Daily Report

Iraq: details on US attack against civil resistance leader

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), July 4:

The US Special Forces attack the head of Safety Force, Abd-alhussien Sadam;
opened fire at him and his daughter

A US special unit escorted by Iraqi national guards had attacked the house of the head of the IFC Safety Force on July 4, 2007 at 3:00 AM. The unit began its raid by opening fire and [throwing] grenades on the house causing, severe injuries to Abd-alhussien Sadam and his daughter. The attackers soon kidnapped Sadam but left his girl bleeding on the floor.

Cindy Sheehan back in the game

Cindy Sheehan announced July 3 that she is asking people to join her in a 10-day walk from Atlanta to Washington DC, starting July 13 for a "people's accountability movement." On her blog, she said "the straw that broke my camel's back of exhausted ennui" was Bush's commuting the prison sentence of former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby. "I tried to remove myself from the political realm of the U.S., what BushCo is turning into an Evil Empire, but the blatant audacity of George commuting Scooter's sentence ... has dragged me kicking and screaming back in," she wrote. The march will began after Sheehan celebrates her 50th birthday at her former protest site in Crawford, TX, where she will turn over the deed of her 5-acre lot there to its new owner, radio talk-show host Bree Walker. (AP via TruthOut, July 3)

Protests against water privatization repressed in El Salvador

From CISPES, July 3:

On July 2, various organizations and communities in the municipality of Suchitoto gathered for a protest against the official announcement of the "National Policy of Water Decentralization" by President Antonio Saca. The peaceful protest was brutally repressed by the riot police (UMO) along with specialized forces of the National Civil Police (PNC). In the end, 13 people were arrested by the police and accused of "public disorder," including four leaders of the rural development organization CRIPDES. The riot police eventually opened fire on the protest with rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray, injuring around 75 people. Throughout the day helicopters circled Suchitoto and San Salvador, and the riot police didn't withdraw from the scene until well into the afternoon.

Pakistan: Red Mosque imam escapes in drag —almost

Security forces arrested Maulana Abdul Aziz, imam of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, as he attempted to escape covered in a burqa with a group of similarly clad women July 4. More than 1,000 of his followers surrendered as army and police troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters tightened their siege of the complex. Authorities say Abdul Aziz will face terrorism and murder charges.

Gas-Guzzler Lobby strikes back

WW4 REPORT has received the following letter from David Ridenour, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy Research (link added):

You may wish to remove the article, "The Gas-Guzzling Lobby Stops Time" from your site, as it is riddled with errors—including about my organization.

Iraq: Nobel laureates oppose oil law

From the Nobel Women's Initiative, June 19:

While the Bush administration has repeatedly claimed that the war in Iraq is not about oil, U.S. oil corporations are poised to take control over the 115 billion barrels of known oil reserves - 10 percent of the world total. The Bush administration’s proposed new oil law for Iraq, set to go before Iraq’s Parliament this month, would transform Iraq’s oil industry from a nationalized model to a commercial model that is much more open to U.S. corporate control. Its provisions allow much (if not most) of Iraq’s oil revenues to flow out of Iraq and into the pockets of international oil companies. At NWI's First International Conference Antonia Juhasz from the US and Yanar Mohammed from Iraq educated participants on the perils of this proposed law and the Nobel Peace Prize laureates signed the following statement. For more information and action see below.

Iraq: 227 journalists killed under occupation

The Iraqi Journalists Union said in statement last month that 227 journalists and media staff have been killed since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, with an additional 15 missing. The Union demanded that the Iraqi government and US forces "take necessary measures to protect journalists."

Iraq: US attacks civil resistance

An urgent alert from the Iraq Freedom Congress informs us that at 3:00 AM Baghdad time on July 4, US and Iraqi government forces attacked the home of the head of IFC Safety Force, Abd-alhussein Saddam, causing serious injuries to him and his young daughter. He is now hospitalized, and we await further details.

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