[Peace-discussion] Compassion: Not part of the Debates! 1/2 Million Iraqi Orphans&100, 000's Widows w/ Chidren!!!&$Billions&"Financial Crisis"
Makers of Peace
makersofpeace@yahoo.com
Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:18:27 -0700 (PDT)
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Not part of the Debates! ~1/2 Million Iraqi Orphans & 100,000's Widows w/ C=
hildren!!! & $Billions &"Financial Crisis & HOUSING Crisis" (in Iraq & Afgh=
anistan)
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3D2946323n
PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/06/18/iraq/photoessay2942940.shtml=A0
=A0
May 19, 2004 ~ Before ABU GHRAIB "hit the National Media" (& then just a sm=
all "part=A0of truth)"
THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: ABU GHRAIB; Officer Says Army Tried to Curb Red Cros=
s Visits to Prison in Iraq=20
By DOUGLAS JEHL AND ERIC SCHMITT; REPORTING FOR THIS ARTICLE WAS CONTRIBUTE=
D BY DAVID E. SANGER, DAVID JOHNSTON, CARL HULSE AND NEIL A. LEWIS.=20
Army officials in Iraq responded late last year to a Red Cross report of ab=
uses at Abu Ghraib prison by trying to curtail the international agency's s=
pot inspections of the prison, a senior Army officer who served in Iraq sai=
d Tuesday.=20
After the International Committee of the Red Cross observed abuses in one c=
ellblock on two unannounced inspections in October and complained in writin=
g on Nov. 6, the military responded that inspectors should make appointment=
s before visiting the cellblock. That area was the site of the worst abuses=
.=20
The Red Cross report in November was the earliest formal evidence known to =
have been presented to the military's headquarters in Baghdad before Januar=
y, when photographs of the abuses came to the attention of criminal investi=
gators and prompted a broad investigation. But the senior Army officer said=
the military did not start any criminal investigation before it replied to=
the Red Cross on Dec. 24.=20
The Red Cross report was made after its inspectors witnessed or heard about=
such practices as holding Iraqi prisoners naked in dark concrete cells for=
several days at a time and forcing them to wear women's underwear on their=
heads while being paraded and photographed.=20
Iraqi Orphanage Nightmare
BAGHDAD, June 18, 2007=20
(CBS)=A0It was a scene that shocked battle-hardened soldiers, captured in p=
hotographs obtained exclusively by CBS News.=20
On a daytime patrol in central Baghdad just over than a week ago, a U.S. mi=
litary advisory team and Iraqi soldiers happened to look over a wall and fo=
und something horrific.=20
"They saw multiple bodies laying on the floor of the facility," Staff Sgt. =
Mitchell Gibson of the 82nd Airborne Division told CBS News chief foreign c=
orrespondent Lara Logan. "They thought they were all dead, so they threw a =
basketball (to) try and get some attention, and actually one of the kids li=
fted up their head, tilted it over and just looked and then went back down.=
And they said, 'oh, they're alive' and so they went into the building."=20
Inside the building, a government-run orphanage for special needs children,=
the soldiers found more emaciated little bodies tied to the cribs. They ha=
d been kept this way for more than a month, according to the soldiers calle=
d in to rescue the 24 boys.=20
"I saw children that you could see literally every bone in their body that =
were so skinny, they had no energy to move whatsoever, no expression on the=
ir face," Staff Sgt. Michael Beale said.=20
"The kids were tied up, naked, covered in their own waste =97 feces =97 and=
there were three people that were cooking themselves food, but nothing for=
the kids," Lt. Stephen Duperre said.=20
Logan asked: So there were three people cooking their own food?=20
"They were in the kitchen, yes ma'am," Duperre said.=20
With all these kids starving around them?=20
"Yes ma'am," Duperre said.=20
It didn't stop there. The soldiers found kitchen shelves packed with food a=
nd in the stockroom, rows of brand-new clothing still in their plastic wrap=
ping.=20
Instead of giving it to the boys, the soldiers believe it was being sold to=
local markets.=20
The man in charge, the orphanage caretaker, had a well-kept office =97 a st=
ark contrast to the terrible conditions just outside that room.=20
"I got extremely angry with the caretaker when I got there," Capt. Benjamin=
Morales said. "It took every muscle in my body to restrain myself from not=
going after that guy."=20
Find out how to help the orphans.=20
See the photos given to CBS News.
Watch extended video of Logan=92s interviews with the soldiers who rescued=
the orphans.
Read Lara Logan's reporter's notebook on this story.=20
He has since disappeared and is believed to be on the run. But two security=
guards are in custody, arrested on the orders of Iraqi Prime Minister Nour=
i al-Maliki. Two women also working there, who posed for pictures in front =
of the naked boys as if there was nothing wrong, have also disappeared.=20
"My first thought when I walked in there was shock, and then I got a little=
angry that they were treating kids like that, then that's when everybody j=
ust started getting upset," Capt. Jim Cook said. "There were people crying.=
It was definitely a bad emotional scene."=20
There was nothing more emotional than finding one boy who Army medics did n=
ot expect to survive. For Gibson, that was the hardest part:=20
Seeing a boy who was at the orphanage, where Logan reported from, "with tho=
usands of flies covering his body, unable to move any part of his body, you=
know we had to actually hold his head up and tilt his head to make sure th=
at he was OK, and the only thing basically that was moving was his eyeballs=
," Gibson explained. "Flies in the mouth, in the eyes, in the nose, ears, e=
ating all the open wounds from sleeping on the concrete."=20
All that, and the boy was laying in the boiling sun =97 temperatures of 120=
degrees or so, according to Gibson.=20
Looking at the boy today, as he sits up in his crib without help, it is har=
d to believe he is the same boy, one week later =97 now clean and being car=
ed for along with all the other boys in a different orphanage located only =
a few minutes away from where they suffered their ordeal.=20
Another little boy right shown in the photos was carried out of the orphana=
ge by Beale. He was very emaciated.=20
"I picked him up and then immediately the kid started smiling, and as I got=
a little bit closer to the ambulance he just started laughing. It was almo=
st like he completely understood what was going on," Beale said.=20
When CBS News visited the orphanage with the soldiers, it was clear the boy=
s had been starved of human contact as much as anything else, Logan said. S=
ome still had marks on their ankles from where they were tied. Since only o=
ne boy can talk, it's impossible to know what terrible memories they might =
have locked away.=20
The memory of what he saw when he helped rescue the boys that night haunts =
Ali Soheil, the local council head, who wept during the interview.=20
Later at the hospital, Lt. Jason Smith brushed teeth and helped clean up th=
e boys. He and his wife are both special education teachers, and he was pro=
ud to tell her what the soldiers had done.=20
"She said that one day was worth my entire deployment," Smith said. "It mak=
es the whole thing worthwhile."=20
This is a tough test for the Iraqi government: How a nation cares for its m=
ost vulnerable is one of the most important benchmarks for the health of an=
y society.
