Operation Iraqi Freedom/External links: Year Four (September 2006-March 2007)

Year Four of Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced on March 19, 2006. Due to the length of this article, it has been subdivided. Articles in this section relate to September 2006 through March 18, 2007.

Also see:

• Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Five - Beyond Quagmire
• Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Four
• Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Four (March-August 2006)
• Operation Iraqi Freedom: Daily & Current News Updates

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Articles & Commentary

2006

September 2006

• Ellen Knickmeyer, "Body Count in Baghdad Nearly Triples. Morgue's Revised Toll for August Undermines Claims by Leaders of Steep Drop in Violence," Washington Post, September 8, 2006.
• Jim Abrams, "Senate: No Prewar Saddam-al-Qaida Ties," Associated Press (Forbes), September 8, 2006.
• Dana Priest and Ann Scott Tyson, "Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold'. U.S. Steps Up Efforts, But Good Intelligence On Ground is Lacking," Washington Post, September 10, 2006.
• Judd Legum, "Cheney Ignores Senate Intel Report, Cites Zarqawi As Evidence of Iraq/Al Qaeda Connection," Think Progress, September 10, 2006. Includes video and transcript.
• Thomas E. Ricks, "Situation Called Dire in West Iraq. Anbar Is Lost Politically, Marine Analyst Says," Washington Post, September 11, 2006.
• Walter Shapiro, "The never-ending War. The president uses the fifth anniversary of our national tragedy to promise a global conflict that will last decades," Salon, September 12, 2006.
• Editorial: "President Bush’s Reality," New York Times, September 12, 2006.
• Rebecca Santana, "Iraq to Dig Trenches Around Baghdad," Associated Press (Forbes), September 15, 2006.
• John Aravosis, "Select video from today's Democratic national security hearing," AMERICAblog, September 25, 2006. All links to YouTube.
• Billmon, "Help is on the way," Whiskey Bar, September 28, 2006.

October 2006

• Andrew Buncombe, "US casualty rate in Iraq worst since Fallujah," The Independent (UK), October 9, 2006.
• Amit R. Paley, "U.S. and Iraqi Forces Clash With Sadr Militia in South," Washington Post, October 9, 2006.
• Jane Arraf, "Calling Bob in Baghdad," Blogging Baghdad/MSNBC, October 10, 2006: "I'm more puzzled by comments that the violence isn't any worse than any American city. Really? In which American city do 60 bullet-riddled bodies turn up on a given day? In which city do the headless bodies of ordinary citizens turn up every single day? In which city would it not be news if neighborhood school children were blown up? In which neighborhood would you look the other way if gunmen came into restaurants and shot dead the customers?"
• David Brown, "Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000," Washington Post, October 11, 2006.
• "110 Bodies Found in Baghdad in 24 Hours," Reuters (Washington Post), October 11, 2006.
• John Cole, "Top Ten GOP Excuses Regarding the Casualty Estimates," Balloon Juice, October 11, 2006.
• Arthur Silber, "The Missing Moral Center: Murdering the Innocent," Once Upon a Time... Blog, October 11, 2006.
• John Amato, "Bush: I am, you know, amazed that this is a society which so wants to be free that they’re willing to — you know, that there’s a level of violence that they tolerate," Crooks and Liars, October 11, 2006. (WMP and QT links).
• Andrew Gray, "U.S. Army Plans for Current Iraq Troop Level to 2010," Reuters (Common Dreams), October 12, 2006.
• Will Dunham, "U.S. casualties surge amid worsening Iraq violence," Reuters, October 12, 2006.
• "General seeks UK Iraq withdrawal," BBC, October 13, 2006: "The presence of UK armed forces in Iraq 'exacerbates the security problems' and they should 'get out some time soon', the head of the British Army has said." re coalition of the willing: beginning of the end
• Tom Raum, "Bush Keeps Revising War Justification," Associated Press (1010 WINS), October 14, 2006.
• John Amato, "What about all those purple fingers?" Crooks and Liars, October 15, 2006.
• Editorial: They sacrificed. It's our turn," St. Petersburg Times (FL), October 15, 2006: "About one in five soldiers leaving the military have been disabled to some degree in the two conflicts. Of this group, more than 100,000 have been granted disability compensation. The numbers will increase exponentially, and taxpayers will have to start getting used to paying more as soldiers leave the service and file claims. Roughly 567,000 of the 1.5-million U.S. troops who have fought in these conflicts have been discharged. And one official predicts that if current trends hold for the next few years, more than 400,000 discharged service members probably will seek disability benefits when they retire. ... Most veterans who have filed claims were found to be 30 percent disabled or less, and 1 in 10 were found to be 100 percent disabled."
• Ellen Knickmeyer and Muhanned Saif Aldin, "Dozens Of Iraqis Killed in Reprisals. River Towns Trade Sectarian Strikes As Militias Move In," Washington Post, October 16, 2006.
• Frank James, "Expert: Iraq in civil war," The Swamp Blog/Chicago Tribune, October 16, 2006.
• Joe Sudbay, "Conrad Burns says Bush has a 'secret plan' for Iraq," AMERICAblog, October 18, 2006. re Conrad Burns
• "Coup against Maliki reported in the making," UPI (Washington Times), October 23, 2006. re Nouri al-Maliki
• "Active troops ask congress to end Iraqi occupation," CNN, October 23, 2006.
• Patrick Cockburn, "Iraq under fire and on the run," New Zealand Herald, October 24, 2006.
• Ellen Knickmeyer, "More U.S. Troops May Be Iraq-Bound. Bigger Force Among Options, Commander Says, Citing Baghdad Violence," Washington Post, October 25, 2006.
• Ann Scott Tyson, "Grass-Roots Group of Troops Petitions Congress for Pullout From Iraq," Washington Post, October 25, 2006: "The group, which aims to collect 2,000 signatures and deliver the message to Congress in January, is sponsored by antiwar activists including" Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace and Military Families Speak Out. re Call for the U.S. to Pullout from Iraq and Center on Conscience & War
• SilentPatriot, "Exactly Who Are We Fighting In Iraq?" Crooks and Liars, October 26, 2006.
• "Bush strategist Rove says military's should be flexible in Iraq, withdrawal not an option," Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), October 28, 2006.
• Judd Legum, "REPORT: Top U.S. Military Officer Recommends 'We Remove All Troops From Baghdad'," Think Progress, October 28, 2006.
• "LEAKED MEMO: Karen Hughes Thinks Small In Combating Iraq Insurgency," Think Progress, October 28, 2006. re Karen Hughes
• Amit R. Paley, "In Baghdad, a Force Under the Militias' Sway. Infiltration of Iraqi Police Could Delay Handover of Control for Years, U.S. Trainers Suggest," Washington Post, October 31, 2006. re Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq

