[Previous entry: "McCain urges Iran sanctions, outside UN if needed"] [Next entry: "LATIN AMERICA: HAMAS PLANS MISSION"]

02/05/2006:

"Seabees buzz in to build up bases"

RAMADI, Iraq -- A U.S. Navy construction battalion fresh from Hurricane Katrina relief duty is battling the elements and daily insurgent attacks to build permanent bases in the dangerous Anbar province.
washingtontimes.com


Sunni chiefs raise warnings of civil war
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni politicians warned of civil war Saturday after the bullet-riddled bodies of 14 Sunni Arab men were found in Baghdad - apparently the latest victims of sectarian death squads.

One person was killed and 12 injured when a mortar shell exploded near a Shiite mosque north of the capital.

Sunni leaders claimed the 14 men were seized last week by Shiite-led security forces. There was no confirmation from the Shiite-led Interior Ministry that government troops were responsible.


Sunni leader says Interior Ministry killed 24 Sunnis in Baghdad
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 24 Sunni Arabs found on Friday to the west of Baghdad were killed “in cold blood” by forces from the Interior Ministry, Secretary General of the Sunni Iraqi National Dialogue Council Khalaf Al Olayan told a press conference on Saturday.


“Special forces (maghaweer) from the Interior Ministry raided Al Aqsa mosque in Taji during evening prayers and shot inside the mosque unjustifiably,” Al Olayan said.

“They arrested nine worshippers and took them to an unknown place ... They were found yesterday killed in the Ghazalia region after being tortured together with 15 other bodies,” he added.

Al Olayan also urged the government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari to take the necessary measures to stop what he termed the ”series of brutality and terror.”

Sunni Arabs had earlier accused forces from the Interior Ministry of abducting and brutally killing Sunni people, including clerics. The ministry has denied these accusations.


Iraq, Niger, And The CIA
02/02/06 "National Journal" -- -- Vice President Cheney and his then-Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby were personally informed in June 2003 that the CIA no longer considered credible the allegations that Saddam Hussein had attempted to procure uranium from the African nation of Niger, according to government records and interviews with current and former officials. The new CIA assessment came just as Libby and other senior administration officials were embarking on an effort to discredit an administration critic who had also been saying that the allegations were untrue.