05 Apr
United States Wars, News and Casualties
The War Criminals
How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.
The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.
Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry. (A year ago Mr. Bush was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” dancing and talking about his paintings.)
The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell who sold us the war still go on doing what they do.
Iraq is now far worse than it was during Saddam’s reign. And that is what America’s war achieved and bequeathed to Iraqis.
We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!
The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.
The McGlynn
War News
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A spate of deadly drive-by shootings targeting Muslim clerics and preachers has sparked panic and fear in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, prompting some imams to quit and abandon their mosques while dozens have fled the country.
Yemeni boys in the city of Aden play alongside what’s left of a wall of a house destroyed in the country’s civil war. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
The killings have also brought attention to a rivalry that has emerged in Aden as yet another layer to Yemen’s complex civil war.
Since 2015, the conflict has pitted a Saudi-led coalition of mostly Arab states against the country’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen and its capital, Sanaa. The coalition is fighting to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.
The United Arab Emirates joined the war as a key partner in the coalition, sending forces to southern Yemen and managing to carve out a zone of influence across the region. The UAE has set up heavily-armed militias in a challenge to forces loyal to Hadi, who has been in self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia for most of the past two years.
In several instances, UAE-trained militiamen, some operating under the umbrella of the Southern Transitional Council — which many see as a secessionist force fighting for an independent Southern Yemen — have engaged in deadly clashes with Hadi’s forces. The UAE has also been linked to secret prisons where terror suspects are tortured and held without trial, a charge the Emiratis deny.
WASHINGTON — The United States military is spending about $1 million to help detain thousands of Islamic State fighters and their family members in makeshift camps run by Kurdish militias in northern Syria, pulling the Pentagon deeper into the war zone detention operations it has sought to avoid.
The dilemma is unfolding even as President Trump has pledged to withdraw the 2,000 remaining United States troops in Syria, many of whom are vetting the most dangerous detainees, and suspend more than $200 million in State Department recovery funds for the country.
Defense Department and Kurdish officials said several thousand detainees — including at least 400 fighters from more than three dozen countries and their families, as well as other Syrian militants — were being held in several camps. The American funding is paying to erect fencing, put bars on windows and otherwise secure schools and other buildings being used as temporary jails for fighters who were captured or surrendered after last year’s collapse of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital.
Military officials insist American personnel are not strengthening the buildings or guarding the detainees themselves, just paying for it……………….“Do you think we have a credible plan to detain these people?” Mr. Graham asked Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the head of the military’s Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East.
“We actually do have a plan to detain them on the ground,” General Votel said. He also noted the effort to repatriate the detainees.
MANBIJ, Syria (AP) — A week ago, there was just a single house where U.S. soldiers had hoisted an American flag on a hill not far from a tense front line in Syria.
On Wednesday, there was a growing fortified position with a perimeter of large sand barriers and barbed wire, a new watch tower and a half-dozen armored vehicles.
Even as U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of pulling out of Syria “very soon,” an Associated Press team saw American forces setting up front-line positions outside the strategic northern town of Manbij, west of the Euphrates River.
The area is the scene of a tense standoff. U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces who hold Manbij are facing off against Turkish-backed Syrian fighters.
Turkey has vowed to retake Manbij and other Kurdish-held territory along the Syrian-Turkish border; the U.S. troops stationed here are a key reason why they are holding back.
The U.S.-led coalition in Syria said last week that there were no U.S. bases in the area and that U.S. patrols were not fixed in one place.
In response to an AP query, Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said the coalition cannot discuss specific movements and locations of forces in Syria.
Troubled partnership against Isis shows signs of cracking after surprise announcement
The possible withdrawal of US troops from Syria has raised alarm among officials involved in the war against Islamic State who say at least 2,200 fighters remain entrenched in the east, with the alliance built to oust the extremists showing signs of cracking.
Donald Trump’s surprise announcement late last week that US troops would be “coming out of Syria … very soon” has placed further stress on an already troubled partnership between Washington and a Kurdish-led force it had assembled to push Isis from north-east Syria.
Even before the Trump announcement, which caught policymakers in Washington off-guard, senior officials said US troops did not have the manpower to finish the war by themselves.
“We are faced with a situation now of 2,200 [Isis] fighters, who will be tough to move, entrenching themselves along the border with Iraq,” one senior official said. “We do not have the numbers, or the force protection to take care of that by ourselves. We need to reinvest in this partnership with the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces], and we need to be mindful of Turkey’s concerns.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep U.S. troops in Syria a little longer to defeat Islamic State but wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.
Trump did not approve a specific withdrawal timetable at Tuesday’s meeting, the official said. He wants to ensure Islamic State militants are defeated but wants other countries in the region and the United Nations to step up and help provide stability in Syria, the official said.