=A0
Until now, the Army had described its response on Dec. 24 as evidence that =
the military was prompt in addressing Red Cross complaints, but it has decl=
ined to release the contents of the Army document, citing the tradition of =
confidentiality in dealing with the international agency.=20
An Army spokesman declined Tuesday to characterize the letter or to discuss=
what it said about the Red Cross's access to the cellblock.=20
In an interview, however, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800t=
h Military Police Brigade, whose soldiers guarded the prisoners, said that =
despite the serious allegations in the Red Cross report, senior officers in=
Baghdad had treated it in ''a light-hearted manner.''=20
She said that she signed the Army's response on Dec. 24, but that it had be=
en drafted primarily by Army lawyers who reported to Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sa=
nchez, the top American commander in Iraq.=20
General Karpinski said she did not see the Red Cross complaint until late N=
ovember, and questioned how the staff judge advocate for General Sanchez, a=
nd his team of lawyers, had dealt with the matter. ''It was an unusual rout=
ing because they had possession of it before I knew the letter existed,'' s=
he said of the Red Cross complaint.=20
''If I had been informed, and I had been drawn into this in any way, I woul=
d have said, 'Hold on a second, because not in my facility you don't,' '' G=
eneral Karpinski said of the abuses detailed in the report by the Internati=
onal Committee of the Red Cross, which she said she did not see until at le=
ast two weeks after it was submitted. ''We followed the rules, and we gave =
unrestricted access to the I.C.R.C., and it validated our operations, actua=
lly.''=20
General Karpinski, who has been disciplined for her performance as commande=
r at the prison, would not say whether she had objected to any part of the =
Dec. 24 letter at the time. It was unclear whether she had felt compelled t=
o sign a letter drafted by aides to her superiors.=20
For several months in Iraq, Red Cross inspectors had exercised the right to=
drop in on Army-run prisons without notifying prison officials in advance.=
=20
The senior Army officer questioned the rationale for the Army's assertion i=
n November that Red Cross visits should be scheduled.=20
''I know what they were communicating in that letter: They wanted the I.C.R=
.C. to schedule visits for those particular cellblocks, because it could in=
terrupt any of the military intelligence,'' said the officer. ''The positio=
n that they were taking was that the I.C.R.C. could not have unrestricted a=
ccess to those particular cellblocks.''=20
Other top Army officers in Washington have said the behavior described by t=
he Red Cross in October had warranted a criminal investigation.=20
''I do not know if she in fact started an investigation into those, because=
they are serious,'' Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of Army intelligenc=
e, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 11. ''As soon as we hear=
about one of those allegations, an investigation should begin right away a=
nd we shouldn't wait for it.''=20
General Alexander told senators that the abuses Red Cross inspectors witnes=
sed ''sounded the same as some of the abuses that we're seeing'' in photogr=
aphs taken by military guards that are now circulating worldwide.=20
In an interview on Tuesday, the White House general counsel, Alberto R. Gon=
zales, said he had not been aware that the issue of whether the Red Cross s=
hould be allowed to conduct such inspections was a point of dispute. He add=
ed, however, that he might have had ''concerns'' about allowing such inspec=
tions.=20
''Part of the concerns is whether or not there were interrogations that mig=
ht be interrupted under a spot check,'' Mr. Gonzales said. ''Obviously, we =
would work with the I.C.R.C. to arrange visits'' under appropriate circumst=
ances, he said.=20
While he said he could not speak for everyone at the White House, he added =
that ''I don't recall being made aware'' of the issue.=20
The Red Cross report and General Karpinski's comments seem at odds with the=
accounts of other senior military officials.=20
Earlier this month, Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of American =
forces in the Middle East, told senators that the military had no inkling o=
f the magnitude of the prisoner abuses until a soldier turned over copies o=
f incriminating pictures to investigators on Jan. 13.=20
''There were reports that there was trouble in those places, but not of the=
character we're talking about here,'' General Smith said. He said that aft=
er General Karpinski's Dec. 24 letter, improvements were made at the prison=
.=20
''The I.C.R.C. came back and visited 4 through 8 January and they -- the in=
dication from there was that there were improvements,'' he said.=20
The disclosures about the Army's response to the Red Cross complaints came =
as new details emerged about the death of an Iraqi prisoner in C.I.A. custo=
dy last fall.=20
Central Intelligence Agency officers who brought a hooded man to Abu Ghraib=
ordered military guards at the prison not to remove the empty sandbag that=
covered his head, according to the sworn testimony of a military guard. On=
ly after the prisoner slumped over dead during questioning was the hood rem=
oved, revealing that the man had severe facial injuries.=20
The incident was described in testimony at a closed hearing early last mont=
h in the case of Sgt. Javal S. Davis, one of the accused prison guards. The=
statements were made by two members of Sergeant Davis's unit, Specialists =
Bruce Brown and Jason A. Kenner. Their testimony appears to provide fresh c=
lues to the mysterious death of a man identified by the American authoritie=
s only by his last name, Jamadi.=20
Mr. Jamadi is believed to be the man whose body was packed in ice and photo=
graphed at Abu Ghraib. The picture, among a group that depicted degrading t=
reatment of detainees, has circulated widely on computer networks as one of=
most graphic images in the prisoner abuse scandal.=20
Neither Specialist Brown nor Specialist Kenner identified Mr. Jamadi by nam=
e, but Mr. Jamadi appears to be the man they described because C.I.A. offic=
ials have said he is the only person who died during an interrogation carri=
ed out by an agency employee. Both men said that the detainee had been brou=
ght to Abu Ghraib by an ''O.G.A.,'' or other government agency, which usual=
ly referred to the C.I.A. or another intelligence agency.=20
The two witnesses' statements are significant because the C.I.A.'s inspecto=
r general is investigating the death of Mr. Jamadi, along with two other de=
aths in which C.I.A. or contract workers for the agency were involved. One =
was in western Iraq in November 2003, the other in Afghanistan in June 2003=
. The Justice Department is also examining the three deaths to decide wheth=
er to open a criminal investigation into the matter.=20
A senior intelligence official said that Mr. Jamadi was hooded when he was =
picked up at the Baghdad airport after being captured earlier in the day by=
Navy Seals and that he had never been touched by C.I.A. interrogators or t=
ranslators. A spokesman for the Seals has said the detainee had not been mi=
streated by its personnel. The witness accounts were first reported Tuesday=
by The Los Angeles Times.=20
On Tuesday, the Pentagon formally adopted regulations for dealing with the =
hardest-core detainees at the prison at Guant=E1namo Bay, Cuba, who might b=
e held for years, because they are judged to remain a threat to United Stat=
es forces. The regulations provide for a quasi-parole board of three milita=
ry officers who would conduct an annual review to determine if the detainee=
s have ceased to be a threat and may be released.=20
The prisoners could have their home governments and family members take par=
t in the review. Officials said, however, that the proceedings would be clo=
sed to the public because they would involve discussion of classified issue=
s.=20
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld met for about three hours behind cl=
osed doors with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss a range of Iraq iss=
ues, but Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California and chairma=
n of the House Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers had agreed to say n=
othing after the session, and Mr. Rumsfeld did not speak publicly.=20
On Wednesday, the first court-martial of a soldier accused of abusing Iraqi=
detainees, Specialist Jeremy C. Sivits of the Army, opens in Baghdad. On T=
uesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the American occupation auth=
orities had denied Iraqi and international human rights groups requests per=
mission to attend the trial.=20
Tell Me a Secret=20
As We Say... Your Secret Is In a Deep Well
Friday, January 25, 2008
4.5 millions Orphans in Iraq, a tragic situation=20
Baghdad,Voices of Iraq =96 (VOI). New reports of Iraqi Ministry of Labor an=
d Social Affairs released in 16 January, 2008 with new disaster numbers of =
children situation in Iraq. This report was declare that in Iraq now 4.5 mi=
llions Iraqi orphans with 500 000 living in streets without any home or fam=
ily care about thier, as well as there are only 459 orphans in governmental=
houses of orphans.
