http://soldiersdad2.blogspot.com/2008/02/

2/29/08

I logged 753 Iraq Civilian and ISF Casualties for February.

First the good news...Baghdad Bodies Found dropped to less than 100 for the first time at 96 for the month, compared to 115 last month. We have to assume that this is "Normal Crime" at this point considering the size of Baghdad.

Nationwide..gun related death rose from 8.8 a day in January to 9.8 a day in February. Again...this is well within what a fair portion of the worlds Governments would consider "Normal Crime".

Now for the bad news...Badly decomposed bodies...which disappeared in their entirety in January rose to 98 in February...as the period of death is unknown..we don't know if this is a result of "Better Security" or "Worse Security".

None suicide explosive related deaths dropped from a total of 4.4/day in January to 4.2 a day in February.

Unfortuantely, Suicide bombings rose from an average number killed of 3.8 a day in January to 7.8 a day in February. Suicide Bombing has become the primary killing method.

NEW YORK - Actress and humanitarian activist Angelina Jolie said Thursday that the reinforcement of U.S. troops in Iraq has created an opportunity for humanitarian programs to boost assistance for Iraqi refugees.

In an op-ed piece published by the Washington Post, titled "A Reason to Stay in Iraq," Jolie details the plight of refugees and says their conditions have not improved since she visited the country last August to urge governments to provide more support.

Jolie, who has been a U.N. goodwill ambassador since 2001, was in Baghdad earlier this month to again highlight the refugee problem. She talked with Gen. David Petraeus, the American military commander in Iraq, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the U.S. Embassy said.

Petraeus "told me he would support new efforts to address the humanitarian crisis" as much as possible, "which leaves me hopeful that more progress can be made," the actress wrote.

She said she stressed to Iraqi officials there must be a coherent plan for helping some 2 million Iraqis who are taking advantage of the downturn in violence to begin trickling back to abandoned homes from havens elsewhere in the country. A similar number fled Iraq to escape the bloodshed.

"It will be quite a while before Iraq is ready to absorb more than 4 million refugees and displaced people," Jolie wrote. "But it is not too early to start working on solutions."

The actress, who works on behalf of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, urged America's presidential candidates and congressional leaders to step up financing for aid to displaced Iraqis. UNHCR has asked for $261 million this year — "less than the U.S. spends each day to fight the war in Iraq," she wrote.

Addressing the question of whether the "troop surge" has worked, Jolie said that "I can only state what I witnessed."

BAGDAD - Les services secrets iraniens "sabotent" le travail des groupes qui luttent contre les opérations de la branche irakienne d'Al-Qaïda, a affirmé mercredi le chef du renseignement irakien.

"Nous disposons d'informations confirmant que les services secrets iraniens ont dépêché des agents pour saboter l'expérience Sahwa", déclare Mohammed Abdallah Chahwani dans un communiqué, en référence aux "forces du réveil".

Les "forces du réveil", ou encore les "fils de l'Irak", sont des groupes mobilisés depuis septembre 2006 avec le soutien financier américain pour lutter contre Al-Qaïda.

Au nombre de 130 groupes, ils regroupent 80.000 combattants, en grande majorité des sunnites, selon les estimations américaines.

Coalition forces disrupt Special Groups criminal network, detain one suspect

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained a suspected Special Groups member during operations to disrupt criminal element networks early Wednesday in Baghdad.
 
Coalition forces were targeting Iranian-backed Special Groups criminal networks involved in attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces.

Intelligence led ground forces to the target area where they detained one suspected criminal without incident. The suspect's identity is still being determined.

"Special Groups that refuse to honor al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr's cease-fire pledge are a threat to public safety that cannot be tolerated," said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman. "Iraqi and Coalition forces will continue to target these rogue elements, disrupt their networks and bring them to justice."

Bagdad a appelé dimanche Ankara à l’arrêt immédiat de l’offensive terrestre entamée jeudi par l’armée turque au nord de l’Irak, et qui continue encore ce lundi, estimant que cette incursion constituait «une menace pour la souveraineté de l'Irak» et pour «la stabilité de la région». Bagdad a également exhorté la Turquie à ouvrir un dialogue avec les autorités irakiennes, considérant que la menace représentée par le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) ne devait pas être traitée militairement. Pour sa part, le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a assuré dimanche que le seul objectif de l'opération était d’écraser la rébellion  kurde. Par ailleurs, le secrétaire américain à la défense, Robert Gates a appelé Ankara à avoir recours à des réponses autres que militaires pour résoudre le problème kurde.

Sur le terrain, les combats entre l’armée turque et les combattants du PKK auraient fait une centaine de morts parmi les rebelles et quinze morts parmi les militaires, selon un bilan rendu public par l'état-major turc. Samedi, le PKK avait annoncé avoir abattu un hélicoptère militaire près de la ville irakienne d'Ahmadiyah. En réaction à cette offensive de grande envergure, le chef militaire du PKK, Bahoz Erdal, a appelé le Komalen Ciwan (organisation de jeunesse), un groupe armé lié à la rébellion, à mener des attaques terroristes dans les grandes métropoles turques en représailles à l'offensive. Il a également accusé Washington de soutenir l’armée turque, en fournissant à Ankara des renseignements en temps réel sur les mouvements des rebelles dans le Kurdistan irakien. Le Komalen Ciwan, a de pour sa part appelé ses combattants à mener des opérations terroristes en Europe et dans d'autres pays où vivent d'importantes minorités kurdes.

http://www.esisc.org/