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Iraq/Afghanistan news http://www.bbfans.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=31806	Page 1 of 29

Author:	Madeline [ 02 Oct 07, 12:20 ]
Post subject:	Iraq/Afghanistan news
1,000 British troops home from Iraq for Christmas Gordon Brown has announced that 1,000 British troops will be home from Iraq for Christmas. It came during his first visit to the country as Prime Minister. Mr Brown said he believed that Basra province could be handed over to full Iraqi control within the next two months. "What we propose to do over these next few months is to move from a situation where we have a combat role to an overwatch role." He said that this would involve the present British force of 5,500 being cut to 4,500 - freeing up the troops for other duties. "Hopefully they will be home by Christmas," Mr Brown told reporters. Mr Brown will hold talks with senior Iraqi politicians, including Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. He is also due to meet the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. His visit comes ahead of his Commons statement next week on the future of the British mission in Basra. "He is going to want to discuss the developing security situation in Basra, the prospects for the Iraqis taking over and the timescale for that," one senior official said. "This is part of the process of preparing and finalising the statement to Parliament early next week." Britain currently has 5,000 troops stationed at Basra Airport following their pull-out from Basra Palace - their last remaining base in the city itself. UK commanders are hoping to be able finally to hand over full responsibility for security in the city to the Iraqis in the coming weeks and months. It is expected, however, that a British force will remain at the airport for some time to come on "tactical overwatch", ready to assist the Iraqi security forces if they run into difficulties they cannot cope with alone. Officials have, however, been encouraged that there has been no deterioration of the security situation in the city since the withdrawal from Basra Palace, despite warnings that it could lead to further violence and bloodshed. Metro

Author:	Madeline [ 02 Oct 07, 19:29 ]
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Blackwater boss grilled over Iraq Erik Prince's company has been paid more than $1bn for its services The chairman of US private security contractor Blackwater has defended his firm and his staff during a grilling by a congressional committee. Blackwater has come under scrutiny since a shoot-out last month in Baghdad in which 11 Iraqis were killed. The FBI has begun investigating that incident. The firm's founder, Erik Prince, said his staff were brave and effective, and had acted "appropriately". But one of the committee asked if the firm was "a shadow mercenary force". "Blackwater appears to have fostered a culture of shoot first - and sometimes kill - and then ask the questions," said Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings. Blackwater is the main firm employed by the state department to provide security for its staff and visiting officials and businessmen. It has earned more than $1bn (£490m) from US government contracts since 2001. The state department paid the company more than $832m (£408m) for security work between 2004 and 2006. 'Short' on standards The 16 September shooting incident is not featuring in the hearing by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, because it is under investigation by the FBI. CONGRESS BLACKWATER REPORT Earned more than $1bn (£490m) from US government contracts since 2001 Staff involved in 195 shootings in Iraq between 2005 and 12 September 2007 Allegedly drunk employee killed Iraqi vice-president's guard in 2006, but was flown out of Iraq and faced no criminal charges 28 staff in Iraq sacked for weapons-related incidents, 25 for alcohol and drug violations But congressmen raised a number of other incidents they said showed that Blackwater fell short of the standards of the US military. The committee's chairman, Henry Waxman, referred to an incident in Afghanistan in 2004 when a Blackwater plane flown by inexperienced pilots crashed, killing US service personnel on board. An investigation showed the pilots did not follow procedure, did not know where they were going and were treating their mission as "fun". "Is Blackwater, a private military contractor, helping or hurting our efforts?" Mr Waxman asked, referring to Iraq. Good value? Several representatives referred to an incident in which a Blackwater guard shot dead a bodyguard of one of Iraq's vice-presidents while drunk. He was hurried out of Iraq and faced no criminal charges. Mr Prince said Blackwater had taken firm action against the guard. He was fined and fired. He also said that 30 Blackwater staff had been killed while working to defend US diplomats, but that none of its clients had died while in its protection. BLACKWATER USA FACTS Founded in 1997 by a former US Navy Seal Headquarters in North Carolina One of at least 28 private security companies in Iraq Employs 744 US citizens, 231 third-country nationals, and 12 Iraqis to protect US state department in Iraq Provided protection for former CPA head Paul Bremer Four employees killed by mob in Falluja in March 2004 "There is no better evidence of the skill and dedication of these men," said Mr Prince, who is a former member of the US Navy Seals special forces. Mr Prince, 38, said his firm was happy to be subjected to greater oversight. "Blackwater believes that more can and should be done to increase accountability, oversight and transparency," he told the hearing. Mr Waxman's staff produced a scathing report on Monday that released details of several incidents involving Iraqi casualties, in which Blackwater employees had fired first on 163 out of 195 occasions. In the majority of cases, the guards fired their weapons from moving vehicles without stopping to count the dead or assist the wounded, the report said. He questioned whether private contractors should be used instead of US soldiers. "The question for this hearing is whether outsourcing to Blackwater is a good deal to the American taxpayer," he said. BBC

