Questions for The New York Times

Graphic source: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images, for The New York Times

In one of those annoying major news media stories that is misleading, factually incorrect, and unduly biased, a productive counter-insurgency move is missed by The New York Times.

The question is, why does The New York Times insist on missing the story and providing incomplete coverage? For example, in the misleading article written by Alissa J. Rubin, she does not explain how, even in her published news article, that you can see a road on the right hand side of the damaged vehicles. What she does not explain but you can see in the picture is that the hospital is on the left hand side of the road.

From the blast pattern, it is obvious that the GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) hit across the road to the right and avoided the hospital.

Graphic source: Global Security.org

U.S. Army commanders and troops have come to view the missiles as their 70-kilometer sniper rifle, but the insurgents understand the weapon in a far more ominous light. The insurgents are calling it the 'Hand of Allah.' For the insurgents, the rockets seemingly come from nowhere. With their vertical trajectory, ability to cover 70 kilometers (43 miles) in 82 seconds and close-combat precision, the rockets are decisive.

Finally, how come Ms. Rubin does not publish a picture of the target and show the Mahdi compound and the criminal activities taking place? The U.S. military targeted and destroyed a Special Groups command and control center. The Special Groups are a unit of the Mahdi Army that receives backing from Iran's Qods Force, the foreign clandestine operations wing that has supported Shia terror groups in Iraq. The Mahdi Army used hospitals as staging areas for sectarian attacks and weapons storage depots. The target was selected for elimination precisely because it was an insurgent headquarters and located in a difficult to hit area because of its sensitive location.

And last but not least, who is Tareq Mahir, listed at the bottom of the article, who is he affiliated with, and if Rubin gets major credit in writing the article, what does Mahir have to do with the article? I think that The New York Times is performing a major disservice in not being upfront with its readers.

Who Said This and When?

And today we salute our unseen allies in occupied countries, the underground resistance groups and the Armies of Liberation. They will provide potent forces against our enemies......

There have always been cheerful idiots in this country who believed that there would be no more war for us if everybody in America would only return into their homes and lock their front doors behind them.

Who said this and when?

24 December 1943, Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Saif Al Adel, Al Qaeda Document, Zarqawi In Iraq Before Americans

On February 17 2008, Al-Ekhlaas which is the largest terrorist forum on the internet published an Al Qaeda document that talks about the life of Abou Musaab Al Zarqawi and indicates that Zarqawi came to Iraq before the war to prepare the terrorist insurgency against the US troops. According to the document Zarqawi arrived to the Sunni areas in central Iraq. This document was written by one of Al Qaeda top leaders called “Saif Al Adel”. There were many accounts about Zarqawi's presence in Iraq before the war in particular in Northern Iraq with “Ansar Al Islam” an active Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group that was present in the Kurdish areas of Iraq long before the war started. The document also proves that Ansar Al Islam helped Al Qaeda members establish themselves in Iraq before the war started. The author of the document wrote that there were no relation between Saddam regime and Al Qaeda but this does not negate at all the most important fact that Al Qaeda was in Iraq before the war for the sole purpose of preparing for its most important front to fight the U.S and it is now in Iraq where Al Qaeda is suffering its most crushing defeat since its existence. It is very important to note that despite the author's denial of a relationship between Saddam regime and Al Qaeda, it does not mean that Saddam regime was not aware of Al Qaeda presence in Iraq. In fact the document clearly points out that Zarqawi went to the Sunni areas in Central Iraq before the war and these areas were totally controlled and loyal to the Saddam regime and it was very hard to imagine that Zarqawi stayed and prepared his terrorist sleepers cells in these Sunni areas without the approval of the Saddam regime.

30 April 2008 Order of Battle-Iraq

Iraqi troops are being improved as the Mahdi have collapsed in and around Sadr City.

Pulverizing Mahdi: GMLRS Deployed

14 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed during clashes over the past 24 hours.

