Iraq Descends into Chaos, the "Gates of Hell" Have Opened
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Democracy Now
"The Americans Scarcely Control Any of the Country" - Iraq Descends
into Chaos *
The death toll in Iraq over the past four days has risen to over 150,
the vast majority of them Iraqi civilians. We go to Baghdad to speak
with journalist Luke Harding of the London Guardian about the explosion
of violence as well as the U.S. military's lack of control in the
country and the dangers of reporting from Iraq.
At a gathering of the Arab League in Cairo Tuesday, chief Amr Moussa said "the gates of hell are open in Iraq."
His comments came a day after some 60 people were killed throughout Iraq. Wednesday marked another day of bloodshed as clashes between US forces and the Iraqi resistance in the Al-Anbar province left 10 Iraqis dead. Al-Anbar includes the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi which lie in the control of the Iraqi resistance.
Meanwhile the BBC is reporting that three unidentified bodies have been found on a road north of Baghdad. The bodies, which were dumped in nylon bags, were discovered by members of the Iraqi National Guard. One report said the heads were found strapped to the corpses" backs.
The news comes 24 hours after dozens of people were killed throughout Iraq in a day of extreme violence. In Baghdad a car bomb close to an Iraqi police station killed 47 people and injured 100 others. It was the deadliest such attack in Iraq since July, when 68 people were killed by a car bomb outside a police station in Baquba. Hours after the Baghdad explosion, gunmen opened fire on a police minibus in Baquba killing 12 policemen and one civilian. The US military says three US troops were killed in separate attacks, two in Baghdad and one in the northern city of Mosul.
Luke Harding, reporter with the London Guardian. He joins us on the phone from Baghdad.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/15/1419225--------------------------------------
Arab League: "Gates of Hell" Opened in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091604Z.shtml--------------------------------------
"Most senior US military officers now believe the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1305441,00.html--------------------------------------
Iraq: It's Worse Than You Think
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0914-25.htm -------------------------------------
Iraq: A Descent into Civil War?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0915-01.htm-------------------------------------
Christopher Dickey the Paris bureau chief and Middle East regional editor for Newsweek magazine, gives a grim and devastating account of the situation in Iraq.
http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=09/15/2004