields in so-called exploration contracts, which could then be extended for more than 30 years.' Further stories in 'Updates, Oil,
Iraq Bases: Baghdad.Renaissancesubsidiary renews contract with BP - Oman27.02.07. menafn.com. The largest proportion of
"Renaissance business is engaged in providing quality services to the oil and gas industry, where it is a leading turnkey contract services provider; and has one of the top-10 support vessel fleets in the world with a significant presence in the Gulf, the Caspian region and southeast Asia." UK heavily involved with BP. See
Siberian Shadowlands Part II.
Rumayla Pipeline Near Basra Bombed07.04.07. indybay.
See
Updates, OIl, US Bases in Iraq: Baghdad will UK troops leave when this is finished?Al Basrah Oil Terminal Renovation Project Nears Completion11.08.07. Grant Sattler, Gulf Region Division, blackanthem. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invested $67.5 million to rehabilitate the export facility 50 km offshore in the Arabian Gulf. Currently, one and a half million barrels of crude oil a day leave Iraq via tankers on-loading at ABOT. That volume is roughly half of the terminal loading capacity of 3 million barrels per day achieved with the upgrade./ Iraq’s economy is dominated by crude oil export accounting for 97 percent of the government’s revenue. The GRD has been working to improve the country’s ability to get its crude oil to world markets through renovation of key components of the oil infrastructure. The $1.7 billion effort has been funded by the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, but is only a fraction of the $8 billion needed, according to a Coalition Provisional Authority estimate./ Prior to renovation ABOT illustrated the condition of the entire Iraqi oil infrastructure. Designed and commissioned by
Brown and Root in 1974, the 30-year-old technology was in serious disrepair from decades of under funding, lack of preventive maintenance, and war damage from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War. ... Anderson said, “The Corps came out with [construction contractor]
AFI and [Parsons Iraq Joint Venture] on Phase 1 to do a refurbishment of the loading arms and the rigging. The functional part of the arms weren’t in real good shape.” In fact, an April 2003 assessment found the loading arms to be operating at only a quarter of their design rate and leaking excessively.
Analysis: Oil Flows in Basra Power Vacuum 16.08.07. B. Lando, UPI / Truthout. Now the British are leaving, and the intra-Shiite fighting that bloodied the streets and complicated provincial politics will explode. Even if U.S. troops, already stretched thin, are sent to mediate, the situation will likely not be calmed - it will likely be inflamed. / "It's fundamentally related to the battle over oil," said Reidar Visser, editor of the Iraq Web site historiae.org and an Iraq expert at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. "It's understandable, of course, given the size of the Basra reserves."
The Iraq Oil Crunch: Index Timeline S. Meyer, Index Research. UPDATED REGULARLY / frequently
Iraq: New U.S. Base - Wasit(11.09.07, Index Research)
Iraq Oil Reality vs the NY Times (15.09.07, S. Meyer, Index Research)
GeneralUnspeakable Grief and HorrorThewe. extraordinary Photos with Stories.
Must ReadBiden Measure Barring Permanent U.S. Bases in Iraq Takes Important Step Forward26.09.06. Press Release, US Senate. House and Senate conferees accepted an amendment to the FY07 Defense Appropriations Bill proposed by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) that bars the construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq and American control of Iraq’s oil, a key step toward the measure’s becoming law.
'Waiting to Get Blown Up.'27.07.06. J. Partlow, Washington Post. Some Troops in Baghdad Express Frustration With the War and Their Mission.
IRAQ: Deteriorating situation prevents revival of marshlands03.10.06. Irin. … 100,000 Marsh residents have returned. ‘large chunks of the marshlands area in Basra, Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces were experiencing many difficulties, including lack of clean drinking water, sewage treatment and electricity. "The area had electricity during Saddam's era but now gets only about four hours' supply a day.’
Contract: Our Tony's Last Kiss US and Britain sign military trade pact28.06.07. Reuters / Scotsman.
Medical Notes
Medics Beg For Help As Iraqis Die Needlessly
20.10.07. J. Laurance, Independent / uruk.
"34,000 The number of Iraqi physicians registered before the 2003 war.
18,000 The estimated number of Iraqi physicians who have left since the 2003 invasion.
2,000 The estimated number of Iraqi physicians murdered since 2003.
250 The number of Iraqi physicians kidnapped.
34 The number of reconstructive surgeons in Iraq before the 2003 invasion.
20 The number who have either been murdered of fled. 72 per cent of Iraqis needing reconstructive surgery are suffering from gunshot or blast wounds.
164 The number of nurses murdered - 77 wounded.
$243,000,000 The amount of money set aside by US administration to build 142 private health clinics in post-invastion Iraq.
20 The number of such clinics built by April 2006.
$0 The amount of money left over.
$1bn The amount of money the US administration has spent on Iraq's healthcare system.
$8bn The amount of money needed over the next 4 years to fund the health care system
70 the percentage of deaths among children caused by "easily treatable conditions" such as diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses.
270,000 The number of children born after 2003 who have had no immunisations.
HEALTH INDICATORS:
68 per cent of Iraqis with no access to safe drinking water.
19 per cent of Iraqis with sewerage access."
|
IRAQ: Lack of medicines put asthmatic children at risk01.02.07. Irin.
THE COALITIONTroop withdrawal starts in southern Iraq-governor22.06.06. Reuters/Defense News.
Iraqis to take control of southern province from Italians.06.08.06. Yahoo/AFP. In Nasiriyah
Romania to withdraw Iraq troops if asked.11.08.06. Washington Times.
Camp Mittica, Nasiriyah.
Military base turned over to Iraqi forces is looted the next day24.08.06. M. Brunswidk, McCatchy. About 1,200 British forces withdrew on Thursday from
Abu Naji, a camp near Amarah in southern Maysan province. The base had been targeted repeatedly with mortar fire, and shortly after the British left, members of the Shiite-controlled Mahdi Army passed out pamphlets claiming credit for the British retreat. The camp had been targeted for mortar and rocket fire almost daily.
Iraq sends more troops south after deadly militia clashes28.08.06. CNN. Iraq's Defense Ministry sent reinforcements to the southern city of Diwaniya after weekend clashes between government troops and followers of a radical Shiite cleric left more than 60 dead.
More troops bound for Iraq16.09.06. Herald Sun. The Howard Government has left the door open for Australian soldiers to stay in southern Iraq beyond next year and in even greater numbers. The force has expanded quietly from 450 troops to 508 in the past two weeks.
Iraq to regain control of another province in days18.09.06. Reuters/ Defense News. A ceremony will be held on Thursday to mark the handover of Dhi Qar province, currently policed by Italian troops under British command.
But a large, self-contained U.S. air base located there will not be handed over.Italians leave Iraq, more bodies found in Baghdad21.09.06. Reuters/nz Herald. the last major Western European ally of the United States and Britain in Iraq, ended its mission (Dhi Qar) on Thursday.
'We have liberated Amara from the British. Basra next'21.10.06. G. Abdul-Ahad, Guardian.
Camp Abu NajiDanish PM to Bush: Denmark to reduce Iraq force09.01.07. Jerusalem Post.