“We’re not going to immediately withdraw but neither is the president willing to back a long-term commitment,” the official said.
Trump had signaled his desire to get U.S. forces out of Syria in a speech last Thursday in Ohio, and officials said he had privately been pressing for an early withdrawal in talks with his national security aides.
Trump told a news conference on Tuesday with Baltic leaders that the United States was very successful against Islamic State but that “sometimes it’s time to come back home.”…………..His advisers have been urging him to maintain at least a small force in Syria to ensure the militants are defeated and to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Iran from gaining an important foothold.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A top Syrian Kurdish politician suggested on Wednesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Iraqi government could mount joint operations against Islamic State in the area on the border of the two countries.
Aldar Xelil warned of a jihadist revival in eastern Syria, where operations by the U.S.-backed SDF have tapered off since they diverted fighters to the northwest to fight a Turkish offensive.
“Iraq is a neighboring state and is also suffering from Daesh terrorism,” he said in a telephone interview with Reuters, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
“Daesh is present in the shared area between us, and this points to the possibility of conditions arising that would pave the way for joint actions against Daesh,” he said.
Xelil is co-chair of the Movement for a Democratic Society, a coalition of mainly Syrian Kurdish parties, and an architect of plans for autonomy in northern Syria.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi security forces launched on Wednesday a military operation to hunt for dormant Islamic State (IS) militants in Diyala governorate, managing to kill a senior leader along with seven of his aides, security sources were quoted as saying.
“Acting upon accurate intelligence reports, Iraqi troops killed Abu Nabil al-Iraqi, the mastermind of several terrorist attacks launched by Islamic State, and seven of his aides in a military operation in northeastern Diyala,” Shafaq News quoted the sources as saying.
Al-Iraqi, according to the sources, was in charge of “providing the militant group with financial and logistic support to target security forces in Diyala.”
In January 2015, Iraqi forces announced liberation of Diyala province from Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
ISLAMABAD — Preparing to head to Kabul, Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday reiterated his country’s full support for Afghanistan’s efforts to revive the long-stalled peace process with the Taliban.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s remarks came on the eve of his key visit to Afghanistan, which could help ease tensions between the two neighbors. The visit, Abbasi’s first visit since becoming prime minister last year, followed an invitation from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
“We stand for peace in Afghanistan,” Abbasi told a counter-terrorism conference in Islamabad.
In Kabul, Abbasi is expected to discuss a range of issues, including how to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban, during the day-long visit Friday.
Pakistan is under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistan also insists its influence over the Taliban has been exaggerated.
By Khaama Press on 05 Apr 2018 4:30pm
The Afghan government reacted to the Pakistani military’s airstrike in Kunar province and warned Islamabad that the continuation of such provocative acts would seriously harm the relations of the countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan in a statement said the Pakistani fighter planes dropped four bombs in Shahidan Saro area of Dangam district
By Khaama Press on 05 Apr 2018 4:27pm
The Afghan security forces have confiscated a cache containing ammunition for heavy weapons during an operation in Kabul city. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials said the cache was discovered during an operation in the vicinity of the 13th police district of the city. The officials further added that the Afghan forces confiscated three rounds
By Khaama Press on 05 Apr 2018 1:29pm
At least four militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during the operations in eastern Nangarhar province. According to the local officials, the militants were killed during an airstrike conducted in support of the Afghan forces during the ground operations. The provincial government media office in a
War Casualties By Name – Search by Name
Recent Casualties
Color Denotes Today’s Confirmation
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, died March 30 in Manbij, Syria as a result of injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrol. The incident is under investigation.
Dunbar was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of seven airmen who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. They died March 15 when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Captain Mark K. Weber, 29, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Captain Andreas B. O’Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, New York.
Captain Christopher T. Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, New York.
Master Sergeant Christopher J. Raguso, 39, of Commack, New York.
Staff Sergeant Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, New York.
Master Sergeant William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Florida.
Staff Sergeant Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Both were assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. For more information, media may contact the 920th Rescue Wing public affairs office at 321-615-0329.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Sgt. 1st Class Maitland Deweever Wilson, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, died March 7 in Landstuhl, Germany from a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
Wilson was assigned to the 831st Transportation Battalion, 595th Transportation Brigade, Manama, Bahrain.
Care for Veterans:
PTSD: National Center for PTSDPTSD Care for Veterans, Military, and FamiliesSee Help for Veterans with PTSD to learn how to enroll for VA health care and get an assessment.
All VA Medical Centers provide PTSD care, as well as many VA clinics.Some VA’s have programs
specializing in PTSD treatment. Use the VA PTSD ProgramLocator to find a PTSD program.If you are a war Veteran, find a Vet Center to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
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