Author:	JimD [ 02 Oct 07, 19:59 ]
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Row over timing of Iraq announcement Political opponents, including former prime minister Sir John Major, have criticised the timing of Gordon Brown's latest Iraq announcement. The prime minister, who on Tuesday was visiting Baghdad and Basra, said that 1,000 soldiers are to be withdrawn from the country. They should be home before Christmas, Brown said. The move was interpreted as paving the way for an autumn general election. epolitix

Author:	Madeline [ 04 Oct 07, 9:34 ]
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Violence in Afghanistan has soared by 30%, UN report says An alarming surge in suicide attacks has fuelled a 30% rise in violence in Afghanistan this year, according to the UN. This year has seen an average of 550 violent incidents a month compared with 425 in 2006, a report by the Department of Safety and Security said. The past 10 days have been a sobering indicator of the trend - almost 300 people have died in coalition air strikes, roadside ambushes and suicide bombings. The bloodshed is in stark contrast with Iraq, where the death rate has been steadily falling, partly due to a US troop surge. There are 40,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan and more than 175,000 in Iraq. Brutality has become a hallmark of the insurgency. This week the Taliban hanged a 15-year-old boy from an electrical pole in Helmand, stuffing dollar bills into his mouth and accusing him of being a spy. In Kabul last Saturday 30 people died after a suicide bomber boarded a bus transporting Afghan army recruits. A second attack on Tuesday killed 17 people on a police bus, including a mother and four children. In the south, Nato and American-led forces are gaining large military victories, sometimes claiming hundreds of Taliban deaths a day. But the insurgents have adapted to the western military superiority by focusing on low-intensity, high-impact attacks in civilian areas. "The battles with western forces are incredibly lopsided. But the Taliban probably consider they are winning," said Seth Jones, an analyst with the Rand Corporation. The UN report contradicts recent upbeat statements by President George Bush and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, in New York. Now Mr Karzai and western officials are discussing a previously unthinkable prospect - negotiation with the enemy. Last Saturday Mr Karzai repeated his offer of talks with the Taliban's one-eyed leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, referring to him as "esteemed" instead of the usual boilerplate "enemy of Afghanistan". But the overture was swiftly rebuffed. "The Taliban will never negotiate with the Afghan government in the presence of foreign troops," spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told Associated Press. A Karzai spokesman said it was "a process that would take some time". Analysts say the Taliban have a two-pronged strategy: to re-establish their authority over the southern provinces around their former headquarters in Kandahar and to destabilise a ring of provinces around Kabul. "They are trying to split Kandahar from the north," said a western military official in the region. A senior British commander admitted to a recent visitor that Nato controlled "at most" 20% of southern Afghanistan. Rear bases in Baluchistan in neighbouring Pakistan also play a key role. "To the degree there's any central leadership it's based out of Quetta," said Mr Jones, referring to the Baluchi capital. A western official with access to intelligence files said it was "absolutely true" that some Pakistani officials were helping the Taliban. "There are clearly people in the ISI [intelligence agency] and the military who help out. They make it a romantic thing: the Pashtuns who haven't been defeated since Alexander the Great," he said. But the official said that President General Pervez Musharraf had been a "pretty good ally" in the fight against militancy, and that the assistance to the Taliban was limited to a small number of officials. Mr Karzai's most urgent problem is his own lack of authority. Rampant drug smuggling and government corruption have badly eroded faith in his leadership in the worst affected areas. "The Taliban are not particularly popular. It's just that people are completely fed up with the government," said Mr Jones. guardian

