16 Jul
United States Wars, News and Casualties
United States Wars, News and Casualties
War News
Children Photos
We won’t be able to change what grew inside the brains and hearts of the children of War.
Damn The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell
![A child leans against the bullet-riddled wall of his house. Three years ago, ISIL took control of the neighbourhood and Kaiwan suffered burns to his left arm while fleeing with his family. The scars of conflict are still fresh on the child's body and the city's walls. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2018/7/5/dcb1cad432c24cafb70d6484109515af_8.jpg)
The McGlynn
REU: Syrian forces widen south west offensive, some rebels leave for north
AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces widened their offensive in the country’s southwest on Sunday to Quneitra province, a region adjoining the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a war monitor and rebel sources said.
Government forces, backed by the Russian military, have captured most of the southwest’s Deraa province in a push that began in June. Rebels still hold a strip straddling Deraa and Quneitra provinces which adjoins the occupied Golan Heights. Islamic State-affiliated militants also occupy a pocket on the Jordanian border.
At the same time, a few hundred Syrian rebel fighters and their families were preparing to leave Deraa city, the birthplace of revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, to be taken on buses to opposition-held areas in the north under a surrender deal agreed last week.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and rebels said jets, which they believed to be Russian, bombed an opposition-held village in Quneitra province in the first such aerial strike in around a year.
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REU: All Kurdish YPG have left Syria’s Manbij: local militia
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The last Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters left the northern Syrian town of Manbij on Sunday, the militia controlling the town said, fulfilling a longstanding Turkish demand that the YPG withdraw.
Turkey objects to the presence of the YPG in Syria near its border. It views the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil. Washington sees the YPG as a key ally in the fight against Islamic State.
“The Manbij Military Council announces that the last batch of (YPG) military advisers completed its withdrawal on July 15, 2018, after completing their mission of military training and preparation of our forces…,” the militia controlling the town said in a statement.
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REU: Two protesters killed in clashes with Iraqi police as unrest spreads in south
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Two protesters were killed on Sunday in clashes with Iraqi security forces in the town of Samawa, a police official said, amid growing anger in southern cities over poor public services and widespread corruption.
Protesters gather near the main provincial government building in Basra, Iraq July 15, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
The unrest is piling pressure on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who hopes to serve a second term once politicians form a new government following a May 12 parliamentary election tainted by allegations of fraud.
“Hundreds of people tried to storm a courthouse. Shots were fired toward us. It was not clear who was shooting. We had no choice but to open fire,” said the police official in Samawa.
Earlier, police in oil hub Basra wounded 48 people when they fired in the air to disperse a crowd of hundreds that tried to storm a government building and demonstrated near an oil field.
Some 28 members of the security forces were also wounded, according to Major General Thamir al-Hussaini, commander of the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response Forces.
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BBC: Afghanistan conflict: Civilian deaths hit record high, says UN
The number of civilians killed in the long-running war in Afghanistan reached a record high in the first six months of this year, the UN says.
Some 1,692 fatalities were recorded, with militant attacks and suicide bombs said to be the leading causes of death.
The report comes as at at least seven people were killed in an attack on the rural development ministry in Kabul.
Recent attacks claimed by Taliban and Islamic State group militants have killed scores across the country.
The figures for the conflict, which began in 2001, are the highest since the UN started keeping records in 2009.
The report, by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), says the number of recorded deaths rose by 1% compared with the same period last year.
However, the report adds, injuries fell by 5% to 3,430, and the total number of civilian casualties – accounting for deaths and injuries – dropped by 3% to 5,122.
The record high death toll came despite an unprecedented ceasefire by Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month, which was largely respected by both sides, Unama said.
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NYT: Afghan Police Shoot Suspected Suicide Attacker in Capital Kabul
KABUL — Afghan police on Monday shot a suspected suicide bomber as he approached a demonstration in the center of the capital Kabul, officials said.
The man was shot following a challenge by police as he approached a gathering in the Shar-e Naw park in Kabul’s main business area, police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said, adding that the man was apprehended but died of his wounds.
His apparent target was a demonstration urging that exiled Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum be allowed to return to Afghanistan from Turkey.
The apparent attempted bombing follows an attack claimed by Islamic State on the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development late on Sunday that killed at least seven people.
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NYT: Afghan Official: Taliban Kill 7 Police in Eastern Province
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban stormed a police checkpoint in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province and killed seven policemen, a provincial official said Monday.
The attack took place the previous night in the district of Ghani Kahil, said the provincial police chief, Ghulam Sanayee Stanikzai. Five Taliban fighters were killed in the attack, he said.