The dramatic facts in this report also, there are 800 Iraqi orphans in Amer=
ican Iraqi prisons until January 2008 (700 orphans in Iraqi prisons and 100=
another orphans in American prisons.
In a Baghdadi popular market, Mustafa Fadhil, a ten year old child, sits wa=
iting to carry the items purchased by individuals who are out doing their s=
hopping, for some trivial income that he needs to help his family following=
his father=92s death who was a victim of the violence in Iraq.=20
>From time to time, Mustafa imagines himself back again in classroom; a drea=
m that disappears when a customer, looking for a carrier, calls him =93I le=
ft school and started working when my father was killed in a mortar attack =
that targeted our house around two years ago, and I have been responsible f=
or my family since then,=94 Mustafa said to Aswat al-Iraq =96 Voices of Ira=
q =96 (VOI).=20
In an attempt to depend on himself in order for himself and his family to s=
urvive under such severe circumstances, Mustafa limits his plans to the req=
uirements of daily life. =93I stopped thinking about my future, and what I =
would be when I get older.=94=20
There are many children like Mustafa, orphans and street-kids that live a c=
urrent tragic reality in Iraq, with an unknown future awaiting them, especi=
ally when considering that there are no pre-existing legislations or decree=
s that protect them and their rights.=20
The statistics of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Coordinati=
on show that there are 4.5 million orphans in Iraq, 500 thousand of them li=
ving in the streets.=20
At one of the intersections of Al-Karada, a Shiite neighborhood in downtown=
Baghdad =96 the capital of Iraq, Nassir Saadon, a 14 years old teenager, s=
ells candy. =93I live in a tragic situation and poverty, because my parents=
were divorced around two years ago,=94 adding, =93I chose to sell candy be=
cause it is a job that doesn=92t require a large amount of money, but the i=
ncome is hardly enough to feed me. I feel that my future is unknown; if I e=
ven have a future.=94=20
The Islamic Foundation of Woman and Child, a non-governmental organization,=
believes that with the current tragic circumstances of children in Iraq, a=
generation will grow up cultivated in an atmosphere of rebellious violence=
. Amal Kashefal-Ghetaa, the president of that foundation, explained that =
=93Due to the current situation, a massive change took place in the lives o=
f children that forced many of them to leave their schools and friends to g=
o to work; a matter that affects them mentally.=94=20
The Iraqi government, according to Kashefal-Ghetaa, =93is not sponsoring th=
ose children, despite the fact that the social component representing them =
is getting wider, because of the violence in Iraq;=94 demanding the legisla=
tion of laws that sponsor these children.=20
The Iraqi Parliamentary Committee of Woman and Child have a pessimistic vis=
ion regarding the future of children in Iraq. Naddera Aif, a parliamentary =
member of this committee and affiliated with the Iraqi Accordance Front (IA=
F) told VOI =93I have a pessimistic vision regarding the future of families=
in Iraq, due to the current violence, displacement, poverty, and family fr=
agmentation. There are 4.5 million orphans, in addition to 800 children in =
prisons, 700 of them in the Iraqi detentions, and the rest in American cust=
ody, all accused of terror or issuing false statements.=94
According to Aif, the Parliamentary Committee of Woman and Child recently s=
uggested a number of laws in that regard, such as the laws of Orphans Fund,=
The Childhood Fund, and the Organization of Childhood Sponsorship, =93Thes=
e laws represent a temporary solution that will be discussed by the Iraqi p=
arliament in this year,=94 Aif said without further details.=20
The Orphanages Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs=
considers that childhood in Iraq suffers the loss of rights comparing with=
their counterparts in the neighboring countries. =93Kids in Iraq are depri=
ved of health care in schools, playing with their friends, and the right to=
self-expression,=94 Abeer Al-Chalabi, the manager of that department said =
to VOI, adding that many children in Iraq are subjected to sexual harassmen=
t, some of them are conducting hard jobs unsuitable to their ages, and othe=
rs use begging to earn their living.=20
In Iraq, as al-Chalabi confirmed, there are 18 orphanages, 4 in Baghdad, an=
d the rest are distributed throughout other provinces. The total number of =
orphans in all these orphanages is 459.=20
The sociologist, Atheer Kareem, told VOI that the negative situation that c=
hildren in Iraq are experiencing will increase their suffering, unless the =
government in Iraq responds by issuing legislations that sponsors them and =
protects their rights. =93Violence and bloodshed will have negative mental =
effects on kids, and their personality, and it would be difficult for a gen=
eration to grow up in a healthy manner without the required environments.=
=94 [Source]
=A0
=20
Occupation's Toll: 5 Million Iraqi Children Orphaned
By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet
Posted on December 18, 2007, Printed on October 16, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/70886/
5 Million Iraqi Orphans, Anti-corruption Board Reveals
Voices of Iraq
Iraq's anti-corruption board revealed on Saturday that there were five mill=
ion Iraqi orphans as reported by official government statistics, urging the=
government, parliament, and NGOs to be in constant contact with Iraq's par=
entless children.
"The government should set up an institutional or legislative program to he=
lp the Iraqi orphans. Iraqi is an oil-rich country and it is not acceptable=
that its orphans remain groaning in this tragedy," the anti-corruption boa=
rd chief, Moussa Faraj, said during a conference in Baghdad dedicated to or=
phans in Iraq.
Harsh Reality for Iraq's Orphans
Voices of Iraq
Unlike orphans in many countries in the world, most Iraqi orphans lost thei=
r parents around the same time and under horrible circumstances. In additio=
n to their desire for compassion and care, those children need to overcome =
their sad memories and make a new beginning in life.
Recounting her traumatic memories, Halima, a nine-year-old girl who is livi=
ng in a public orphanage, said that she lost her parents in a blast that ri=
pped through a local market in a Baghdad neighborhood.
"We were shopping in a popular market in Baghdad al-Jadida neighborhood whe=
n a car bomb detonated. I still recall how bodies turned into charcoal," Ha=
lima told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
"I was taken to the hospital for treatment and was told that my parents wer=
e killed. My younger brother survived and was adopted by a loving family. I=
t was my relatives who brought me to this orphanage," the girl added.
