Antiwar.com Blog

Though the numbers are still somewhat inconclusive, a total of nineteen soldiers have been killed in Iraq in less than 24 hours.

First, CentCom reported that three soldiers died from combat on April 5th:

Three Task Force 1st Armored Division soldiers were killed during separate attacks April 5-6 in the Kadhimyah district here.

The first soldier died of wounds received during an attack that took place at about 11 a.m. April 5. The soldier was traveling with a southbound convoy when it was attacked with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

A second soldier died later that day, at about 9:30 p.m., when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a firefight in the same area.

A third soldier died from wounds he received during a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his Bradley Fighting Vehicle at about 12:30 a.m., April 6.

The military also reported the death of four Marines later in the day:

Four Marines serving with the I Marine Expeditionary Force were killed as a result of enemy action in the Al Anbar province April 5 while conducting security and stabilization operations.

Finally, a highly coordinated attack on Marines in Ramadi resulted in the deaths of at least 12. These deaths bring the total American fatalities to 636.

Stay tuned with Antiwar.com for updates on these figures.

But I find Eric’s revelation about martyred “civilian” Michael Teague hilarious. And reading the article about his 2000 trial, I’m struck by the incredible convergence of sleaze in one place and time: Aryan Nation goons like Teague, hate-chasing narc Morris Dees, and late JDL terrorist Irv Rubin. What a delightful bunch!

Just watched The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002) last night. I have not read the similarly titled book by Christopher Hitchens, whose smug visage appears a zillion times throughout the film to detail Kissinger’s alleged war crimes in Cambodia, Chile, and East Timor, but the film is entertaining and fairly compelling. The film is problematic, however, in that it seems to endorse international war crimes roundups without any thought to their consequences (such as the devastation of Serbia). I also wonder what the film’s makers think of Hitchens’s latest turn as warmonger extraordinaire, given that their site includes a prominent link to Antiwar.com on its front page. I recently heard Hitchens remark that anyone who opposes the Bush wars is in fact supporting “Islamofascism” (which I assume means in turn that anyone who opposed the bombing of Cambodia, the Allende coup, and Suharto’s attack on East Timor was supporting the spread of Stalinism). Note also Kissinger’s less than ecstatic take on the invasion of Iraq.

I’d be interested to hear readers’ thoughts on the film or the book, as well as filmmaker Eugene Jarecki’s thoughts on Hitchens.

(The title of this post comes from Joseph Stromberg’s must-read history of the “realists” who came before today’s neoconservatives.)

Eli at Left Eye points out this Washington Post article which describes Blackwater commandos engaging in firefights with Iraqis alongside American soldiers.

An attack by hundreds of Iraqi militia members on the U.S. government’s headquarters in Najaf on Sunday was repulsed not by the U.S. military, but by eight commandos from a private security firm, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Before U.S. reinforcements could arrive, the firm, Blackwater Security Consulting, sent in its own helicopters amid an intense firefight to resupply its commandos with ammunition and to ferry out a wounded Marine, the sources said.

The role of Blackwater’s commandos in Sunday’s fighting in Najaf illuminates the gray zone between their formal role as bodyguards and the realities of operating in an active war zone. Thousands of armed private security contractors are operating in Iraq in a wide variety of missions and exchanging fire with Iraqis every day, according to informal after-action reports from several companies.

In Sunday’s fighting, Shiite militia forces barraged the Blackwater commandos, four MPs and a Marine gunner with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 fire for hours before U.S. Special Forces troops arrived. A sniper on a nearby roof apparently wounded three men. U.S. troops faced heavy fighting in several Iraqi cities that day.

The Blackwater commandos, most of whom are former Special Forces troops, are on contract to provide security for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Najaf.

With their ammunition nearly gone, a wounded and badly bleeding Marine on the rooftop, and no reinforcement by the U.S. military in the immediate offing, the company sent in helicopters to drop ammunition and pick up the Marine.

Be sure and click through the link and look at the picture of Blackwater “civilians” on a roof in Najaf fighting alongside Marines.

During the defense of the authority headquarters, thousands of rounds were fired and hundreds of 40mm grenades shot. Sources who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of Blackwater’s work in Iraq reported an unspecified number of casualties among Iraqis.

A spokesman for Blackwater confirmed that the company has a contract to provide security to the CPA but would not describe the incident that unfolded Sunday.

So, can we stop calling them “civilians” now?

