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 The Pentagon Early Bird May 12, 2008 Use of these news items does not reflect official endorsement. Reproduction for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions. Item numbers indicate order of appearance only. This is the single print version. Use the PRINT command in your browser to print the entire Early Bird as one document. (NOTE: This single file format is a long document and can use 50 or more pages of paper.) Please scroll down to read Headlines; then to read Entire Headline Article, further scroll down. URL's will not link out in the format recieved.GATES INTERVIEW
USA Today May 12, 2008 Pg. 1 USA TODAY interview Defense Chief Praises Armored Vehicles As Lifesavers Trucks reduce troop deaths, injuries in Iraq By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today WASHINGTON Few troops have been killed or wounded by roadside bomb attacks in Iraq while riding in new armored vehicles, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, evidence of the value of the vehicles he made the military's top priority. In about 150 attacks, 6% of U.S. troops have been injured or killed while in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, including six deaths, Gates said. Humvees, the military's main vehicle, have had a 22% casualty rate. Even attacks on Abrams tanks are more than twice as likely to produce casualties than attacks on MRAPs, he said. "The reaction of the troops in the field has been extraordinary," Gates said. "They are considered the vehicle of choice. I had a wounded warrior who was here for a lunch a couple of weeks ago who was going around telling anybody who looked like they were in a position of authority that an MRAP had saved his life." Gates said he learned of the MRAP safety record after reading an April 2007 article in USA TODAY. The newspaper found that the Pentagon, before Gates' arrival, had balked at fielding large numbers of MRAPs despite urgent appeals from officers in the field. Gates spoke Friday, exactly a year after he announced that he was making MRAPs his top priority. Since then, more than 14,000 vehicles have been ordered. There are 4,200 in Iraq, and 1,200 more in Kuwait waiting to be delivered. Troops in Afghanistan have 320 MRAPs. The Pentagon may order a few thousand more of the trucks, which cost about $1 million each, he said. Gates credited Congress for giving the Pentagon $22 billion for the MRAP program. He also praised the manufacturers for delivering thousands of the vehicles to Iraq in less than a year. The truck's raised chassis and V-shaped hull deflect the force of bombs buried in roads, the top killer of U.S. troops in Iraq. Dakota Wood, who co-authored a report on MRAPs for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said troops "can become enamored of the armored cocoon" and be less apt to interact with Iraqis. That can limit U.S. forces' ability to gather intelligence. Such criticism is a misunderstanding of how the vehicles are used, Gates said. "The soldiers and the Marines are still out in the villages, they are still out patrolling on foot," he said. "The MRAPs get them to where they begin their mission more safely." http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600131.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP USA Today May 12, 2008 Pg. 6 Gates Defends Troop Quality, Says Military Strained By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that long combat tours in Iraq have strained the military, but he disputed that the quality of U.S. forces has suffered because of exceptions made for borderline recruits and the practice of sending troops deemed medically unfit for combat into the war zone. Gates, in an interview Friday, said he's concerned about the Army's stop-loss policy, which can keep a soldier in the service if his or her unit deploys within 90 days of the end of the soldier's commitment. The Army maintains that it uses stop-loss to ensure the integrity of units headed to war. About half of the soldiers affected are midlevel non-commissioned officers. "I've been very worried about stop-loss ever since I got here and found out what it was," Gates said. "I sent the Army a memo a year ago this spring asking for their plan to reduce stop-loss. Unfortunately, my decision to go to 15-month tours just made it impossible for them to achieve that." President Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq prompted Gates to order combat tours to be extended from 12 to 15 months. The number of soldiers affected by stop-loss rose from 8,540 in May 2007 to 12,235 in March. The last of the additional soldiers sent to Iraq will return home this summer. That should allow the number of troops affected by the policy to decline beginning in September, Gates said. He said he was less concerned about the increase in recruits who needed a waiver to join the Army because of a criminal record or other misconduct. Since 2004, the number needing waivers has more than doubled to one for every eight new soldiers. The increase reflects Army difficulties in attracting recruits during war. Recruits need waivers for one felony or serious misdemeanor or more than three minor misdemeanors. Minor infractions include disorderly conduct, trespassing or vandalism. No exceptions can be made for some serious offenses, including violent sexual crimes or offenses related to drug or alcohol addiction, according to Army regulations. Gates said he was confident that recruits have been properly vetted before being allowed to join the Army. He receives monthly reports from the Army on waivers, he said. Most of the waivers granted were for minor crimes. "I was concerned about it initially, but as I've gotten more and more into the details, I've become less concerned," he said. "One of the statistics often used is the percentage of high school graduates. The reality is no one is brought into the Army who does not have a high school diploma or a (general equivalency degree)." Gates dismissed concerns about the number of troops sent to war listed as medically unfit. USA TODAY reported last week that more than 43,000 U.S. troops since 2003 were sent into combat even though they had been listed as medically unfit in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. "Based on what I've been told, I think the majority are pretty minor things and often corrected before the soldier is deployed or soon after the soldier is deployed," he said. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600216.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP New York Times on the Web May 12, 2008 U.S. Launches First Cyclone Relief Airlift To Myanmar YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The first U.S. relief airlift arrived in Myanmar on Monday after prolonged negotiations with the country's isolationist junta, which considers Washington its enemy and has restricted international aid to as many as 2 million cyclone victims. The unarmed military C-130 cargo plane, packed with supplies, flew out of the Thai air force base of Utapao and landed in Yangon. Two more air shipments are scheduled to land Tuesday. After the plane's arrival, the supplies were transferred to Myanmar army trucks. Myanmar's junta said Sunday the official death toll from the May 3 Cyclone Nargis has jumped to nearly 29,000 with more than 33,000 missing. But Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said a toll of 100,000 dead or missing was possible based on ''reports that we are receiving from our teams in the field from the authorities there.'' Though the green light for the U.S. airlift was a positive sign, Horsey said the junta continued to frustrate international efforts to deliver aid. He said clean drinking water, shelter, medical supplies and food are still desperately needed by