Operation Phantom Fury--Day 289 - Now Operations River Blitz; Matador--Day 184

U.S. troops in Kuwait down by 22,000 since 2003

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, August 22, 2005

ABU DHABI — The United States has significantly reduced its military presence in Kuwait despite heightened alerts of Al Qaida attacks.

Western diplomats said the U.S. troop level has been reduced by half over the last 18 months. They said about 12,000 U.S. soldiers were now stationed in Kuwait.

In 2003, the U.S. Army maintained 34,000 troops in Kuwait, Middle East Newsline reported. In 2004, the number dropped to about 25,000, the diplomats said.

The departure of U.S. troops from Kuwait was accelerated after a series of Al Qaida gun battles with Kuwait security forces in January 2005.
Diplomats said the Islamic insurgents sought to target U.S. bases and convoys in the sheikdom.

"Today, there is a minimum U.S. military presence in Kuwait that is close to the level of the pre-Iraq war [in March 2003]," a diplomat said.

[On Friday, suspected Islamic insurgents fired a rocket toward U.S. warships in the Gulf of Aqaba off the coast of Israel and Jordan. A Katyusha rocket was also fired toward the Israeli city of Eilat, which neighbors Aqaba. Nobody was injured in Eilat.]

U.S. soldiers have been based mostly in Camp Arifjan, south of Kuwait City.

On July 19, a U.S. soldier was found dead in the base in what the military termed a noncombat-related incident.

The American military presence in Kuwait has focused on logistics and supplies for combat troops in Iraq. Kuwait has also been the way-station for troops moving to and from Iraq.

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453604.472222222.html

U.S. turning over forward bases in insurgent strongholds to Iraq

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM

Monday, August 22, 2005

BAGHDAD — Iraqi military units have been taking over responsibility from the United States in the area of Tikrit, the hometown of deposed President Saddam Hussein and regarded as an insurgency stronghold.

Iraqi forces have been assigned an area along the Tigris River that would eventually be extended from Baghdad to Mosul.

So far, five Iraqi military brigades have been prepared to assume security responsibility in north-central Iraq. Officials said sustaining the Iraqi units through a logistics, training and viable command infrastructure was a major challenge, Middle East Newsline reported.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division and Multinational Division North Central, said Iraqi military units in his area were capable of fighting Sunni insurgents. Taluto, based in Tikrit, commands a coalition force responsible for an area from Baghdad to the Kurdish areas of the north.

"We have turned over or closed nine forward operating bases [to Iraqi forces]," Taluto said during an Aug. 17 briefing. "We will soon turn over the palace that has served as our headquarters."

Taluto said Iraqi forces have been fighting what he termed a "multi-layered insurgency" that included foreign Islamic fighters and Saddam loyalists. He said the forces commanded by Al Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi were the most violent and have formed an alliance of convenience with Saddam fighters.

Officials said the coalition was pleased with the performance of the five Iraqi brigades in the north-central region. They said the U.S. military was identifying and resolving deficiencies within the units.

"You can count how many guns you gave [the Iraqi security forces], you can count how many trucks," Taluto said. "But there is a feel that you get from these units that is tough to quantify. I know every Iraqi battalion commander in this area. I know their qualities, and you get a feel about the unit."

In northwestern Iraq, the Iraq Army has demonstrated increasing capability. Officials said all of the Iraqi army soldiers in the area have received basic training, and that all three brigades of the Third Iraqi Division were conducting operations.

Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of Multinational Force Northwest, said the Iraqi division was preparing to conduct independent counterinsurgency operations by June 2006. Rodriguez said his area of operation contained about 35,000 Iraqi security forces, including 14,000 police, as well as 10,000 coalition troops.

The U.S. general said the Iraqi Second Division, originally a National Guard force, has four brigades. He said one of the brigades should be ready for independent counterinsurgency missions by December 2005. "All of them are fighting, and all of them are participating," Rodriguez said.

Explosion rocks shopping centre in Beirut suburb, injuring 3

Lebanese army and security officers inspect the damage at the scene of the explosion that rocked a shopping center and the Promenade Hotel, in Zalka, in the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Marwan Assaf)

August 22, 2005

BEIRUT (AP) - A powerful explosion late Monday rocked a shopping centre and hotel in the Zalka neighbourhood in north Beirut, injuring at least three people and causing extensive damage, security officials said.