Countries contributing forces in Iraq12.01.07. AP. Few details about: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina, UK, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Japan Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Maldova, Netherlands, Poland Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea.
Denmark to announce plans for Iraq withdrawal21.02.07. USA today. The 460-strong Danish contingent serves under British command in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Out of step: now Howard backs Britain's pullout from Iraq.22.02.07. SMH. AFTER warning that any withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq would create catastrophe, embolden terrorists and increase the bloodshed, the Howard Government has described a significant pullout of British forces as "good sense."
Professors saysinvolvement in Iraq has increased terrorism. He said that withdrawing troops from Iraq would 'reduce the risk of attack on Australia and its interests'.
El Salvador to cut troops in Iraq14.07.07. jazeera. El Salvador, the only Latin American country with a military presence in Iraq, is to reduce the number of its troops in the war-torn country from 380 to 300.
War earns Mongolia rich peace dividend16.07.07. Times on Line. 'In cash terms Mongolia has come out on top. According to Lieutenant-General Tsevegsuren Togoo, Chief of Mongolia’s General Staff, the war in Iraq has cost Mongolia 2.84 billion Tugriks (£1.2 million) since it agreed to join the invasion in 2003. In return its soldiers are fed, given new uniforms, battle armour and night-vision equipment when they arrive in Iraq and President Bush has promised Mongolia $14.5 million (£7 million) to renovate its Armed Forces. The country’s readiness to fight in Iraq was also key to winning it a highly sought-after first-round place in Washington’s $5 billion Millenium Challenge Account. Mongolia will receive between $170 million and $300 million to help to fund its railways, health and education services when President Enkhbayar visits the White House this autumn.'
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22273895-5005961,00.html">Diggers in Iraq until mid-200820.08.07. news.com
Australia 'could be left alone in Iraq'25.08.07. News.com.au. "Its now imperative for the prime minister to clarify what he means when he says Australian troops may remain in Iraq even though the US and British may commit to a phase withdrawal," Mr McClelland said.
France calls for troop exit from Iraq28.08.07. dailytimes.com.
UK LEAVING BASRA PALACE
source=RSSattr=HOME_3204483">Militia Take Over Basra Police Station26.08.07. CBS. British Troops Hand Over Control Of Command Facility To Police, Who Leave When Shiite Militiamen Show Up
Instructions to troops in Basra: keep fingers crossed 28.08.07. Anthony Loyd, timesonline. Agonising decisions in the build-up to withdrawal. The clock is nearing midnight for the withdrawal of the beleaguered British troops from their base in the palace in Basra. The date at which the 650 soldiers will retire from their position to join their 5,000 comrades at the airport outside the city is imminent. … The British Government points out that 90 per cent of Basra’s violence is aimed at British soldiers. The logic goes that once these troops have left the city, the violence will dramatically diminish. … Basra will become neither an Iranian satellite nor a Beirut civil war battlefield, but more of a Palermo-style mafia fiefdom. Not quite what the British had in mind for Basra, but better than the situation in Baghdad. … The pessimists, among them the Americans, predict that once the British withdraw, the fledgling Iraqi Army and the corrupt police, themselves riven by factional loyalties, will be powerless to stop the militias fighting each other for control of Basra’s vast potential
oil wealth. … The endgame phase for Basra and the British may yet be long and painful. The hasty decisions to deploy British forces to southern Iraq in the first place were ill-judged. But for the sake of British troops there now, cohesion with their American allies and the future of the Baswaris themselves, it is essential that the plans to withdraw the British from southern Iraq are not dogged by the same malaise.
Miliband: US will not dictate our pullout from Iraq28.08.07. timesonline.
As British leave Basra, militias dig in28.08.07. CSM. An Iraqi official says a deal was struck with the Mahdi Army to ensure a safe departure.
As British leave Basra, militias dig in28.08.07. CSM. An Iraqi official says a deal was struck with the Mahdi Army to ensure a safe departure.
General backed over US attack Politicians and military figures have thrown their weight behind General Sir Mike Jackson after he launched a scathing attack on the US for mishandling the aftermath of the Iraq war.
British Troops Leave Basra Base in Iraq02.09.07. DAVID STRINGER, AP-uruk.net. British soldiers began withdrawing Sunday from their final remaining base inside the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a move likely to prompt a further reduction in troop numbers, lawmakers and officials said. Around 550 soldiers stationed in Basra Palace were leaving the downtown site to join 5,000 other personnel at an air base camp on the fringes of the city — ending their permanent presence in Iraq's second largest city...
Tell us more, top brass03.09.07. Robert Fox, Guardian. British generals critical of the Iraq war should spell out precisely what went wrong, how and when
250 troops to leave Iraq in four weeks09.09.07. M. Townsend, Guardian. Britain's military deployment in southern Iraq is to be cut by 500 to 5,000 over the next few months, the Ministry of Defence announced yesterday, just six days after British troops withdrew from their base at Basra Palace. … Further reductions will be implemented in the coming months.
Only 21 Nations Have Troops in Iraq — Not Bush’s Claim of 3613.09.07. global security – anti-war.com. In fact, only two other coalition nations have more than 1,000 troops in Iraq — Britain and South Korea. Seven nations have less than 100 troops in Iraq. Virtually all of these smaller contingents are confined to non-combat operations.
VIDEO
Video The Bases are Loaded Chalmers Johnson and Dahr Jamail discuss / illustrate key US bases in Iraq.
State of the coalitionAlbania 120 non-combat troops, mainly patrolling airport in Mosul; no plans to withdraw
Armenia 46 soldiers, serving as medics, engineers and drivers under Polish command; staying to end of 2007
Australia Around 550 troops training security forces in southern Iraq
Azerbaijan 150 troops; no plans to withdraw
Bosnia-Herzegovina 36 soldiers
Bulgaria 155 in total 120 non-combat troops guarding refugee camp near Baghdad, 35 support personnel
Czech Republic 99 troops
Denmark 460 troops patrolling Basra; to be withdrawn by August
El Salvador 380 soldiers in Hillah; no immediate plans to withdraw
Estonia 35 troops under US command in the Baghdad area
Georgia 900 combat, medical and support personnel under US command in Baqouba; no plans to withdraw or reduce contingent
Kazakhstan 27 military engineers; no plans to withdraw
Latvia 125 troops under Polish command in Diwaniya
Lithuania 60 troops, part of a Danish battalion near Basra
Macedonia 40 troops in Taji
Moldova 11 bomb-defusing experts returned home at end of January
Mongolia 160 troops; no plans to withdraw
Netherlands 15 soldiers as part of Nato mission training police, army officers; no plans to withdraw
Poland 900 non-combat troops; commands multinational force; mission extended to end of 2007
Romania about 600 troops, most serving under UK command; prime minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu wants them withdrawn
Slovenia 4 instructors training Iraqi security forces
South Korea 2,300 troops in Irbil; plans to bring home 1,100; parliament insists on complete withdrawal by end of 2007
Following U.K. Announcement, Lithuania Plans To Pull Out From Iraq22.02.07. All headlines.
Romania set to reduce Iraq troops by 100 -president14.03.07. Reuters.