hundreds of thousands of people in order to prevent widespread starvation and disease. ''It's still a very serious situation. There are up to 2 million people in urgent need of assistance. Assistance is getting through'' but not fast enough, he told The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand. He said authorities must allow not only goods to come in urgently but also expedite visas for foreign experts and allowing equipment into the country. ''The authorities of the country need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need,'' he said. ''It's urgent that the authorities do open themselves up.'' In the hardest hit Irrawaddy delta, people were surviving in miserable conditions -- hundreds crowded into monasteries, where they slept on the floor. Others camped outside, drinking water contaminated by human feces, dead bodies and animal carcasses. Heavy rains were forecast this week, which would further hinder aid delivery. ''So far we have enough water by collecting rain. But we do not have food anymore,'' said U Patanyale, the abbot of a monastery in Pyapon town in the delta. Horsey said the U.N. is getting ''a lot of reports'' of widespread diarrhea outbreaks in the delta, but not of an epidemic scale. Malaria and dengue could also become a problem. ''But basic shelter, clean water and emergency food will be the thing that if we can get it out fast enough will prevent hopefully these major problems,'' he said. The junta has been sharply criticized for its handling of the disaster, from failing to provide adequate warnings about the pending storm to responding slowly to offers of help. Though international assistance has started trickling in, the few foreign relief workers who have been allowed entry have been restricted to Yangon. Only a handful have succeeded in getting past checkpoints into the worst-affected areas. The government is also insisting on handling the aid distribution through its feared military, which has ruled this isolated country since 1962. ''The government is very controlling,'' said U Patanyale. ''Those who want to give directly to the victims get into trouble. They have to give to the government or do it secretly. They follow international aid trucks everywhere. They don't want others to take credit.'' The Myanmar junta's restrictions on foreign help stems from its strained relations with the international community, especially the West, which has regularly criticized its refusal to allow democracy. The acceptance of the U.S. relief flight Monday could be ''beginning of a long line of assistance from the United States,'' White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas over the weekend. ''They're going to need our help for a long time.'' The plane is carrying 28,000 pounds of supplies, including mosquito nets, blankets and water in an operation dubbed ''Joint Task Force Carrying Response.'' Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, U.S. Marines spokesman for the operation, said the United States had 11,000 servicemen and four ships in the region for an annual military exercise, Cobra Gold, which could be harnessed to help in the mercy mission. Highlighting the many challenges ahead, a Red Cross boat carrying rice, drinking water and other goods for more than 1,000 people sank Sunday near hard-hit Bogalay town. All four aid workers on board were safe. Horsey, the U.N. spokesman, said the boat incident demonstrates the ''major logistical bottleneck in getting this (aid) stuff from Yangon out to the people who need it, particularly in the delta.'' ''A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions in significant part because of the malign neglect of the regime,'' said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600255.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Reuters.com May 12, 2008 U.S. Flies Cyclone Aid To 'Outpost Of Tyranny' By Aung Hla Tun, Reuters YANGON -- The first U.S. military aid flight left Thailand on Monday for Myanmar, an "outpost of tyranny" according to Washington, as relief supplies continued to dribble into the reclusive state nine days after a devastating cyclone. The C-130 transport plane that left the Vietnam War-era U-Tapao airbase was carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets. U.S. aid officials hope it will pave the way for much larger American operations in the army-ruled former Burma. "This is Burma's hour of need and the need is urgent," U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Henrietta Fore said before boarding the plane with a Thai-U.S. delegation for the short flight to the cyclone-hit city of Yangon. Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, is also on the flight, which is landing in the midst of a massive humanitarian disaster that could get much worse unless the military government approves a huge international aid effort within days. Agencies say deliveries to more than a million increasingly desperate cyclone victims have been minimal. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Sunday that three cargo planes carrying medical material and other supplies from Europe were scheduled to arrive in the former Burma on Monday. "It has been very difficult to provide highly needed supplies for the heavily affected population in Myanmar," MSF said. "In the areas where we have been, we haven't seen any aid being delivered so far, so the amount that has reached people in the areas where we are had been minimal." MSF had a large presence in Myanmar before the cyclone. Aid agencies that did not are having even greater difficulties. While the reclusive junta is accepting aid from the outside world, including the United Nations, it is not fast-tracking visas for foreign logistics teams, who are getting increasingly frustrated with the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok. "They say they will call, but it's always wait, wait, wait," Pierre Fouillant of French disaster agency Comite de Secours Internationaux told Reuters after being turned away. "I've never seen delays like this, never," said Fouillant. "It's a crime against humanity. It should be against the law. It's like they are taking a gun and shooting their own people." In its latest assessment, the U.N. humanitarian agency said on Sunday that between 1.2 million and 1.9 million people were struggling to survive in the aftermath of the storm. "Given the gravity of the situation including the lack of food and water, some partners have reported fears for security, and violent behavior in the most severely afflicted areas," the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. It said "the number of deaths could range from 63,290 to 101,682, and 220,000 people are reported to be missing", and that "acute environmental issues" posed a threat to life and health. "Unless there is a massive and fast infusion of aid, experts and supplies into the hardest-hit areas, there's going to be a tragedy on an unimaginable scale," said Greg Beck of the International Rescue Committee. In the delta town of Labutta, where 80 percent of homes were destroyed, authorities were providing one cup of rice per family per day, a European Commission aid official told Reuters. In a blow to the stumbling relief effort, a boat carrying some of the first aid to survivors sank, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. The boat was believed to have hit a submerged tree in the Irrawaddy delta. The Sunday accident highlighted the enormous logistical difficulties of delivering aid, with roads washed away and much of the delta turned to swamp. Myanmar raised the death toll on Sunday to 28,458 dead and 33,416 missing from the storm on the night of May 2 and early on May 3. Most of the victims were killed by the 12-foot (3.5 meter) wall of sea-water that hit the delta along with the Category 4 cyclone's 190 kph (120 mph) winds. Australia responded to a U.N. appeal for $187 million in aid by dramatically increasing its contribution to $23.4 million. Three U.S. Navy ships are steaming toward Myanmar, and a French warship was expected near its waters in the middle of the week with 1,500 tonnes of rice that France said it wants to distribute directly to survivors. Besides the need for food and water, survivors are at risk from diseases such as cholera and malaria. Compounding the misery, heavy rains are forecast over the delta later this week. Despite the alarm bells from the international community about the feeble cyclone relief effort, the junta kept its focus on a weekend referendum on a new constitution, part of a "roadmap to democracy" culminating in multi-party elections in 2010. There is little doubt about the final result on an army-drafted constitution after an intensive propaganda campaign by the junta urging people to vote "Yes". http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600077.