"Our problem here is that we do not receive academic education. If only the=
government could build special schools for us to guarantee our future," sh=
e said. [=85]
Nadira Habib, a member of the Committee on Family and Childhood Affairs in =
the Iraqi parliament, indicated that the situation requires wise handling.
"Iraqi orphans are increasing everyday because of the constant wars that th=
e country has been going through," Habib explained, citing an estimated thr=
ee to four million Iraqi orphans according to figures released by the Minis=
try of Planning and Development Cooperation.
Highlighting the importance of small loans to poor people, particularly tho=
se who lost their breadwinners, Habib said that only 469 orphans are curren=
tly sponsored by the government.
Meanwhile, Abir al-Jabli, a head of department in the Ministry of Labor and=
Social Affairs, said that sponsoring orphans should not only be the concer=
n of the government. According to al-Jabli, those children would be better =
taken care of by their relatives.
Maysoun al-Damlouji, a member of the parliament's Civil Society Organizatio=
ns Committee, slammed a recent government decision that closed down all pri=
vate orphanages. "Instead of helping private institutions improve their per=
formance and remove all obstacles hindering their work, the Iraqi governmen=
t decided to close them down, adding to the complexity of the situation in =
the state-run institutions.
The diminishing number of orphanages in the country is only one aspect of t=
he problem. According to al-Damlouji, negligence and carelessness are inher=
ent in these institutions.
Two children recently died of cholera in al-Hanan Orphanage and investigati=
ons attributed the deaths to the use of contaminated water in the instituti=
on, al-Damlouji said.
The Hidden Iraq War: 5 Million Iraq War Casualties - 1 Million Killed plus =
4 Million Refugees
Haroon Siddiqui
The Star (Toronto)
It is said that Iraq is the world's best-known conflict but the least well-=
known humanitarian crisis.
In the United States, where public attention span is low but the capacity f=
or denial high, Iraq's daily carnage no longer commands headlines. American=
public discourse long ago shifted to the domestic political implications o=
f Iraq for George W. Bush et al.
Those who do think of Iraq think mostly of the murderous sectarianism of th=
e Sunnis and Shiites. If Muslims are killing each other, there's not much A=
merica can do, Iraq being another Yugoslavia - once the iron grip of Saddam=
Hussein or Josip Tito was gone, all the old animosities re-emerged.
But in Iraq, there was no such suppressed hatred. Shiites and Sunnis had al=
ways lived in harmony. Inter-marriage was common. The bombed-out Shiite shr=
ine in Samara was in a Sunni neighbourhood.
The more apt parallel is with the 1947 partition of British India that prec=
ipitated a mass migration and a massacre among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs wh=
o had lived in harmony for centuries.
When the state abrogates its most basic role of maintaining social order, a=
nti-social forces and criminals can send scared people into a frenzy of pri=
mitive behaviour.
What's happening in Iraq is the direct result of American war-mongering and=
criminal incompetence.
Since the 2003 U.S. invasion, between 75,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis have be=
en killed (depending on who's counting). This is in addition to the 1 milli=
on Iraqis, half of them children under 5, who died slow deaths during the 1=
991-2003 U.S.-led United Nations economic sanctions (a UNESCO estimate). [h=
ttp://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html]
"Ninety per cent of those who die violent deaths are men, leaving huge numb=
ers of widows and orphans without support," according to a special Iraq edi=
tion of Forced Migration Review, a publication of the Refugee Studies Centr=
e of the University of Oxford (fmreview.org/Iraq).=20
=A9 2008 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/70886/=20
In Biggest Oil Sale Ever, Iraqi Government to Put 40 Billion Barrels of Res=
erves Up For Grabs
=A0
Love and Light, wm and lynn McLean=20
the Blueberry Peace Farm, Magee, Mississippi, USA, EARTH=20
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/dirtandsludge our "flog" (Farm Log)=20
http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm
http://legitgov.org/
Citizens for Legitimate Government
=0A=0A__________________________________________________=0ADo You Yahoo!?=
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<table cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" border=3D"0" ><tr><td valign=3D"=
top" style=3D"font: inherit;"><DIV class=3Dtimestamp><SPAN class=3Dlink_rig=
ht><STRONG>Not part of the Debates! ~1/2 Million Iraqi Orphans & 100,00=
0's Widows w/ Children!!! & $Billions &"Financial Crisis & <U>H=
OUSING</U> Crisis" (in Iraq & Afghanistan)</STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dtimestamp><SPAN class=3Dlink_right><STRONG>http://www.cbsnews.=
com/video/<FONT color=3D#ff7f00 size=3D4>watch</FONT>/?id=3D2946323n</STRON=
G></SPAN><BR>PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS:</DIV>
<DIV class=3Dtimestamp><A href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/06/1=
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<DIV class=3Dtimestamp> </DIV>
<DIV class=3Dtimestamp>
<DIV class=3Dtimestamp><STRONG><FONT color=3D#ff7f00 size=3D4><U><FONT colo=
r=3D#ff7f00>May</FONT> <FONT color=3D#407f00>19, 20</FONT>04 ~</U> <U><FONT=
color=3D#407f00>Before <SPAN><SPAN>ABU</SPAN></SPAN> GHRAIB "hit the Natio=
nal Media" (& then just a small <FONT color=3D#ff7f00>"part of tru=
th</FONT>)"</FONT></U></FONT></STRONG></DIV></DIV>
<H1>THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: ABU GHRAIB; Officer Says Army Tried to Curb Red =
Cross Visits to Prison in Iraq </H1>
<DIV class=3Dbyline>By DOUGLAS JEHL AND ERIC SCHMITT; REPORTING FOR THIS AR=
TICLE WAS CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID E. SANGER, DAVID JOHNSTON, CARL HULSE AND NE=
IL A. LEWIS. </DIV>
<DIV id=3DarticleBody>
<DIV>Army officials in Iraq responded late last year to a Red Cross report =
of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison by trying to curtail the international agenc=
y's spot inspections of the prison, a senior Army officer who served in Ira=
q said Tuesday. </DIV>
<DIV>After the International Committee of the Red Cross observed abuses in =
one cellblock on two unannounced inspections in October and complained in w=
riting on Nov. 6, the military responded that inspectors should make appoin=
tments before visiting the cellblock. That area was the site of the worst a=
buses. </DIV>
<DIV>The Red Cross report in November was the earliest formal evidence know=