Author:	Madeline [ 05 Oct 07, 15:24 ]
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UK soldier killed in Afghan blast British troops had been involved in a mission to clear insurgents A British soldier has been killed and two others injured in an explosion in southern Afghanistan. The soldiers, serving with the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, were returning to Kandahar Airfield on Thursday when the blast happened. It is the first death in the conflict of a soldier serving with the Gurkhas. All three soldiers had been part of a major operation in neighbouring Helmand Province when they were hit. Their families have been informed. Major mission The soldiers were hit by the blast 19 miles (30km) from the main coalition air base at Kandahar in the south of the country. All three were airlifted to the main UK base at Camp Bastion, where one was pronounced dead. The Gurkhas were involved in an operation involving 2,500 troops - their first major operation since their arrival in the country earlier this month. Troops confront danger on a daily basis as they continue to improve the security situation in Afghanistan Squadron Leader Mat Best Codenamed 'Palk Wahel' or 'Sledgehammer Hit', the mission, involving other British troops and Afghan National Security Forces, aims to drive the Taleban insurgents from the Upper Gereshk Valley. The Ministry of Defence said it was with "deep regret" that it had to announce the death. Squadron Leader Mat Best, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said: "Isaf troops confront danger on a daily basis as they continue to improve the security situation in Afghanistan. "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have died or been injured in the incident." The soldier's death takes the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001 to 82. BBC

Author:	Madeline [ 06 Oct 07, 10:50 ]
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Gurkha killed in Afghanistan A Gurkha major was killed in Afghanistan yesterday and two others were badly injured when a roadside bomb exploded. The man, believed to be British-born, was in a vehicle near Kandahar. His two colleagues from the The Royal Gurkha rifles were airlifted to hospital. The major, who has not been named, is thought to be the first Gurkha killed there since operations began six years ago. The battalion, trained in barracks at Folkestone, Kent, have only been in Afghanistan since August. [url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/10/06/gurkha-killed-in-afghanistan-89520-19906054/[/url]

Author:	Madeline [ 06 Oct 07, 10:55 ]
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A homecoming fit for heroes? Deserted streets greet soldiers' parade on their return from Afghanistan Mail