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP New York Times May 12, 2008 Pg. 1 Drive In Basra By Iraqi Army Makes Gains By Stephen Farrell and Ammar Karim BASRA, Iraq Three hundred miles south of Baghdad, the oil-saturated city of Basra has been transformed by its own surge, now seven weeks old. In a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city, to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias. Just as in Baghdad, Iraqi and Western officials emphasize that the gains here are ÅÇragile, like the newly planted roadside saplings that fail to conceal mounds of garbage and pools of foul-smelling water in the historic port cityÃÔ slums. Among the many uncertainties are whether the government, criticized for incompetence at the start of the operation, can maintain the high level of troops here. But in interviews across Basra, residents overwhelmingly reported a substantial improvement in their everyday lives. ŵhe circle of fear is broken, said Shaker, owner of a floating restaurant on BasraÃÔ famed Corniche promenade, who, although optimistic, was still afraid to give his full name, as were many of those interviewed. Hopes for a similar outcome in BaghdadÃÔ Sadr City district were undercut when an Iraqi armored unit was struck by three roadside bombs on Sunday, one day after a cease-fire there was negotiated. The principal factor for improvement that people in Basra cite is the deployment of 33,000 members of the Iraqi security forces after the March 24 start of operations, which allowed the government to blanket the city with checkpoints on every major intersection and highway. Borrowing tactics from the troop increase in Baghdad, the Iraqi forces raided militia strongholds and arrested hundreds of suspects. They also seized weapons including mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and sophisticated roadside bombs that officials say were used by Iranian-backed groups responsible for much of the violence. Government forces have now taken over Islamic militants headquarters and halted the death squads and Å×ice ÁÆnforcersÃô who attacked women, Christians, musicians, alcohol sellers and anyone suspected of collaborating with Westerners. ShakerÃÔ floating restaurant stands as one emblem of the change since then. Just two months ago, he said, masked men in military uniforms walked into the packed dining room and abducted a businessman at gunpoint. The man was never seen again, and the restaurant closed. Now, however, customers who fled that evening are pressing the 34-year-old owner to stay open later at night, so they can enjoy their unaccustomed freedom from the gangs, which once banned the loud Arabic pop music now blaring from ShakerÃÔ loudspeakers. ůow it is very different, he said. Å¢fter we heard that the lawless people have been arrested or killed, we have a kind of courage.Æû/P>Even alcohol, once banned by the extremists, is discreetly on sale again in some areas. Nevertheless, few Basra residents trust that the change is permanent or that the death squads have been vanquished. Asked how long it would take for Basra to slip back into lawlessness if the army departed, Afrah, a 20-year-old theater student at BasraÃÔ College of Fine Arts, replied, Å°ne day.Æû/P> Capturing a mood that flits between bad recent memories, giddy relief and brittle future expectations, she added, Ūt is over, but it could come back any moment, because the people who are doing the intimidation on the streets, sometimes they are your neighbor and you trust them.Æû/P>Mr. MalikiÃÔ hastily begun operation to rein in the extremists did not start with great promise. The offensive, grandly named Charge of the Knights, was widely criticized for being poorly planned and ill-coordinated. It was derided as the Charge of the Mice by followers of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr after more than 1,000 soldiers deserted in the face of heavy resistance from his Mahdi Army and other extremist groups. The fierce early clashes halted only after a pro-government delegation went to Iran and struck a deal with the Sadrists. An overwhelmingly Shiite city of more than three million people, Basra sits atop huge oil reserves, which, Western officials say, provide 40 percent of IraqÃÔ annual oil revenue of $38 billion. Thus, stability in a city that could be IraqÃÔ economic engine room is a major priority for the Shiite-led government. However, the Basra experience may not translate to other cities like Mosul or Kirkuk in the north, with a much more complicated religious and ethnic mix. The push into Basra succeeded in part because people here were exhausted with the violence and in part because Mr. Maliki received crucial help from the American and British military. British forces, who headed the coalition military forces in Basra beginning in 2003, handed security control to the Iraqis six months ago. But a British military spokesman said British and American forces were providing fighter jets, helicopters, surveillance and logistical support for the government operation. In addition to the 4,000 British troops in Basra, he said, the Americans sent 800 people, including surveillance experts and around 200 transition team ÅÂdvisers embedded with Iraqi troops. An American military spokesman in Baghdad confirmed that one American had been killed and eight wounded in the Basra operation but said the United States had not had ÅÄonventional ground forces in direct support of combat operations.Æû/P>Iraqi commanders acknowledge that the American and British support helped them wrest control of Mahdi Army strongholds like Hayyaniyah a slum that is BasraÃÔ equivalent of Sadr City and other poor districts that are fertile recruiting grounds for militias. But a majority of the military presence on the streets is Iraqi. From the moment motorists drive through the huge arch at the cityÃÔ northern entrance, they are confronted with a ragtag but daunting collection of armored police vehicles, Iraqi Army Humvees, cold war-era tanks, pickup trucks with turret-mounted machine guns and bullet-riddled personnel carriers. Canal bridges are guarded by head-high steel pyramids, from which soldiers observe bustling markets through a bulletproof window. Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman, conceded that the Iraqis would have ÅÔtruggled without the warplanes available to coalition forces. But he said: Ū donÃÕ think itÃÔ a crutch. I think they would have tackled it in their own way and possibly, probably, achieved the same result.