The US Army targeted and destroyed a Special Groups command and control center in a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System.

465 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25.

14 مهدي جيب قتلت مقاتل يتلقّى يكون أثناء صدامات على السابق 24 ساعات.

ال [أوس] استهدف جيب ودمّر مجموعة خاصّة يمرّ و [كنترول سنتر] في يرشد يتعدّد إطلاق صاروخ نظامة.

465 مهدي قتل جيب مقاتل يتلقّى يكون أكّدت في وحول [سدر] مدينة منذ مارس - آذار 25.

Rear Window

Rear Window is a 1954 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story It Had to Be Murder. The movie stars James Stewart as photojournalist L. B. Jefferies, Grace Kelly as his fashion-model girlfriend, Lisa Carol Fremont, and Raymond Burr as the suspected killer, Lars Thorwald. The film combines its main theme, a murder mystery, with a critical examination of the ethics of marriage and voyeurism.

Hitchcock's fans and film scholars have taken particular interest in the way the relationship between Jeff and Lisa can be compared to the lives of the neighbors they are spying upon. Many of these points are considered in Tania Modleski's feminist theory book, The Women Who Knew Too Much. (ISBN 0-415-97362-7)[2]

* Thorwald and his wife are a reversal of Jeff and Lisa (Thorwald looks after his invalid wife just as Lisa looks after the invalid Jeff). However, Thorwald's hatred of his nagging wife mirrors Jeff's arguments with Lisa.
* The newlywed couple initially seem perfect for each other (they spend nearly the entire movie in their bedroom with the blinds drawn), but at the end we see that their marriage is in trouble and the wife begins to nag the husband. Similarly, Jeff is afraid of being 'tied down' by marriage to Lisa.
* The middle-aged couple with the dog seem content living at home. They have the kind of uneventful lifestyle that horrifies Jeff.
* The music composer and Miss Lonely Heart, the depressed spinster, lead frustrating lives, and at the end of the movie find comfort in each other (the composer's new tune draws Miss Lonely Heart away from suicide, and the composer thus finds value in his work). There is a subtle hint in this tale that Lisa and Jeff are meant for each other, despite his stubbornness. The piece the composer creates is called "Lisa's Theme" in the credits.

The film received four Academy Award nominations: Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock, Best Screenplay for John Michael Hayes, Best Cinematography, Color for Robert Burks, Best Sound Recording for Loren L. Ryder, Paramount Pictures. In 1997, Rear Window was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". This film was ranked #14 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills. It was ranked #48 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition). To this day, the film gets a 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_Window

Post, Wall, Barriers to Erect for Security/Understanding

Graphic source: Washington Post

Please note the bias on the part of the respected source. The red part of Quds Street is about 3.2 miles according to NIMA, the US mapping agency. The Washington Post, with a cohort of local stringers and the efforts of Columbia University types, still make a mistake. The scale is wrong on such a basic aspect of mapping at 7.5 miles. On the other hand, perhaps its a typographical mistake. In this case, the 4 on the miles scale should be a 1. In any event, the Washington Post's typo seems to have permit a bias. By making Quds Street appear 2.5 times longer than it really is, they want to send a message that this project is doomed, and that JAM (the Mahdi) is unbeatable. They are not. The incorrect scale should be about 1.5 miles, which is not a standard. Thus the scale was arbitrary and pulled out of a hat to serve a bias.

The recent attacks in Sadr City have centered around the barrier that U.S. Army engineers are building. The Mahdi Army attacks are hampering progress here on Qods Street, dividing the Ishbilyah and the Habbibiyah neighborhoods, which are controlled by the US and Iraqi military, from the northern neighborhoods. The four goals are: to restrict the movement of weapons and supplies into the southern neighborhoods, prevent the Mahdi Army from using these areas as launch sites for mortar and rocket attacks against the International Zone, establish the writ of the government, and provide humanitarian assistance to Iraqis living in these areas in order to wrest control from the Mahdi Army, according to the Long War Journal. A total of 465 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25. The Iraqi government has stated that the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army.