Heavily armed Lebanese soldiers cordoned off the area, punching and hitting journalists to keep them back.

Two workers could be seen helping a black-clad, veiled woman down the glass-covered front stairs of the Promenade Hotel. She appeared shaken but not injured. Shattered glass and plaster filled the hotel lobby, but no residents were hurt.

Brig.-Gen. Darwish Hobeika, Lebanon's Civil Defence Corps commander, told Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. that three people, including a rescuer, were injured.

The explosion shattered the windows of several apartment buildings and blew shutters off dozens of luxury boutiques in the neighbourhood. Black smoke billowed high in the night sky, but there was no fire.

Aluminum siding and roofing in the shopping centre buckled. The state-run National News Agency estimated the explosion was caused by 20 kilograms of TNT.

Security forces were seen rounding up several suspects, including five men with their hands tied behind their backs who were taken to a military vehicle.

Zalka Mayor Michel Murr said the bomb was placed in an open area between the Centre Moussa shopping centre and the Promenade hotel, which was packed with tourists. He said none was hurt.

Zalka, on the Mediterranean coast, is a mixed residential and commercial area on a main street that leads to Lebanon's Christian heartland. The area has several cafes - including a Starbucks coffee shop - and restaurants and other nightspots that were full of patrons.

The explosion was the latest in a string of bombings that have killed or wounded politicians and other prominent figures in Lebanon since the February assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, an attack that rattled Lebanon's political and security foundations.

Bombs also have targeted commercial and industrial centres. The bomb that killed Hariri took 20 other lives, and explosions since then have killed at least six people, including a prominent politician and an anti-Syrian journalist. More than 50 people, including Lebanon's defence minister, have been injured.

Hariri's assassination on a Beirut street, which many people blamed on Syria, triggered anti-Syrian protests at home and international pressure that eventually ended three decades of Syrian domination of Lebanon with the withdrawal of the Syrian army.

San Francisco rejects famed warship in antiwar protest

The battleship USS Iowa fires its 16-inch guns during duty in the Persian Gulf in December 1987. The historic warship had served the U.S. military since World War II.

By Brian Skoloff - Associated Press

Aug 22, 2005

The USS Iowa joined in battles from World War II to Korea to the Persian Gulf. It carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders, and four decades later, suffered one of the nation’s most deadly military accidents.

Veterans groups and history buffs had hoped tourists in San Francisco could walk the same teak decks where sailors dodged Japanese machine-gun fire and fired 16-inch guns that helped win battles across the South Pacific.

Instead, it appears the retired battleship is headed about 80 miles inland, to Stockton, a gritty agricultural port town on the San Joaquin River and home of California’s annual asparagus festival.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a former San Francisco mayor, helped secure $3 million to tow the Iowa from Rhode Island to the Bay Area in 2001 in hopes of making touristy Fisherman’s Wharf its new home.

But city supervisors voted 8-3 last month to oppose taking in the ship, citing local opposition to the Iraq war and the military’s stance on gays, among other things.

"If I was going to commit any kind of money in recognition of war, then it should be toward peace, given what our war is in Iraq right now," Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said.

Feinstein called it a "very petty decision."

"This isn’t the San Francisco that I’ve known and loved and grew up in and was born in," Feinstein said.

San Francisco’s maritime museum already has one military vessel - the USS Pampanito, an attack submarine that sank six Japanese ships during World War II and has about 110,000 visitors a year.

Officials in Stockton couldn’t be happier. They’ve offered a dock on the river, a 90,000-square-foot waterfront building and a parking area, and hope to attract at least 125,000 annual visitors.

After the Korean war, the Iowa was decommissioned and placed in reserve in a Philadelphia shipyard for three decades. In 1988, it was recalled to duty escorting oil supply ships safely in and out danger in the Persian Gulf. In 1989, 47 sailors were killed in an explosion that tore through a gun turret during a training exercise.

The warship, decommissioned by the Navy in 1990, is currently anchored with a mothballed fleet in Suisun Bay, near the mouth of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

San Francisco’s rejection of such a storied battleship is a slap in the nation’s face, said Douglass Wilhoit, head of Stockton’s Chamber of Commerce.

