contributions

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
The Pentagon has been accused of smuggling wounded soldiers into the US under cover of darkness to avoid bad publicity about the number of troops being injured and maimed in Iraq. The media have also been prevented from photographing wounded soldiers when they arrive at hospital.
Records show that flights from military bases in Germany arrive in the US only at night. Officials say this is purely the result of flight-scheduling pressures and is not a (…)

By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi apparently suspected by U.S. troops of taking part in attacks in Baghdad accused U.S. forces on Tuesday of taking his mother and sister hostage to pressure him and his brothers into surrendering for questioning.
A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said he doubted the accusation and was not aware of such an incident. But neighbors interviewed around Arkan Mukhlif al-Batawi’s villa in the capital’s Sunni Arab suburb of Taji corroborated (…)

FPF - April 7 - 2005 - According to the latest polls more than half (52%) of the Americans still wrongly believe the 9/11 WTC disaster was the result of the murderous action by the ’Red Barons’ of Al Qaida, with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein as the bad genius behind it all.
A sordid example of indoctrination of the americans, with the ’spin’ of the official 9/11 version. The world is confronted with an American/Israeli terrormachine, with guided missiles and misguided people, paying the bloody (…)

A COMMISSION investigating allegations of corruption in a UN humanitarian assistance program in Iraq during the 1990s cleared Secretary General Kofi Annan of wrongdoing. Annan had been accused of steering a contract to his son, Kojo, through the oil-for-food program, which allowed Iraq to sell oil on the world market and use money approved by a UN committee for food and other humanitarian goods. But the real scandal never had anything to do with Kojo Annan or kickbacks from certain (…)

More US troops questioning Iraq duty By Christian Henderson
As soldiers continue to leave Iraq in body bags or on stretchers in increasing numbers, so too the number of US soldiers who balk at the prospect of serving in the war is growing.
US army figures indicate that since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, about 5500 military personnel have absconded.
In 2003 an independent advisory service for US military personnel, the GI Rights Hotline, received 32,000 calls, twice as many as in (…)

Saddam May Escape Noose In Deal To Halt Insurgency Adrian Blomfield in Baghdad April 11, 2005 Saddam Hussein could avoid the gallows under a secret proposal by insurgent leaders that Iraq’s new administration is "seriously considering", a senior government source said yesterday.
A reprieve is understood to be among the central demands of Sunni nationalists and former members of Saddam’s Ba’ath party who have reportedly begun negotiations with the government amid the backdrop of a bloody (…)

ORIGINAL:
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Saturday, 9 April 2005. Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice. http://www.freearabvoice.org
Saturday, 9 April 2005.
* Exclusive interview with Muqtada as-Sadr.
* Resistance fighters parade in liberated al-Qa’im in defiance of US aircraft.
* Sufis form armed Resistance group, join battle against US occupation.
* Resistance strikes US forces throughout Iraq, (…)

Throughout 2004, the “swing state” of Ohio was in the media spotlight. Prior to the election, it was a site of alleged voter fraud and suppression; as Extra! reported (12/04), the news media tended to portray the charges as partisan ploys rather than significant threats to the electoral process.
Then, on November 2, Ohio became this election’s Florida: Once again a tight race hinged on the electoral votes of a state too close to call. At the end of the night, with only about 130,000 votes (…)

By Peter Popham in Rome
Silvio Berlusconi has suffered the gravest electoral rout of his political life this week, with his centre- right coalition losing power in 11 regions from the far north of the peninsula to the heel of the boot.
The regional elections appeared to have been blotted out of the nation’s consciousness by the death of the Pope, but in the event turnout was high at 71 per cent. And the result was freely admitted to have been a disaster by commentators on the right as (…)

By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is showing himself to be an ordinary mortal after all with a significant policy retreat on Thursday and a new poll showing his approval rating down sharply.
Swept into office in an unprecedented recall election in 2003, the Republican’s approval rating fell to 43 percent from 59 percent in January, according to a Survey and Policy Research Institute poll released on Thursday.
The former bodybuilding and Hollywood (…)