Author:	Madeline [ 06 Oct 07, 14:36 ]
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Why? Six years on from the invasion of Afghanistan As another British soldier is killed in Afghanistan, Patrick Cockburn asks what is the point of the mission Six years after a war was launched to overthrow the Taliban, British solders are still being killed in bloody skirmishing in a conflict in which no final victory is possible. Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan by the US, Britain and allies, an operation codenamed Enduring Freedom. But six years on, Britain is once again, as in Iraq, the most junior of partners, spending the lives of its soldiers with little real influence over the war. The outcome of the conflict in Afghanistan will be decided in Washington and Islamabad. There is no chance of defeating the Taliban so long as they can retreat, retrain and recoup in the mountain fastnesses of Pakistan. Yesterday, we learned of the death of another British soldier. Although his identity has not been released, it is believed that the dead man acted as a mentor to Prince William. Two others were injured when their vehicle was caught by an explosion west of Kandahar, bringing the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 82 since 2001. The drip-drip of British losses underlines how little has been achieved in the past six years, and how quickly any gains can be lost. Most of southern Afghanistan was safer in the spring of 2002 than it is now and at no moment during the years that have elapsed is there any evidence from the speeches of successive British ministers that they have much idea what we are doing there and what we hope to achieve. This week, the Conservative leader David Cameron told supporters that he would restore Afghanistan to the "number one priority in foreign policy" . The remark highlighted how this conflict has all but slipped from the political agenda. Yet, Afghanistan is filled with the bones of British soldiers who died in futile campaigns in the 19th century and beyond. The lesson of these long forgotten wars is that military success on the ground in Afghanistan is always elusive and, even when achieved, seldom turns into lasting political success. The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan through Pakistani support and it was when this support was withdrawn in 2001 that the Taliban abandoned Kabul and Kandahar in the days and weeks after 7 October without a fight. But six years later, the Taliban are back. The violence shows no sign of ending. Suicide bombings, gun battles, airstrikes and roadside bombs have killed 5,100 people in the first nine months of this year, a 55 per cent increase over the same period in 2006. I went to Afghanistan in September 2001 a few days after 9/11 when it became obvious the US was going to retaliate by overthrowing the Taliban because they had been the hosts of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. It was a very peculiar war that followed, distinguished, above all, by a lack of real fighting. When Pakistani support and Saudi money were withdrawn, the Taliban's regime unravelled at extraordinary speed. By early 2002, I was able to drive from Kabul to Kandahar without feeling that I was taking my life in my hands. But, for all the talk of progress and democracy and the presence of thousands of British, American and other Nato troops on the ground, it is impossible to undertake such journeys across the country safely. Yet, back in 2001, from the moment I saw the first American bombs falling on Kabul and the sparks of light from the feeble Taliban anti-aircraft guns, it was obvious the two sides were completely mismatched. Taliban fighters who expected to be targeted, simply fled before they were annihilated. The victory came too easily. The Taliban never made a last stand even in their bastions of support in the Pashtun heartlands in south. It was a very Afghan affair in keeping with the traditions of the previous 25 years when sudden betrayals and changes of alliance, not battles, had decided the winner. Driving from Kabul towards Kandahar in the footsteps of the Taliban, I visited the fortress city of Ghazni on the roads south where the Taliban had suddenly dematerialised and received a de facto amnesty in return for giving up power without a fight. Qari Baba, the ponderous looking governor of Ghazni province, who had been appointed the day before, said: "I don't see any Taliban here", which was surprising since the courtyard in front of his office was crowded with tough-looking men in black turbans carrying sub machine-guns. "Every one of them was Taliban until 24 hours ago," whispered a Northern Alliance officer. One fact that should have made the presence of British, American and other foreign troops easier in Afghanistan was that the Taliban were deeply hated for their cruelty, mindless religious fanaticism (leading to the banning of chess and kite flying) and the belief that they are puppets of Pakistani military intelligence. And unlike Iraq, the foreign presence in Afghanistan has had majority support, though that is slipping. Drawing parallels between Iraq and Afghanistan is misleading because Saddam Hussein had sought to run a highly centralised state. In Afghanistan power had always been fragmented. But Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 were mired in poverty. One reason why both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein went down so quickly is that Afghans, like the Iraqis, hoped for a better life. They did not get it. Lack of jobs and services like electricity, clean water, hospitals and food continued or got worse. Iraq is potentially a rich country because of its oil wealth. In Afghanistan the only equivalent to oil money is the money from the poppy fields on which impoverished farmers increasingly depend. One of the reasons the Taliban lost the support of Pashtun farmers in 2001 – though this was hardly highlighted by the victors – is that they enforced a ban on poppy growing which was highly effective. If the US adopts a policy of killing the poppy plants by spraying them with chemicals from the air, then they will also be engulfed by the same wave of unpopularity. The opium trade is fuelling lawlessness, warlordism and an unstable state. Both Afghanistan and Iraq are notoriously difficult countries to conquer. They have for centuries, been frontier zones where powerful neighbours have fought each other by proxy. Victory in Afghanistan six years after the start of the war to overthrow the Taliban is not likely. Even massively expanding troop levels would just mean more targets, and more losses. Armies of occupation, or perceived occupation, always provoke a reaction. Ultimately what happens in Afghanistan will be far more determined not by skirmishes in Helmand province, but by developments in Pakistan, the Taliban's great supporter, which are wholly beyond British control. And the agenda in both the Afghan and Iraqi wars is ultimately determined by US domestic political needs Successes in faraway wars have to be manufactured or exaggerated. Necessary compromises are ruled out, leaving Iraqis and Afghans alike with the dismal outlook of war without end. Six years in Afghanistan * October, 2001 – British-backed US-led air strikes against Taliban strongholds. Taliban leader Mullah Omar flees to Pakistan border as his forces forced to withdraw. * December, 2001 – The Bonn deal on the future of Afghanistan sees the creation of an interim government, headed by the US-backed President Hamid Karzai. . * January, 2002 – Nato peacekeepers arrive with a year-long mandate. * June, 2002 – The "grand assembly" selects Hamid Karzai as interim president. * July, 2002 – Attacks increase throughout country and a vice-president, Haji Abdul Qadir, is shot dead with his son-in-law in Kabul. * September, 2002 – Assassination attempt on President Karzai. * January, 2004 – The Assembly backs a new national constitution paving way for elections. * September, 2004 – Another attempt on life of Karzai who is confirmed as President with 55 per cent of vote in elections - first for a generation. * Spring/summer, 2006 – Taliban regroup in the south and carry out a series of fierce attacks there and elsewhere. * July-October, 2006 – Nato peacekeeping forces, 18,500 and rising, take over full control. * Spring, 2007 – Renewed efforts made by British-led coalition troops to force Taliban out of south. * October, 2007 – Violent incidents, especially suicide bombings, are up 30 per cent on last year, with an average of 550 a month. Independent