"We’re lucky our men and women have sacrificed their lives ... to protect our freedom," Wilhoit said. "Wherever you stand on the war in Iraq ... you shouldn’t make a decision based on philosophy."

Rep. Richard W. Pombo, R-Calif., has sponsored legislation authorizing the ship’s permanent move to Stockton. Feinstein has countered with a bill to open bidding to any California city.

The two versions will have to be reconciled by a House-Senate conference committee considering the Pentagon spending bill.

Associated Press file The historic USS Iowa, sister to the USS New Jersey docked in Camden, is towed through the Carquinez Straits in California in 2001. San Francisco decided not to host the battleship because of anti-war sentiments and the military's stance on gays.

Bush: U.S. Seeks 'Total Victory' Over Terrorists

After addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Salt Lake City, President Bush chats with troops from the Utah National Guard on Aug. 22. (Photo by Paul Morse)

By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2005 – U.S. servicemembers are fighting and sacrificing in Iraq because that country "is a central front in the war on terror," President Bush told Veterans of Foreign War members gathered in Salt Lake City today.

Terrorists want to "establish Taliban-like regimes" in Iraq and other troubled areas of the Middle East, Bush explained to VFW members at their annual convention, in order to "turn that region into a launching pad for more attacks" against America and its allies.

Yet, "in all their objectives" the terrorists "will fail," the president vowed.

The overriding lesson provided by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States is "we must confront threats before they fully materialize," Bush asserted, noting that "a policy of retreat and isolation" cannot protect Americans from terrorists' violence.

Therefore, "the only way to defend our citizens where we live," Bush maintained, "is to go after the terrorists where they live."

Bush saluted today's generation of U.S. servicemembers, who, in defending America and confronting terrorism across the globe, are fighting "the first war of the 21st century."

And the only acceptable outcome for the war is "total victory" over the terrorists, Bush said.

Terrorists want to transform Iraq "into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban," he noted.

And terrorists want to stop the spread of democracy in Iraq, "because they know a free Iraq will deal a decisive blow to their strategy to achieve absolute power," Bush said.

Iraqis had experienced three decades of dictatorship under Saddam Hussein, the president pointed out, noting, "They will not allow a new set of would-be tyrants to take control of their future."

Bush said more than 8 million Iraqis voted in recent democratic elections. And despite ongoing insurgent violence, the Iraqis "are building a nation that secures freedom for its citizens and contributes to peace and stability in that region," the president said.

The finished draft of a democratic national constitution will represent "a landmark event in the history of Iraq and the history of the Middle East," he said.

Crafting a constitution is an arduous process that involves "debate and compromise," he noted, pointing out that the U.S. constitution wasn't easily written and adopted.

As Iraqis continue to take on more responsibility for managing the day-to-day affairs of their nation, the U.S. and its allies will "help them to take responsibility for their own security," Bush said. American and Iraqi troops are serving side by side and "working to defeat the terrorists together."

As Iraqis gain more experience in fighting the insurgency, then American troops will stand down, Bush noted. Then, "our troops will come home with the honor they have earned," he said.

The 1.8-million-member VFW was founded in 1899 and works on behalf of all military veterans and their families.

Iraqis to Take 3 More Days to Resolve Constitutional Issues

By Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2005 – Iraq's National Assembly accepted a draft constitution today and will take the next three days to review the document and hammer out remaining differences before voting on it, the assembly spokesman announced today.

Hajim al-Hassani announced just minutes before today's midnight deadline that the assembly had accepted the document from the constitutional drafting committee.

The move came over the objections of Sunni Arabs, who oppose some provisions and have threatened to vote against it during the national referendum if the National Assembly approves the constitution in its current state, according to news reports.

Key sticking points involve federalism, the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth and the role of Islam in the new government, news reports said.

Hassani reflected the Iraqi National Assembly's goal of reflecting all Iraqis' interests in the new constitution. "There is a determination by all parties that there should be a consensus among all parties," he said, noting that the assembly members "will try, God willing, to reach the consensus over some of the points that are still outstanding."

Negotiators worked through the day to come up with a compromise, but as the clock ticked toward midnight, they opted to deliver the draft constitution to the National Assembly. The Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law had set an Aug. 15 deadline for the National Assembly to approve a draft constitution. However, the Iraqi parliament voted within 20 minutes of that deadline to extend it by seven days, until midnight today, or 4 p.m. Eastern time.