November 2006

• Michael R. Gordon, "Military Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq Toward Chaos," New York Times, November 1, 2006.
• Talking Points: "Military Mismanagement," Center for American Progress Action Fund, November 1, 2006.
• Neil Steinberg, "Blood, guts, but no glory," Chicago Sun-Times, November 1, 2006.
• "Kroll pulls security team out of Iraq. Kroll withdrew its bodyguard teams from Iraq and Afghanistan after four workers died in Iraq," Associated Press (NewYorkBusiness.com), November 1, 2006. re Kroll, Inc.
• David R. Baker, "Bechtel pulling out after 3 rough years of rebuilding work," San Francisco Chronicle, November 1, 2006. re Bechtel
• Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily, "Fallujah: U.S. Military Adopts Desperate Tactics," Inter Press Service and uruknet.info (GlobalResearch.ca), November 2, 2006.
• Mike Whitney, "Baghdad is Surrounded. 'The American Era in the Middle East Has Ended'," CounterPunch, November 2, 2006.
• Robert H. Reid, "Saddam Verdict Could Spark More Violence," Associated Press (Forbes), November 4, 2006.
• John Heilprin, "1999 War Games Foresaw Problems in Iraq," Associated Press (1010 WINS), November 5, 2006.
• Thom Shankar, "At the Pentagon, Concern About Blame for the Situation in Iraq," New York Times, November 10, 2006.
• "Bush to meet Iraq Study Group for war recommendations," ABC News (Australia), November 11, 2006.
• Carl Hulse and Thom Shankar, "Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action on Iraq," New York Times, November 11, 2006.
• Jessica Holzer and Matthew Swibel, "A Staggering New Bill For Iraq?" Forbes, November 9, 2006.
• Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Mark Mazetti, "Democrats to Press Bush to Reduce Troops in Iraq," New York Times, November 12, 2006.
• Simon Tisdall, "US plans last big push in Iraq. Strategy document calls for extra 20,000 troops, aid for Iraqi army and regional summit," Guardian (UK), November 16, 2006.
• Paul William Roberts, "Decline and Fall - America in Retreat," Atlantic Free Press, November 24, 2006.
• John F. Burns and Kirk Semple, "U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself," New York Times, November 26, 2006.
• "John Roberts Tells Kurtz: Iraq Worse Than Media Shows," Editor & Publisher, November 26, 2006.
• Edward Wong, "Iraqi Leader Says Politicians Are Causing Violence," New York Times, November 26, 2006.
• Ann Scott Tyson, "Long Stints in Iraq Fracture Families. 3rd Infantry Division Will Be the First Deployed for a Third Year-Long Tour," Washington Post, November 26, 2006.
• Marie Colvin, Tony Allen-Mills, and Samir Bashir, "Ferocity of Iraq attacks leaves US troops helpless," The Sunday Times (UK), November 26, 2006.
• Ross Colvin, "Bombings push Iraq closer to abyss," Reuters, November 27, 2006.
• lenin, "Sadr City," Lenin's Tomb Blogspot, November 27, 2006.

