Monday, October 31, 2005

Seven More U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq - - - - - - - - - - - - By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer October 31,2005 | BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Capping the bloodiest month for American troops since January, the U.S. military reported Monday that seven more U.S. service members were killed -- all victims of increasingly sophisticated bombs that have been become the deadliest weapon in the insurgents' arsenal. Bombs also claimed a toll Monday among civilians in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and the major metropolis of the Shiite-dominated south, which has witnessed less violence than Sunni areas. A large car bomb exploded along a bustling street packed with shops and restaurants as people were enjoying an evening out after the daily Ramadan fast. At least 20 were killed and about 40 wounded, police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaidi said. Military commanders have warned that Sunni insurgents will step up their attacks in the run-up to the Dec. 15 election, when Iraqis will choose their first full-term parliament since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. To guard against such attacks, the military has raised the number of American troops in Iraq to 157,000 -- among the highest levels of the Iraq conflict. Most of the combat deaths and injuries in recent months have been a result of the increasing use by insurgents of sophisticated homemade bombs, responsible for the deaths of the seven Americans killed since Sunday. The military refers to those bombs as "improvised explosive devices," or IEDs. Last Friday, an IED killed Col. William W. Wood, 44, of Panama City, Fla., an infantry battalion commander. He was promoted posthumously, making him the highest-ranking soldier killed in action in the Iraq conflict, according to the Pentagon. "We see an adversary that continues to develop some sophistication on very deadly and increasingly precise stand-off type weapons -- IEDs, in particular," Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told reporters Monday. The insurgents continually search for new and more effective ways to use IEDs, di Rita said, while U.S. forces look for new ways to counter the threat. "We're getting more intelligence that's allowing us to stop more of these things, find more of them. So we're learning from them and the enemy is learning from us, and it's going to be that way for as long as there is an insurgency," Di Rita said. Monday's deadliest attack against U.S. service members came in an area known as the "triangle of death." Four soldiers from the U.S. Army's Task Force Baghdad died when their patrol struck a roadside bomb in Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. Two other soldiers from the Army's 29th Brigade Combat Team were also killed in a bombing Monday near Balad, 50 miles north of the capital. The U.S. military also reported that a Marine died the day before in a roadside bombing near Amiriyah, an insurgent hotspot 25 miles west of Baghdad. The U.S. military death toll for October is now at least 92, the highest monthly total since January, when 106 American service members died -- more than 30 of them in a helicopter crash that was ruled an accident. Only during two other months since the war began has the U.S. military seen a higher toll: in November 2004, when 137 Americans died, and in April 2004, when 135 died. The latest deaths brought to 2,026 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the Iraq war began in March 2003. The number includes five military civilians. The ongoing violence has killed a far greater number of Iraqis. "They're obviously quite capable of killing large numbers of noncombatants indiscriminately, and we're seeing a lot of that, too," Di Rita said. Public safety has deteriorated in recent months in Basra largely because of feuding among rival Shiite extremist groups that have infiltrated the police and security services. The city had previously been much more peaceful than Baghdad or cities within the volatile central, northern and western areas of the country where the Sunni Arab-led insurgency rages. Earlier Monday near the Syrian border, Marines backed by jets attacked insurgent targets in a cluster of towns and villages near the Syrian border. The raid was part of an ongoing operation in an area believed heavily infiltrated by al-Qaida in Iraq and foreign fighters. A Marine statement said U.S. aircraft fired precision weapons, destroying two safe houses believed used by al-Qaida figures. The statement made no mention of casualties, but Associated Press Television News video from the scene showed residents wailing over the bodies of about six people, including at least three children. At the local hospital, Dr. Ahmed al-Ani claimed 40 Iraqis, including 12 children, were killed in the attack. But the claim could not be independently verified, and figures from the area have sometimes proven exaggerated. The footage from the scene showed Iraqi men digging through the rubble of several destroyed concrete buildings with a pitchfork or their hands. In the building of a nearby home, women wept over about half a dozen blanket-covered bodies lined up on a floor. Some of the blankets were opened for the camera showing a man and three children. "At least 20 innocent people were killed by the U.S. warplanes. Why are the Americans killing families? Where are the insurgents?" one middle-aged man told APTN. "We don't see democracy. We just see destruction." He didn't give his name. --__ Associated Press reporters Omar Sinan and Tom Wagner in Baghdad and Abbas Fayadh in Basra contributed to this report. Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes. © 2005 The Associated Press. 9:52:35 PM    comment []