Author:	Madeline [ 07 Oct 07, 11:58 ]
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Our weasel words betray these decent Iraqis No one talks about the murderous psychopaths who kill the people brave enough to help us Nick Cohen Almost everyone discusses the second Iraq war in the passive voice. It's as if a censor in the head clips out every mention of the crimes of Baathists and Islamists from their prose. So we read that an interpreter for the British army was assassinated; Iraqi Christians are the victims of a pogrom; British soldiers have been killed by roadside bombs. Schoolchildren learn that they must always say who is doing what to whom. In the case of Iraq, many find it impossible to declare who is killing interpreters, Christians and soldiers, and why. Clear English might threaten preconceptions, and that would never do. The Archbishop of Canterbury is proving a master of the evasive style. Returning from visiting Iraqi refugees in Syria last week, he declared: 'Women in Christian communities were regularly forced to wear the hijab and were followed as they went to church.' Yes, yes, Your Grace, but who is forcing and threatening them? He couldn't speak plainly, because if he admitted that al-Qaeda in Iraq kill Arab Christians for being Christians, he would have to accept that their persecution isn't the responsibility of Britain and America, but of the psychopathic adherents of theocratic ideology. I suppose the Archbishop sees himself as a liberal, but Tories can be just as slippery. In his speech to the Conservative conference, David Cameron declared: 'I think that if we have learnt anything over the last five years, it's that you cannot drop a fully formed democracy out of an aeroplane at 40,000 feet.' Almost without exception, the British servicemen and women who are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't RAF pilots sent on a preposterous mission by a Labour government to drop democracy like bombs. They are squaddies on the ground fighting totalitarian enemies in close combat. The leader of the opposition must read the press reports of their deaths - or have aides who can read them for him - but can no more acknowledge their sacrifice than the Archbishop can face up to the true nature of al-Qaeda. Denial makes better propaganda. Tomorrow Gordon Brown will tackle the case of the persecuted Iraqi interpreters who have worked for the British army, and we will see if he too is prepared to bite his tongue and mangle his sentences. Scores have been hunted down by Muqtada al-Sadr's death squads. You can blame their murders on Britain and America only if you recognise a fascistic version of Islamism as 'the resistance' or wish that Saddam Hussein had remained in power. Although many think both in private, few outside the pseudo-left will say so openly. So the issue for public consumption is how to protect them. To date, the British government has been prepared to let them die. When interpreters asked for asylum in Britain they were told by David Miliband's Foreign Office to go to a third country and apply at a UK embassy for a visa to come to Britain. It is the oldest trick in Whitehall's book, and you have to know the intricacies of the immigration rules to appreciate its deviousness. Put simply, if an Iraqi interpreter asks embassy staff in say Jordan to give him a visa because he wants to come to Britain to apply for refugee status, they will order him to leave. Even if he lies, they still won't give him a visa if they suspect he intends to claim asylum. You can't get a visa to claim asylum, and without it the airlines won't let you board a plane. If he can afford to pay criminals to smuggle him here, he'll probably be left unmolested. The old Home Office lost control of immigration and hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants are living shady lives here out of sight of the law. That said, the honeyed words of the Foreign Office disguise reality as effectively as the partial accounts of Rowan Williams and David Cameron. When the FO tells Iraqis who have risked their lives in helping the British army to take the legal route and apply for visas, it is directing them up a dead end, and must know it. Last month US senators insisted that America 'must keep faith with the Iraqis who have worked so bravely with us'. It looks as if Brown will say the same tomorrow. He will not announce a general lifting of visa restrictions on all Iraqis, just a special measure to help an exposed group. Still, he will deserve praise if he does it - as long as the numbers add up. Some leaks from the MoD say that asylum will be offered to only the 91 translators currently working with the British army. If true, Brown would be engaging in gesture politics at its most debased. What about interpreters who have retired and gone into hiding? What about the other staff? When even Basra's laundry girls have been pulled out of taxis and shot in the head for the crime of working for the army, it is laughable to pretend that a promise to a few interpreters fulfils Britain's obligations. Leaving debts of honour to one side, who will work for the armed forces, Foreign Office or Department for International Development in other conflict zones if they see Britain betraying its friends? Other leaks say that hundreds will be rescued. Let's hope the spinners are being honest. On Tuesday, there's a meeting in the Commons organised by Richard Beeston of the Times, who has led the media campaign for these Iraqis, and Dan Hardie, a territorial army doctor who has mobilised the blogosphere. If Brown has the moral compass we hear so much about, he will make it a victory celebration rather than a protest rally. During the Yugoslav wars, John Major and Douglas Hurd refused to intervene to help the Bosnians. Then they used the visa trap to stop them fleeing to Britain. When protests grew, they let in a select few and paraded them for the cameras, a trite and insulting stunt compounded the original offence. If Brown and Miliband have any doubts about what to do, they should look at how history judges Major and Hurd; do they want the same verdict passed on them? Observer