n to have been presented to the military's headquarters in Baghdad before J=
anuary, when photographs of the abuses came to the attention of criminal in=
vestigators and prompted a broad investigation. But the senior Army officer=
said the military did not start any criminal investigation before it repli=
ed to the Red Cross on Dec. 24. </DIV>
<DIV>The Red Cross report was made after its inspectors witnessed or heard =
about such practices as holding Iraqi prisoners naked in dark concrete cell=
s for several days at a time and forcing them to wear women's underwear on =
their heads while being paraded and photographed. </DIV>
<DIV>Iraqi Orphanage Nightmare<BR></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dbody><B>BAGHDAD, June 18, 2007</B>=20
<HR>
<B>(CBS) </B>It was a scene that shocked battle-hardened soldiers, cap=
tured in <A class=3Dlink href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/06/18=
/iraq/photoessay2942940.shtml" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=
=3D#9136ad>photographs</FONT></A> obtained exclusively by <B>CBS News</B>. =
<BR><BR>On a daytime patrol in central Baghdad just over than a week ago, a=
U.S. military advisory team and Iraqi soldiers happened to look over a wal=
l and found something horrific. <BR><BR>"They saw multiple bodies laying on=
the floor of the facility," Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson of the 82nd Airborn=
e Division told <B>CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan</B>. "Th=
ey thought they were all dead, so they threw a basketball (to) try and get =
some attention, and actually one of the kids lifted up their head, tilted i=
t over and just looked and then went back down. And they said, 'oh, they're=
alive' and so they went into the building." <BR><BR>Inside the building, a
government-run orphanage for special needs children, the soldiers found mo=
re emaciated little bodies tied to the cribs. They had been kept this way f=
or more than a month, according to the soldiers called in to rescue the 24 =
boys. <BR><BR>"I saw children that you could see literally every bone in th=
eir body that were so skinny, they had no energy to move whatsoever, no exp=
ression on their face," Staff Sgt. Michael Beale said. <BR><BR>"The kids we=
re tied up, naked, covered in their own waste =97 feces =97 and there were =
three people that were cooking themselves food, but nothing for the kids," =
Lt. Stephen Duperre said. <BR><BR><B>Logan</B> asked: So there were three p=
eople cooking their own food? <BR><BR>"They were in the kitchen, yes ma'am,=
" Duperre said. <BR><BR>With all these kids starving around them? <BR><BR>"=
Yes ma'am," Duperre said. <BR><BR>It didn't stop there. The soldiers found =
kitchen shelves packed with food and in the stockroom, rows of
brand-new clothing still in their plastic wrapping. <BR><BR>Instead of giv=
ing it to the boys, the soldiers believe it was being sold to local markets=
. <BR><BR>The man in charge, the orphanage caretaker, had a well-kept offic=
e =97 a stark contrast to the terrible conditions just outside that room. <=
BR><BR>"I got extremely angry with the caretaker when I got there," Capt. B=
enjamin Morales said. "It took every muscle in my body to restrain myself f=
rom not going after that guy."=20
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<HR>
<A class=3Dlink href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/19/fyi/main2=
949887.shtml" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><IMG src=3D"http://wwwimage.cb=
snews.com/common/images/bug_story.gif" align=3DabsMiddle vspace=3D2 border=
=3D0><FONT color=3D#247cd4> Find out how to help the orphans.</FONT></A> <B=
R><A class=3Dlink href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/06/18/iraq/p=
hotoessay2942940.shtml" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><IMG src=3D"http://w=
wwimage.cbsnews.com/common/images/bug_popup.gif" align=3DabsMiddle vspace=
=3D2 border=3D0><FONT color=3D#9136ad> See the photos given to CBS News.</F=
ONT></A><BR><A class=3Dlink href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video=
/main500251.shtml?id=3D2946054n" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=
=3D#9136ad><IMG src=3D"http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/common/images/bug_video.=
gif" align=3DabsMiddle vspace=3D2 border=3D0></FONT><FONT color=3D#247cd4> =
Watch extended video of Logan=92s interviews with the soldiers who rescued =
the orphans.</FONT></A><BR><A class=3Dlink
href=3D"http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/18/notebook/main2946477.sht=
ml" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4><IMG src=3D"http:/=
/wwwimage.cbsnews.com/common/images/bug_story.gif" align=3DabsMiddle vspace=
=3D2 border=3D0> Read Lara Logan's reporter's notebook on this story.</FONT=
></A> <BR>
<HR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>He has since disappeared and is believed to be on the run. But=
two security guards are in custody, arrested on the orders of Iraqi Prime =
Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Two women also working there, who posed for pictu=
res in front of the naked boys as if there was nothing wrong, have also dis=
appeared. <BR><BR>"My first thought when I walked in there was shock, and t=
hen I got a little angry that they were treating kids like that, then that'=
s when everybody just started getting upset," Capt. Jim Cook said. "There w=
ere people crying. It was definitely a bad emotional scene." <BR><BR>There =
was nothing more emotional than finding one boy who Army medics did not exp=
ect to survive. For Gibson, that was the hardest part: <BR><BR>Seeing a boy=
who was at the orphanage, where <B>Logan</B> reported from, "with thousand=
s of flies covering his body, unable to move any part of his body, you know=
we had to actually hold his head up and tilt his head to make sure
that he was OK, and the only thing basically that was moving was his eyeba=
lls," Gibson explained. "Flies in the mouth, in the eyes, in the nose, ears=
, eating all the open wounds from sleeping on the concrete." <BR><BR>All th=
at, and the boy was laying in the boiling sun =97 temperatures of 120 degre=
es or so, according to Gibson. <BR><BR>Looking at the boy today, as he sits=
up in his crib without help, it is hard to believe he is the same boy, one=
week later =97 now clean and being cared for along with all the other boys=
in a different orphanage located only a few minutes away from where they s=
uffered their ordeal. <BR><BR>Another little boy right shown in the photos =
was carried out of the orphanage by Beale. He was very emaciated. <BR><BR>"=
I picked him up and then immediately the kid started smiling, and as I got =
a little bit closer to the ambulance he just started laughing. It was almos=
t like he completely understood what was going on," Beale said.