Once the National Assembly approves the draft constitution, it will be put to a national referendum by Oct. 15. If the Iraqi people ratify the constitution, parliamentary elections will be held by Dec. 15 to elect a permanent government.

However, if any three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject the draft constitution by two-thirds or more, the constitution will be defeated.

"Producing a constitution is a difficult process that involves debate and compromise," President Bush acknowledged during a speech earlier today at the Veterans of Foreign Wars' National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The president noted that the 1787 U.S. Constitutional Convention "was home to political rivalries and regional disagreements," and that the document they ultimately produced "has been amended many times over."

"So Americans understand the challenges facing the framers of Iraq's new constitution," Bush said. "We admire their thoughtful deliberations. We salute their determination to lay the foundation for lasting democracy amid the ruins of a brutal dictatorship."

All Iraq's main ethnic and religious groups cooperated in the project, with all making "the courageous choice to join the political process, ...(to) produce a constitution that reflects the values and traditions of the Iraqi people," the president said.

A democratic constitution, once approved, "will be a landmark event in the history of Iraq and the history of the Middle East," he said.

http://www.dod.mil/news/Aug2005/20050822_2506.html

Transparent bags launched for Tube commuters

It is hoped the plastic rucksacks will ease Tube commuters' fears.

Aug 22. 2005

A range of see-through bags aimed at commuters left nervous by the London bombings were launched today.

It is claimed the “Freedom Bags” will make passengers feel more at ease on the Tube, on buses and in public places.

The launch follows “noticeable distrust” towards people carrying rucksacks and large bags in enclosed spaces, according to Assist Safety Project which came up with the scheme.

The bags will help police carry out bag searches more quickly, the group said.

Prices range from £19.99 (€29.40) to £29.99 (€44.15). For every bag sold, 10% will be donated to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund to help those who suffered loss and injury in the July 7 terror attacks.

Each bag is made from clear vinyl, with mesh pockets and padded shoulder straps.

Bob Fitzjohn, director of the Assist Safety Project, said carrying clear bags would help passengers regain their confidence in public transport.

“If we all carry a bag that poses no threat whilst travelling on public transport, visiting a football or rugby match or just in a department store, we are giving the message that we are prepared to let others know that we’re not a threat,” he said.

“Sometimes the perception of danger can be more frightening than the danger itself.”

Christmas for Al-Qaeda

Written by Jan Larson

Monday, August 22, 2005

If the Islamic radicals of al-Qaeda celebrated the Christmas holiday, they would be opening their gifts right now. Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, al-Zarqawi, etc. could not have dreamed that the United States would be playing into their hands such as we are.

Many think that since the United States has not been attacked since September 11, 2001 that somehow we’re winning the so-called war on terror(-ism). Readers that can remember American history prior to this morning’s breakfast may recall that in the weeks and months after September 11, there was a sense of purpose and unity in the country not seen since World War II.

That unity is now long gone. The nation is divided and the latest polls indicate that a majority of Americans think the war in Iraq, which is the central battleground in the war on terrorism, was a mistake. The leadership of al-Qaeda isn’t stupid. Another large-scale attack on American soil would once again unite the country (maybe) and strengthen rapidly weakening American resolve. Letting Americans feel comfortable in their beds is exactly what the enemy in this war wants. Comfort lessens the urgency. It makes us believe that war is unnecessary. It diminishes the will of Americans to stay with the fight.

Instead of launching new attacks, al-Qaeda would rather let the United States defeat itself and that is happening right before our eyes. The extreme left wing has been chanting, “War is not the answer” since the initial incursions into Iraq and now there are more joining the chorus, including conservative columnist Armstrong Williams [1]. More and more Americans are tired of the war and want it to end. Winning or losing doesn’t seem to matter to them. Just bring everyone home and we’ll live happily ever after.

Of course the mainstream media is helping the anti-war cause (and al-Qaeda) by giving voice to anti-war zealot Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan, despite the fact that she is a grieving mother, can only be categorized as a crackpot. If her claims of American imperialism were true, Germany and Japan would be the 51st and 52nd states today. If it were really all about oil, Kuwait would be the 53rd. Sheehan and her ilk can’t think beyond the ends of their noses, but yet it seems more and more are willing to join them in their world of blissful ignorance.