Author:	Madeline [ 07 Oct 07, 12:11 ]
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British university forced to return 'looted' Iraq treasure One of Britain's leading universities is embroiled in an embarrassing row over hundreds of treasures looted from Iraq. Found scattered around ancient Mesopotamia, the Aramaic incantation or devil bowls were placed upside down in homes during the sixth to eighth centuries to trap evil spirits. The spells, and information such as the names of the home owners, are not found in any other source. One collection contains the earliest examples of the Bible in Hebrew. Anther collection is at the centre of a legal row that has divided Britain's academic community. Since the first Gulf War in 1990, Iraq has been a looters' paradise. The United Nations introduced a sanction in 2003 making it illegal to handle artefacts from the country. So when University College London came into possession of 654 bowls, the biggest collection in the world, which it loaned from a private collector, suspicions were raised. The bowls belong to Martin Schoyen, a Norwegian collector of ancient scripts. There is no suggestion that he looted the bowls, or was aware they may have been looted when he bought them in London from a Jordanian who claimed they had been in his family for generations. UCL set up a committee of inquiry which found that "on the balance of probability" the bowls had, somewhere along the line, been looted from Iraq. At this point Mr Schoyen sued UCL for their return. Legally his claim is sound, because he has held title for seven years. What has dismayed academics, however, is that the inquiry report was suppressed as part of the out-of-court settlement. Professor Colin Renfrew, a fellow at Cambridge University and a member of UCL's committee of inquiry, is angry that the settlement said the report should be withheld. A world expert in ancient treasures, Lord Renfrew said UCL had no choice but to return the collection. "Even if the bowls were looted it is likely that Mr Schoyen, as a good-faith buyer, could have good title to them. Even so there is a good ethical case for their return to Iraq," he said. "UCL tried to do the right and ethical thing by setting up a committee of inquiry. Then, when threatened with a lawsuit, in my view, it gave way under pressure. How has the largest known collection of incantation bowls been in Jordan for 70 years and nobody knew about it?" UCL could not comment, but in June, said: "Having made all the inquiries it reasonably could, UCL has no basis for concluding that title is vested other than in the Schoyen Collection." The collection also could not comment but has said that it "strongly supports a tough regime for cultural protection." Independent