UPDATE: Phil Carter at INTEL DUMP reacts to this WashPo article:

Analysis: Whoa… so these guys work for the U.S. government, but not for the CPA and CJTF chain of command? That’s not just odd, that’s dangerous. Even if the Blackwater guys are the best in the world, I’m a little reticent to support the idea of armed contractors running around on their own without command, control and coordination with American and allied units on the ground. It worked this time, but it seems like a fratricide formula in the future.

Moreover, there is a certain “WTF” factor here, to quote a friend of mine. What are these contractors doing that they have this much firepower, and a friggin’ helicopter of their own? And what kind of command system does CPA and CJTF have that they had zero visibility of this incident until presumably the Washington Post reported on it? Blackwater’s employees exhibited a great degree of heroism on Sunday in Najaf, and they should be commended for their initiative and personal courage. However, it may be wise to reconsider the system of command and control that lets these guys run around Iraq with this much firepower and no accountability to U.S. government agencies.

Suffice to say, actions like this clearly support my argument that the Blackwater contractors in Fallujah were not entitled to protection as non-combatants under the 4th Geneva Convention. And unfortunately, because they fight outside the U.S. command structure, don’t wear uniforms, and don’t always carry their arms openly, they’re likely not combatants under the 3rd Geneva Convention either. Thus, they fall in the gray area between the two categories. Ironically, the unlawful combatants we have detained at Gitmo fall into the same gray area. I don’t think it’s necessarily the best idea to contract out combat functions like these to private military contractors, and I think we’re assuming a great deal of risk because of the legal issues in play.

Thanks for the military POV, Phil.

After denying all day today that more American troops (the only kind they can get) were needed in Iraq to deal with the incipient civil war Bremer managed to fire up, it comes to light that the US military has resorted to the old tried and true method of increasing troop numbers….don’t let the ones who are supposed to go home go.

A decision by the Pentagon to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is a reversal of its plan to steadily reduce the U.S. force level there.

Since the war began a year ago, senior military leaders have given frequent assurances to troops and their families that Iraq duty would be no longer than a year.

Now, those assurances have met the reality of Iraq, where military leaders are planning for the possibility that anti-U.S. violence will spread. U.S. troops are stretched thin around the world, and the Pentagon has few options to increase the force in Iraq if necessary.

On Monday, a senior official with U.S. Central Command said that the return home of about 24,000 U.S. troops who were scheduled to leave in the next few weeks would be delayed as their replacements arrive. Central Command’s responsibility includes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With the 24,000 remaining and others who have arrived as intended replacements, there are 134,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Morale should really skyrocket now.

The senior official spoke to reporters at the Pentagon by phone from Central Command in Tampa. He gave the briefing on the condition that he not be identified.

Another brave American hero.

More from Raed:

So, Bush and Bremer said that all the clashes and attacks are being planed by terrorists, and that’s why the American army is killing and arresting “bad Iraqis” in those “bad cities”… those were just minority, but the CPA is going to give freedom and democracy for the majority of Iraqis.

Ok… here is the majority! AsSadr is the majority, he is THE leader of the majority…AsSadr is the symbol of millions in the south who were waiting for Americans come, where is the problem?
Why did Bremer decide to close AsSadr’s newspaper now? And arrest his assistant?
Because the newspaper said that Bremer is acting like a new Saddam?????????
I say that too :*) arrest me.
I think that Bremer acts like a small Saddam sometimes; today he decided to forbidden demonstrations! One year in jail is what you get if you demonstrate without having an approval, to have the approval u must submit a form at least 24 hours before the demonstration with information about why, when, who, how many, bla bla blah..
:*)

The clashes that didn’t happen last year between the CPA and the “majority” just started, in a bad timing too for Bush and his adminstration.

I think Bremer should write a book under the title “how to create lose/lose situations”, he closed the newspaper, arrested the assistant, shoot people in demonstrations, attacked Shia neighborhoods and cities, and now… the outlaw thing.

The picture of the day, is for some policemen joining a pro-Sadr demonstrations at Basra, where people occupied the governorate building, maybe that would be a message to the CPA that feelings of belonging to the social and cultural structure in the south are much stronger than the $60 salary.

Believe me, Bremer and Bush are totally lost; most of the time they don’t know what they want to do, and when they do, they don’t know how to do it.

Believe me, they are playing with fire.
Posted by: Raed Jarrar / 12:27 AM

Thanks to all the Iraqi bloggers who are giving us updates and analysis. They are in position to see it all and identify the real situation.

Go to the link to read the rest – this is an excerpt of a long post well worth reading.