<BR><BR>When <B>CBS News</B> visited the orphanage with the soldiers, it w=
as clear the boys had been starved of human contact as much as anything els=
e, <B>Logan</B> said. Some still had marks on their ankles from where they =
were tied. Since only one boy can talk, it's impossible to know what terrib=
le memories they might have locked away. <BR><BR>The memory of what he saw =
when he helped rescue the boys that night haunts Ali Soheil, the local coun=
cil head, who wept during the interview. <BR><BR>Later at the hospital, Lt.=
Jason Smith brushed teeth and helped clean up the boys. He and his wife ar=
e both special education teachers, and he was proud to tell her what the so=
ldiers had done. <BR><BR>"She said that one day was worth my entire deploym=
ent," Smith said. "It makes the whole thing worthwhile." <BR><BR>This is a =
tough test for the Iraqi government: How a nation cares for its most vulner=
able is one of the most important benchmarks for the health of any
society.</DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>Until now, the Army had described its response on Dec. 24 as evidence =
that the military was prompt in addressing Red Cross complaints, but it has=
declined to release the contents of the Army document, citing the traditio=
n of confidentiality in dealing with the international agency. </DIV>
<DIV>An Army spokesman declined Tuesday to characterize the letter or to di=
scuss what it said about the Red Cross's access to the cellblock. </DIV>
<DIV>In an interview, however, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the=
800th Military Police Brigade, whose soldiers guarded the prisoners, said =
that despite the serious allegations in the Red Cross report, senior office=
rs in Baghdad had treated it in ''a light-hearted manner.'' </DIV>
<DIV>She said that she signed the Army's response on Dec. 24, but that it h=
ad been drafted primarily by Army lawyers who reported to Lt. Gen. Ricardo =
S. Sanchez, the top American commander in Iraq. </DIV>
<DIV>General Karpinski said she did not see the Red Cross complaint until l=
ate November, and questioned how the staff judge advocate for General Sanch=
ez, and his team of lawyers, had dealt with the matter. ''It was an unusual=
routing because they had possession of it before I knew the letter existed=
,'' she said of the Red Cross complaint. </DIV>
<DIV>''If I had been informed, and I had been drawn into this in any way, I=
would have said, 'Hold on a second, because not in my facility you don't,'=
'' General Karpinski said of the abuses detailed in the report by the Inte=
rnational Committee of the Red Cross, which she said she did not see until =
at least two weeks after it was submitted. ''We followed the rules, and we =
gave unrestricted access to the I.C.R.C., and it validated our operations, =
actually.'' </DIV>
<DIV>General Karpinski, who has been disciplined for her performance as com=
mander at the prison, would not say whether she had objected to any part of=
the Dec. 24 letter at the time. It was unclear whether she had felt compel=
led to sign a letter drafted by aides to her superiors. </DIV>
<DIV>For several months in Iraq, Red Cross inspectors had exercised the rig=
ht to drop in on Army-run prisons without notifying prison officials in adv=
ance. </DIV>
<DIV>The senior Army officer questioned the rationale for the Army's assert=
ion in November that Red Cross visits should be scheduled. </DIV>
<DIV>''I know what they were communicating in that letter: They wanted the =
I.C.R.C. to schedule visits for those particular cellblocks, because it cou=
ld interrupt any of the military intelligence,'' said the officer. ''The po=
sition that they were taking was that the I.C.R.C. could not have unrestric=
ted access to those particular cellblocks.'' </DIV>
<DIV>Other top Army officers in Washington have said the behavior described=
by the Red Cross in October had warranted a criminal investigation. </DIV>
<DIV>''I do not know if she in fact started an investigation into those, be=
cause they are serious,'' Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of Army intell=
igence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 11. ''As soon as we=
hear about one of those allegations, an investigation should begin right a=
way and we shouldn't wait for it.'' </DIV>
<DIV>General Alexander told senators that the abuses Red Cross inspectors w=
itnessed ''sounded the same as some of the abuses that we're seeing'' in ph=
otographs taken by military guards that are now circulating worldwide. </DI=
V>
<DIV>In an interview on Tuesday, the White House general counsel, Alberto R=
. Gonzales, said he had not been aware that the issue of whether the Red Cr=
oss should be allowed to conduct such inspections was a point of dispute. H=
e added, however, that he might have had ''concerns'' about allowing such i=
nspections. </DIV>
<DIV>''Part of the concerns is whether or not there were interrogations tha=
t might be interrupted under a spot check,'' Mr. Gonzales said. ''Obviously=
, we would work with the I.C.R.C. to arrange visits'' under appropriate cir=
cumstances, he said. </DIV>
<DIV>While he said he could not speak for everyone at the White House, he a=
dded that ''I don't recall being made aware'' of the issue. </DIV>
<DIV>The Red Cross report and General Karpinski's comments seem at odds wit=
h the accounts of other senior military officials. </DIV>
<DIV>Earlier this month, Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of Amer=
ican forces in the Middle East, told senators that the military had no inkl=
ing of the magnitude of the prisoner abuses until a soldier turned over cop=
ies of incriminating pictures to investigators on Jan. 13. </DIV>
<DIV>''There were reports that there was trouble in those places, but not o=
f the character we're talking about here,'' General Smith said. He said tha=
t after General Karpinski's Dec. 24 letter, improvements were made at the p=
rison. </DIV>
<DIV>''The I.C.R.C. came back and visited 4 through 8 January and they -- t=
he indication from there was that there were improvements,'' he said. </DIV=
>
<DIV>The disclosures about the Army's response to the Red Cross complaints =
came as new details emerged about the death of an Iraqi prisoner in C.I.A. =
custody last fall. </DIV>
<DIV>Central Intelligence Agency officers who brought a hooded man to Abu G=
hraib ordered military guards at the prison not to remove the empty sandbag=
that covered his head, according to the sworn testimony of a military guar=
d. Only after the prisoner slumped over dead during questioning was the hoo=
d removed, revealing that the man had severe facial injuries. </DIV>
<DIV>The incident was described in testimony at a closed hearing early last=
month in the case of Sgt. Javal S. Davis, one of the accused prison guards=
. The statements were made by two members of Sergeant Davis's unit, Special=
ists Bruce Brown and Jason A. Kenner. Their testimony appears to provide fr=
esh clues to the mysterious death of a man identified by the American autho=
rities only by his last name, Jamadi. </DIV>
<DIV>Mr. Jamadi is believed to be the man whose body was packed in ice and =
photographed at Abu Ghraib. The picture, among a group that depicted degrad=
ing treatment of detainees, has circulated widely on computer networks as o=
ne of most graphic images in the prisoner abuse scandal. </DIV>
<DIV>Neither Specialist Brown nor Specialist Kenner identified Mr. Jamadi b=
y name, but Mr. Jamadi appears to be the man they described because C.I.A. =
officials have said he is the only person who died during an interrogation =
carried out by an agency employee. Both men said that the detainee had been=
brought to Abu Ghraib by an ''O.G.A.,'' or other government agency, which =
usually referred to the C.I.A. or another intelligence agency. </DIV>
<DIV>The two witnesses' statements are significant because the C.I.A.'s ins=
pector general is investigating the death of Mr. Jamadi, along with two oth=
er deaths in which C.I.A. or contract workers for the agency were involved.=
One was in western Iraq in November 2003, the other in Afghanistan in June=
2003. The Justice Department is also examining the three deaths to decide =