Terrorist Attack Rise: al Qaeda Kills 2,400 Children

Recruits of Saudi-born Islamic militant Osama bin Laden are seen marching in this frame grab from an undated training video at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.

Graphic source: REUTERS/Stringer (I would imagine this is an AQ photographer. Who else would be allowed inside a training camp to take a picture? Reuters is not going inside.)

Attacks for which al Qaeda claimed responsibility killed or wounded 5,400 civilians, including 2,400 children, and Muslims accounted for more than 50 percent of al Qaeda victims, the center's data showed.

The number of people killed in attacks rose to 22,685, from 20,872 in the previous year, the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center said. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for killing or wounding 5,400 civilians: including 2,400 children, and Muslims accounted for more than 50 percent of al Qaeda victims.

More non-Italians Than Italians In Italy Oppose Mosques

Recently I noted that Italy was plagued by a new appearance of al-Qaeda in an Italian website. Today, one out of three Italians oppose the building of new mosques according to a survey. There are an estimated one million Muslim immigrants in Italy and 258 mosques throughout the country. Rome's Grand Mosque is the biggest mosque in Europe. The survey commissioned by the government and conducted by Italian consultants, Makno Consulting, revealed that 31% of Italians are against the construction of new mosques. The Italians are afraid of intolerance of Catholicism and possible terrorist attacks by Islamists. Interestingly, non-Muslim immigrants showed even less tolerance than their Italian counterparts and 50% of them rejected the idea of opening new mosques. 55% of Italians think that immigration from Islamic countries is the biggest problem. The survey also found that Italians should take precedence over immigrants--legal or illegal0--for social services, schools, nurseries, hospitals and emergency care. Italians desired a greater police presence, a limit on the number of immigrants per classroom in schools, and more frequent checks of mosques, licenses and businesses.

12 Somali Insurgents Killed in American Airstrike

Twelve people have been killed in an air strike by American planes which targeted an Islamist insurgent organisation in Dusamareb, central Somali. Reuters carried a story with a biography of the insurgents killed.

Two commanders of the Islamist militia died in the attack. The air strike targeted senior Shabab and al Qaeda leader Aden Hashi Ayro. In a propaganda audiotape released by Shabab in November 2007, Ayro expressed his wishes of "someday beheading women and children in Addis Ababa." The second commander killed is Fazul Abdullah Mohammad. Fazul is al Qaeda's operations chief responsible for planning the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the 2002 car bombing attack in Kenya and missile attack on an Israeli airliner.

The insurgents form part of the Somali branch of al-Qaeda. Since being removed ousted by allied Somali and Ethiopian troops, the insurgents have continued guerrilla attacks. The successful strike is the fifth known US-led air strike against al Qaeda operatives in Somalia since the Ethiopian operation to drive the Islamic Courts from power was launched in late December 2006.

Bill Roggio Appears on al-Jazeera and Gets a Word In Edge-wise

Peace talks between the Pakistani government and Taliban rebels have collapsed as the government refused to pull its troops out of its tribal border region with Afghanistan.

Part II of the interview including Bill Roggio in which a Taliban apologist attempts to denounce Bill Roggio. Even the al-Jazeera talking head attempts to intervene on Roggio's behalf.

US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters in Sadr City

An additional 27 Mahdi Army fighters and a senior Special Groups leader were killed during a series of engagements in the afternoon and throughout the night in Sadr City. The US troops were attacked with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire as they were building a concrete security barrier in Sadr City to prevent rocket attacks on the Green Zone. US soldiers responded and killed three Mahdi fighters. Ten minutes later, US troops killed seven Mahdi Army fighters as they attacked the soldiers with mortars and machine guns. No US casualties occurred in either incident.

US troops killed another 17 Mahdi Army fighters in a series of engagements throughout the day as they transported weapons, set up rockets for launching, planted roadside bombs, and attacked US troops in Sadr City.