Denmark Pulls Out Troops Early26.07.07. news.com
UNITED KINGDOM
FOR A FILE OF ALL ARTICLES ON UK TROOPS - IN / OUT / HOW MANY, SEE:
UK Troops in Iraq: TimeLine23.02.07. Sarah Meyer, Index Research. UK troop movement decisions happened after Bush 'surge' announcement and the visit of defense secretary Robert Gates to the UK. UK government prevarications are astonishing to read.
British military base in Iraq comes under mortar fire.18.08.06. monster and critics. The British military base near Amarah, some 380 kilometres south of Baghdad, came under mortar fire Friday morning. … unidentified insurgents fired five mortar rounds on
Abu Naji base, five kilometres to the south of the city.
Basra Shadowlands19.10.07. Sarah Meyer, Index Research. Timeline of the entire British / Basra debacle.
Pressure mounts on Blair for inquiry into mistakes in Iraq23.02.07. A Grice, Independent. But
Straw prevaricatesAn Explosively Penetrated Quagmire02.03.07. M. Maavak. The coalition of the willing is paving way for the unilateralism of the brave. .. Britain is whittling down its 7,100 servicemen in Iraq into a mid-term force of 5,000. That matches the number of personnel aboard the few hundred yards of the USS Eisenhower which, along with an invasion fleet, is currently battling for space with oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
Scandal of treatment for wounded Iraq veterans11.03.07. N. Temko / M. Townsend, 11.03.07. Observer. · Soldiers 'denied proper hospital care' · Letters reveal anguish of families See also:
The fresh agonies of our returning soldiers (Observer 11.03.07).
UK contingency plans for rapid withdrawal from Iraq22.03.07. irna.ir. The British government has plans drawn up to organize a rapid withdrawal of its troops from Iraq in circumstance of operational difficulties, Defence Minister Lord Drayson has admitted. "In the event that conditions on the ground required a withdrawal, there are contingencies available to military commanders," Drayson said. "These include the use of the theatre reserve force and the ability to reassign assets as required," he said in a written parliamentary reply published Tuesday.
Ministers finally admit full scale of war casualties23.03.07. Independent. The Independent has learned the figures will show that 114 British soldiers were seriously hurt in Iraq from 2004, compared to 46 during the invasion of 2003. In Afghanistan, the figures reveal that the casualty rate rose last year to 30 seriously hurt, compared to two for the previous year. The rise was caused by a Taliban offensive last summer, and raised fears that it could rise sharply again when the next, expected, offensive gets underway. The number of British fatalities in both conflicts have been regularly released by the MoD. The number of UK troops killed in Iraq rose to 134 this week after a soldier died in Britain having been critically injured while on patrol. The number killed in Afghanistan since 2001 rose to 52 after the death on 8 March of Warrant Officer Michael Smith in Helmand province.
Serving British soldier exposes horror of war in 'crazy' Basra27.04.07. T. Judd, Independent / anti-war.com. Reacting to Pte Barton's comments, many soldiers on websites appeared stunned but in agreement. One said: "When I arrived back last year, I was utterly depressed by what I had seen out there and the lack of any progress ... any journo sticking a microphone in my grid would have been given enough soundbites to retire on. And I would probably be in the Tower of London. ... The regiment was based in the Shatt al-Arab hotel base, which was handed over to the Iraqi army on 8 April. Of the 40 tents in the base, just five remained unscathed by the end of the tour, he said. "We were just sitting ducks ... On the last tour we were not mortared very often. This tour, it was two to three times a day. Fifteen mortars and three rockets were fired at us in the first hour we were there." . He added: "Towards the end of January to March, it was like a siege mentality. We were getting mortared every hour of the day. We were constantly being fired at. We basically didn't sleep for six months. You couldn't rest. Psychologically, it wore you down.
Trauma revealed of UK soldiers27.04.07. Channel 4 news. WITH VIDEO. Watch the report. ' Channel 4 News has learned that the number of British soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has doubled in a year - and that's just amongst soldiers still in service. ' See other items on Iraq
here .
Unlike the United States, the MOD has no screening system for veterans, and so the figures are likely to be even higher.
Film30.03.07.
The Insider Martin Bell on Britain's Throwaway Soldiers. Martin Bell, former war reporter and politician, comes to the defence of our armed forces to argue that our servicemen and women are being badly let down by their political masters. Bell believes it is time to enshrine in legislation each serviceman's rights to the best health care, for both physical and psychological injuries, for the rest of their lives after they leave service.
UK mercenaries in IraqIraq's Mercenary King15.03.07. R. Baer, ICH. As good as John le Carre novel! "According to a February 2006 Government Accountability Office report, there were approximately 48,000 private military contractors in Iraq, employed by 181 different companies. There may now be many more."'As a former C.I.A. agent, the author knows how mercenaries work: in the shadows. But how did a notorious former British officer, Tim Spicer, come to coordinate the second-largest army in Iraq—the tens of thousands of private security contractors (AEGIS)?' ... Article also mentions Blackwater, Dyncorp, Hart Security, Eryns ... "Private military companies—companies providing security in the field—make up a $30-billion-a-year industry globally ..."
(For more on contractors in Iraq see US Bases I)
UK troops quit base in Basra21.03.07. Gulf Daily News. British troops in Iraq's southern Basra oil port pulled out of their heavily attacked base in the heart of the city yesterday, the first to be handed to Iraqi forces who are slowly taking control of security.
OopsBritish Troops Set for Return to Basra23.03.07. Daily Record. FIERCE gun battles broke out on the streets of Basra - just two days after the British pulled out of the Iraqi city. Last night, UK troops, who had handed responsibility for security over to Iraqi forces, were poised to return.
Five more years in Iraq, say defence papers07.04.07. S. Rayment, Telegraph/uruknet. 'A confidential planning document drawn up by defence chiefs called the Operational Tour Plot, parts of which have been disclosed to this newspaper, reveals that troops will be serving on operations in the Gulf until at least 2012.'
Security Companies See:
Security Companies and Training Camps. Revealed: The story of Bush/Rumsfeld's 'Facilities Protection Service.'
Mercenary firms fear bloodbath in Iraq03.06.07. B.Brady, Scotsman.
Judge Halts Award of Iraq Contract02.06.07. Klein, Faanaru, Washington Post. The case, which is being heard by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, puts on trial one of the most controversial and least understood aspects of the Iraq war: the outsourcing of military security to an estimated 20,000 armed contractors who operate with little oversight. … Scott's challenge set off a domino effect, prompting the Government Accountability Office to dismiss protests brought by two major private security contractors the Army had removed as potential bidders --
Erinys Iraq, a British firm, and
Blackwater USA of North Carolina. … The Army has been narrowing the field of candidates for the Iraq security contract. One is
Aegis Defence Services, a British security firm. Aegis won the initial Iraqi security contract in 2004. That contract, worth $293 million, was set to expire in May but has been extended as others have filed protests. Scott said he was indifferent that his court claim had complicated the Erinys and Blackwater protests. "They're just trying to get a piece of the mercenary action," he said.