Æû/P>And the result, whoever is ultimately responsible, is in many ways remarkable. At the College of Fine Arts, female students said they felt more, but not entirely, free to wear the clothes they liked. Ū used to be challenged for what I wear, said Athari, a 19-year-old student wearing heavy makeup and a bright orange headscarf pushed high back on her head in the liberal fashion disapproved of by Islamic radicals. Å®akeup was forbidden; short skirts were forbidden. I will not mention their name, but they were extremists. They are still here, but quieter now.Æû/P>Qais, a music student, spoke of his relief at no longer having to hide his violin in a sack of rice in his trunk. Most of the students were Shiite, but one youth named Alaa said that he was a Sunni and that 95 percent of his relatives had fled Basra after sectarian killings, including that of his uncle. Ū want to thank Mr. Nuri al-Maliki, because he cleaned Basra of murderers, hijackers and thieves, Alaa said. It was not an uncommon sentiment. In his city center office, Yahya, a wealthy businessman said he had just begun going onto the streets without his customary 10 bodyguards. Insisting that he was not a political supporter of the prime minister, he said he was nevertheless so grateful for the security improvements that he and colleagues had downloaded Mr. MalikiÃÔ face onto their mobile telephones as screensavers. But as with the American-led surge in Baghdad, there are abiding uncertainties. These center on how long such a heavy military presence can be sustained on urban streets, and what happens when it departs. Gen. Mohan al-Freiji, the Iraqi commander in Basra, said the city was 5 percent under control. He said the principal threat stemmed from rogue elements of the Mahdi Army and factions like the Iraqi Hezbollah (Party of God), Thairallah (Revenge of God) and Fadhila (Virtue). Emphasizing the urgent need to address decades of poverty and neglect, he said the government had to provide jobs and investment to convert short-term military gains into long-term political and economic ones. ŵhis is a city which sits on top of oil, but its young people are unemployed, he said. Sadrists protest that the Basra operation is a cynical exercise to weaken Mr. MalikiÃÔ Shiite rivals ahead of provincial elections in the fall. At Friday prayers in Kufa last week, the Sadrist preacher, Sheik Abdul Hadi al-Muhamadawi, said, ŵhere is a large-scale conspiracy to remove the Sadr movement from the governmentÃÔ way by all means, because it refuses the presence of the occupier in Iraq.Æû/P>Such words underscore the widespread belief here that the Mahdi army has its own reasons for lying low and is by no means eliminated. During one Iraqi Army patrol in Hayyaniyah at dusk, the soldiers, elsewhere relaxed, became jittery. Belying the local commanderÃÔ insistence that the Sadrist stronghold was 0 percent or more secure, some pulled up face masks that they had not worn in other districts. They also fired bullets into the air at the slightest delay in traffic, an aggression unlikely to endear them in an area that, although calm, was noticeably less welcoming. Haider, a policeman at a checkpoint outside the Sadrists former headquarters, said his family had been threatened, even at his home in the capital. Ū have spent 60 days in Basra and havenÃÕ been home to Baghdad, he said. Ū will be killed if I go now. My family have received dozens of fliers with threats from the Mahdi Army.Æû/P>Nevertheless he, like many others, said the evacuation of the factions from their once-untouchable headquarters had brought about a psychological shift. Outside the Sadr office, Iraqi soldiers now sit atop the roof, their tripod-mounted machine guns overlooking the tin-roofed Sadrist prayer hall, which lies half-demolished. ŵhe Mahdi Army used to use this office like the Baathists when they were The Party, Haider said. ŵhey were ruling like the government of a state. They stopped police doing their duty, from implementing the law.Æû/P> Noting that the Baath Party of Saddam Hussein, once much stronger than the Mahdi Army, had been routed, he said, ŵhe Mahdi Army will meet the same fate exactly, and worse.Æû/P> Yet traces of the old order remain. One wall in central Basra still bore the unsigned scrawl: Ÿe warn girls not to put on makeup and to wear scarves. Anyone who does not follow these orders will be killed.Æû/P>Stephen Farrell and Ammar Karim reported from Basra. Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Basra and Kufa. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600014.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Washington Post May 12, 2008 Pg. 14 Delicate Deal Helps Decrease Violence In Baghdad's Sadr City Enclave By Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post Foreign Service BAGHDAD, May 11 -- Violence in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City subsided Sunday as a deal took hold to end fighting between Shiite militiamen and U.S. and Iraqi forces. But U.S. military officials and militia commanders said that a truce had not yet been reached, underscoring the fragility of the agreement. "It is important to emphasize that it is an ongoing dialogue process," U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said Sunday. "It is premature to say there is an agreed-to truce." Senior commanders of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia said in interviews that they had not yet received orders to stand down from Sadr or his top aides in the southern holy city of Najaf. They added that any truce would not last long given the current climate of mistrust, deepened by recent weeks of bloodshed in Sadr City, where an estimated 2 million people live. "I don't believe in such a truce as long as the occupation exists in this country," said Thalib al-Bahadly, a senior member of the Mahdi Army and an official at Sadr's headquarters in Sadr City. "We are in a stage of war, and this is our priority." The fighting in Sadr City has killed hundreds, but the overall level of violence dropped Sunday, despite sporadic clashes. At the Imam Ali Hospital, officials reported no deaths and nine injured patients, all from bullet wounds. On Saturday, there were 10 deaths and a similar number of injured. The Sadr Hospital reported no deaths and six wounded Sunday. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said American troops killed a fighter Sunday morning after he fired at a Bradley armored vehicle. In the afternoon, U.S. troops came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. There were no casualties, he said. Stover said there were no reports of rocket or mortar fire from Sadr City into the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices. Since March 23, 1,069 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at targets across Baghdad. Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, the top commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, said Sunday that such strikes have caused 269 casualties and that "the majority of these attacks have come from Sadr City." U.S. troops were carrying out "limited operations in Sadr City as this implementation process takes place," Driscoll said, referring to the truce. But Stover said it was business as usual when dealing with fighters in Sadr City. "If we see any criminal elements firing mortars, rockets or planting an IED," or an improvised explosive device, he said, "we're going to engage them and kill them." By late Sunday night, residents reported hearing clashes, gunfire, and the sounds of airstrikes in some sections of Sadr City, as well as helicopters buzzing in the black sky. Under the truce, negotiated between Sadr's political loyalists and lawmakers aligned with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sadr agreed to order his fighters to stand down if U.S. and Iraqi forces stopped conducting raids and arrests. The agreement also calls for the reopening of roads into Sadr City and for broader humanitarian assistance. Mahdi Army commanders said Sunday that they wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Sadr