Headlines from Iraq:

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Just another peaceful day in Iraq...


29/10/2007 09:12 KARBALA, Iraq, Oct 29 (AFP)
Bomber kills 27 as Iraq PM blames military for slow progress (http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=071029091214.m8l7d8or.php)

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday blamed his own military leaders for rebuilding the security forces too slowly as a suicide bomber killed 27 policemen in an attack on their headquarters.

Maliki, who is under pressure from Washington to speed up the rebuilding of local forces, said Iraq's military and political leaders needed to step up their efforts to do so.

"Allow me to say that we are late, very late, to reconstruct, to rebuild our forces for reasons that I do not want to mention here," he said as he took over the security of the Shiite province of Karbala from the American military.

Karbala became the eighth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over to local forces by the US-led coalition.



11 Shiite, Sunni leaders kidnapped in Iraq (http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_7310491)
SHEIK GROUP WORKED WITH U.S. SOLDIERS TO FIGHT INSURGENTS IN VOLATILE BORDER REGION
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post 10/29/2007 01:32:35 AM PDT


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven tribal leaders who had banded with U.S. soldiers to fight the Sunni insurgent group Al-Qaida in Iraq were kidnapped Sunday morning, the latest in a string of such attacks, fellow tribesmen said.

The Shiite and Sunni sheiks, members of the Al-Salam Support Council, a group fighting Al-Qaida in Iraq in volatile Diyala province, were taken from their cars by gunmen as they returned home from a meeting in Baghdad with a government official, the tribesmen said.


Iraq, Turkey wrangle over PKK crisis (http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/29/2073951.htm?section=world)
By Barbara Miller

Posted 4 hours 53 minutes ago


Turkey has continued its military build-up along its border with Iraq (File photo). (AFP Photo: Mustafa Ozer)

Audio: Iraq warns of Turkish incursion (The World Today) Iraq's Foreign Minister has accused Turkey of not being interested in a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Kurdish insurgents, amid warnings of a full-scale Turkish incursion into northern Iraq.

Just last week, Iraq pledged to work with Turkey to help reign in the PKK insurgents operating out of northern Iraq.

But weekend talks between Iraqi and Turkish officials have broken down.

.

[Moby]

You're so unAmerican to be posting facts.

[disrupter]

More 'good' news from Iraq?

What a waste.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Suicide Bomber on Bike Kills 29 Iraqi Policemen (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/world/middleeast/30iraq.html?th&emc=th)

BAGHDAD, Oct. 29 — Police training in the provincial capital of Baquba turned into a blood bath on Monday when a suicide bomber on a bicycle set off his explosive vest in the midst of policemen, killing 29, the local police said.

A suicide bomber killed seven people just north of Baghdad, and the United States military said a brigadier general had been wounded by a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad, according to The Associated Press. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko, the highest-ranking American officer to be hurt since the invasion in March 2003, was evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. His wounds were not life-threatening, The A.P. said.

Taken together, the attacks highlighted the continuing instability in the vicinity of Iraq’s capital and were a reminder of how easily security in the city could disintegrate.


Iraq development lags expectations despite success (http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSN29558670)

WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Iraq's electricity output has reached a new high but the country's reconstruction effort lags in most areas including oil production, manufacturing and basic services, a U.S. report said on Tuesday.

The report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said total relief and reconstruction investment has reached $103.9 billion -- with about $45 billion from the United States -- through the third quarter of 2007 as violence declined with the U.S. troop buildup in and around Baghdad.

The report to Congress also criticized U.S. involvement in Iraq's development for lacking a central plan for helping to deliver essential services, manage programs or implement budgets.

Iraq's unemployment was running as high as 40 percent and the government's inability to craft an oil law to distribute wealth from the world's third-largest oil reserves was dampening prospects for economic improvement, it said.



Turkey attacks rebel sites inside Iraq (http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070031222&ch=10/30/2007%204:24:00%20PM)

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 (Ankara)
Cobra attack helicopters blasted suspected Kurdish rebel targets on Tuesday near the southeastern border with Iraq in a second day of fighting in the Mount Cudi area, which has reportedly claimed the lives of three Turkish soldiers and six guerrillas.

As the military pressure continued, the government called a Cabinet meeting for Wednesday to discuss a National Security Council recommendation on possible economic measures against groups supporting the Kurdish rebels, private CNN-Turk and NTV television reported.

State-run Anatolia news agency reported the meeting but not what would be discussed.

Turkey is reportedly considering a string of economic actions against the self-governing Kurdish administration in Iraq's north, where rebels are based.

The region is heavily reliant on Turkish electricity and food imports, as well as Turkish investment in construction works.

The Turkish assault on the mountainside positions in Sirnak province began early on Monday with helicopter rocket attacks.


.

[radioguy]

Iraq is still a war zone... Did anyone say that the war was over? I said we are winning the war, not that we had won it yet.