The security industry: Britain's private army in Iraq 05.06.07. Johnson / Woolf / Whitaker, Independent. The British security guards taken hostage in Baghdad are just four among a foreign legion paid for by you. Yet as we grow more reliant on them, their future is perilous in a country without rules
The security industry: Britain's private army in Iraq05.06.07. Johnson / Woolf / Whitaker, Independent. The British security guards taken hostage in Baghdad are just four among a foreign legion paid for by you. Yet as we grow more reliant on them, their future is perilous in a country without rules
Iraqi Troops'Updates, Contractors in US Bases in Iraq: Baghdad3 000 Iraqi troops to Basra22.02.2007. News 24.
Iraqi Police Commit Rape – ˇArmed, Trained, and Funded by the US23.02.07. Y. Susskind, anti-war.com
BasesDiyalaGen: Iraqi Handover May Be Delayed24.02.07. Yahoo / CBS. An 'upsurge' in violence outside the capital may delay plans to hand over at least one of the 18 provinces by the end of theyear."
Diyala province is mentioned.
Camp (FOB) Falcon/as Saqr(A US base on southern outskirts of Baghdad, not considered as part of US Baghdad complex.)
Camp Falcon: What Really Happened?
Iraqi Resistance Strikes Camp Falcon in Major Military Assault
22.10.06. M. Chussodovsky, Global Research.
Index has had the following report (22.10) from an Iraqi concerning the explosions at as Saqr / Camp Falcon. I am not sure it was the 'resistance' that caused the explosion, nor am I sure that the video was transmitted by jazeera ... but give you the following information anyway.
“The resistance attacked Camp Falcon south of Baghdad. This camp is considered as the most important munition camp. The explosions in the camp continued for three hours and was transmitted in direct on Al Jazeera. The resistance filmed the explosions and diffused them on the internet.
Iraq for ever of Fadhil Badrani translated the information on US Pentagon site which says that there were 5000 soldiers in this camp. But the Pentagon the same night declared that there were only 100 soldiers. This was evident is to hide the losses.
The resistance in Falluja and Habaniyah that there were 9 gros porteurs planes landed in Habaniyah the same night where there is a US military hospital.
Iraqis says that the attack costed US 1 million dollars, many hundred deaths and the conviction that controlling Baghdad plan is but a mirage.” Iraqi Resistance rockets blast into biggest American arsenal in Iraq
10.10.06. Iraqi Resistance Report. “The source admitted that dozens of Americans had been killed or wounded in the blasts that were still ripping the American arsenal apart. The source said that the US forces were unable to do anything to stop the massive inferno of flame and explosions that was lighting up the Baghdad sky like fireworks. Reuters reported the puppet regime’s “Iraqiyah” television network as showing pictures of a huge fire lighting up the night sky.”
Iraqi Resistance rockets blast into biggest American arsenal in Iraq setting off unprecedented explosions, illuminating Baghdad sky just before midnight Tuesday
11.10.06. Iraqi Resistance Report.
Nine huge American transport planes unload casualties from devastating Resistance strike on US Falcon Base in Baghdad just before midnight Tuesday, indicating heavy American losses
11.10.06. Iraqi Resistance Report. “In a bulletin posted at 2am Makkah time before dawn Wednesday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported its correspondent in al-Habbaniyah as saying that the US military hospital at the massive American-occupied air base there had begun to receive dead and wounded personnel from the devastating Resistance rocket assault on the US Falcon arsenal in the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah. Just before midnight Tuesday, the Iraqi Resistance fired barrages of Katyusha and Grad rockets into the arsenal, the largest such facility in occupied Iraq, causing the ordnance to begin to explode.”
US ammo dump ablaze in Iraq
11.10.06. Al Jazeera.net
Insurgents Hit U.S. Base in Baghdad
11.10.06. AP / Guardian.
Video.
11.10.06. BBC
Munitions dump blown in Baghdad. Nobody talking.
11.10.06. Daily Kos.
Resistance mortars pound US troops working to clear out ruined Falcon Forward Base on Thursday night
12.10.06. Iraqi Resistance Report.
Also on 12.10: "Nine huge transport planes ferry American casualties to al-Habbaniyah airbase from devastating Tuesday night Resistance strike on US Falcon arsenal, indicating heavy American losses. US claims “no casualties,” but Iraqi regime evacuates 90 injured puppet troops to ar-Ramadi hospital."
Ammo Dump Explosions Investigation
15.10.06. Roads to Iraq. "The Iraqi source, who refused to reveal his identity, said that dozens of American soldiers were killed in those explosions. The source pointed out that six Iraqi translators were killed in those explosions. American forces refused to hand over the bodies of the dead Iraqis to their families without giving reasons."
Falcon Ammo Dump Destruction Photos
17.10.06. Rense com.
Devastating Attack Destroys US Falcon Base Striking A Severe Blow To US Forces
20.10.06. Free Arab Voice / Indymedia. “A source in the Iraqi puppet regime told Mafkarat al-Islam that the Resistance blasted the American arsenal, known as Camp Falcon, with Grad and Katyusha rockets. The source admitted that dozens of Americans had been killed or wounded in the blasts that were still ripping the American arsenal apart. … Major General Bilal Ahmad al-Ithawi, an adviser to the Iraqi Defense Minister for transport and supply, visited ad-Durah on Wednesday morning and told Mafkarat al-Islam that the attack had inflicted enormous losses on the US military that could total more than US$1 billion.”
No reported casualties at Camp Falcon, eh?
22.10.06. abutamam.
Video. Tactical nuke explodes in Iraq?
"On October 11, 2006, a Tactical Nuclear Device appears to have exploded when fire broke out in an ammunition dump at Camp Falcon inside Iraq. Video from live nightly newscast in Baghdad caught the detonation - miles away - with it's characteristic ENORMOUS blinding white flash, a rising core of fire then a small mushroom cloud!" 5.21 min. *THIS FILM HAS BEEN REMOVED BY GOOGLE 28.10).
IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO SEE 'CAMP FALCON: A TACTICAL NUKE\
HERE
Please see shorter black and white film here. A further munitions dump film (9 min.; strong language), undated and not specified "Camp Falcon" can be seen here.
Two sites are worth visiting:
video search Camp Falcon (10 videos).
and
video search ammo dump (10 videos).
(addition)
The BRussells Tribunal received the following communication from depleted uranium (DU) researcher Dai Williams with regard to the recent ‘google’ video, as seen in Camp Falcon: What Really Happened.
“The good news is that the brilliant explosions in what appears to be an Al-Jazeera TV report are unlikely to be mini-nukes. They are very similar to the thermobaric bunker buster explosions seen on TV in Baghdad in March 2003 and in Beirut in August 2006.
The bad news is that in my reports these are suspected undepleted uranium warheads. They are not fission weapons. But they burn with an intense flash and fireball sometimes leaving a shower of burning shrapnel as white stars. These have been confused with white phosphorus. They are not. Phosphorus has too low density for the shrapnel trajectories seen in TV and camera shots. Also burning phosphorus leaves a massive trail of white smoke. Uranium burns with black smoke, almost invisible in night pictures.
Another clip on the same website is the most graphic image of a fairly small - perhaps 1000 lb - penetrator or thermobaric warhead that I have yet seen. It illustrates exactly the features listed above.
Then look at the first 20 seconds of the BBC TV news report from Lebanon on 4th August. I used stills from this in my report of 30 August.
