Sunday, September 2, 2007

One Day in Iraq



Don't Forget to Breathe

The above video shows the aftermath of graphic violence, blood, death. Mostly it shows war. And people who want us gone. Soldiers caught up in war. Except for the first shot, which makes a statement, after a bit it all blured together. Kind of the problem.

How to stay present to what's happening and not blur out?

As we take today off and go about barbecue and holiday activities, I thought to take a moment and share some of what has happened in Iraq over the last 24 hours:

Iraq Today

Cholera

Health Minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Zairan Othman announced that a water treatment plant in al Sulaymaniya Province is the source of cholera infection in the Province. Othman warned of a catastrophe if the outbreak is not quickly contained, saying that samples taken from the water treatment plant showed the presence of the bacterium that causes cholera.

Iraq's chronic electricity shortages make it difficult to operate pumps at sewage and drinking-water treatment plants, which leaves many people without clean water. That was evident Wednesday at a squalid encampment outside Sulaymaniya, where several hundred people live in makeshift tents that are little more than worn blankets draped over wooden frames. Girls and women lined up to fill containers from a tanker distributing water.

"We drink from this water, whether it's drinkable or not," Zahra Jabbar Kadhim said. "In this tent, we bathe, cook and sleep," she said, pointing to the canvas she shares with her husband, Abdullah Ahmed, and four children. Ahmed, a Sunni Arab, said they fled Baghdad after a Shiite militia threatened to kill him. Lamia Karim Shaalan ended up at the camp after she sold everything she had, including her shop, to pay a $60,000 ransom to kidnappers who took her 10-year-old daughter in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood. "We live in this handmade tent on the sand and in the middle of heat and snakes," she said. A Shiite man whose wife gave birth in their tent a week ago said they fled to Sulaymaniya from the Sadiya neighborhood in southwest Baghdad seven months ago after Shiite militiamen discovered his wife was Sunni and ordered him to divorce her. A nurse with the Kurdistan Health Organization, Abdul Karim, said the camp, which has neither garbage disposal nor a sewage system, is a breeding ground for disease.

Over 1,800 Civilian Deaths in August

Civilian deaths rose slightly in August as a huge suicide attack in the north two weeks ago offset security gains elsewhere, making it the second deadliest month for Iraqis since the U.S. troop buildup began, according to figures compiled Saturday by The Associated Press. At least 1,809 civilians were killed in the month, compared to 1,760 in July, based on figures compiled by the AP from official Iraqi reports. That brings to 27,564 the number of Iraqi civilians killed since AP began collecting data on April 28, 2005. The August total included 520 people killed in quadruple suicide bombings on Yazidi communities near the Syrian border. The horrific attacks made Aug. 14 the single deadliest day since the war began in March 2003. [I think way more then 1,800 were killed in August. Way more. – dancewater]

General Petraeus on Iraq: Always Partisan, Always Wrong

Gen. David Petraeus is a good man and a great soldier with a track record of almost complete failure in his previous tours of duty in Iraq. Let this be said up front: While the president and Petraeus maneuver for him to testify on the anniversary of Sept. 11, the Speaker and Majority Leader should hold firm and say that this matter is not subject to discussion and the general will not testify on this date. The fact that Petraeus would allow himself to be used in this attempt at shameful exploitation of the one day on our calendar that should be above exploitation, speaks for itself.

Security Incidents

Baghdad - U.S. forces killed three gunmen and detained five others during operations in central and northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

Baghdad - U.S. forces killed four gunmen and detained 10 others on Friday and Saturday in Baghdad and the northern belts around the city, the U.S. military said.

Baghdad - A civilian was killed and another one injured when a mortar shell hit Zayuna neighborhood.

Baghdad - 4 people were killed in a random fire shooting in Shaab neighborhood north Baghdad around 7,00 pm.

Baghdad - 2 people were wounded when mortar shell hit Mahmoudiyah town south Baghdad today afternoon.

Baghdad - Police found 15 unidentified bodies in Baghdad today. 11 bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (3 bodies in Amil, 2 bodies in Doura, 2 bodies in Bayaa, 2 bodies in Saidiyah, 1 body in Khadhraa and 1 body in Mamoun). 4 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhood (2 bodies in Sadr city, 1 body in Adhemiyah and 1 body in Palestine Street.)

Baghdad - U.S. forces attack Sadr City, arrests 2 Mahdi Army members

Mosul - A roadside bomb killed five Iraqi soldiers on patrol in northern Mosul, army Brigadier-General Noor Al-Deen Hussain said.

Mosul - Police found the body of a member of the judicial council of Mosul in the west of the city, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. He had been shot several times.

Mosul - One mortar bomb killed a child and wounded a man in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, on Friday, police said.

Mosul - 6 wounded in explosive charge blast in western Mosul

Kirkuk -Gunmen riding a fast car opened fire randomly killing 3 people (2 brothers who are farmers) and a member of the Iraqi army. The commander of the districts police said that the incident happened on Hawija – Reyadh street west of Kirkuk yesterday night adding that the gunmen kidnapped a fourth person.

Kirkuk - A civilian was killed by gunmen in Hawija town west Kirkuk yesterday evening.

Kirkuk - 3 civilians were injured by gunmen near Al Tawheed mosque in Al Oroba neighborhood south Kirkuk yesterday evening.

Najaf - The spokesman of the security forces in Najaf city said that the official of the debathification committee had survived from an assassination attempt by an IED which was planted near his house in Al Ghadeer neighborhood downtown Najaf city yesterday evening.

Najaf -Gunmen killed a café owner downtown Najaf city yesterday afternoon.

Najaf - police found an unidentified body in Al Forat neighborhood downtown yesterday afternoon.

Muqdadiya - 40 gunmen arrested in operation near Muqdadiya

Basra - The spokesman of Basra province police Abdel Kareem Al Zobaidi said that gunmen killed the representative of Grand Ayat Allah Ali Al Sistani. Al Zobaidi said that gunmen killed Sayed Salim Al Battat, the Imam of Al Orwa mosque in Al Fersi neighborhood downtown Basra city south Iraq at 9,00 pm yesterday evening.

Babel - 29 arrested in 2 security operations in Babel

Saqlawiya - A U.S. Marine was killed and a Hummer vehicle destroyed on Saturday when an explosive charge went off near a U.S. patrol in al-Saqlawiya, 8 km north of Falluja, police said. Four more Marines were wounded.

Baaquba - Shiite shrine in Baaquba blown up for third time.

Hawija - Gunmen killed one man when they opened fire on a market in central Hawija, 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, on Friday, police said.
One day in Iraq. Tomorrow it happens again.

I know you didn't vote for it; would stop it if you could. The rest of the world doesn't make the distinction. This happens in our name. These our our soldiers.

I read Iraq Today daily. This is happening in my name.