Expecting you anti-Bush libs to acknowledge that we are winning the war, requires a level of honesty that apparently is beyond your capabilities. Even when some of the very stories that excite you lady mod, have positive things to say, you still have the unbelievable ability to pretend they aren't there.

Here are a few examples:

Bomber kills 27 as Iraq PM blames military for slow progress

Monday's bombing took the overall Iraqi death toll this month to more than 330, but this is still one of the lowest since February 2006...

US and Iraqi commanders have hailed the declining casualty toll as proof of the success of a joint crackdown on sectarian militias launched in and around Baghdad in February this year.

On Wednesday Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the US second-in-command in Iraq, said there was a "downward trend" in attacks since June.



Iraq development lags expectations despite success

The report cited improvements in Iraq's electricity sector, where power output set a postwar record of 4,550 megawatts per day because of additional generation units, a drop in attacks on infrastructure, and improvements in operations.

But power production, which surpassed prewar levels by about 500 megawatts, still met only 60 percent of national demand and remained well below a 6,000-megawatt production goal set in 2003 by the former U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, the report said.

A U.S.-funded program to boost Iraq's manufacturing sector has restarted 17 factories with about 5,000 total employees, the report said.

*

We all know that there is still a war going on and that people are going to die. That isn't news, nor is it a surprise. What is news is how the troop surge has turned the tide in Iraq by reducing the amount of overall violence, civilians killed, troops killed, roadside bombs, IED attacks and brought a level of peace to parts of Baghdad that were written off as lost just a few months ago.

But as we all know so well, good news for America is bad news to the left and your refusal to admit the obvious, clearly demonstrates this to be true.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

I'm posting the latest headline stories. Don't blame me if they aren't positive stories from your favorite right wing blogs.


:talktothehand:

[Smurf-Herder]

Hey Lady .... you forgot this:

Iraqi soldiers rescue kidnapped sheiks
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-sheiks30oct30,1,2563139.story?coll=la-news-a_section

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Hey Lady .... you forgot this:

Iraqi soldiers rescue kidnapped sheiks
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-sheiks30oct30,1,2563139.story?coll=la-news-a_section


Hmmmm, it didn't come up on the google search this morning under "Iraq".


.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Concern Raised About Possible Closing of Iraq-Turkey Border Crossing (http://voanews.com/english/2007-10-30-voa31.cfm)

By Deborah Block
Ibrahim Khalil, Iraq
30 October 2007


Truck and taxi drivers at the main crossing point of the border between Iraq and Turkey worry it could be closed soon, as the Turkish government threatens a military incursion into northern Iraq. The drivers say they would lose their jobs and that businesses would close on both sides of the border. Deborah Block reports from the northwestern border of Iraq.

Long lines of cargo trucks and taxis slowly wait their turn at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing into northwestern Iraq. The road is the safest route for trucks carrying everything from fuel to cement.

Turkey's military has been massing at the border, ready to attack rebel bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Ankara says the rebels are carrying out raids into Turkey and recently killed 12 soldiers in an ambush in the southeastern part of the country


Sectarian Violence in Iraq Slows Mixed Marriages (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15691287)

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, half of all marriages in Baghdad registered at the city's main family court were between Sunnis and Shiites. The sectarian violence since then has changed all that. Now, the figure is only 5 percent.

[Moby]

Sectarian Violence in Iraq Slows Mixed Marriages (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15691287)

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, half of all marriages in Baghdad registered at the city's main family court were between Sunnis and Shiites. The sectarian violence since then has changed all that. Now, the figure is only 5 percent.
That's interesting. I wonder if the neocons are proud of that statistic.

[Smurf-Herder]

Here's another one:

Iraqi soldiers donate $1,000 for wildfire aid
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/29/iraq.donation/

Just for reference, the average Iraqi soldier makes a little over $300 a month.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Here's another one:

Iraqi soldiers donate $1,000 for wildfire aid
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/29/iraq.donation/

Just for reference, the average Iraqi soldier makes a little over $300 a month.

Really puts Americans to shame doesn't it?


LM

[Frankg]

Hmmmm, it didn't come up on the google search this morning under "Iraq".


.

It's a real buzz kill when Lady Mod gets "Sorry,No matches found" when she googles "today's casualties in Iraq" because that's the only time she supports the troops , when they're dead

[LadyMod at scam.com]

It's a real buzz kill when Lady Mod gets "Sorry,No matches found" when she googles "today's casualties in Iraq" because that's the only time she supports the troops , when they're dead

You get tons of matches with that search criteria.


I don't narrow the search so severly, schmuck.


Lady Mod

[Smurf-Herder]

Really puts Americans to shame doesn't it?


LM

Considering their situation compared to ours, yes.

I'm surprised they even thought to do it. Nothing to gain, except helping others in need, with what little they really can't afford to spare, under the circumstances they live in.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Considering their situation compared to ours, yes.

I'm surprised they even thought to do it. Nothing to gain, except helping others in need, with what little they really can't afford to spare, under the circumstances they live in.