I would expect any nuclear device to create far wider blast effects than shown in the still photographs of the camp. …
The Falcon fire is a relevant connection which reminds us that some of these unconventional weapons are being used in several conflict zones now - Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and in Gaza and the occupied territories.”
Dai Williams,
http://www.eoslifework.co.uk
25.10.06.
NB: There was a further news story, citing names of the dead. This has not been included because of information on Daily Kos.
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NB The Camp Falcon story has been raised again in e-Fahrenhiet 419? Iraq story vanished from MSM? (Daily Kos, 19.02.07). When I first published Camp Falcon, What Really Happened?, ALL THE LINKS WERE AVAILABLE. Today, I note that all but three stories have now been removed from view, including that from The Guardian. WHY HAVE THESE STORIES BEEN REMOVED? Further, one learns of another story (Fox News, 11.10.06) from 'comments' here
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Official Lies over Najaf exposed01.02.07. Dahr Jamail, anti-war.
Basra: "Gestapo HQ"
Meanwhile, in Basra camp, there's pizza, cricket and a scent of danger04.06.06. D. Smith, Observer.
CIA Mole Killed in Basra26.09.06. Kurt Nimmo, uruknet.
Operation Sinbad: Mission failure casts doubt on entire British presence in Iraq08.10.06. R. Whittaker, Independent. Rogue elements', politics and lack of manpower in Basra clean-up make limitations of coalition forces frighteningly clear.
Hundreds of Iraq police fall ill at meal08.10.06. AP/ Guardian. ‘Between 600-700 policemen were affected to varying degrees, and 11 who had the heaviest amount of the food had died, al-Atwan told The Associated Press. … the division normally operates around the town of Salman Pak on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad — an area of intense Shiite-Sunni killings. The division was sent to the base in Numaniyah, 60 miles southeast of the capital, for further training.’
The British officer said: 'We are now just another tribe'14.10.06. G. Abdul-Ahad, Guardian. “Eighteen months ago, when I was last embedded in Basra, the British army still patrolled in berets and without flak jackets. Today they will only emerge in heavily armoured Warrior vehicles, wearing heavy-duty helmets with protective screens across their faces, and body armour to cover their shoulders and upper arms.” Also responses by 2nd battalion of Royal Anglians to Gen. Dannat’s remarks.
Basra Shadowlands19.10.06. S. Meyer, Index Research. Blow by blow account of the Basra uprising - sorting out the lies; history of SAS from Mark Curtis' book, Web of Deceit; some Updates.
Interpreters used by British Army 'hunted down' by Iraqi death squads18.11.06. P. Sands, Independent. Iraqi interpreters working with the British Army in Basra are being systematically hunted down and killed.
UK troops storm Iraqi police HQ25.12.06. BBC. Story and video.
UK raid angers Basra politicians26.12.06. BBC.
British troops free 127 prisoners from Basra prison in raid26.12.06. Joshua Pantesco, Jurist. Burbridge said the prisoners were freed from inhumane conditions, and that many exhibited signs of torture, including crushed extremities, cigarette flesh burns, and gunshot wounds to the arms and legs. Seven gunmen were killed by the Iraqi and British forces during the three-hour raid, with no British casualties.
Gates in Basra on surprise Iraq Trip19.01.07. Pakistan Times. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met British and US commanders Friday in a surprise visit to Basra to review the military situation in the oil-rich south of Iraq. He was met on his arrival in Basra by General George Casey, the outgoing US military commander in Iraq, and then went into talks with Casey and British counterpart Major General Jonathan Shaw.
British officials indicated to Gates, during a stop in London at the start of his tour, that Britain plans to scale back its deployment in southern Iraq, which is currently about 7,000 strong with headquarters in Basra.
Basra handover "completed"18.02.07. In the news. British troops in Basra have successfully completed transferring frontline security duties to the Iraqi army, the prime minister has said. But when quizzed on newspaper reports that the number of UK soldiers in the Middle East would be halved in the coming weeks, Tony Blair's response was
"let's wait and see". Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, told parliament in
January that Mr Blair would make an official announcement as soon as the security handover in southern Iraq had been completed. ... But he cautioned that Britain still had an obligation to ensure it had "sufficient forces in support and in reserve to be able to help the Iraqis if a particular problem arises". The UK still has 7,000 troops stationed in and around Basra, almost four years after the invasion of Iraq.
"Tony Two-Face:" 1 month after Gates visit: "
Troop reduction in Iraq delayed after pressure from US18.02.07. Whitaker / Hodgson, The independent. 'Yielding to American pressure, Tony Blair will announce this week that a reduction of British troop levels in Iraq is to be
delayed. Military chiefs have been pushing for an early "drawdown" of forces in Iraq, amid complaints that the armed forces are becoming overstretched by increasing commitments, especially in Afghanistan. Plans had been drawn up to cut the number of bases in south-eastern Iraq and to reduce the British contingent by about 3,000 by the end of the year, from the present level of around 7,100. But a senior defence source said the Prime Minister would announce a slowdown in the planning: the reduction of about 1,000 troops
planned for April will be postponed to
August.
A newsletter (19.02.07) from the UK group, Military Families Against the War, says "Despite stories in the press about British troop numbers being halved in May we are getting reports from Military Family members that their sons are to be deployed to Iraq in
DECEMBER 2008.
Attack_on_British_base_in_Basra_sets_fuel_stores_alight__Roundup_">
Attack on British base in Basra sets fuel stores alight (Roundup)Monsters and Critics. An attack on a British military base in Basra in southern Iraq set ablaze fuel stores but caused no structural damage or casualties, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London said Friday. .. The petrol and diesel storage area caught alight after 'indirect fire' hit the base, which is near the Shatt al-Arab Hotel in the centre of Basra.
Exposing Gordon Kerr and Tony Blair’s secret army07.04.07. S. Basketter, Socialist Worker. Simon Basketter exposes how special British units in Iraq are run by the same man who commanded death squads in Northern Ireland.
Deep Waters off of Basra
Meanwhile, the media froth on, irresponsibly following their own agenda. Flavour of the week was showing films of captured soldiers eating, smoking and writing letters in Iran. The media distracted the public by discussing “UK Fury” while PM Blair cited a fake map and
oil prices surged. Behind the scenes,
6 April is designated as the day the US will go to war in Iran. Heather Wokusch calls it an http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar07/Wokusch29.htm">“Easter Surprise”. See also:
Brinkmanship Unwise in Uncharted Waters
20.03.07. MEMORANDUM FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). 'The frenzy in America’s corporate media over Iran’s detainment of 15 British Marines who may, or may not, have violated Iranian-claimed territorial waters is a flashback to the unrestrained support given the administration’s war-mongering against Iraq shortly before the attack.
Iran — How To Start A War
30.03.07. G. Dyer, Jordan Times / ICH.
Why George Bush is Insane
30.03.07. Harold Pinter, Assassination Press. "The US is at this moment developing advanced systems of "weapons of mass destruction" and it prepared to use them where it sees fit. It has more of them than the rest of the world put together. It has walked away from international agreements on biological and chemical weapons, refusing to allow inspection of its own factories. The hypocrisy behind its public declarations and its own actions is almost a joke."