Author:	Madeline [ 08 Oct 07, 13:27 ]
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Ewan McGregor's Iraq visit Exclusive by Peter Willis in Basra Ewan McGregor had only been asleep for a few hours when the sirens started wailing. It was 4.30 in the morning and this was the warning of an imminent mortar attack. The instructions were for everyone to throw themselves to the floor and pull on their armour-plated jackets and helmets. It sounds like a scene out of a film, but this was for real. And, even though it turned out to be a false alarm, for Ewan it was a stark awakening to the dangers that face our brave troops every day in Iraq. The Hollywood star had arrived at the British base at Basra just hours earlier - on a very special mission to honour a courageous young woman with a Pride of Britain award. Despite the obvious risks, he was so impressed by the remarkable bravery of Britain's only female bomb disposal specialist in Iraq that he wanted to present the award to her himself. It will be shown on the Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards on Wednesday on ITV1 at 9pm. At the age of 32, Staff Sgt Michelle Cunningham was nominated by the Army for "displaying complete disregard for her personal safety" by singlehandedly extinguishing a fire at an explosives factory, in Middle Wallop, Hampshire, last year. A man had already been killed and firefighters had decided it was too dangerous to go inside the blazing building. But, even though she knew she could have been blown up at any minute, she entered carrying two fire extinguishers, went to the heart of the fire, got it under control and made safe hundreds of explosives. An incredible act of courage. But for Michelle, and her unit, it was just another day at work, where danger is ever-present, facing threats of explosions, booby-trapped bombs, small arms fire and rocket attacks. Ewan, 36, said: "I'm just so amazed by Michelle and her unit's courage. She's fantastic. I would never have the guts to do what she does. Most people, and I'm one of them, would run a million miles from a bomb but Michelle walks towards them and makes them safe. Amazing. "When I was told about her, and was asked to come and present the award to her in Iraq, I said Yes because I really wanted to meet her and show my support. "It's important that we should pay tribute to Michelle and people like her, who are prepared to put their lives in danger like this for others." Ewan got his first real sense of the risks that Michelle and all troops serving in Iraq face even before he arrived in the country. After taking a military VC10 jet with troops from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Qatar, the group transferred to a Hercules transporter for the two-hour night flight to Basra airbase. As the plane entered Iraqi airspace, everyone aboard, seated shoulder to shoulder, was ordered to put on armour-plated flak jackets and helmets. Then they were plunged into darkness for what is termed a "corkscrew" landing - designed to counter the ever-present threat of being shot down by a missile. Ewan's visit was a welcome morale boost for the 5,500 British servicemen and women at the base. One airman, who took his photo on his mobile, joked to Ewan, who starred as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: "May the forces be with you!" Ewan met members of various regiments, who gave him an idea of the wide range of dangerous combat operations they undertake. In the dog pound, he was attacked by an alsatian trained to chase terrorists (fortunately, they gave him a protective sleeve to wear first!). He also rode on a Warrior armoured personnel carrier, saw its firepower, opened a new medical unit and flew in a Lynx helicopter. Greeting him, General Graham Binns, commander of British forces in Iraq, said: "It's been a great morale boost that you've taken the trouble, not without personal risk, to come and show your support." Ewan, whose brother Colin served until last year in the RAF as a Tornado pilot, said: "I've been so touched and in awe of the people I've met." Perhaps no more so than the Pride of Britain winner Michelle and her colleagues in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment. After giving him a demonstration of the equipment they use to defuse bombs and carrying out a controlled explosion on a car, they invited him to wear a protective anti-blast suit, used when approaching explosives. He said: "I can't imagine what it must be like to don that suit and walk out there in this heat with an explosive device to try and defuse." As he presented Michelle, from Tewkesbury, Glos, with her Pride of Britain award, Ewan asked why she chose such a dangerous career. Laughing, she said: "I didn't really. I used to work in Stores, ordering vehicle parts, and was sent on the wrong training course. I kept wondering why they were telling me how to defuse bombs, but I thought it was a cool job." But, with surprising modesty, she added: "I'm no hero. I'm just doing a job. I love it. There aren't many jobs where you feel you can make a difference and people thank you." Summing up his visit on British Forces radio, broadcast around the base, Ewan said: "We're all thinking about you back in Britain and we're all really proud about what you're doing here. We hope to see you back at home soon." WATCH EWAN ON THE MIRROR'S PRIDE OF BRITAIN AWARDS, WEDNESDAY, 9PM, ITV1 Mirror

