Iraq Descends into Chaos, the "Gates of Hell" Have Opened (mutiple links

[G_j]

Iraq Descends into Chaos, the "Gates of Hell" Have Opened
-----------------------

Democracy Now
"The Americans Scarcely Control Any of the Country" - Iraq Descends
into Chaos *

The death toll in Iraq over the past four days has risen to over 150,
the vast majority of them Iraqi civilians. We go to Baghdad to speak
with journalist Luke Harding of the London Guardian about the explosion
of violence as well as the U.S. military's lack of control in the
country and the dangers of reporting from Iraq.


At a gathering of the Arab League in Cairo Tuesday, chief Amr Moussa said "the gates of hell are open in Iraq."
His comments came a day after some 60 people were killed throughout Iraq. Wednesday marked another day of bloodshed as clashes between US forces and the Iraqi resistance in the Al-Anbar province left 10 Iraqis dead. Al-Anbar includes the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi which lie in the control of the Iraqi resistance.

Meanwhile the BBC is reporting that three unidentified bodies have been found on a road north of Baghdad. The bodies, which were dumped in nylon bags, were discovered by members of the Iraqi National Guard. One report said the heads were found strapped to the corpses" backs.

The news comes 24 hours after dozens of people were killed throughout Iraq in a day of extreme violence. In Baghdad a car bomb close to an Iraqi police station killed 47 people and injured 100 others. It was the deadliest such attack in Iraq since July, when 68 people were killed by a car bomb outside a police station in Baquba. Hours after the Baghdad explosion, gunmen opened fire on a police minibus in Baquba killing 12 policemen and one civilian. The US military says three US troops were killed in separate attacks, two in Baghdad and one in the northern city of Mosul.

Luke Harding, reporter with the London Guardian. He joins us on the phone from Baghdad.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/15/1419225

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Arab League: "Gates of Hell" Opened in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091604Z.shtml

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"Most senior US military officers now believe the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1305441,00.html

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Iraq: It's Worse Than You Think
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0914-25.htm

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Iraq: A Descent into Civil War?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0915-01.htm

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Christopher Dickey the Paris bureau chief and Middle East regional editor for Newsweek magazine, gives a grim and devastating account of the situation in Iraq.
http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=09/15/2004

[G_j]

1. kick

[Mandate My Ass]

2. Thanks for the links

This information needs to be broadcast far and wide...

If we can ever get off the subject of TANG forgeries and Kitty Kelley, that is.

[nickinSTL]

3. Guardian

The Guardian article is great, and really depressing to see how right those of us may have been who expected this mess to turn into a civil war.

[G_j]

7. and will they ever admit they were wrong

and we were right? The Bush admin. and the media have a great deal in common in that respect. :-(

[G_j]

4. CIA analysis holds bleak vision for Iraq's future

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/191055_iraqintel16.html

Thursday, September 16, 2004

CIA analysis holds bleak vision for Iraq's future
Worst case is steps to civil war, say those who have seen report

By DOUGLAS JEHL
THE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON -- A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq, government officials said yesterday.

The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, and the worst case is developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome is an Iraq whose political, economic and security stability would remain tenuous.

"There's a significant amount of pessimism," said one government official who has read the document, which runs about 50 pages. The officials declined to discuss the document's key judgments -- concise, carefully written statements of intelligence analysts' conclusions.

The intelligence estimate, the first on Iraq since October 2002, was prepared by the National Intelligence Council and was approved by the National Foreign Intelligence Board under John McLaughlin, the CIA's acting director. Such estimates can be requested by the White House or Congress, but government officials said this one was initiated by the intelligence council under George Tenet, who stepped down as CIA director July 9.

..more..

[Wind Dancer]

5. I'm so angry with our corporate owned media

refusing to be truthful about what is really happening in Iraq. Until our media changes, the brainwashed people of this country will never get the info unless they care enough to research the facts independently. This is so sad and scary.

Iran is next, are we even going to have a country left in 4 years?

[G_j]

6. Christopher Dickey said in the 'Fresh Air' interview

(linked above)
that seasoned reporters say it is the most dangerous place they have ever been, and that they begin to question why they risk their lives to get news that is not reported or that people don't seem to care about.

[Wind Dancer]

8. I can't begin to imagine their fear and frustration.

One of the journalists reporting Tuesday night looked scared to death. It was the first time I have seen this raw fear and Aaron Brown dismissed him accusing the innocent Iraqis of simply performing for the camera. I was outraged and the journalist was so shocked at Aaron's statement that he could hardly respond.

[giant_robot]

9. I just don't get it

We were led into an unecessary war, the justification for the war has been totally discredited, the planning has been bungled badly, we've alienated almost all of our allies, yet about half the country thinks dubya's a strong leader and want him re-(s)elected?

We need to get this issue in all the headlines people. Iraq is the issue that turned me from a political spectator to a participant, and it's a bigger fucking mess than I ever could have imagined.

[G_j]

10. Completely agree

we HAVE to get this out there somehow.

I am writing yet another LTTE today specifically concerning Iraq. I hope others will do the same. The articles and interviews above provide plenty of powerful talking points.
We aren't the only ones who think this should be front and center and it is far beyond politics. What is happening to the Iraqi people is absolutely criminal!

It is also criminal for the news organizations to underplay or under report this.

The truth is Bush lost the peace and the Iraqi people and US troops are paying with their lives.

[Karenina]

11. The American *corp media

is PUBLIC ENEMY #1.

Pssttt... they LIE.

[G_j]

12. one hundred + ordinary Iraqis dying each day

according to Luke Harding, reporter with the London Guardian. (DN interview in original post)

presently on the average, two American soldiers die each day, according to an NPR report.

In one month that would be 2,800 Iraqis and 62 Americans.

[peace4all]

13. help!! this is horrible !!

this is so bad. It is hell. This what Bush's God lead him to do?
It is an insult to any decent Christian, a bloody mark of shame upon America. SHAME !!!!
:scared::scared::scared::scared:

[KoKo]

15. The mass graves of those we killed will surpass any that Saddam killed.

But, who will tell the truth about it?
It's what we who protested knew would happen..we did our best to stop it. Now, we have to hope that others will begin to wake up and join us to get our troops out.

[G_j]

16. it is truly terrifying to think

that so much may never be known about the toll of the bombing etc.
There is a lot that has been covered up/ignored about the first Gulf war. Add to that the oppression of Saddam, the devastating toll of the sanctions, and the present death and destruction. It is mind boggling what Iraq has suffered.

[G_j]

14. ~kICk~