"America is a quarter of a billion people totally misinformed and disinformed by their government. This is tragic but our media is -- I wouldn't even say corrupt -- it's just beyond telling us anything that the government doesn't want us to know." Gore Vidal. (This is equally applicable to Great Britain)
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Mystery of the Missing Meters: Accounting for Iraq's Oil Revenue10.04.07. Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch / uruknet. Heavily armed soldiers spend their days at the oil terminals scanning the horizon looking for suicide bombers and stray fishing dhows (boats). Meanwhile, right under their noses, smugglers are suspected to be diverting an estimated billions of dollars worth of crude onto tankers because the oil metering system that is supposed monitor how much crude flows into and out of ABOT and KAAOT - has not worked since the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Now the South Erupts11.04.07. Ali al-Fadhily, IPS. The eruption of demonstrations in the south of Iraq this week could rob the occupation forces of what was considered a critical bastion of support.
Video Report Blair's legacy trip to Iraq, Channel 4 News (19.05.07)
Mob cheers as British soldier dies23.05.07. D. McElroy, Telegraph. And
Video.
British forces face backlash after Mahdi Army chief is shot dead26.05.07. Deborah Haynes in Baghdad and Michael Evans, Times on Line / ICH. Soldiers attacked by militamen in Basra after joint operation with Iraqis ends in violence
Mahdi army vows revenge on British troops after Basra leader is killed26.05.07. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Richard Norton-Taylor and Ewen MacAskill, Guardian. · UK backs Iraqi operation to 'eliminate criminal'· Moqtada al-Sadr appears again after four months
Mahdi army vows revenge on British troops after Basra leader is killed26.05.07. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Richard Norton-Taylor and Ewen MacAskill, Guardian. · UK backs Iraqi operation to 'eliminate criminal'· Moqtada al-Sadr appears again after four months
SAS on alert to rescue Baghdad Britons31.05.07. H.de Quetteville and R. Holt, Telegraph.
MoD to pull troops out of Iraq within a year03.06.07. S Rayment, P. Hennessy, Sunday Telegraph. It is understood that when Mr Brown becomes prime minister later this month, he will be told by defence chiefs that Britain should withdraw from Iraq in "quick order" and concentrate on fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. (WATCH THIS SPACE!)
Government said to have lost control of Basra27.06.07. K. Zair, Azzaman. As U.S. troops battle to retake Baghdad and surrounding areas, the government is reported to have lost its control of Basra where almost all of the country’s oil exports originate. The city, according to well-placed sources, is under the hegemony of militias who do not run its streets only but have imposed levies and taxes on oil output. “It may be too late for Prime Minister Nouri al-Naliki to restore control of Basra,” one source working for Iraqi intelligence said.
Human RightsREPORTS
Video. A Massive Failure 15.06.06. Basra hospital.
War Crimes Committed by the United States in Iraq and Mechanisms for Accountability10.10.06. Report, Consumers for Peace. This report was prepared by Consumers for Peace.org with the advice of Karen Parker, noted lawyer in human rights and humanitarian law. Ms. Parker is President of the San Francisco-based Association of Humanitarian Lawyers (
www.humanlaw.org) and Chief Delegate to the United Nations for the Los Angeles-based International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law Project (IED/AHL), an accredited non-governmental organization on the U.N. Secretary-General’s list.
See also
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15261.htmMilitary Commissions ActWar Crimes Report Advertised In The Military Times NewspaperAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2007 (05.07)
∑ ‘War on terror’05.07. Amnesty International. In its international campaign against abuses in the “war on terror”, AI exposed and denounced hundreds of cases of torture and other grave violations of human rights claimed by states to be a necessary response to security threats. AI also strongly condemned deliberate attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks by armed groups.
∑ Freedom from Fear
∑ AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2007: IRAQ05.07. General Discussion; Background; Sectarian violence and attacks by armed groups; Violations by Iraqi security forces; Violations by US-led Multinational Force; Targeting of professionals and human
rights defenders; Violence against women; Trial of Saddam Hussain and others; Death penalty; Northern Iraq; AI country reports/visits.
∑ Amnesty International Regional Report on the United States of America∑ Facts and comments on detainees; Military Commissions Act; Renditions and secret detention; Guantánamo; Detentions in Afghanistan and Iraq; Unlawful killings by US forces outside the USA; Detention of 'enemy combatants' in the USA; Torture and other ill-treatment; Ill-treatment in jails and police custody; 'Supermax' prisons; Women in prison; Prisoners of conscience; Death penalty; Other concerns; UN Committee against Torture and UN Human Rights Committee; AI country reports/visits.
ARTICLES
Abu Ghraib no longer houses any prisoners, Iraqi officials say.26.08.06.Youseff, Real Cities. Most went to one of two U.S.-run detention centers -
Camp Cropper, near Baghdad International Airport, and
Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr in southern Iraq.
Iraq: US forces trying to prevent mass rally in support of Lebanon.From Najaf: One demonstrator was killed and 16 injured.
Diwaniya Prison16.09.06, A. Glanz, One World. Last month, the Iraqi Human Rights Organization in Diwaniya released a report on conditions for the detainees in that southern city. "Many skin diseases have been found in the jail," their report read. "The jail was very smelly and there was no medical treatment. Some of the prisoners talk about psychical torture during the interrogation and others say they didn't receive any torture." Local prisons have no beds, no air current, and no rooms for showering, the group said. "Some prisoners don't know what crime they are accused of committing, and they have been held for more than four months. Some of the prisoners were allowed to call lawyers, but they can't afford to hire a lawyer in any case."
U.S. wartime prison network grows into legal vacuum for 14,00017.09.06. P, Quinn, AP / ICH. In Iraq, Army jailers are a step ahead. Last month they opened a $60-million, state-of-the-art detention center at
Camp Cropper, near Baghdad's airport. The Army oversees about 13,000 prisoners in Iraq at Cropper,
Camp Bucca in the southern desert, and Fort Suse in the Kurdish north. …”The CIA's techniques for extracting information from prisoners still are secret…”
British War Crimes Trial Shown Footage of Iraqi Abuse (Update2)20.09.06. M. Murphy, Bloomberg. Basra: UK torture and murder.
Lost in a Bermuda Triangle of Injustice22.09.06. T. Englehardt, ICH. …
Camp Bucca is a story you can't read anywhere …
IRAQ: Military continues to violate the rights of civilians09.10.06. Reuters / Relief Web. ‘Human rights groups say the rights of citizens, especially those who live in restive areas, are often violated by Iraq's national army and US-led coalition forces searching for terrorists and criminals. … The Baghdad Centre for Human Rights said it continues to record human rights violations by both the Iraqi army and coalition forces. … "We observed 300 cases of human rights violations against civilians by both Iraqi army and multinational forces only in July and August.’
Court Told It Lacks Power in Detainee Cases20.10.06. K. de Young, Washington Post. … “Beyond those already imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere, the law applies to all non-U.S. citizens, including permanent U.S. residents. … Habeas corpus, a Latin term meaning "you have the body," is one of the oldest principles of English and American law. It requires the government to show a legal basis for holding a prisoner. A series of unresolved federal court cases brought against the administration over the last several years by lawyers representing the detainees had left the question in limbo.”
