The Secretary of the Navy Sept. 5 handed down letters of censure to three US Marine officers for improper performance of duties in the reporting and investigation of the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha in November 2005. A previous investigation into the officers' alleged misconduct revealed no evidence of a plan to conceal the Haditha incident which would violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). As the investigation did not indicate a UCMJ violation, the officers were not brought before an Article 32 panel to determine whether they should face courts-martial for their actions. Letters of censure are the most severe administrative punishment available to the Secretary of the Navy. The censured officers—Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, Col. Stephen W. Davis and Col. Robert G. Sokoloski—may be denied promotion and may lose full retirement benefits as a result of the letters.

From the sarcastically-named RNC Welcoming Committee, Sept. 3:

We Will Not Be Intimidated
On Friday, August 31, nineteen people were arrested after police brutally attacked cyclists with Tasers, pepper spray, and excessive physical force. The cyclists were part of the monthly Critical Mass bike ride.

Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos announced Sept. 3 army troops have killed Tomas Medina Caracas AKA "Negro Acacio," a top commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges since 2002. The US accuses Medina of being the top contact for the guerilla organization's globe-spanning drug deals—including receipt of some 10,000 AK-47s, purchased in Jordan by arms traffickers thought to be working with then-Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos.

From Newsday, Sept. 4:

Brooklyn boy dies after being struck by two cars
A Queens driver is facing a felony charge after he fled a Brooklyn accident in which a 7-year-old boy was struck by two vehicles and killed as the boy's mother and older brother watched, police said.

Bush's Sept. 3 visit to Iraq was his first not involving a stop in Baghdad. Instead he visited the former Sunni-insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, in what The Wall Street Journal calls a "a symbolic nod to the emerging administration strategy" of focusing less on the central government in Baghdad and more on local players who can bring about some stability to their communities. In Anbar province, "You see Sunnis who once fought side by side with al Qaeda against coalition troops now fighting side by side with coalition troops against al Qaeda," Bush said during his seven-hour visit, which included meetings with US commander Gen. David Petraeus, US Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi political leaders such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sunni tribal figures. (WSJ, Sept. 4) The Journal takes the opportunity of Bush's trip for a shamelessly optimistic opinion piece, "The Tide Is Turning in Iraq," by Kimberly Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War. Excerpts, with our commentary interspersed:

Two successive suicide bomb blasts hit the central Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, killing at least 24 and wounding more than 60 early Sept. 4. The first bomber detonated his exposives on a bus carrying government workers. Minutes later, a motorcycle bomb exploded in a nearby market. "Today's attack was in the heart of the high security zone," said Ijaz-ul Haq, religious affairs minister. "This cannot be allowed to go on and measures have to be taken to ensure political stability." Brigadier Javed Cheema, interior ministry spokesman, said "both suicide blasts are interlinked and acts of the same network" with "tentacles" extending from Pakistan's tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. (AlJazeera, Sept. 4)

Shaker al-Abssi, leader of the al-Qaeda franchise Fatah al-Islam, was reported killed in the Lebanese Army's assault on a the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp Sept. 2. Lebanese officials said they were awaiting the result of a DNA test before officially issuing a statement. Some 35 members of the Islamist group were also reported killed in the assault. More than 300 people are believed to have died since the army's three-month siege on the refugee camp began. (RIA-Novosti, Sept. 3)

An Aug. 24 Amnesty International press release claimed new photo evidence showing that the Sudanese government continues to deploy offensive military equipment in Darfur, despite the UN arms embargo. "Once again Amnesty International calls on the UN Security Council to act decisively to ensure the embargo is effectively enforced, including by the placement of UN observers at all ports of entry in Sudan and Darfur," said Brian Wood, Amnesty International's Arms Control Research Manager.