Howard Dean claims that Iraqi women would be better off if Saddam Hussein were still in power and others such as Ted Kennedy continue to beat the drum about an “Iraqi quagmire.” Various others are calling for a timetable for a troop pullout. Repeat it often enough and more and more will believe it.

We are fighting this war like it was a polo match and it is time to feed the horses. The opponent, however, is fighting it like it is a war and we had better wake up before it is too late to realize that this isn’t a game.

No one that I know wants war but there are times, and we are living in those times, when war is not only the answer, it is the only answer.

If not for the resolve of the “greatest generation,” we would have been goose-stepping to school and saluting the swastika. This generation does not have the same resolve. One can only imagine the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth if the daily casualties in Iraq approached the number of Americans lost on D-Day, 1944.

The radical Muslims that are leading the insurgency in Iraq know no rules. They do not fear death and many willingly sacrifice their own lives for their cause (although their leadership surely would not). Americans would prefer to bury their heads in the sand and wish the problem would simply go away so we can change the channel.

This problem will not go away. It will go on and on and on and if the United States gives up on Iraq, there will be no second chance. The fledgling Iraqi government will collapse and radicals will seize control. Iran and Syria will be further emboldened in their support of terrorism and there will be nothing to dissuade attacks on U. S. soil or anywhere else in the West.

I wonder if Cindy, Howard and Ted will change their minds about war if there is a mushroom cloud over Washington?

It pains me as much as anyone else when I hear of American soldiers dying at the hands of bombers in Iraq. The pain would be far worse to hear of American citizens dying at the hands of bombers in Boise or Birmingham.

Those that are against the war, such as Cindy Sheehan, have the right to speak out, but when they do, make no mistake; they are helping to ensure defeat in a war that cannot be lost. The President said that the war on terrorism would be long and costly. Her son paid the ultimate price, not just for the freedom of Iraqis, but also for the freedom of everyone that values freedom.

Al-Qaeda and the radical Muslim terrorists would destroy everything that America is and stands for. I wonder when some Americans will come to realize that fact? Will they realize it only when it is too late?

Prosecutors say recordings in Lodi probe detail jihad intentions

By Don Thompson - Associated Press Writer

Last updated: Monday, Aug 22, 2005 - 02:44:24 pm PDT

Secret tape recordings provide further evidence that a 22-year-old Lodi man attended a terror training camp in Pakistan and trained for jihad, federal prosecutors contend in court filings.

The U.S. attorney's office asked a federal judge on Monday to continue holding Hamid Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, without bail on charges of lying to federal investigators. Prosecutors also say additional charges could follow.

They previously said that the younger man initially denied attending the al-Qaida training camp but admitted to it under further questioning. Prosecutors also said his father admitted helping pay for his son to attend the camp for at least three months in 2003. The men were arrested in June, days after the younger man returned from Pakistan.

The court filing, made Friday, states that a "cooperating witness" recorded Hamid Hayat in March and April 2003 when he was in the United States and again after Hayat arrived in Pakistan in April.

Hamid Hayat "revealed that he understood the nature and structure of various known Pakistani terrorist groups and that he had detailed knowledge regarding the mechanics of attending a jihadi camp," prosecutors Steven Lapham and Robert Tice-Raskin alleged. They cited preliminary translations of the recorded conversations.

Umer Hayat's attorney, Johnny Griffin III, said he believes the witness was an undercover government agent who grew so close to the Hayats that he spent nights in their home.

"Much of what was said was initially said by the cooperating witness," Griffin said. "It was leading questions."

The investigation into alleged terror activity in Lodi, an agricultural town of 62,000 about 35 miles south of Sacramento, had been ongoing for several years.

It also involved two local Islamic religious leaders, who the government alleged had terrorist ties and planned to set up a training camp under the guise of a Muslim school there. The leaders were ordered deported to Pakistan with their families.

The investigation also produced hours of secretly recorded conversations involving multiple suspects, prosecutors have said previously.

In conversations from Pakistan, Hamid Hayat told the witness that he had been accepted for "training," prosecutors said. After failing a lie detector test upon his return, Hayat admitted in a videotaped interview that he attended one camp for three days in 2000 and a second for three to six months in 2003-2004, describing the location and layout of the second camp, prosecutors alleged.