The Army 'approved abuse of prisoners'17.11.06. M. Evans, The Times / ICH. THE Army’s high command was accused last night of officially sanctioning the hooding and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention. The claims were made by a witness in the court martial of seven soldiers charged in relation to the abuse and ill-treatment of nine Iraqis in Basra in 2003.
Horrors that mirrored Saddam's worst excesses26.12.06. D. Kenney, N. Parker, Times on Line. "
The Serious Crimes Unit was regarded as one of the most corrupt elements of the British-mentored and trained constabulary in Iraq’s second city.
In Saddam Hussein’s time, local security forces dragged hundreds of people to the al-Jameat compound in the middle of the night. They were never heard of again. It became known as the “station of death”.
The two-storey building had been reopened by the British as a police station, part of the coalition’s optimistic attempts to restore order after Saddam’s overthrow.
Before long it was nicknamed “Gestapo HQ” by British officers. The horrors taking place behind its thick white walls were feared to compare with the sadistic excesses of the toppled dictatorship."
No courts-martial for British soldiers04.01.07. Yahoo. LONDON - British soldiers who were videotaped beating Iraqi civilians in 2004 will not face courts-martial, although two soldiers may be subject to other disciplinary proceedings, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday.The video, made in 2004, came to light last year and was widely broadcast. It showed British soldiers beating several Iraqi youths in the city of Amarah, about 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, on a day when British forces clashed with protesters.
Google blots out Iraq bases on internet21.01.07. T. Harding, Telegraph.
Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans17.02.07. Moss / Mekhennet, NY Times / ICH. The story of Laith al Ani. 'After his release from the American-run jail,
Camp Bucca, Mr. Ani and other former detainees described the sprawling complex of barracks in the southern desert near Kuwait as a bleak place where guards casually used their stun guns and exposed prisoners to long periods of extreme heat and cold; where prisoners fought among themselves and extremist elements tried to radicalize others; and where detainees often responded to the harsh conditions with hunger strikes and, at times, violent protests. ... Mr. Ani spent a total of 44 days at two other American facilities before being sent to Camp Bucca. In all, he said, he was questioned just once at each site.
Mr. Ani said the electric prods were first used on him on the way to Camp Bucca. “I was talking to someone next to me and they used it,” he said, describing the device as black plastic with a yellow tip and two iron prongs. He said the prods were commonly used on him and other detainees as punishment.
“The whole body starts to shake and hurt,” he said. “And you lose consciousness for a couple of seconds. One time they used it on my tongue. One guard held me from the left and another on my back and another used it against my tongue and for four or five days I couldn’t eat.”
Through it all, Mr. Ani was never actually charged with a crime; he said he was questioned only once during his more than two years at the camp. ... '
Photos of 'tortured' Iraqi's corpse released17.04.07. Telegraph / ICH. Photographs showing the severe beating suffered by an Iraqi civilian who died in British custody were released today as the House of Lords begins a hearing into whether human rights law should apply to British forces abroad.
Coroner blasts US for lack of help16.04.07. Channel 4 News. VIDEO Report. The US military has come under fire again from a coroner hearing inquests into the deaths of servicemen in Iraq.
US 'tried to block probe' into British troops' crash18.02.07. M. Townsend, Observer. Lawyers claim the Pentagon will now pay £1.2m compensation after trying to deny Iraq collision
PHOTO: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2026784,00.html
Photo by Essam Al-Sudani/AFP/Getty Images
Raid at Iraqi compound finds signs of torture05.03.07. R. Norton-Taylor, Guardian. Officials at the detention centre, part of a police compound in the city, told Reuters news agency that 37 prisoners were freed in the raid. They showed journalists offices that had been searched, with files thrown on the floor, desks overturned, and doors broken open in the pre-dawn raid.
THEN ...
1172943310587.html”> Iraq PM calls for Basra jail probe 05.03., The Age (
Who trained the ‘Iraqi intelligence facility’ - the FPS?)
Court 'can envisage' Blair prosecution17.03.07. G. Chamberlain, Telegraph. Tony Blair faces the prospect of an International Criminal Court investigation for alleged coalition war crimes in Iraq.
How army's £20m trial failed to find the killers18.03.07. M. Townsend, Observer. During a six-month court martial, British soldiers giving evidence on the death of an Iraqi, Baha Musa, were unable to answer more than 650 questions. Just when it mattered most, they
couldn't remember. SHOCKING TRANSCRIPT.
A coverup of torture, racism and complicity in war crimes23.04.07. P. Shiner, Guardian. The evidence of British abuse and killing of Iraqi civilians is part of an iceberg of disgrace which demands a public inquiry
Dutch soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners: report16.05.07. Reuters. Three Dutch military intelligence officers may have broken interrogation rules in 2003 while questioning prisoners in Iraq, Dutch television program NOVA said. . NOVA said it obtained excerpts of an independent committee's report prepared for the Dutch Ministry of Defense describing the use of head covers and electrodes during questioning.
Kidnap and torture: new claims of Army war crimes in Iraq18.05.07. Independent. The British Army is facing new allegations that it was involved in "forced disappearances", hostage-taking and torture of Iraqi civilians after the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
One of the claims is made by the former chairman of the Red Crescent in Basra, who alleges he was beaten unconscious by British soldiers after they accused him of being a senior official in Saddam's Baath party. . The family of another Iraqi civilian claims he was arrested and kidnapped by the British in order to secure the surrender of his brother, who was also accused of being a high-ranking member of the party. He was later found shot dead, still handcuffed and wearing a UK prisoner name tag.
Video.
"It was Torture": Soldiers 'not brought to justice'BBC, Panaorama. "He had 93 separate injuries on his body when he was left for dead on a toilet floor."
Fairford Two strike blow for anti-war protesters after jury decide they were acting to stop crime26.05.07. Addley, Norton-Taylor, Guardian. Ruling seen as 'judicial endorsement' of attempts to stop B52 bombers. The result, according to their lawyer, is the closest an English court has come to accepting that war crimes were committed by Britain and America in Iraq. As a jury verdict in a crown court, the ruling does not set a direct legal precedent, but its implications may be significant for future protesters.
Goldsmith 'told Army to ignore Rights Act' in Iraq29.05.07. Daily Mail. Human rights in Iraq: a case to answer. Leaked emails between London and military chiefs in Iraq suggest Lord Goldsmith advised a "pragmatic" approach to handling prisoners rather than adherence to the "higher standards" of human rights. Experts claim the Attorney General was effectively advising the military to observe the Geneva Conventions but ignore the Act, according to The Independent.
Call for Scotland to Try Blair as War Criminal11.06.07. I. Swanson, Scotsman.
Camp Bucca Detainee dies at U.S. Army prison in Iraq27.04.07. AP . anti-war.com. n Iraq, the U.S. Army oversees thousands of prisoners at Camp Cropper near Baghdad airport, Camp Bucca in the southern desert, and Fort Suse in the Kurdish north.
APR - the immoral practices of the occupation in the Bucca prison16.05.07. Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq/uruknet. AMSI issued a press release condemning the terrorist and immoral practices by the American occupation forces yesterday, Monday, about the right of detainees at the Bucca prison in Basra with the violation of all international agreements and laws on prisoners and detainees who call return to the legitimacy.