whether to open a criminal investigation into the matter. </DIV>
<DIV>A senior intelligence official said that Mr. Jamadi was hooded when he=
was picked up at the Baghdad airport after being captured earlier in the d=
ay by Navy Seals and that he had never been touched by C.I.A. interrogators=
or translators. A spokesman for the Seals has said the detainee had not be=
en mistreated by its personnel. The witness accounts were first reported Tu=
esday by The Los Angeles Times. </DIV>
<DIV>On Tuesday, the Pentagon formally adopted regulations for dealing with=
the hardest-core detainees at the prison at Guant=E1namo Bay, Cuba, who mi=
ght be held for years, because they are judged to remain a threat to United=
States forces. The regulations provide for a quasi-parole board of three m=
ilitary officers who would conduct an annual review to determine if the det=
ainees have ceased to be a threat and may be released. </DIV>
<DIV>The prisoners could have their home governments and family members tak=
e part in the review. Officials said, however, that the proceedings would b=
e closed to the public because they would involve discussion of classified =
issues. </DIV>
<DIV>Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld met for about three hours behi=
nd closed doors with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss a range of Ira=
q issues, but Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California and ch=
airman of the House Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers had agreed to =
say nothing after the session, and Mr. Rumsfeld did not speak publicly. </D=
IV>
<DIV>On Wednesday, the first court-martial of a soldier accused of abusing =
Iraqi detainees, Specialist Jeremy C. Sivits of the Army, opens in Baghdad.=
On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the American occupation=
authorities had denied Iraqi and international human rights groups request=
s permission to attend the trial. <BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV id=3Dheader>
<H1 id=3Dblog-title><A href=3D"http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/" targe=
t=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4>Tell Me a Secret </FONT></A=
></H1>
<P id=3Ddescription>As We Say... Your Secret Is In a Deep Well</DIV></DIV><=
/DIV>
<DIV id=3Dcontent>
<DIV id=3Dmain>
<DIV id=3Dmain2>
<H2 class=3Ddate-header>Friday, January 25, 2008</H2>
<DIV class=3Dpost><A rel=3Dnofollow name=3D4036887369953268854></A>
<H3 class=3Dpost-title>4.5 millions Orphans in Iraq, a tragic situation </H=
3>
<DIV class=3Dpost-body>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Baghdad,Voices of Iraq =96 (VOI). New reports of Iraqi Ministry =
of Labor and Social Affairs released in 16 January, 2008 with new disaster =
numbers of children situation in Iraq. This report was declare that in Iraq=
now 4.5 millions Iraqi orphans with 500 000 living in streets without any =
home or family care about thier, as well as there are only 459 orphans in g=
overnmental houses of orphans.<BR><BR>The dramatic facts in this report als=
o, there are 800 Iraqi orphans in American Iraqi prisons until January 2008=
(700 orphans in Iraqi prisons and 100 another orphans in American prisons.=
<BR><BR>In a Baghdadi popular market, Mustafa Fadhil, a ten year old child,=
sits waiting to carry the items purchased by individuals who are out doing=
their shopping, for some trivial income that he needs to help his family f=
ollowing his father=92s death who was a victim of the violence in Iraq. <BR=
>From time to time, Mustafa imagines himself back again in
classroom; a dream that disappears when a customer, looking for a carrier,=
calls him =93I left school and started working when my father was killed i=
n a mortar attack that targeted our house around two years ago, and I have =
been responsible for my family since then,=94 Mustafa said to Aswat al-Iraq=
=96 Voices of Iraq =96 (VOI). <BR>In an attempt to depend on himself in or=
der for himself and his family to survive under such severe circumstances, =
Mustafa limits his plans to the requirements of daily life. =93I stopped th=
inking about my future, and what I would be when I get older.=94 <BR><BR>Th=
ere are many children like Mustafa, orphans and street-kids that live a cur=
rent tragic reality in Iraq, with an unknown future awaiting them, especial=
ly when considering that there are no pre-existing legislations or decrees =
that protect them and their rights. <BR><BR>The statistics of the Iraqi Min=
istry of Planning and Development Coordination show that there are
4.5 million orphans in Iraq, 500 thousand of them living in the streets. <=
BR>At one of the intersections of Al-Karada, a Shiite neighborhood in downt=
own Baghdad =96 the capital of Iraq, Nassir Saadon, a 14 years old teenager=
, sells candy. =93I live in a tragic situation and poverty, because my pare=
nts were divorced around two years ago,=94 adding, =93I chose to sell candy=
because it is a job that doesn=92t require a large amount of money, but th=
e income is hardly enough to feed me. I feel that my future is unknown; if =
I even have a future.=94 <BR><BR>The Islamic Foundation of Woman and Child,=
a non-governmental organization, believes that with the current tragic cir=
cumstances of children in Iraq, a generation will grow up cultivated in an =
atmosphere of rebellious violence. Amal Kashefal-Ghetaa, the president of t=
hat foundation, explained that =93Due to the current situation, a massive c=
hange took place in the lives of children that forced many of them
to leave their schools and friends to go to work; a matter that affects th=
em mentally.=94 <BR><BR>The Iraqi government, according to Kashefal-Ghetaa,=
=93is not sponsoring those children, despite the fact that the social comp=
onent representing them is getting wider, because of the violence in Iraq;=
=94 demanding the legislation of laws that sponsor these children. <BR><BR>=
The Iraqi Parliamentary Committee of Woman and Child have a pessimistic vis=
ion regarding the future of children in Iraq. Naddera Aif, a parliamentary =
member of this committee and affiliated with the Iraqi Accordance Front (IA=
F) told VOI =93I have a pessimistic vision regarding the future of families=
in Iraq, due to the current violence, displacement, poverty, and family fr=
agmentation. There are 4.5 million orphans, in addition to 800 children in =
prisons, 700 of them in the Iraqi detentions, and the rest in American cust=
ody, all accused of terror or issuing false
statements.=94<BR><BR>According to Aif, the Parliamentary Committee of Wom=
an and Child recently suggested a number of laws in that regard, such as th=
e laws of Orphans Fund, The Childhood Fund, and the Organization of Childho=
od Sponsorship, =93These laws represent a temporary solution that will be d=
iscussed by the Iraqi parliament in this year,=94 Aif said without further =
details. <BR><BR>The Orphanages Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Labor a=
nd Social Affairs considers that childhood in Iraq suffers the loss of righ=
ts comparing with their counterparts in the neighboring countries. =93Kids =
in Iraq are deprived of health care in schools, playing with their friends,=
and the right to self-expression,=94 Abeer Al-Chalabi, the manager of that=
department said to VOI, adding that many children in Iraq are subjected to=
sexual harassment, some of them are conducting hard jobs unsuitable to the=
ir ages, and others use begging to earn their living. <BR><BR>In
Iraq, as al-Chalabi confirmed, there are 18 orphanages, 4 in Baghdad, and =
the rest are distributed throughout other provinces. The total number of or=
phans in all these orphanages is 459. <BR><BR>The sociologist, Atheer Karee=
m, told VOI that the negative situation that children in Iraq are experienc=
ing will increase their suffering, unless the government in Iraq responds b=
y issuing legislations that sponsors them and protects their rights. =93Vio=
lence and bloodshed will have negative mental effects on kids, and their pe=
rsonality, and it would be difficult for a generation to grow up in a healt=
hy manner without the required environments.=94 [<A href=3D"http://www.mhri=