"The purpose of both camps was to train for jihad and to teach people to kill those who work against Muslims," they alleged. They said the camps provided training in weapons and explosives and hand-to-hand combat.

The younger man admitted during the videotaped interrogation that he "intended to commit jihad in the U.S. He did not have any orders to fight at present; however, he was awaiting such orders," prosecutors said.

In their court filings, prosecutors said that with the newly disclosed evidence "additional charges may be filed."

They said Hamid Hayat was influenced by a classmate at a religious school in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, an uncle who fought in Afghanistan and a religious school operated by his grandfather that sent students to training camps.

"Because of his family connections, he was invited to observe several operational training camps. He was assigned a driver who drove him from camp to camp," prosecutors say Hamid Hayat told investigators.

Prosecutors offered details from the secret recordings to bolster their argument that both men should stay behind bars pending their trial, which has been delayed until at least October. Attorneys for the men argue the delay is more reason they should be released on bond. They have been held without bond since June 10.

The Hayats are offering to put up a Lodi property they value at $240,000 to ensure they don't flee. Defense attorneys argued that the only charges against their clients are lying to the FBI and that there are no direct terror allegations.

If convicted only on the lying allegations, Hamid Hayat could face 16 years in prison and his father eight years, prosecutors said.

Lodi Newspaper/Related Stories

Israeli troops close in on W.Bank settlements

The sun sets over the hilltop Jewish settlement of Sanur near the West Bank city of Jenin, Monday, Aug. 22, 2005. Settlers camped out in Sanur and the nearby settlement of Homesh are expected to put up fierce, and possibly violent, resistance to troops scheduled to evacuate both hilltop settlements Wednesday. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

23 Aug 2005 - 04:06:16 GMT

Source: Reuters

SANUR, West Bank, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Columns of Israeli troops advanced on the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Sanur on Tuesday where protesters were preparing a last stand against evacuation.

Security officials feared that hundreds of young radicals who have barricaded themselves inside a stone citadel and a nearby synagogue armed with shields and iron spikes could turn violent.

Security forces minutes earlier began thrusting their way through the barricaded gate of a nearby second settlement, Homesh, also earmarked for evacuation.

AlertNet news

ISRAELI FORCES PUSH INTO WEST BANK SETTLEMENT TO OUST FOES OF EVACUATION--WITNESSES

23 Aug 2005 04:02:59 GMT

Source: Reuters

AlertNet news

'Pop Idol' offers escape from daily grind

23/8/2005 - 08:40 (UAE)

Reuters

Baghdad: When their electricity isn't zapped by daily power cuts, Iraqis can pretend they live in a normal country with a normal cultural life by tuning into the Iraqi version of "Pop Idol".

Despite collapsing public services and the constant threat of death, more than 2,000 young Iraqis signed up for the talent show when Al Sumeria TV announced the venture earlier this year.

Many Iraqis already obsessively watch "American Idol", a version of the original British "Pop Idol" franchise, and a glitzy Lebanese copy called "Arab Superstar" on free-to-air Arabic satellite channels.

But "Iraq Star" is a brave indigenous effort to perk up the spirits of a depressed nation. The studio set is spartan and drab, and there is no studio audience, though viewers are being promised tinseltown touches when the finale is held in Beirut.

"We are trying to lighten the load and problems Iraqis are going through," said director Wadia Nader during recording of an episode on Sunday in a Baghdad hotel.

"We had shows like this in the 1960s when people were discovered on television. But since then, with so many wars, Iraqis couldn't see this kind of thing," he added.

Drawing on a rich native heritage, the show takes Iraqis back to the era before Saddam Hussain and the successive traumas of war, domestic repression and international sanctions.

Most contestants choose well-known melancholy numbers about unrequited love, sung in an old classical style viewed as the piece-de-resistance of high culture in the Arab world.

"I don't regret it at all. Even if I lose, it's still a chance to be seen and do something without fear or hesitation," said young hopeful Lu'ay Hazem after singing before the panel.

Two extra US battalions to Iraq

From correspondents in Washington

August 24, 2005

THE Pentagon plans to deploy two additional battalions to Iraq amid rising insurgent attacks ahead of an anticipated referendum on a constitution, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

Mr Rumsfeld expressed confidence that public support for the war effort in Iraq will hold despite polls showing growing disenchantment in the United States. "I think it'll have the support of the American people, and it will be sustained, and we will be successful," he said.