And they aren't even "christians" imagine that?


Lady Mod

[Smurf-Herder]

And they aren't even "christians" imagine that?


Lady Mod

You're not obsessed with them, are you?

[LadyMod at scam.com]

You're not obsessed with them, are you?

Who? Christians or Iraqians?


I was being sarcastic, Darlin'.


Lady Mod

[Smurf-Herder]

Who? Christians or Iraqians?


I was being sarcastic, Darlin'.


Lady Mod

You have to admit, there are some good-hearted people over there; who didn't have to give their much-needed money to help "rich Americans" (in comparison).

[LadyMod at scam.com]

You have to admit, there are some good-hearted people over there; who didn't have to give their much-needed money to help "rich Americans" (in comparison).

I not only admit it, I'm reminded of the poor woman at the well who gave her 3 pennies to the offering plate. Christ said, of all the people there, she gave more than any of those that had more, because she gave all she had, from her heart. She sacrificed.

That's what these Iraqi soldiers remind me of. And I am glad there are still people in this world like them. If I had been one of the recipients, no gift would have been greater nor more appreciated.


Lady Mod

[Smurf-Herder]

I not only admit it, I'm reminded of the poor woman at the well who gave her 3 pennies to the offering plate. Christ said, of all the people there, she gave more than any of those that had more, because she gave all she had, from her heart. She sacrificed.

That's what these Iraqi soldiers remind me of. And I am glad there are still people in this world like them. If I had been one of the recipients, no gift would have been greater nor more appreciated.


Lady Mod

We're in total agreement on that. :thumbsup:

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Regional conference to focus on Iraq (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq;_ylt=AsSL2rx.inO5e4M0r2RG5PhX6GMA)

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Oct 31, 7:22 AM ET


BAGHDAD - The Iraqi foreign minister said Wednesday that this weekend's regional conference in Istanbul must focus only on Iraq's security and stability, not the border crisis over Turkey's threatened incursion against Kurdish rebels.

The high-level meeting on Saturday will be a follow-up to a May meeting in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Iraq's neighbors, among other things, promised to stop foreign militants from joining Iraq's insurgency, a pledge that the United States says has not been met.

But it comes as Turkey has threatened military action against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK, who have been staging cross-border hit-and-run attacks into Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq as they seek to create an autonomous Kurdish state in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Turkey also is considering a series of economic sanctions that could affect the self-governing Kurdish administration in Iraq's north.

.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Tension With Turkey Shaking Iraq (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: October 31, 2007

BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 — Tensions in northern Iraq between Kurdish guerrillas and neighboring countries are threatening to dominate Iraq’s diplomatic agenda, despite the country’s far broader needs, Iraqi officials indicated today.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki met with Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, and asked him to intervene on Iraq’s behalf at the meeting of Iraq’s neighbors in coming days in Istanbul.

“The prime minister asked the Islamic Republic to present their full support to Iraq during the Istanbul meeting and also to participate in solving the border crises between Turkey and the P.K.K.,” said a statement from Mr. Maliki’s office.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Iraq reiterates LUKOIL deal is dead (http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSCOL55148220071105)

BAGHDAD, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Iraq's Oil Ministry reiterated on Monday that a $4 billion, Saddam Hussein-era deal with Russian oil major LUKOIL had been scrapped and said it would not be revived.

LUKOIL had hoped to resuscitate the deal to develop the vast West Qurna field in Iraq's southern desert. Russian oil officials had said LUKOIL and other firms were prepared to change the terms of old contracts.

"Iraq has declared before that all the contracts made or signed during the Saddam era were cancelled," oil ministry spokesman Assem Jehad said.

"All old contracts will be reviewed and they all must be subjected to the new Iraqi oil law," he said.

Iraq's central government agreed on a draft oil law early this year, but the long-awaited bill still has not been passed by parliament.



Iraq Vet Loses 3 Kids in Car Wreck (http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Nov05/0,4670,SoldierapossChildrenAccident,00.html)

DALLAS — All three young children of a wounded Iraq veteran and his wife have died following a car accident that happened on their way to visit their father in a hospital.

Three weeks after his two siblings died in the Oct. 13 accident, 9-year-old Tyler Johnson died Saturday at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

Army Spc. John Austin Johnson was waiting for his wife, Lisa, and the children to visit him at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio when the crash occurred on Interstate 10 about 12 miles east of Ozona.

Authorities said Lisa Johnson overcorrected the steering in her sport utility vehicle when she encountered a gust of wind on the drive from El Paso, and the vehicle rolled at least four times.

Two-year-old Logan and 5-year-old Ashley died at the scene. Tyler suffered massive head injuries.

Investigators blamed the accident on a combination of high speed, drowsiness and powerful wind, but said Lisa Johnson was driving at the speed limit.

The three children were in the back seat. Logan was in a child seat, but the other two children were not wearing seat belts.