Latex lizzie
Well-Known Member
never happen methinks. to many strings will be pulled behind the scenes to prevent it. anyway remind me again why they invaded afganhistan? !bog
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Iraq: U.S.-Led Forces Failed to Secure Key Evidence
Official Documents Looted, Mass Graves Left Unprotected
(Amman, November 4, 2004) - U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq failed
during last year's invasion to safeguard official documents and the
remains of victims in mass graves, Human Rights Watch said in a report
released today. As a result, crucial evidence for the upcoming trials of
Saddam Hussein and other former Iraqi officials has likely been lost or
seriously tainted.
The 41-page report, "Iraq: The State of the Evidence," details what
happened to some of the key archival and forensic evidence that the U.S.-
led coalition and, more recently, the Iraqi interim government failed to
secure.
In April 2003, former Iraqi officials left behind volumes of official papers
documenting criminal policies and practices. In the past year and a half,
more than 250 mass graves have been identified, some of which contain
the remains of thousands of victims of Saddam Hussein's rule.
"Given what's at stake here, the extent of this negligence is alarming,"
said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East and North
Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "U.S. and Iraqi authorities were
aware that these documents and remains would be crucial to the
prosecution of Saddam Hussein and other former officials, but they did
little to safeguard them."
Human Rights Watch said that in the weeks and months following the
invasion of Iraq, U.S.-led coalition forces failed to prevent people from
freely looting thousands of official documents, or to keep relatives of
"disappeared" persons from digging up remains found in some mass
gravesites. Coalition forces subsequently failed to put in place the
professional expertise and assistance necessary to ensure proper
classification and exhumation procedures. As a result, it is very likely that
key evidentiary materials have been lost or tainted.
In the case of mass graves, these failures have also frustrated the ability of
families to know the fate of thousands of missing relatives who
"disappeared" during Saddam Hussein's rule.
Human Rights Watch urged Iraq's interim government, with international
assistance, to set up a joint Iraqi and international Commission for Missing
Persons to establish effective procedures for protecting mass graves and
conducting exhumations, and a similar body to oversee the handling of
documents of the former government.
"This material needs urgent attention. The evidence will be critical to any
upcoming trial proceedings," Whitson said. "And it will also be crucial for
Iraqis as they attempt to construct an accurate record of the atrocities they suffered under Ba`th Party rule."
'Watching tragedy engulf my city'
US and Iraqi forces are locked in desperate street battles against insurgents in the Iraqi city of Falluja. The BBC News website spoke by phone to Fadhil Badrani, a journalist in Falluja who reports for the BBC World Service in Arabic.
I am surrounded by thick black smoke and the smell of burning oil.
There was a big explosion a few minutes ago and now I can hear gunfire.
A US armoured vehicle has been parked on the street outside my house in the centre of the city.
From my window, I can see US soldiers moving around on foot near it.
They tried to go from house to house but they kept coming under fire.
Now they are firing back at the houses, at anything that moves. It is war on the streets.
The American troops look like they have given up trying to go into buildings for now and are just trying to control the main roads.
I am sitting here on my own, watching tragedy engulf my city.
Looks like Kabul
I was with some of the Falluja fighters earlier. They looked tired - but their spirits were high and they were singing.
Recently, many Iraqis from other parts of the country have been joining the local men against the Americans.
No one has had much sleep in the past two days of heavy fighting and of course, it is still Ramadan, so no one eats during the day.
I cannot say how many people have been killed but after two days of bombing, this city looks like Kabul.
Large portions of it have been destroyed but it is so dangerous to leave the house that I have not been able to find out more about casualties.
Mosques silent
A medical dispensary in the city centre was bombed earlier.
I don't know what has happened to the doctors and patients who were there.
It was last place you could get medical attention because the big hospital on the outskirts of Falluja was captured by the Americans on Monday.
A lot of the mosques have also been bombed.
For the first time in Falluja, a city of 150 mosques, I did not hear a single call to prayer this morning.
I broke my Ramadan fast yesterday with the last of our food - two potatoes and two tomatoes.
The tomatoes were rotten because we have no electricity to run the fridge.
My neighbours - a woman and her children - came to see me yesterday. They asked me to tell the world what is happening here.
I look at the devastation around me and ask - why?
Translation from Arabic by Jumbe Omari Jumbe of bbcarabic.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/09/iraq.main/index.htmlFALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi troops reached the heart of Falluja on Tuesday as the second day of battles continued in the militant-controlled city west of Baghdad.
The Pentagon reported six U.S. troops died in Falluja fighting and 10 were wounded.
Nevertheless, U.S. and Iraqi forces have faced less resistance than expected, said Lt. Col. Pete Newell with Task Force 2-2 of the 1st Infantry Division.
Soldiers have dodged sniper fire and destroyed booby traps, but not as many as anticipated.
Insurgent casualty numbers have mounted. Newell said his Army unit has killed or wounded 85 to 90 insurgents.
yeah..pretty disturbing really.hag said:interesting article on falluja here...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1347354,00.html
[/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]That's the first I've heard about that. Does anyone know any other details about this?[/font]Iraq's history, reaffirmed by events since the US-led occupation, shows that its people's unity is stronger than differences based on religion, sect, ethnicity or national identity. That was demonstrated on Sunday when a senior Kurdish officer with the token US-commanded Iraqi force besieging Falluja deserted within half an hour of being shown the plans to occupy the city.
http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4045&n=1U.S. To Send 30,000 Mall Security Guards To Iraq
"We found that mall security guards are as well-trained and ready to face danger as the coalition-trained military police," Archibald said. "They may not have the power of arrest, but real authority is only a walkie-talkie call away."
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