City; Iraqi government officials have said that the agreement did not call for that. The violence in Sadr City erupted in late March after the Iraqi government launched an operation to rid the city of Basra of militias. The Sadrists view the assault as an effort by Shiite rivals in the government to weaken them ahead of provincial elections scheduled for October. Leewa Smaysim, a senior Sadrist lawmaker, denied reports that the deal was struck between Sadr and his chief rival, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a powerful Shiite party in Maliki's ruling coalition. Smaysim said both sides would be "in the process of executing the items of the deal" over the next four days. Most of Sadr's militia has not engaged in the battles, obeying a cease-fire imposed by Sadr last August. U.S. military commanders insist they are fighting so-called rogue elements who have split from Sadr. Since the fighting began, hundreds of civilians have fled their homes and aid agencies have declared shortages of food and medicine in some parts of Sadr City. Ustad Ali al-Khataf, a Sadr City resident, said that "life is going back to normal." He had met a friend from another part of Sadr City that he hadn't seen for a month because of the clashes. Still, he said many residents are afraid to return to their homes. "People are now calling each other to check the situation to see if they can come back," Khataf said. Elsewhere, gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by Sunni Awakening fighters, former insurgents now aligned with U.S. forces, killing one and injuring two in Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad, police said. Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi and Zaid Sabah in Baghdad, Saad Sarhan in Najaf and other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600084.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP New York Times May 12, 2008 Pg. 11 In Sadr City, A Cease-Fire Is Put To The Test, And Fails By Michael R. Gordon and Stephen Farrell BAGHDAD A column of Iraqi armor set out on Sunday to test a new truce in the Sadr City area of Baghdad between the militias and the Iraqi government by venturing north on a major thoroughfare that borders the Shiite enclave. But the Iraqi forces had barely started to move when they were struck by three roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.ÃÔ, as the military calls them. As Sadr City and Iraqi government negotiators struggled to complete the cease-fire agreement, the scene was a vivid demonstration that a durable accord in the densely populated neighborhood, where intense fighting has been going on for more than a month, had yet to be achieved. ŵhey promised that there would not be any explosions, that people would show us where the I.E.D.ÃÔ are, said a combat engineer with the Ninth Iraqi Army Division who identified himself as Colonel Alaa. Ūn 10 meters three I.E.D.ÃÔ exploded on us.Æû/P>Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded by the blasts, including the Iraqi colonel, who strode through a rubble-strewn street with a bandage on his left leg. Hopes for a peaceful end to the bitter fighting in Sadr City were raised on Saturday when government officials and followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who controls the militias, said a truce had been brokered. A news conference with Iraqi government officials who were expected to announce the agreement was scheduled for Sunday afternoon but later canceled. Under the terms of the agreement, Iraqi forces would have free access to Sadr City, and militia members would not be allowed to have heavy weapons like machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades or mortars. In return, militia members who refrained from fighting Iraqi and American forces would not be arrested. Iraqi and American forces have already moved into the southern quadrant of Sadr City, and American troops have been working to complete a wall along Al Quds Street, which marks the northern edge of the sector, to try to turn that region into a safe zone. But the agreement was seen as a way for the Iraqi government to assert control over the Sadr City areas north of the wall without ordering Iraqi troops to fight their way in. Putting the accord to the test, at least at this early stage, was another matter. In recent weeks, Iraqi and American commanders have said that much of the fighting has been carried out by Iranian-backed ÅÔpecial groups that appear to have little interest in reconciling with the Iraqi government despite assertions from Iranian officials that they are encouraging a peaceful outcome. There appeared to be other complications as well. Bassim Sharif, a leader of the Fadhila party, a rival of Mr. SadrÃÔ party, said he believed that the Sadrists were behind the cancellation of the announcement because some of them were ÅÏot happy with some of the items of the agreement, probably the handing over of weapons and wanted men.Æû/P>Ali Adeeb, a Parliament member from the Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, said the Sadrist members of Parliament appeared to be having trouble bringing their armed wing on board. ŵhe Sadrists M.P.ÃÔ have a problem persuading their armed people to listen to them, he said. Å©owever they have four days of calm, and they will use that time to convince them to stop fighting. We believe that some groups will keep fighting and not observe the cease-fire because they are worried about being arrested.Æû/P>Throughout the dealings there has been no official public statement from Mr. Sadr about the agreement. Mr. Adeeb said some Sadrist politicians were trying to persuade the cleric to issue such a statement. Haji Abu Mohammed, a Mahdi Army commander in Sadr City, said on Sunday that his men would not stop fighting until ordered to do so by the cleric personally. He said his Baghdad fighters feared a repeat of what happened in Basra last month when, he asserted, Sadrists stopped fighting but the government continued making arrests and raiding their strongholds. Ÿe do not trust the government and the politicians, he said. On the streets of Sadr City on Sunday, there were signs that the accord was not in place. When Lt. Gen. Abud Qanbar, the commander of forces in the Baghdad area, and Maj. Gen. Mizher al-Azawi, who leads the 11th Iraqi Army Division, toured the southern section of Sadr City early Sunday morning, Iraqi soldiers reported that some of the mosques had been blaring messages assailing the accord and urging residents not to allow Iraqi troops in. Along Al Quds Street there was no break in the fighting. An Iraqi solder was wounded by a sniper near one forward position. A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a different Iraqi strongpoint that is jointly operated with the Americans. There were loud explosions as American ÅÓoute clearance teams found and detonated roadside bombs. Important questions remained late Sunday about whether the truce would be patched up soon and which groups in Sadr City would honor it if it was. Another problem was how long the Maliki government would wait if a durable truce could not be achieved before sending the Iraqi troops north of Al Quds Street. At least some residents were not waiting for an answer. On Sunday morning, streams of cars could be seen leaving Sadr City. Qais Mizher contributed reporting. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600177.