net.splinder.com/post/15607775/4.5+millions+Orphans+in+Iraq%2C+" target=3D_=
blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#5588aa>Source</FONT></A>]</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
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<P align=3Dcenter><IMG height=3D59 alt=3DAlterNet src=3D"http://www.alterne=
t.org/images/site/logo.gif" width=3D173 align=3Dmiddle border=3D0>=20
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<H2>Occupation's Toll: 5 Million Iraqi Children Orphaned</H2>
<H5>By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet<BR>Posted on December 18, 2007, Printed on =
October 16, 2008<BR>http://www.alternet.org/story/70886/</H5>
<DIV><B><A href=3D"http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/25097"=
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4>5 Million Iraqi Orpha=
ns, Anti-corruption Board Reveals</FONT></A><BR>Voices of Iraq</B></DIV>
<DIV>Iraq's anti-corruption board revealed on Saturday that there were five=
million Iraqi orphans as reported by official government statistics, urgin=
g the government, parliament, and NGOs to be in constant contact with Iraq'=
s parentless children.</DIV>
<DIV>"The government should set up an institutional or legislative program =
to help the Iraqi orphans. Iraqi is an oil-rich country and it is not accep=
table that its orphans remain groaning in this tragedy," the anti-corruptio=
n board chief, Moussa Faraj, said during a conference in Baghdad dedicated =
to orphans in Iraq.</DIV>
<DIV><B><A href=3D"http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/25049"=
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4>Harsh Reality for Ira=
q's Orphans</FONT></A><BR>Voices of Iraq</B></DIV>
<DIV>Unlike orphans in many countries in the world, most Iraqi orphans lost=
their parents around the same time and under horrible circumstances. In ad=
dition to their desire for compassion and care, those children need to over=
come their sad memories and make a new beginning in life.</DIV>
<DIV>Recounting her traumatic memories, Halima, a nine-year-old girl who is=
living in a public orphanage, said that she lost her parents in a blast th=
at ripped through a local market in a Baghdad neighborhood.</DIV>
<DIV>"We were shopping in a popular market in Baghdad al-Jadida neighborhoo=
d when a car bomb detonated. I still recall how bodies turned into charcoal=
," Halima told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).</DIV>
<DIV>"I was taken to the hospital for treatment and was told that my parent=
s were killed. My younger brother survived and was adopted by a loving fami=
ly. It was my relatives who brought me to this orphanage," the girl added.<=
/DIV>
<DIV>"Our problem here is that we do not receive academic education. If onl=
y the government could build special schools for us to guarantee our future=
," she said. [=85]</DIV>
<DIV>Nadira Habib, a member of the Committee on Family and Childhood Affair=
s in the Iraqi parliament, indicated that the situation requires wise handl=
ing.</DIV>
<DIV>"Iraqi orphans are increasing everyday because of the constant wars th=
at the country has been going through," Habib explained, citing an estimate=
d three to four million Iraqi orphans according to figures released by the =
Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation.</DIV>
<DIV>Highlighting the importance of small loans to poor people, particularl=
y those who lost their breadwinners, Habib said that only 469 orphans are c=
urrently sponsored by the government.</DIV>
<DIV>Meanwhile, Abir al-Jabli, a head of department in the Ministry of Labo=
r and Social Affairs, said that sponsoring orphans should not only be the c=
oncern of the government. According to al-Jabli, those children would be be=
tter taken care of by their relatives.</DIV>
<DIV>Maysoun al-Damlouji, a member of the parliament's Civil Society Organi=
zations Committee, slammed a recent government decision that closed down al=
l private orphanages. "Instead of helping private institutions improve thei=
r performance and remove all obstacles hindering their work, the Iraqi gove=
rnment decided to close them down, adding to the complexity of the situatio=
n in the state-run institutions.</DIV>
<DIV>The diminishing number of orphanages in the country is only one aspect=
of the problem. According to al-Damlouji, negligence and carelessness are =
inherent in these institutions.</DIV>
<DIV>Two children recently died of cholera in al-Hanan Orphanage and invest=
igations attributed the deaths to the use of contaminated water in the inst=
itution, al-Damlouji said.</DIV>
<DIV><B><A href=3D"http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/8692" ta=
rget=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#9136ad>The Hidden Iraq War: 5 M=
illion Iraq War Casualties - 1 Million Killed plus 4 Million Refugees</FONT=
></A><BR>Haroon Siddiqui<BR><I>The Star (Toronto)</I></B></DIV>
<DIV>It is said that Iraq is the world's best-known conflict but the least =
well-known humanitarian crisis.</DIV>
<DIV>In the United States, where public attention span is low but the capac=
ity for denial high, Iraq's daily carnage no longer commands headlines. Ame=
rican public discourse long ago shifted to the domestic political implicati=
ons of Iraq for George W. Bush et al.</DIV>
<DIV>Those who do think of Iraq think mostly of the murderous sectarianism =
of the Sunnis and Shiites. If Muslims are killing each other, there's not m=
uch America can do, Iraq being another Yugoslavia - once the iron grip of S=
addam Hussein or Josip Tito was gone, all the old animosities re-emerged.</=
DIV>
<DIV>But in Iraq, there was no such suppressed hatred. Shiites and Sunnis h=
ad always lived in harmony. Inter-marriage was common. The bombed-out Shiit=
e shrine in Samara was in a Sunni neighbourhood.</DIV>
<DIV>The more apt parallel is with the 1947 partition of British India that=
precipitated a mass migration and a massacre among Hindus, Muslims and Sik=
hs who had lived in harmony for centuries.</DIV>
<DIV>When the state abrogates its most basic role of maintaining social ord=
er, anti-social forces and criminals can send scared people into a frenzy o=
f primitive behaviour.</DIV>
<DIV>What's happening in Iraq is the direct result of American war-mongerin=
g and criminal incompetence.</DIV>
<DIV>Since the 2003 U.S. invasion, between 75,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis ha=
ve been killed (depending on who's counting). This is in addition to the 1 =
million Iraqis, half of them children under 5, who died slow deaths during =
the 1991-2003 U.S.-led United Nations economic sanctions (a UNESCO estimate=
). [<A href=3D"http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofoll=
ow><FONT color=3D#9136ad>http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html</FONT></A>]</DIV>
<DIV>"Ninety per cent of those who die violent deaths are men, leaving huge=
numbers of widows and orphans without support," according to a special Ira=
q edition of Forced Migration Review, a publication of the Refugee Studies =
Centre of the University of Oxford (<A href=3D"http://fmreview.org/Iraq" ta=
rget=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4>fmreview.org/Iraq</FONT>=
</A>). </DIV>
<DIV><I></I></DIV>
<H5>=A9 2008 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.<BR>View this=
story online at: <A href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/story/70886/" target=
=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><FONT color=3D#247cd4>http://www.alternet.org/stor=
y/70886/</FONT></A> </H5>
<DIV><A href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/102707/in_biggest_oil_sal=
e_ever%2C_iraqi_government_to_put_40_billion_barrels_of_reserves_up_for_gra=
bs/" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><STRONG><FONT color=3D#247cd4>In Bigges=
t Oil Sale Ever, Iraqi Government to Put 40 Billion Barrels of Reserves Up =
For Grabs</FONT></STRONG></A><BR>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#247cd4></FONT></DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></C=
ENTER></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
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