"And the alternative would be to turn that country and 25 million people over to terrorists and the kinds of people who have used chemicals on their own people and chemicals on their neighbours," he said. "That would be to turn to darkness."

An unfinished draft of the constitution was presented to the Iraqi parliament late yesterday, but deep differences remain between Sunnis and the Shiites and Kurds.

Mr Rumsfeld discounted concerns that Sunni rejection of the charter could leave US forces caught in the middle of a civil war.

"It hasn't happened yet. It is not happening now," he said.

"And, obviously, it is something that one has to be attentive to and be concerned about. But I haven't seen anything to indicate that the risk is greater today than it was yesterday or the day before," he said.

His comments came on a day in which two more Americans, a soldier and a contractor, died. They were killed in a suicide bombing in Baquba that also claimed the lives of five Iraqis.

Around 60 US troops have been killed so far in August, making it one of the deadliest months of the war for the US military since it invaded Iraq in March 2003.

The US death toll now stands at 1868.

Mr Rumsfeld acknowledged that insurgents have stepped up attacks in anticipation of a planned October 15 referendum on the constitution, attributing the higher casualties to more lethal and sophisticated insurgent bomb attacks.

"We very likely will be announcing a temporary increase in forces in Iraq in anticipation of the October 15th. So at some point, we'll be notifying people and taking that forward," he said.

Asked how many troops could be involved, he said between 1000 and 2000 soldiers.

Admiral Edmund Giambastiana, the new vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be two battalions.

Senior military officials said the battalions would amount to extra troops, brought in on top of the scheduled rotation of forces in Iraq.

Military officials also are looking at ways to adjust the rotation of forces to beef up the US troop presence on the ground for the elections from its current level of about 138,000 troops.

Some units already in Iraq could have their tours extended for a couple of months while units due to deploy to Iraq could be brought in earlier than scheduled.

Pentagon officials have said they expect the total number to rise to about the level they were at during Iraq's January 30 elections - some 159,000 troops.

Iraqis are shining in their 'darkest hour'

By DONALD LAMBRO Tuesday, August 23, 2005 2:06 PM CDT

WASHINGTON -- I've just finished reading David McCullough's dramatic bestseller, "1776," an inspiring retelling of the year of our founding. One cannot ignore the parallels of what is happening today in Iraq as he leads us through a year when all seemed hopeless and lost up to the very end. The last chapter is appropriately titled, "Darkest Hour."

The Iraqis are now in their darkest hour, but they are also on the brink of a historic political victory that will establish a democracy in the heart of the Middle East, beset by troubles, but determined to be free, independent and in charge of its own destiny.

Who doubts that the provisional Iraqi parliament will soon complete a constitution that will be the foundation to a permanent democratic form of government?

Despite a delay of a week or so (as of this writing), hardly a setback considering the ethnic and religious differences in Iraq, all that is required now are the kind of compromises in language that even America's founding fathers most likely had to make. I think come Oct. 15 a constitution will be endorsed by a large majority of Iraqi voters and a free, representative government will be elected on Dec. 15.

This is the emerging political reality in Iraq that has been obscured by the doomsayers and doubters on the terrorists' insurgency.

In the end, Iraq's democratic rebirth had more to do with the Iraqis thirst for freedom and the previously underestimated power of a nation's long-abused majority over a relatively small but bloodthirsty band of fanatics and murderers.

The national and foreign news media and President Bush's antiwar critics have focused largely on the number of bombings and attacks by a few thousand insurgents, and not on the political aspirations of millions of Iraqis who are driving the movement toward democratic self-fulfillment.

And, too, there are the deniers who continue to believe that the Iraqis are incapable of achieving a liberal democracy and that they are no better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein.

Listen to what Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press": "... the idea of a liberal democracy with institutions that function like Western democracies is beyond my comprehension in the near term."

But Biden apparently does not comprehend what drove Iraqi voters, at great risk to their lives, to patiently stand in long lines to elect a democratic provisional assembly. They wanted a democratic government that is of, by and for the people. That's why they voted in surprisingly large numbers.

Or listen to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, who still can't come to grips with the historic changes that have already occurred in Iraq. Here's what he said Sunday on "Face the Nation":

"It looks like today, and this could change, as of today it looks like women will be worse off in Iraq than they were when Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq."

