Mission failed: In Baghdad, all roads lead to the morgue

[bigtree]

Mission failed

Paul McGeough
August 26, 2006


In Baghdad, all roads lead to the morgue. Despite webs of spin from Baghdad to Washington and London about the nature of the violence in Iraq - is it an "undeclared", a "low-grade" or a "nascent" civil war? - this establishment on the city's northern side comes from the pages of Dante.

It reveals the unvarnished truth of this deepening conflict: the body count rises steadily - more than 1800 mutilated corpses were trucked in from across the capital last month, a significant rise on the June toll of almost 1600. Across the country, almost 3200 Iraqis died violently in June.

At the morgue, the bodies are divided along sectarian lines. The viciousness of the killings is sickening. Sunni victims of Shiia violence usually have holes drilled in their heads and joints and are found near the Shiia slums of Sadr City; Shiia victims of Sunni violence are often shot in the head or decapitated and are usually dragged from the tepid waters of the Tigris.

Up to 200 bodies are delivered each day . . .

The Iraqi Government threatens morgue staff with reprisals if they dare reveal information to reporters, because the data they hold is such a devastating indicator of the Government's - and the Americans' - failure.


full article: http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/mission-failed/2006/08/25/1156012739263.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2


Baghdad is Bush's Last Stand in Iraq (8-24-2006)

[babylonsister]

1. God, we need to get out of there!

:-(

[Up2Late]

2. A slightly Shorter version is at "The Age," here's the link and a Kick

:kick:

Bush 'palace' shielded from Iraqi storm

Paul McGeough, Baghdad
August 26, 2006

THE plans are a state secret, so just where the Starbucks and Krispy Kreme stores will be is a mystery. But as the concrete hulks of a huge 21-building complex rise from the ashes of Saddam's Baghdad, Washington is sending a clear message to Iraqis: "We're here to stay."

It's being built in the Middle East, but George W's palace, as the locals have dubbed the new US embassy, is designed as a suburb of Washington. An army of more than 3500 diplomatic and support staff will have their own sports centre, beauty parlour and swimming pool. Each of the six residential blocks will contain more than 600 apartments.

The prime 25-hectare site was a steal — it was a gift from the Iraqi Government. And if the five-metre-thick :hi:perimeter walls don't keep the locals at bay, then the built-in surface-to-air missile station should. Guarded by a dozen gangly cranes, the site in the heart of the Green Zone is floodlit by night and is so removed from Iraqi reality that its entire construction force is foreign.

After almost four years, the Americans still can't turn on the lights for the Iraqis, but that won't be a problem for the embassy staffers. The same with the toilets — they will always flush on command. All services for the biggest embassy in the world will operate independently from the rattletrap utilities of the Iraqi capital.

(more at link) <http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bush-palace-shielded-from-iraqi-storm/2006/08/25/1156012740594.html#>