Coalition Special Forces also conducted a daylight strike today inside Sadr City to target a known Iranian-sponsored senior Special Groups leader. The leader was killed.

463 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in recent fighting.

The unprecedented buildup of forces indicates the Iraqi government and the US military are serious about advancing into Sadr City beyond the southern third of the district being hemmed in by the security barriers being erected.

Sadr City Cleaning Up for Fall Elections

U.S. troops killed six Mahdi Army fighters in a series of engagements, while the Iraqi government reported that 925 have been killed since fighting broke out in Sadr City at the end of March. 435 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in and around Sadr City since the fighting broke out on March 25. Maliki seems committed against the militias. Clearing the impoverished areas will allow humanitarian groups in, will permit legitimate political activity without the intimidation of an armed group of thugs, and the Fall elections can continue on schedule. The rule of law came to Fallujah in ridding the area of AQ which is happening in Sadr.

وّات قتلوا ستّة مهدي جيش مقاتلات [إين ا سريس وف] إلتزامات, بينما الحكومة [إيرقي] أفاد أنّ قتلت 925 يتلقّى يكون منذ يتنازع [بروك ووت] في [سدر] مدينة في النهاية مارس - آذار. 435 مهدي جيش قتلت مقاتلات يتلقّى يكون في وحول [سدر] مدينة بما أنّ ال يتنازع [بروك ووت] في مارس - آذار 25. [مليكي] يبدو يرتكب ضدّ الميليشيا. سيسمح يخلي المناطق ناضب مجموعة إنسانيّة داخل, سيسمح نشاط شرعيّ سياسيّة دون التخويف من مجموعة مسلّحة سفّاح, والسقوط إنتخابات يستطيع استمرّت على جدول. أتى ال [رول وف لو] إلى [فلّوجه] في يخلّص المنطقة من [أق] أيّ يكون يحدث في [سدر].

Syrian Nuke Nuked

The Syrian reactor bombed by Israel last 6 September had the capacity to produce enough nuclear material to fuel one to two weapons a year according to CIA Director Michael Hayden. It could have produced enough material for at least one weapon. The reactor was of a "similar size and technology" to North Korea's Yongbyon reactor, Hayden said. This is the first we have really heard and seen the Syrian operation from an American view, a development that for the world's sake seems like a good thing to destroy.

28 Mahdi Killed in U.S. Rescue/Ambush

Another heavy-duty day found U.S. troops killed 28 Mahdi fighters during a Sadr City ambush. A four-hour battle in southern Sadr City erupted after a US soldier was wounded by gunfire and U.S. forces began to evacuate the soldier. In a standard tactic used by insurgents, during the evacuation, Mahdi Army fighters triggered three roadside bombs and fired rocket propelled grenades and machineguns at the U.S. patrol. Five more soldiers were wounded in the attacks; none of the soldiers' injuries are reported as life-threatening.

Daily Round-Up

US, Iraqi troops killed 41 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad clashes; there were no U.S. Soldier or ISF casualties in the attack. 11th Iraqi Army Division and MND-B Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were attacked by a large group of criminals engaging with small-arms fire while manning a security checkpoint. U.S. Soldiers used 120 mm fire from M1A12 Abrams tanks and small-arms fire to kill 22 criminals, forcing remaining enemy forces present to retreat. The criminals’ small-arms fire was ineffective. The same day, US soldiers killed 16 Mahdi Army fighters during a series of engagements in northeastern Baghdad. There were no U.S. casualties. US and Iraqi troops have killed 151 Mahdi Army fighters in northeastern Baghdad since Sadr issued his threat on April 20.