This is the guy who, during his ill-fated presidential campaign, questioned whether any Iraqis were better off after Saddam Hussein was driven from power. Now, after women for the first time were allowed to go to the polls and vote and who are serving in positions of governing authority in Iraq, Dean still suggests that they will be worse off under a democratic form of government.

Not only has the role of women been elevated in Iraq -- an issue that is still being debated this week by drafters of the constitution -- but there have been some truly astonishing developments that suggest this nation's long-standing religious divisions and hatreds may be coming to an end.

Last week, several dozen Sunni Muslims in Ramadi, armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons, fought to defend their Shiite neighbors in an attack by terrorist leader Abu al-Zarqawi's cutthroats, who attempted to drive 3,000 Shiites out of the city.

The Sunni defenders killed five of Zarqawi's guerrillas and forced the rest of them to flee the area. "We have had enough of his nonsense," said Sunni Sheik Ahmad Khanjar. "We don't accept that a non-Iraqi should try to enforce his control over Iraqis, regardless off their sect."

There has been a growing number of clashes where Sunnis and Shiites have joined forces to fight Jordanian-born Zarqawi's followers, most of whom are from other countries. Slowly but surely, a sense of nationhood seems to be building in Iraq, a social prerequisite to a democratic society.

The Sunnis, who boycotted the provisional election, have been brought into the constitutional drafting process and their leaders given positions in the government. They now know that the democratic movement, no matter what the terrorists do, cannot be defeated and they want to be part of its historic founding.

This is a story that should be all too familiar to Americans who remember their country's history.

http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/articles/2005/08/23/news/opinion/editorial04.txt

Suicide Bomber Strikes in Iraq, Kills Several Americans, Iraqis

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2005 – A suicide bomber killed one Task Force Liberty soldier, one U.S. civilian, and five Iraqis in Baqubah, Iraq, at 12:50 p.m. today. Nine U.S. soldiers and several Iraqis were wounded.

The attack occurred in the Diyala Provincial Joint Coordination Center. One U.S. civilian contractor, four Iraqi employees of the center, and one Iraqi police officer died in the attack.

Nine Task Force Liberty soldiers were wounded, along with one U.S. civilian contractor, six Iraqi civilians, and four Iraqi police officers. All the wounded were evacuated to a coalition forces medical treatment facility, officials announced. Two of the wounded soldiers have been returned to duty.

A day earlier, three soldiers and a Marine were killed in separate terrorist attacks across Iraq.

A Task Force Baghdad soldier died during a rocket attack in southern Baghdad at around 6:20 p.m. Aug. 22

A Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), died Aug. 22 when an improvised explosive device struck the vehicle he was riding in near Fallujah.

An improvised explosive device killed two Task Force Liberty soldiers and wounded two others during a combat patrol Aug. 22 southwest of Samarra at about 12:40 p.m. One soldier died at the scene and another died later at a coalition forces medical facility.

U.S. officials in Baghdad announced today that an improvised explosive device killed a Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), Aug. 21st near Karmah.

The names of the deceased soldiers and Marines are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

In other news from Iraq, a 37-year-old Iraqi man died Aug. 22 at Abu Ghraib as a result of gunshot wounds sustained during a firefight with coalition forces. The terrorist was evacuated to the 344th Field Hospital with gunshot wounds on Aug. 6. He underwent surgery and was placed in intensive care. He died of complications from the gunshot wounds.

The individual's remains will be transferred to his family after an autopsy. This is standing procedure for all detainees who die in the custody of Multinational Force Iraq, officials said.

In air operations over Iraq, coalition aircraft flew more than 50 close-air-support and armed-reconnaissance sorties Aug. 22, including missions in support of coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities, U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward officials reported. Coalition aircraft also supported Iraqi and coalition ground-forces operations to create a secure environment for ongoing Transitional National Assembly meetings.

U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets; British Royal Air Force GR-4 Tornado two-seat supersonic attack aircraft; and a U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler, an electronic countermeasure aircraft, provided close air support to coalition troops in the vicinities of Balad and Fallujah.

Eight Air Force and Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. U.S. Air Force and British Royal Air Force fighter aircraft also performed in a non-traditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors, officials noted.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

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