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Los Angeles Times May 12, 2008 Sadr City Fighting Eases Under Short-Term Truce The Baghdad slum has seen weeks of bloody fighting. U.S. forces say they will still kill anyone seen engaging in criminal activity. By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer BAGHDAD Fighting ebbed and residents emerged from their homes as a deal to halt fighting took effect Sunday in Sadr City, the Baghdad slum that has been the focus of ongoing clashes pitting U.S. and Iraqi forces against militiamen loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr. But after more than seven weeks of bloodshed, officials and residents alike were cautious about declaring the hostilities over. Ali Radi, a car mechanic who moved his wife and children out of the neighborhood for safety, said occasional explosions and bursts of gunfire kept him awake all night "Each side is laughing at the other, and we are the victim," he said glumly. U.S. and Iraqi officials said they were limiting operations Sunday to give the agreement negotiated by Shiite political factions, and endorsed by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a chance to take hold. But they warned that they would continue to respond to any attacks. "This agreement really doesn't change anything for us," said Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad. "If we see criminal activity -- a guy with rockets, mortars or planting an IED [improvised explosive device] -- we will kill him." Despite the intermittent crackle of automatic-weapons fire, residents said clashes appeared less intense than in previous days. Officials at two hospitals said they had received six people with wounds since Saturday night, and a child had died of injuries suffered earlier that day. "Things are much better than yesterday," said Ameer Zabour, a civil servant who fled the recent fighting, but returned Sunday to see if the truce was taking effect. "I am optimistic that the cease-fire will continue and bring good results, as long as the American forces stay out of it." The U.S. military said it killed a gunman who attacked its soldiers. And in the worst-hit sections of Sadr City, businesses remained shuttered along main roads, which residents said were laced with bombs. But some stores opened again in side streets. Shoppers crowded a market where fresh fruit and vegetables were available, and municipal workers were out repairing electricity lines. As attack helicopters circled overhead, members of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia kept watch from the district's narrow alleys but did not display their weapons. Many militiamen were taken by surprise when the deal was announced, and some were less than enthusiastic. "It sounds like a game," said one fighter, who asked not to be identified. "I don't think Sayid Muqtada would go along with this. So for now, we are following the events carefully and waiting for his instructions." U.S. and Iraqi troops have clashed daily with the cleric's followers in Sadr City and elsewhere since late March, when the government began a crackdown on private armies that was focused on the Mahdi Army militia. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, many of them civilians. Sadr's followers complain that they have been unfairly singled out, saying factions within Maliki's governing coalition are allowed to maintain armed wings. They accuse their Shiite rivals of using the crackdown to weaken Sadr's movement before Oct. 1 provincial elections. U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into the southeastern section of Sadr City in an attempt to curb the barrage of rocket and mortar fire aimed at the Green Zone, the fortified enclave that houses the U.S. Embassy and many Iraqi government offices. More than 1,000 shells have been fired in Baghdad since late March, most of them from that part of Sadr City, the U.S. military said Sunday. Lawmakers loyal to Maliki hope that the deal hammered out Saturday will pave the way for government forces to move into the rest of Sadr City, which remains under the control of the Mahdi Army militia, said Sami Askari, a member of Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party. The agreement calls for a four-day halt to hostilities, during which the government wants Mahdi Army fighters to help it rid the area of unexploded bombs. Government troops will then be allowed to pursue wanted fighters, provided the troops have a warrant. But differences remain over the role of U.S. troops; Sadr's followers want them barred from the neighborhood. The government is also insisting that the militia surrender medium- and heavy-grade arms -- weapons Sadr's representatives say they do not have. Lawmakers from both sides met again Sunday to iron out details, but Askari said there would probably be many more meetings before a final resolution is reached. "I think this is a step forward, but it is not the end of the road," he said, adding that ultimately the militia must be disbanded. In other developments, the U.S. military announced the deaths of two soldiers. One was killed by a roadside bomb Sunday in northwestern Baghdad and the other in a vehicle rollover Saturday near Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province. At least 4,076 U.S. personnel have been killed since the Iraq war began in 2003, according to the independent website icasualties.org. Times staff writers Caesar Ahmed, Usama Redha and a special correspondent in Baghdad contributed to this report. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600060.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Wall Street Journal May 12, 2008 Pg. 8 Iran Brokers Truce Between Sadr, Iraqi Forces Tehran's Influence Continues to Grow; Shiite Connections By Gina Chon BAGHDAD -- The showdown between Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and the Iraqi government came to a halt this weekend after Mr. Sadr agreed to a truce brokered by Iran, a sign of Tehran's growing influence in Iraqi politics. In the past five years, as Shiite political parties have dominated the Iraqi government, Iran's scope of influence has widened. This puts the Iraqi government at a precarious position between two important friends, the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. military said it welcomes the news of the truce but would continue to pursue and defend itself against armed "criminal elements" that continue to fight U.S. and Iraqi security forces. The fighting with militia members linked to Mr. Sadr's Mahdi Army broke out in late March. Previous negotiations to end the clashes had collapsed. U.S. officials caution that Iraqi politics remain in flux and that it is too soon to conclude that Mr. Sadr is a spent force. But the officials note that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has signaled a growing willingness to confront Mr. Sadr and the Iranian officials who the U.S. says provide weapons and training to Mr. Sadr's forces. The shaky Iraqi government has been forced to balance its allegiances to the U.S. and Iran. Supported by American troops and reconstruction funds, Baghdad has recently shown an eagerness to air evidence of Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs. But the Iraqi government is dominated by Shiite politicians who owe a lot to Tehran, including many who received shelter in Iran during years of exile brought about by Saddam Hussein's rule. Also, the majority of Iraqis are Shiites, similar to Iran's population, and many Iranians make religious pilgrimages to the southern Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf. Many goods sold in Iraq, from fuel to tomatoes to bricks, come from Iran. That has made for an awkward balancing act. Mr. Maliki's government sent a delegation of lawmakers from the main Shiite political parties to Iran to present what they said was evidence of Iranian assistance to Shiite extremists in Iraq. The Iraqi delegation came back May 3 with little to show for their trip. "Iran considered our evidence to be from American sources, so they did not accept it," said parliament member Ali al-Adeeb, who was part of the delegation. He said Iran denied aiding Shiite extremists in Iraq. In response to Tehran's protestations, Baghdad announced it would set up a committee to collect and examine evidence to independently determine if Iran is aiding Shiite extremists. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on May 4 that Iraq needed "hard evidence" and "real proof," instead of relying on "speculation." That angered U.S. embassy and military officials, who took it as backtracking on Baghdad's previous, tough stance. "It was like a slap in the face," one American official said. The U.S. military has shared with Iraqi officials what it calls evidence of Iranian involvement, including weapons with markings that suggest the arms are from Iran. After fielding phone calls from American officials, Mr. Dabbagh modified his comments. "Without undervaluing the proof of the U.S., the Iraqi government also wants to get its own evidence," Mr. Dabbagh said in an interview. "The committee will consider everything, including the American evidence." Iraqi officials have repeatedly told American and Iranian officials that they do not want Iraq to become the battlefield in which the two nations fight each other. Mr. Dabbagh said Iraq wants to maintain good relations with both Iran and the U.S., both of whom are friends, but that Iraq has to do what is best for Iraqi interests, and he condemns outside interference. "Iraq has got the full right to choose its friends," he said. --Yochi J. Dreazen contributed to this article. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600180.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Los Angeles Times May 12, 2008 Court-Martial Ordered For Iraq Civilian Contractor The Iraqi-Canadian citizen is accused of stabbing another contractor during a fight. By Associated Press BAGHDAD The U.S. military on Sunday ordered a court-martial for a civilian contractor charged with aggravated assault while working as an Army interpreter in Iraq -- the first such military prosecution since the Vietnam War. Alaa "Alex" Mohammad Ali, who holds Iraqi and Canadian citizenship, is accused of stabbing another contractor four times during a fight Feb. 23 on a base near Hit, 85 miles west of Baghdad. The victim suffered chest wounds. In 2006, Congress gave the military authority to prosecute civilians working for the armed forces. Sunday's statement said Ali "is being afforded all the same rights, protections and privileges service members receive in military court, including the right to counsel, right to speedy trial, protection against self-incrimination and presumption of innocence." He is being represented by military defense counsel, it added. During the Vietnam War, several civilians working for the U.S. armed forces were charged with violations of military law. There were several convictions, which eventually were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600127.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Washington Post May 12, 2008 Pg. 16 Turkey Rebels Attacked In Iraq Turkey's military said Sunday that it launched overnight air and artillery attacks on Kurdish separatist rebels in northern Iraq after an insurgent strike on a military base. The raids targeted members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party who fled into Iraq after attacks in Turkey on Friday night. Two soldiers were killed in the initial attack, and four died in ensuing clashes. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600251.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Miami Herald May 11, 2008 U.S. Soldier Finds Meaning In Helping Iraqi Girl Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon questioned his presence in Iraq. But after helping a girl who lost both legs to a bomb blast, it all makes sense to him now. By Leila Fadel, McClatchy New Service BAGHDAD--Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, 38, was patrolling the streets of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, when he saw Shahad Abbas. The 11-year-old girl was in a large decrepit wheelchair, and the stumps of her legs where her calves should have been were crusted with dried blood. Falcon couldn't just walk on, so he stopped to talk. He came back the next day and the day after that, then every day for six months, bringing her toys, gauze for her legs, a new wheelchair. Anything she asked for he would bring. In a war that Falcon no longer really understood, Shahad became his mission. So when she asked for legs, that became his mission, too. On Friday, his dream and hers came true, just three weeks before he's scheduled to leave Iraq. Shahad was fitted with prosthetic limbs in a U.S. military-funded clinic in Baghdad that normally provides artificial limbs for wounded members of the Iraqi security forces. ''We created a bond, and I didn't need a translator to interpret the bond we had,'' Falcon said. With no little girls of his own, he thought of Shahad as his daughter and carried a picture of her in the shoulder pocket of his uniform. Amputee population Iraq has one of the largest populations of amputees in the world, though a precise count isn't available. There are the tens of thousands of people who lost their limbs in the 1980s, during the eight-year war with Iran. Thousands more were injured in the first Gulf War. And then there's the current conflict, which has cost many people their legs and arms in bomb blasts. Shahad lost her legs as she was walking to school when a roadside bomb exploded nearby. Two pieces of shrapnel are still lodged in her back to remind her of that day. Her little brother, Ali, was killed. One day, Falcon, a New Yorker from 1st battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, asked her what she wanted. He expected her to ask for a toy. ''I'll get you anything you want,'' he recalled saying. ''I want legs so I can walk to school,'' she told him. One day she planned to be a doctor. School was important to her. It was a daunting request. The family was too poor to pay for expensive prostheses. The travel alone to an equipped clinic would be too expensive. Her father is unemployed and ill. Making a difference So Falcon, who admits he wasn't sure about the Iraq war, wasn't sure he was making a difference, decided he'd get Shahad her legs. He went to his commander, to his chaplain, to anyone who would listen. The quest was frustrating and took months of pleas. He threatened to walk away from the Army if he couldn't give Shahad legs. ''Sometimes I couldn't figure out what made sense about being here . . . Are we making a difference, are we not?'' he said. ``But I looked at her, right there, and it all made sense.'' In one plea for Shahad's legs, he wrote: ``Since I have been in Iraq, seeing her has given me every reason I need to justify our presence here. If nothing made sense, Shahad did.'' Jeffrey Gardner, the public health officer in the American Provincial Reconstruction Team in Diyala, the province where Baqouba is the capital, saw the plea and knew he could help. He made calls to the Iraqi army's surgeon general, Army Brig. Gen. Samir Abdullah Hassan. Eventually, he was able to win permission for Shahad to be treated at the clinic, which was founded in 2005 by Chris Cummings, a prosthetist from Fort Lauderdale. Cummings said the clinic has fitted 500 people with artificial limbs since its founding. Some, he said, were civilians, like Shahad. He recalled a pair of sisters in their 20s who worried that without limbs they'd never marry. On Friday, Shahad arrived at the clinic to get her legs. She wore a pretty blue denim dress and dangling earrings, and her mother and uncle wheeled her into the clinic. Dream come true Iraqi technicians used a special machine to create a 3-D image of the top half of her leg. They measured where the calf and foot would have been had they not been blown off. Falcon mussed her hair, and her mother, Wahida Jabbar Mohammed, stood nearby. ''Don't be scared,'' her mother said. ''I'm not scared,'' Shahad answered. ``I want to walk.'' By Friday afternoon she was taking her first steps. At first she was tentative and a little scared. Falcon called out, ''Sasha, come give me a hug.'' With a sloppy grin on her face, she took several shaky steps into his arms. ''She was looking at my legs, and I was looking at her legs,'' he said. ``Thank God.'' Falcon doesn't see his mission as completed. He pulled the picture of him and Shahad from his pocket and looked at it with concern. In three weeks, he'll be gone. Who will check on her? Who will bring her medical supplies and call in favors to help her? ''I don't care how long it takes,'' he said. ``I'll come back and find her.'' http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600053.