Christianity: Keeping The World Ignorant SinceYear One  The Jesus Nazis are having an unusually busy day. What with all the dancing in the streets over the Alito nomination, one would think they wouldn't have much time to inflict their usual misery. But never underestimate Organized Religion's capacity, and rapacity, for cruelty, hatred, pettiness and stupidity.   Methodists Defrock Lesbian Minister - - - - - - - - - - - - By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II Associated Press Writer October 31,2005 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The highest court within the United Methodist Church defrocked a lesbian minister Monday for violating the denomination's ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" clergy. The nine-member Judicial Council -- seven of whom heard the case Friday in Houston -- issued a ruling from its offices in Nashville. A church panel decided in December that the Rev. Irene "Beth" Stroud, 35, by being in a lesbian partnership, engaged in practices that the church has declared incompatible with Christian teachings. The panel's decision was overturned by the Northeast Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals, but the Judicial Council backed the original ruling. The Judicial Council ruled Monday that the appeals committee "erred in reversing and setting aside the verdict and penalty from Rev. Stroud's trial." Thomas Hall, counsel for the United Methodist Church said the decision provides some relief, but is "not the end of this whole conversation." "An issue like this takes so much energy on both sides, and takes the focus off a lot of the great things the church is doing," Hall said. "This gives us some space so we can hopefully channel our energies into the great things we're doing." The UMC is the nation's third-largest denomination. Stroud, who became an associate pastor at Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown in 1999, has said she never revealed her sexual orientation in documents related to her ordination, but didn't keep it a secret. She said she decided to come out in 2003 because she felt she was being held back in her faith by not sharing the complete truth about her life. A complaint was filed against her last year. "I thought I was prepared for anything, but still the news came as a blow," Stroud said in a phone interview. "It's a sad day for me and for my family and for my congregation and, I think, a sad day for the United Methodist Church." Stroud will continue as a lay staff member at her congregation, preaching, supervising children's and youth work and conducting pastoral visits. She told the congregation Sunday that she and her partner are applying to be foster parents. "There's really no question that the United Methodist Church practices discrimination. That's been made abundantly clear," she said. Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes. © 2005 The Associated Press   Wisconsin School Cancels Fashion Show - - - - - - - - - - - - October 31,2005 | MILWAUKEE -- A Roman Catholic school is canceling a fashion show by the manufacturer of a popular line of dolls and children's books amid criticism that American Girl is contributing to an organization that support abortion rights and acceptance of lesbians. St. Luke School in Brookfield notified its parents of the decision through bulletins at Masses over the weekend. Money raised through ticket and raffle sales was to go toward a new playground and a refurbished library. "It's a bargain we'll just have to pass up," wrote Frank Malloy, St. Luke pastor. "The cost is too high. Our integrity isn't for sale." American Girl spokeswoman Julie Parks said no other groups have canceled because of the issue. The fashion shows include the company's popular historic dolls being carried by girls who dress up in the same outfits. Two national groups -- the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago and the American Family Association in Tupelo, Miss. -- have raised questions about the American Girl brand and its parent company, Mattel Inc. because of the company's fund-raising for Girls Inc. Girls Inc. offers a wide range of programs and resources to help educate and encourage girls in everything from science to health. That includes information about abortion and contraception along with sexual abstinence. The organization also affirms lesbian sexual orientation. Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes. © 2005 The Associated Press.     12:34:43 PM    comment []

Alito's way In 1991 Judge Alito wrote a dissenting opinion in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decision (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey) that struck down a Pennsylvania law requiring women to notify their husbands before getting an abortion. The line from that dissent that's getting quoted most often: “The Pennsylvania legislature could have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to obtain an abortion without their husbands’ knowledge because of perceived problems -- such as economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands’ previously expressed opposition -- that may be obviated by discussion prior to the abortion." Of course, the Pennsylvania Legislature could also have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to not tell their husbands because their husbands might beat the crap out of them. Or that their husbands do not in fact have any legal say in what they do with their body. Or that “women do not lose their constitutionally protected liberty when they marry,” which is how the Supreme Court wound up putting it when the case got to it. -- Rebecca Traister, Salon.com 12:25:23 PM    comment []