Author:	Madeline [ 08 Oct 07, 13:30 ]
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Fallen soldier's family backs medal bid The family of one of the youngest soldiers to die in Iraq is backing our campaign for a medal for our heroes. Michael Tench was just 18 when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in January. And mum Jan Murray wants him and all the others who have lost their lives to be honoured. She said yesterday: "A medal would recognise his sacrifice. If you are good enough to fight on the front line, you are good enough for a medal. "I will back anything to recognise those who have died or been injured, for the sake of their families. We are not the only ones." Jan, 45, recalled Michael's last words to her. In an emotional phone call home he told her: "It is tough Mum, really tough." Four days later Michael, a private in A Company, 2nd Battalion, Light Infantry, was dead. Jan, of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said: "All we have left are photos, memories, the medal in a box with his name on it that says that he fought in Iraq. But we do not have anything which says he lost his life for something he believed in. "A service medal does not say he died in action, as I believe it should. "He went down in history as the last man in the battalion to die in battle - it was disbanded and he was the first rifleman in his new unit to be buried." Mirror

Author:	Madeline [ 08 Oct 07, 13:47 ]
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Iraq calls for Blackwater trial Sun

Author:	Madeline [ 08 Oct 07, 14:01 ]
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Blackwater Shootings ‘Murder,’ Iraq Says nytimes

Author:	Madeline [ 09 Oct 07, 13:10 ]
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Iraq demands Blackwater pay £4m to each victim's family The Iraqi authorities want the private security firm Blackwater to pay millions of pounds in compensation to the families of 17 civilians that they claim were killed by the company's guards in Baghdad last month. The authorities have also insisted that the US government cut all contracts with Blackwater within six months. The demands, which are part of an Iraqi government report seen by the Associated Press, also called on US authorities to hand over the Blackwater agents involved in the September 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraq. The Iraqi government announced yesterday it had found 17 people had been killed in the Nisoor Square incident and not 11 as previously thought. Blackwater guards allegedly sprayed a square packed with civilians with heavy machine-gun fire. The report also found that the guards had not been shot at, as Blackwater has insisted. More details of the report have emerged today, including a demand that Blackwater pay £4m to the families of each of the 17 victims. The fine print of the report, translated from Arabic by AP, will further strain ties between the government of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and the White House. The incident has already prompted a series of American and Iraqi inquiries and raised questions over The US's use of private security firms. Mr al-Maliki ordered his defence minister and other top security and police officials to investigate on September 22. The subsequent report said the £68m compensation was high "because Blackwater uses employees who disrespect the rights of Iraqi citizens even though they are guests in this country". The US military pays compensation to the families of civilians killed in battles or to cover property damage, but at much lower amounts. The Pentagon has not made any conclusive findings about the shootings, but several inquiries are underway. Congress has also opened investigations into the role of private security contractors. Last week, the FBI took over a state department investigation, raising the prospect that it could be referred to the justice department for prosecution. The Iraqi government report said that its courts were the proper venue in which to bring charges. It said Blackwater's licence to operate in Iraq expired on June 2 2006, meaning it had no immunity from prosecution under Iraqi laws set down after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The government report also challenged the claim that a decree in June 2004, by the then Iraqi administrator Paul Bremer, granted Blackwater immunity from legal action in incidents such as those at Nisoor Square. The report claimed that the Blackwater guards could be charged under a criminal code from 1969. A US embassy spokeswoman, Mirembe Nantongo, said he could not comment on the report. Iraq's interior ministry spokesman, Abdul-Karim Khalaf, said the document was now in American hands. The Iraqi report also claimed that Blackwater guards had killed 21 Iraqi civilians and wounded a further 27 in previous shootings since it took over security for US diplomats in Baghdad after the American-led invasion. The Iraqi government did not say whether it would try to prosecute in those cases. The state department has counted 56 shooting incidents involving Blackwater guards in Iraq this year. All were being reviewed as part of the inquiry ordered by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. guardian

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