Iraqi football captain calls on US to leave country

Iraq's captain Younis Mohmoud celebrates their victory against Saudi Arabia.

July 30, 2007 - 2:42PM

Younis Mahmoud's victory celebrations were tempered by reality.

Mahmoud scored the winning goal in Iraq's 1-0 Asian Cup final win over Saudi Arabia today, yet he feared for his life if he went home to celebrate the stunning victory, and said he would not be returning to the war-torn country.

"I don't want the Iraqi people to be angry with me," he said.

"But, if I go back with the team, anybody could kill me or try to hurt me.

"One of my closest friends, they [the authorities] came to arrest him, and for one year neither me nor his family knew where he is."

The Sunni Muslim Iraqi captain - who like the rest of the team wore a black armband to remember the dozens killed by car bombers following the side's semi-final victory over South Korea on Wednesday - said the American presence in his homeland was a "problem".

"I want America to go out," he said. "Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn't invade Iraq and hopefully it will be over soon."

From The Independent

Britain will take troops out of Iraq regardless of US, says PM

By Andrew Grice, Political Editor at Camp David Published: 31 July 2007

Gordon Brown has paved the way for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq by telling George Bush he would not delay their exit in order to show unity with the United States.

After four hours of one-to-one talks with the US President at his Camp David retreat, Mr Brown told a joint press conference he would make a Commons statement in October on the future of the 5,500 British troops in the Basra region.

The Bush administration, under mounting domestic pressure to produce an exit strategy from Iraq, has been nervous that a full British withdrawal would add to the criticism. But Mr Brown made clear - and President Bush accepted - that Britain would go its own way, even if that gave the impression the two countries were diverging.

Mr Brown's willingness to pursue an independent British policy in Iraq will be seen as an important break with Tony Blair. Mr Brown said the two leaders had had "full and frank discussions" - diplomatic code for some disagreements.

President Bush heaped praise on Mr Brown after their first meeting since he became Prime Minister, playing down suggestions that Mr Blair's departure would weaken the strong US-UK partnership. Revealingly, Mr Brown did not return the personal compliments, instead focusing on the historic links between the two countries and predicting they would get even stronger. This reflected his desire for a more business-like relationship with the President, instead of the strong personal bond forged by Mr Blair.

We've been neglected and let down say combat troops


Campaign to be launched over medical care, compensation and inquests

Audrey Gillan
Wednesday August 15, 2007
The Guardian

The [English] government is failing in its historic duty of care towards frontline troops who put their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, forces charities and campaigners claim.

There is growing anger in the service community that the Military Covenant, which says soldiers should always be able to expect fair treatment in return for the rights they forgo, is not being upheld.

The newly-founded British Armed Forces Federation, Baff, says that the covenant is "now a dead letter". And in an unprecedented move, the Royal British Legion - widely known for its poppy appeal and welfare work for old soldiers - is to launch a campaign demanding that the government upholds the covenant and provides its armed forces and their families with proper care in return for asking them to risk making "the ultimate sacrifice for their country".

We shall (not) overcome... Nuclear protest survived six Tory governments. But not New Labour

Fifty years after historic march, protest camp at atomic weapons base is outlawed in a new blow to civil liberties

By Kim Sengupta
Saturday, 8 March 2008

It survived six Tory governments, the end of the Cold War and the rise and fall of mass marches against the British nuclear deterrent. But after 50 years in which the tradition of peaceful demonstration has been maintained outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, the New Labour era has finally done for one of the most famous symbols of protest in British political history.

Today would have seen the latest gathering of the band of women who have assembled on the second Saturday of each month since the 1980s to object to the continuing development of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. Instead, following a High Court ruling this week, the protest tents are being removed, demonstrators are being threatened with arrest and "no camping" signs are being erected.

From being a symbol of the right to protest, Aldermaston has become the latest testament to the desire of successive New Labour governments to curtail the right to assemble, demonstrate and object to government policy.

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Gus: Curbing freedom to protect freedom?...  England now is (has been for a long time) in the same trousers as G W Bush... see toon at top... Are we Aussies still going to play cricket with these despots? I hope not... May the current cricket match between NooZeeland and the English end up in disaster for the Poms... although professor Napoleon might sex-up the result via divine management at Yale...

Brown adopts Blair's 'bridge' strategy in US relations

At the prime minister's meeting with Bush at Camp David last summer, Brown placed some distance between himself and Blair by hailing Britain's special relationship with the US as its most important bilateral link. But he offered little praise for Bush himself.

The prime minister's warmer words about the president — and his enthusiasm for the three presidential candidates — indicates that he has moved back towards Blair's more personal approach.

Brown ready to rain on Bush parade with Iraq troop pull-out

By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor
Monday, 16 June 2008

Gordon Brown is ready to override the misgivings of George Bush by going ahead with a major announcement on British troop withdrawals from Iraq. The US President will sit down to talks with Mr Brown today after their dinner at Downing Street last night sparked anti-Bush protests in Parliament Square.

Before he arrived at No 10, Mr Bush issued a veiled warning to Mr Brown that now was not the right time to be withdrawing forces from Iraq, saying such a decision depended on success of the allied mission. "I am confident that he, like me, will listen to our commanders to make sure that the sacrifices that have gone forward won't be unravelled by drawdowns that may not be warranted at this point in time," Mr Bush added.

then:

Dead troops flown home as Brown commits more

By James Tapsfield and Ben Padley, PA
Monday, 16 June 2008

Gordon Brown pledged more troops for Afghanistan today - as the latest British casualties were brought home.

The Prime Minister said the UK military presence would be pushed to its "highest level" of more than 8,000 in order to keep up pressure on the Taliban.

Despite repeated warnings that Britain's armed forces are stretched to the limit, Mr Brown also rejected the idea that there should be a "trade-off" reduction in troops in Iraq.

The announcement came at a joint press conference with George Bush during what is expected to be the US President's last formal visit to London.

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Gus: one can feel a bit of media information manipulation going on, from either the paper or from the Pommy government, and I bet it comes from the latter... Spin with manipulation of time line and of delivery parcels size and content. It appears as if the progression in the decisions are done when the PM dons his nightcap and wakes up in the morning with a "fresh" idea — like his orange juice made from Brazil-pulped concentrates... But in reality these are decision planned well in advance, but only made public at key moments — like during the visit of "the greatest US Lame Duck President" ever coming to check out the cobwebs in the dark corners of Bucky Palace...Or when it is publicly fashionable to retreat from the war in Iraq...

And they issue a "joint" statement...

see year old toon at top.

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