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| 5/25 |
| 2004/9/7 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:33394 Activity:nil |
9/7 Heheh, such a strange coincidence...
'US Death toll in Iraq passes 1000 mark'...4:27PM, Sept. 7th 2004.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2782294
'Ridge: Terrorists hope to disrupt election.' ... 4:40PM, Sept. 7th
2004.
http://csua.org/u/8y9
\_ Dang. I was hoping to hit 1000 on 9/11.
\_ don't worry, you can rent Fahrenheit 9/11 in October. |
| 5/25 |
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| www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2782294 The count includes 998 US troops and three civilian contractors killed while working for the Pentagon. The tally was compiled by the AP based on Pentagon records, AP reporting from Iraq, and reports from soldiers' families. It includes deaths from hostile and non-hostile causes since President Bush launched a campaign in March 2003 to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. The grim milestone was surpassed after a spike in clashes that has killed 14 American service members in the past two days. Two soldiers died in fighting today with militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Five other Americans died today in separate attacks, mostly in the Baghdad area. During a news conference at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld sought to play down the impact of the milestone, saying the "civilized world" had long passed the 1,000th death at the hands of terrorists. The Bush administration has long linked the Iraq conflict to the war on terrorism. The past two days have been particularly bloody for US forces in Iraq, with 14 killed, including seven Marines slain by a suicide bombing north of Fallujah. A group linked to Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the attack in a Web statement today. US warplanes launched airstrikes and tanks shelled targets in Fallujah late today, after the military said insurgents attacks American positions outside the city. At least nine Iraqis were wounded in the airstrikes, said Adel Khamees of Fallujah General Hospital. American forces have not patrolled in Fallujah since ending a three-week siege of the city in April that had been aimed at rooting out militiaman. Sunni Muslim insurgents have only strengthened their hold on Fallujah since then. The fighting in Sadr City was a resurgence of violence with followers of al-Sadr. US tanks moved into Sadr City and armored personnel carriers and Bradley fighting vehicles were deployed at key intersections. Ambulances with sirens wailing rushed the wounded to hospitals as plumes of black smoke rose over the mainly Shiite neighborhood. Warplanes flew over the sprawling neighborhood of more than 2 million, firing flares to avoid being hit by anti-aircraft missiles. US forces appeared to be carrying out most -- if not all -- of the fighting. No Iraqi security forces were seen during the clashes, though US spokesmen talked of "multinational forces" involved in the operations, a term that sometimes includes Iraqi troops. A senior Health Ministry official, Saad al-Amili, said 35 people were killed and 203 injured in the Sadr City clashes. The battles erupted when militants attacked US forces carrying out routine patrols, killing one American, said US Army Capt. An al-Sadr spokesman in Baghdad, Sheik Raed al-Kadhimi, blamed what he called intrusive American incursions into Sadr City and attempts to arrest the cleric's followers. "Our fighters have no choice but to return fire and to face the US forces and helicopters pounding our houses," al-Kadhimi said in a statement. In the slum's roadways, small groups of Sadr's Mahdi militia fighters used hammers to dig up the asphalt to plant explosives. Bands of fighters in civilian clothes -- mostly in their teens and early 20s -- wielded rocket-propelled grenades and trotted toward the clashes, children running in their wake. The renewed fighting came after a period of calm in the impoverished neighborhood after al-Sadr called on his followers last week to observe a cease-fire and announced he was going into politics. But al-Sadr aides later said peace talks in Sadr City between the cleric's representatives and interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government had stalled, with the government refusing militants' demands for US troops to keep out of the troubled district. US commanders have said they want to carry out an assault to clear al-Sadr's fighters from the disctrict, particularly its northern part where the militiamen are said to have dug in, setting explosives and boobytraps. Al-Sadr led a three-week uprising in the holy city of Najaf that ended 10 days ago with a peace deal that allowed his Mahdi militia fighters to walk away with their guns. The combat in Najaf left thousands dead and devastated much of the city. |
| csua.org/u/8y9 -> seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Ridge%20Terrorism MSNBC WASHINGTON, DC Tuesday, September 7, 2004 Last updated 3:10 pm PT Ridge: Terrorists hope to disrupt election By KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER photo Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, left, talks to reporters about the latest techniques being used to monitor, manage and secure the nation's borders, during a tour of the US Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center in Northern Virginia, Tuesday, Sept. Ridge is joined at right by Robert C Bonner, commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON -- Terrorists still hope to disrupt the US democratic process even though the presidential nominating conventions and other high-profile gatherings this summer went off without incident, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday. Threat reporting over the last several months has been "consistent, general and credible" and indicated the al-Qaida network is trying to push ahead with its plans, Ridge said. Although large events this summer were not attacked, he said, "that in no way diminishes the level of vigilance, awareness and concern that we have during this entire process." Ridge commented during a morning visit to the National Targeting Center in Northern Virginia. Operated by the Customs and Border Protection agency, the center secures the nation's borders and ports with a focus on keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the country. Currently, financial centers in northern New Jersey, New York City and Washington are at high alert because of recently discovered reconnaissance of buildings there that apparently was done by al-Qaida in 2000 and 2001. Alert levels remain at orange for those areas, the second highest on the national five-point scale. Ridge said authorities review intelligence on a daily basis to determine whether to lower them. Speaking to the National Press Club later, Ridge said every day that goes by without incident gives authorities more time to make the country safer. Ridge made the appearances five days before the third anniversary of the Sept. Asked whether an attack could come to a school here, Ridge said parents have had to consider school safety long before 9/11, given tragic events, such as Columbine, that did not involve international terror. Should there be lessons learned overseas, "If we can apply them to making America more secure, we will," Ridge said. |