Some of the Dead – and Future DeadREPORTS
The Human Cost of the War in Iraq: A Mortality Study, 2002-200609.10.06 Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; School of Medicine, Al Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq; in cooperation with the Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. See also
related Appendix Weapons of Mass Destruction.13.07.06. B. Deraps. Peoples Weekly World. "The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that Iraq, with a population of about 26 million, in the year 2000 had a total of 195,374 new cases of cancer and 126,677 cancer deaths, most of them children. From 1990 to 1999, the cancer rate rose 242 percent in southern Iraq alone and birth defects increased tenfold... At least 320 tons of depleted uranium were used in the Gulf War, mostly in southern Iraq. Since 2003, we have used over 2,000 tons — over six times the amount used in 1991."
ARTICLES
Depleted Uranium Radioactive Contamination In Iraq: An Overview.08.06. Brussels Tribunal. Here is specific information about the contaminated area around Basra.
Sickened Iraq vets cite depleted uranium12.08.06. D. Hastings, AP / Truth Out. As Samawah. Dutch marines had taken over the abandoned train depot dubbed
Camp Smitty, which was surrounded by tank skeletons, unexploded ordnance and shell casings. They'd brought radiation-detection devices. The readings were so hot, the Dutch set up camp in the middle of the desert rather than live in the station ruins… The (US) veterans, using their positive results as evidence, have sued the U.S. Army, claiming officials knew the hazards of depleted uranium, but concealed the risks.
Effects of Depleted Uranium.06.09.06. De Anna, My Space / uruknet. Also video.
Terry Lloyd
VIDEO.
10.09.06. Channel 4 news. US military video shows the build up to ITN reporter Terry Lloyd's killing in Iraq. 15 min. alleged missing.
War crimes claim over Lloyd death
15.10.06. J. Bingham, Scotsman.
What Terry's death means for us
16.10.06. Guardian.
Twelve Soldiers named in Terry Lloyd killing
11.02.07. Sunday Times. BRITAIN faces a diplomatic row over its failure to bring to justice the American troops who “unlawfully killed” ITN journalist Terry Lloyd in the Iraq war.
Despite the refusal of American and British officials to identify the US marines, lawyers and investigators acting for his family have uncovered the names. They are to be handed to Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, in an attempt to force him to bring criminal proceedings. ... Despite a three-year campaign by ITN and Lloyd’s family, the troops did not give evidence at the inquest and have never been named. It has also emerged that Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary, failed to disclose British troops were key witnesses. ... US unit involved — Red Platoon, which is part of Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division — have all been identified.
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Contractor deaths in Iraq nearing 80028.01.07. Chron.com.
British troops in Iraq: 100th soldier killed31.01.07. Guardian.
MATTY HULL
PHOTO (small): http://www.theworldlink.com/content/articles/2007/02/06/news/news15020607.jpg
Coroner demands explanation in 'friendly fire' death
01.02.07. Press Association, Guardian. Oxford Coroner Andrew Walker today launched an outspoken attack on the Ministry of Defence for failing to provide answers to the grieving family of Lance Corporal Matty Hull about how he died when US forces opened fire on his tank in Iraq. … L/Cpl Matty Hull, 25, was killed, while four other British soldiers were injured, in the "friendly fire" incident near Basra on March 28 2003.
Coroner demands that tape of US attack on British troops is shown
02.02.07. M Taylor, Guardian. A coroner investigating the death of a British soldier in southern Iraq claimed that the Ministry of Defence was withholding vital evidence and gave its lawyers until today to get permission from the US to show a recording of the incident which had come to light.
Diplomatic row delays verdict in inquest
03.02.07. T. Judd, Independent. The delay is the latest development in a long running diplomatic dispute over the US authorities' refusal to cooperate fully into the inquests of British soldiers killed by friendly fire. Despite furious demands from the Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker, the Ministry of Defence refused yesterday to release vital evidence into the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull to his inquest and asked for more time for negotiations.
Coroner won't show Iraq video
16.02.07. Guardian. Addressing a pre-inquest hearing before the full inquest on March 12, he said: "I can say quite categorically that if it were not for the potential delay and distress this would cause the family, I would not be willing to be bound by an agreement with the US as to use of evidence that I consider crucial to this inquest.
"I would be wrong to accept that the US are correct in seeking to bind the hands of the coroners' court in this way but in these circumstances I feel that in order to make progress and provide the family with closure, it seems to me that I must act in this way as far as the copy of that video is concerned."
VIDEO REPORT Coroner says UK soldier's death 'avoidable', Channel 4 News (16.03.07)
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Kelly death not suicide, says MP25.02.07. BBC. A public inquest was never held. MP Norman Baker has been investigating.
VIDEO WEBCAST: The Death of Dr. David Kelly25.02.07. BBC2, The BBC Conspiracy Files. MP Norman Baker investigated the death of Dr. Kelly. BBC did not credit itself with a well-made programme; rather, it was sloppy . Rowena Thursby did a lot of talking ... who is she? Shouldn't the BBC, or someone have suggested/demanded that a proper inquest be held? Actually, it looked as if it could have been a programme sponsored by the UK government. Shame.
Counting the cost27.03.07. R. Horton, Guardian. Richard Horton. It's time we held our leaders to account for the 650,000 Iraqi dead. 'Our collective failure has been to take our political leaders at their word. This week, the BBC reported that the government's own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins study on Iraq civilian mortality was accurate and reliable. This paper was published in the Lancet last October. It estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American- and British-led invasion in March 2003.'
Another sacrifice for us all to remember26.04.07. Kim Sengupta, Independent. Kingsman Alan Jones was killed, aged 20, in Iraq this week, just one of the 145 British soldiers who have died in this ill-conceived conflict. His death went largely unnoticed in the bloodiest month endured by British soldiers - another grim statistic, another coffin sent home, another grieving family, another young man who died in vain.
Update 06.06.08Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control05.06.08. Patrick Cockburn, Independent.
Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors. A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.
+
The url to US/UK BASES IN IRAQ, Part II: The South is:
http://indexresearch.blogspot.com/2006/06/usuk-bases-in-iraq-part-ii-south.htmlSmaller url:
http://tinyurl.com/yw95q5 +
•
US Bases in Iraq: Part I: Baghdad•
Basra Shadowlands•
Iraq’s US/UK Permanent Bases: Intentional Obfuscation•
Iraq: The Occupation is the Disease•
Prisons and Torture in Iraq•
Iraq: Security Companies and Training Camps•
Victims of ViolenceHaditha: Crime and Punishment (updated 25.02.08)
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Iraq: New U.S. Base - Wasit•
Iraq Oil Reality vs the NY Times•
Iraq Oil: The Vultures are Waiting(Updated 28.03.08)
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IRAQ: Green Zone Blowback: Index Timeline(update 28.03.08)
Sarah Meyer is a researcher living in the UK.
Tags : Iraq, Basra, US Bases, UK Bases, Camp Bucca, Camp Falcon al-Sarq, oil, Tallil, ShaibahLabels: Amnesty aireport2007, Basra, Camp Falcon, coalition, Dr. David Kelly, M Hull, map oilfields, T Lloyd, Tallil
Naomi Klein 