Six American Soldiers Killed in Iraq By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer October 31,2005 | BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military said six American soldiers were killed in two bombings Monday, making October one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops in Iraq this year. In the worst attack, four Task Force Baghdad soldiers died when their patrol struck a roadside bomb in Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad, the military said. A similar bomb hit a patrol near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers from the 29th Brigade Combat Team. The deaths raised to 2,024 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in 2003. Monday's attacks also increased the death toll for American forces in October to more than 90, making it the deadliest month in 2005 for U.S. troops in Iraq since January, when 107 were killed. Elsewhere, U.S. jets bombed two insurgent safe houses near the Syrian border Monday in an attack aimed at al-Qaida in Iraq, and coalition forces swept through several areas of Baghdad, taking nearly 100 suspected militants into custody, the U.S. command said. In other violence, two separate mortar attacks by insurgents in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed three people and wounded 11. A car bomb and two drive-by shootings in the capital killed a construction contractor and wounded six people, police said. On Sunday, gunmen killed Ghalib Abdul-Mahdi, the brother of Shiite Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, and a top trade ministry official escaped assassination in another part of the capital. The U.S. command also said Sunday that a Marine died of injuries suffered Saturday in a roadside bombing west of the capital. U.S. Marines supported by warplanes and helicopters have been raiding targets in towns and villages near Iraq's desolate border with Syria in an effort to disrupt Iraqi and foreign insurgents. The U.S. jets attacked a safe house apparently being used by a senior al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader in Obeidi, a border town 185 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. The jets also used precision-guided munitions to attack a second house suspected of being a base for attacks against American and Iraqi forces, the U.S. command said. Its statement mentioned no casualties and did not identify the al-Qaida in Iraq leader. At the local hospital, Dr. Ahmed al-Ani claimed 40 Iraqis, including 12 children, were killed in the attack. But the claim could not be independently verified. U.S. officials also reported a Saudi-born al-Qaida militant known only as Abu Saud was killed by coalition forces Saturday near Obeidi. On Friday and Saturday, U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted several raids in Baghdad, detaining 98 suspected insurgents and finding large weapons caches, the U.S. command said Monday. One cache, found hidden in a building in a second-story crawl space beneath a bathtub, included 13 AK-47 assault rifles, three machine guns, 20 AK-47 barrels, a pistol, U.S. currency and an ammunition stockpile, the military said. At 9 a.m. Monday, two mortar rounds hit the Hamah intersection near Iraq's Oil Ministry in central Baghdad, killing a civilian, wounding four, and damaging several vehicles, said police Mohammed Abdul Ghani. A similar attack occurred in Bani Saad, a town near Baqouba city, which is 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Two mortar rounds hit a local Iraqi army headquarters, killing two soldiers and wounding seven, police said. Insurgents, who often use roadside bombs and suicide bombers in their attacks, appear recently to have been firing more mortars and rocket-propelled grenades in their strikes. Gunmen seriously wounded police Maj. Hazim Shebib and his driver in an attack early Monday morning in Dora, one of Baghdad's most violent areas, said police Capt. Talib Thamir. In a weekend interview with U.S. cable television station FOX News, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani complained that American commanders were stalling on giving Iraqi forces a bigger role in battling the insurgents. "We ask them for things to change, they agree, and then nothing happens," Talabani said. He said the Iraqis would prefer for coalition forces to concentrate on protecting oil pipelines and other key infrastructure. Fox said the U.S. military declined comment on Talabani's remarks. Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes. © 2005 The Associated Press 12:22:01 PM    comment []

White House Ethics, Honesty Questioned 55% in Survey Say Libby Case Signals Broader Problems By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 30, 2005; A14 A majority of Americans say the indictment of senior White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby signals broader ethical problems in the Bush administration, and nearly half say the overall level of honesty and ethics in the federal government has fallen since President Bush took office, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News survey. The poll, conducted Friday night and yesterday, found that 55 percent of the public believes the Libby case indicates wider problems "with ethical wrongdoing" in the White House, while 41 percent believes it was an "isolated incident." And by a 3 to 1 ratio, 46 percent to 15 percent, Americans say the level of honesty and ethics in the government has declined rather than risen under Bush. In the aftermath of the latest crisis to confront the White House, Bush's overall job approval rating has fallen to 39 percent, the