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Wall Street Journal May 12, 2008 Pg. 3 Key Official Barred From Trial At Guantanamo By Jess Bravin WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is set any day now to approve trials at Guantanamo Bay for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five others accused in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But a military-court ruling late last week against a top Defense Department war-crimes official throws a new cloud over the Bush administration's plan to prosecute the alleged Sept. 11 conspirators before the president leaves office in January. The proposed charges were announced in February by Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, a hard-charging Air Force reservist brought in to jump-start the long-stalled plan for offshore trials. Friday, a military judge at Guantanamo barred Gen. Hartmann from participating in the case against Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, who faces a potential life term. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, granted a defense motion alleging an "unlawful command influence." Mr. Hamdan's Navy lawyer, Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, had alleged that Gen. Hartmann's dual role of supervising the prosecution and providing legal advice to the commissions administrator, who must make impartial rulings on issues raised by both the prosecution and defense, constituted a conflict of interest. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Sunday that officials were surprised at the ruling, because they believe the structure Capt. Allred rejected is similar to that used in courts-martial. The Pentagon is considering asking the military judge to reconsider his ruling, Mr. Morrell said. Friday's ruling applies only to the Hamdan case. But defense lawyers say underlying issues apply to every prosecution at Guantanamo and are certain to resurface in other trials. Cmdr. Mizer, who also represents alleged 9/11 conspirator Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, said he plans to file a similar motion in that case. Unlike most military defendants, Mr. Hamdan had an unusual ally in his motion: Col. Morris Davis, who resigned as chief prosecutor in October after clashes with Gen. Hartmann over control of the prosecution office. Col. Davis claimed that Gen. Hartmann had breached legislation authorizing the military commissions, which seeks to insulate the prosecution from improper influence. The Pentagon backed Gen. Hartmann. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England approved the arrangement. Rather than quietly seeking reassignment, Col. Davis launched a public campaign to vindicate his position, granting interviews and writing opinion articles. Among other allegations, Col. Davis suggested political motivations behind the selection and timing of certain cases, and complained that Gen. Hartmann had second-guessed some of his decisions, such as excluding evidence obtained through waterboarding, an interrogation method critics call torture. Last month, Col. Davis, called as a defense witness, testified in a Guantanamo courtroom that the process had been tainted. Mr. Morrell said he didn't expect the issue to resurface in other cases, because Col. Davis left the military commissions office before charges were submitted for the 9/11 conspiracy. But Gen. Hartmann has been involved in developing the 9/11 cases, officials have said, which might still allow defense attorneys to question whether those charges have been tainted. Capt. Allred denied other defense requests, notably to have Mr. Hamdan's charges dismissed. Capt. Allred's 13-page ruling adopting as official findings many of the allegations Col. Davis had made and that Pentagon officials had previously dismissed. The order removes Gen. Hartmann from any role in Mr. Hamdan's case, bars the appointment of any of Gen. Hartmann's deputies as his successor and forbids any retaliation against military officers who offered testimony against Gen. Hartmann. Cmdr. Mizer said the ruling would do nothing to change Mr. Hamdan's immediate circumstances and that he would be back in court for another hearing later this month. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080512600207.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_2541773_AEH PjkQAAF0vSChfnAmGXXvVl3w&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080512aaindex_concat.html&cred=Eu.6VATVOUmpIUQ1 2iQY2OSI_w9FkIVMqvp_MRy2ra.sVvo9Z3z3_0riSmoeFFnF#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Miami Herald May 12, 2008 Pg. 1 Pentagon Preparing For 9/11 Suspects' First Appearance The Pentagon is readying a compound where the Bush administration plans to arraign the alleged perpetrators of 9/11. By Carol Rosenberg GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- Media are now bunking in Camp Justice, a Spartan tent city on a sun-scorched abandoned airstrip set up at this base to stage an international spectacle. Military security teams are rehearsing how to handle some of the most reviled men on earth, in a courtroom with the eyes of the world on them. Reputed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and five other men held in isolation as co-conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks now have been assigned military lawyers to defend them, even if some lawyers have not yet met their clients. All that awaits is a decision by the Pentagon's political appointee for military commissions, Susan Crawford, known as as the convening authority, on when to go forward. And that could come as soon as Monday. But with their actual trials a year or more away, the focus in GuantáÏamo Bay these days is preparing for this summer's first public appearances of the alleged architects of the worst attack on domestic America. The men are the first at GuantáÏamo accused of directing and helping to fund the suicide squads that slammed airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, in essence conspiring in the mass murder of 2,973 people. Their arraignments will be the first time that legal and human rights groups, reporters and possibly victims' families will get a glimpse of them -- nearly two years after President Bush ordered the CIA to bring them to GuantáÏamo Bay for trial from years of secret custody and harsh interrogation. Long process Meantime, lawyers say a full trial with U.S. military officers serving as jurors is unlikely before the president finishes his term. *First, all national security cases take time, and secrecy. The accused are held in isolation, apart from other prisoners. The CIA director, Michael Hayden, has already publicly confirmed that the agency waterboarded alleged mastermind Mohammed, known as KSM, a controversial and classified technique some call ``water torture.'' Now, as a condition of meeting them, their defense lawyers have signed agreements that forbid them from publicly disclosing what the alleged al Qaeda |