تل [أوس], قوّات [إيرقي] 41 مهدي جيش مقاتلات في بغداد صدامات; هناك كان ما من [أو.س.] جندية أو [إيسف] إصابات في الهجوم. [11ث] [إيرقي] جيش هاجمت تقسيم و [مند-ب] جنديات من [1ست] فرقة, [64ث] درع فوج, [3رد] ماشية تقسيم, يربط إلى [3رد] لواء قتال فريق, [4ث] ماشية تقسيم, كان بمجموعة كبيرة مجرم يشبك مع [سملّ-رمس] نار بينما يجنّد أمن نقطة تفتيش. [أو.س.] استعمل جنديات 120 [مّ] نار من [م112] [أبرمس] دبّابة و [سملّ-رمس] نار أن يقتل 22 مجرم, يجبر [إنمي فورسس] متبقّي حاضر أن ينسحب. المجرم [سملّ-رمس] كان نار غيرفعّال. [ث سم دي], [أوس] قتل جنديات 16 مهدي جيش مقاتلات أثناء [سري] الإلتزامات في بغداد شماليّ شرقيّ. هناك كان ما من [أو.س] إصابات. قد قتل [أوس] وقوّات [إيرقي] 151 مهدي جيش مقاتلات في بغداد شماليّ شرقيّ بما أنّ [سدر] أصدر تهديده في أبريل - نيسان 20.

"Truth Is the First Casualty of Warfare"

Graphic source: BBC

This is what happened today:

"US, Iraqi troops killed 41 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad clashes"

This is how NPR reported this event on "Morning Edition" today.

The statement was: "38 people killed in Iraq in the past 24 hours."

If you had not really listened, or since NPR did not identify who was killed, the unfortunate impression is that any number of random persons were killed, civilians and such, and many listeners would understand that simply more violence occurred. Buried within the story is that many fatalities were in fact, "militants."

On NPR's website, the story was re-written: "In Baghdad, the U.S. military is reporting the deaths of 38 Iraqi militants who launched attacks during a sandstorm."

The Philadelphia Inquirer did not run the story.

The BBC world edition ran: DOZENS KILLED IN BAGHDAD CLASHES, as the headline, in small print, "Thirty-eight Shia militia fighters have been killed in two days of fierce clashes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the US military has said."

CNN reports the story thusly, "U.S. authorities in Iraq reported more attacks in Baghdad's heavily fortified International Zone Monday following the deaths of 38 militants in battles on Sunday in the eastern section of the city."

In this version, it sounds as if damaging attacks occurred once militants were killed, as if so many were killed and then a counter-offensive followed.

The point I'm trying make here is that news sources are not reporting in a forthright manner. The alternative news sources are scooping the major outlets. Today, you have to look for the news to find a semblance of the truth.

Europol Votes for Jolly 'Ole England

Europol, the European police force, reports that terrorist plots linked to groups in Pakistan had been "almost exclusively focused on the UK." Just last week it was revealed that 15 plots to attack British targets have been foiled in the three years since the London bombings. British authorities said that 203 people had been arrested on suspicion of terror offences in 2007, representing a 30 per cent increase on the previous year. The motivation is attributed to Islam. In contrast, only 201 people were detained in the rest of Europe. French police made 91 arrests.

Pentagon Readying for Catostrophic Plans: and, Drones to Buzz U.S. Citizens

The Pentagon will be prepared by the Fall with the first specially trained task force designed to rapidly respond to a catastrophic attack against the U.S. The unit will consist of between 4,000 and 4,500 people. Interestingly enough, the Pentagon may also use unmanned aerial vehicles over the continental United States. The drones, remotely controlled aircraft, are considered a “critical enabler” that has proved its worth by helping firefighters battle wildfires and border patrol agents protect the northern and southern borders. The Air Force used the Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft during the southern California wildfires last fall.

More Than Tang

Years ago the Universities were tied to the military establishment and they produced harmful chemicals. Then again, there were supposed to be advantages behind the millions poured into the space race. I would hope though for all the money spent there would be more than just Tang. The gaming video application dealing with PTSD from troops in Iraq has civilian applications as well for anyone struggling with a traumatic event.