lowest of his presidency in Post-ABC polls. Barely a third of Americans -- 34 percent -- think Bush is doing a good job ensuring high ethics in government, which is slightly lower than President Bill Clinton's standing on this issue when he left office. The survey also found that nearly seven in 10 Americans consider the charges against Libby to be serious. A majority -- 55 percent -- said the decision of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald to bring charges against Libby was based on the facts of the case, while 30 percent said he was motivated by partisan politics. "One thing you can't ever, ever do even if you're a regular person is lie to a grand jury," said Brad Morris, 48, a registered independent and a field representative for a lumber company who lives in Nashua, N.H. "But multiply that by a thousand times if you have power like [Libby had]. And if anybody wants to know why, ask Scooter. He's financially ruined; he'll be paying lawyers for the rest of his life." Taken together, the findings represent a serious blow to a White House already reeling from the politically damaging effects of the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina, the continuing bloodshed in Iraq, the ongoing criticism of its since-repudiated claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and the bungled nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. The ethics findings may be particularly upsetting to a president who came to office in 2000 vowing to restore integrity and honor to a White House that he said had been tainted by the recurring scandals of the Clinton years. On Friday, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, on two counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in the course of Fitzgerald's investigation into the disclosure of the name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporters. Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, has accused the Bush administration of going to war in Iraq based on intelligence officials knew was untrue. The survey of 600 randomly selected Americans represents a snapshot of initial reactions to the Libby indictment. Those views could quickly change as the public learns more about the charges and as Republicans and Democrats mount competing campaigns to shape public attitudes. The margin of sampling error for the overall results is plus or minus four percentage points. Those campaigns may play an influential role in the public's final conclusions about the leak investigation. In the 24 hours after Fitzgerald's news conference, the survey and follow-up interviews found many Americans confused as to what, if anything, to make of the complicated indictment. Ellen Mulligan, 34, a Republican and part-time art teacher who lives in Hamden, Conn., was one of these. "If I understood what happened, Vice President Cheney's adviser spoke to his wife and then she leaked the secret," Mulligan said. That is not an allegation in the indictment, but though Mulligan may not know exactly what happened, the scandal for her is both typical Washington and part of a broader pattern of ethical challenges in this administration. "My actual opinion is more, 'Here we go again.' Every administration has their secrets and has some corruption," she said. But she is disappointed with Bush on the ethics front. "I think Bush's actions in certain situations are pretty much unethical, [though] not illegal. . . . He's definitely not his father. His father seemed more wholesome, more down-to-earth." The survey found some areas of general agreement. Most Republicans, 57 percent, said that the obstruction of justice and perjury charges are serious, compared with 81 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of independents. But once past the specifics of the charges against Libby, Republicans and Democrats differed dramatically. While a large majority of Democrats (76 percent) said the case is a sign of broader ethical problems in the administration, an equally large majority of Republicans (69 percent) said it was an isolated matter. Most Republicans continued to give Bush high marks for his handling of ethics in government, while Democrats overwhelmingly graded him poorly. The survey also suggests the emergence of an appealing fresh face in public life: special prosecutor Fitzgerald. Fifty-five percent said Fitzgerald brought the charges against Libby based on the facts of the case and not for partisan political reasons. Less than a third -- 30 percent -- said Fitzgerald was politically motivated. "I was very impressed by him," said Dorothy Harper, 56, an immigration lawyer and a St. Louis Democrat, who watched portions of Fitzgerald's news conference. "He was very impressive. He obviously knew what he was doing." Many Americans believe that others may be involved in the disclosure of Plame's identity to the news media. Nearly half -- 47 percent -- believe that senior White House adviser Karl Rove did something wrong in connection with the case, including nearly a fifth who believe that Rove acted illegally. On Friday, Rove was not indicted, though Fitzgerald's investigation is continuing. A smaller but still significant proportion -- 41 percent -- believe Cheney did something wrong, while 44 percent believe he did not. Most Americans believe Bush had nothing to do with the incidents that resulted in the indictment brought against Libby: 55 percent said the president was not at fault, while 12 percent said he probably did something illegal, and 21 percent said he did something "unethical but not illegal." © 2005 The Washington Post Company 9:09:33 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 Michael D. Zungolo. Last update: 11/1/2005; 8:23:30 AM.