Stanikzai also said that in Khogyani district, also in Nangarhar province, a government airstrike on Sunday night left 20 Taliban fighters dead.
There was no statement from the Taliban on either the Ghani Kahil attack or the airstrike.
Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber on foot struck outside the building of the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry in the capital, Kabul, killing seven people and wounding 15………..Last month, a suicide bombing near the same ministry killed 12 people and wounded 31 others, mostly government employees.
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NYT: White House Orders Direct Taliban Talks to Jump-Start Afghan Negotiations
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Trump administration has told its top diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban, a significant shift in American policy in Afghanistan, done in the hope of jump-starting negotiations to end the 17-year war.
The Taliban have long said they will first discuss peace only with the Americans, who toppled their regime in Afghanistan in 2001. But the United States has mostly insisted that the Afghan government must take part.
The recent strategy shift, which was confirmed by several senior American and Afghan officials, is intended to bring those two positions closer and lead to broader, formal negotiations to end the long war.
The shift to prioritize initial American talks with the Taliban over what has proved a futile “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” process stems from a realization by both Afghan and American officials that President Trump’s new Afghanistan strategy is not making a fundamental difference in rolling back Taliban gains.
While no date for any talks has been set, and the effort could still be derailed, the willingness of the United States to pursue direct talks is an indication of the sense of urgency in the administration to break the stalemate in Afghanistan……………..Officials have been moving with a sense of urgency because Mr. Trump has expressed his frustration with the war and is desperate to see its end, said a senior American official who, like many spoken to for this article, requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss confidential diplomatic discussions.
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Explosion near the gathering of Gen. Dostum’s supporters in Kabul
By Khaama Press on 16 Jul 2018 11:38am .
An explosion was heard in Shar Naw area of Kabul city few minutes earlier amid reports the incident has taken place close to a gathering of the supporters of the First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostu. The security officials confirmed that a suicide bomber who was looking to target the participants of a rally, .
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23 militants, 4 soldiers suffer casualties during Farah clashes
By Khaama Press on 16 Jul 2018 9:28am .
At least twenty three militants were killed or wounded during the clashes with the Afghan armed forces in western Farah province of Afghanistan. The 207th Zafar Corps of the Afghan Military in the West said the incident took place in the vicinity of Sheb Koh district. A statement by Zafar Corps stated that 6 militants .
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The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Staff Sgt. James T. Grotjan, 26, of Waterford, Connecticut, died July 12 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident July 8 at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates.
He was assigned to the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz, 32, from Summerville, South Carolina, died, July 12, in Afghanistan, of wounds sustained as a result of enemy small arms fire while conducting operations in support of a medical evacuation landing zone in Zurmat district, Paktiya province. The incident is under investigation.
Celiz was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Cpl. Joseph Maciel of South Gate, California, died July 7, 2018, in Tarin Kowt District, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan from wounds sustained during an apparent insider attack. The incident is under investigation.
Maciel was assigned to 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. Task Force 1-28 Infantry is currently deployed in support of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade.
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.
Call the 24/7 Veteran Combat Call Center1-877-WAR-VETS (1-877-927-8387) to talk to another combat Veteran.DoD’s Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) 24/7 Outreach Center for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury provides information and helps locate resources.
Call 1-866-966-1020 or email resources@dcoeoutreach.orgMilitary OneSourceCall 24/7 for counseling and many resources 1-800-342-9647.Need further assistance? Get Help with VA PTSD Care
Iraq A Deadly Deception – War Documentary 2018
WAR DOCUMENTARY: IRAQ A DEADLY DECEPTION ALJAZEERA DOCUMENTARIES 2018 On the evening of 9/11, George W Bush made a vow to the American public – that he would defeat terrorism.
Unknown to those listening in shock to the presidential address, the president and his advisers had already begun planning their trajectory into an invasion of Iraq. It was packaged as “holding responsible the states who support terrorism” by Richard Perle, a Pentagon adviser between 2001 and 2003.
“I believe it represented a recognition that we would never succeed against the terrorists if we went after them one at a time and as long as governments were facilitating the organisation, training, equipping of, financing of terrorist organisations, we were never going to get it under control,” says Perle.
After 100 days spent fighting those who had become publicly accepted as the culprits – Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan – the US set the ball rolling for war against Iraq.
On the evening of 9/11 the president is saying: well, maybe we’ll be going after Iraq now and somebody said, well, that would be against international law. The president responded: I don’t care, we’re going to kick some ass.
The War Criminals
The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell
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.
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