December 2006

• Scott Malone, "Iraqi violence 'self-sustaining': U.S. intel chief," Reuters, December 1, 2006.
• Jeffrey Bartholet, "Sword of the Shia. He can deal out death through his black-clad followers and roil the government any time he chooses. Why Moqtada al-Sadr may end up deciding America's fate in Iraq," Newsweek, December 4, 2006 (issue).
• Solomon Moore, "'Fear took over' in Baghdad raid. U.S. advisors lament Iraqi troops' conduct. America's exit strategy hangs in the balance," Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2006.
• "The Outsourcing of Security," BuffaloPundit, December 4, 2006. re Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq scroll down to "The Real 'Iraqi security forces'".
• "Iraq: One by one, they tell the truth. As Tony Blair flies out to meet George Bush, the latest admission of failure in Iraq has made the two leaders appear even more isolated," The Independent (UK), December 6, 2006.
• Colin Brown and Andy McSmith, "Diplomat's suppressed document lays bare the lies behind Iraq war," The Independent (UK), December 15, 2006.
• Marc Cooper, "About Face: Soldiers Call for Iraq Withdrawal," The Nation, December 16, 2006.
• Martin Sieff, "Eye on Iraq: The other Iraq report," UPI, December 20, 2006.
• Marc Cooper, "About Face," The Nation, December 20, 2006 (January 8, 2007, issue).
• "Rice: Iraq ‘worth the investment’. U.S. is ready to elect black president, secretary of state says," Associated Press (MSNBC), December 21, 2006. re Condoleezza Rice
• David Edwards, "Video: Kristol believes Bush mulling more than 'short term surge'," The Raw Story, December 24, 2006.
• "U.S. Troop Deaths In Iraq Exceed 9/11 Toll. 6 More GI Deaths Put Military Past Grim Milestone As 25 Iraqis Die In Baghdad Blasts," CBS News/Associated Press, December 26, 2006.
• Bryan Bender, "Military considers recruiting foreigners. Expedited citizenship would be an incentive," Boston Globe, December 26, 2006.
• Robert Scheer, "Ike Was Right," truthdig, December 26, 2006. re military-industrial complex
• jurassicpork, "Now We're Killing Grandmothers," Welcome to Pottersville Blog, December 28, 2006.
• "Many U.S. Troops in Iraq Oppose Escalation," Associated Press (Editor & Publisher), December 28, 2006.
• David S. Cloud and Jeff Zeleny, "Bush Considers Up to 20,000 More Troops for Iraq," New York Times, December 29, 2006.
• Lauren Frayer, "Dec. Deadliest Month in Iraq for U.S.," Associated Press (Washington Post), December 30, 2006.
• Donna St. George, "U.S. Deaths in Iraq Mark Increased Presence. More Killed in Action Than in Other Wars," Washington Post, December 31, 2006.
• "Faces of the Dead in Iraq," New York Times, December 31, 2006.

2007

January 2007

• Claudia Parsons, "New Year brings 3,000th U.S. death in Iraq," Reuters, January 1, 2007.
• Raja Mishra, "US deaths in Iraq war hit 3,000. Killings end the bloodiest month of 2006," Boston Globe, January 1, 2007.
• "Former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff calls for repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell," PageOneQ, January 1, 2006.
• David E. Sanger, Michael R. Gordon, and John F. Burns, "Chaos Overran Iraq Plan in ’06, Bush Team Says," New York Times, January 2, 2007.
• "Fury may swell insurgency. Protest over Hussein hanging suggests rising support for militants," Associated Press (Indianapolis Star), January 2, 2007.
• Greg Mitchell, "The Hidden Toll in Iraq: Meet the New Jeremiah Johnson," Editor & Publisher, January 2, 2007.
• Keith Olbermann, "Special comment about 'sacrifice'. BBC reports Bush will reveal troop surge plan in sacrifice-themed speech," MSNBC, January 3, 2006.
• Terence Hunt, "Bush Adding 21,500 Troops to Iraq Force," Associated Press (BreitBart.com), January 10, 2007.
• Thomas Harding and Toby Harnden, "3,000 British troops to pull out of Iraq by May," Telegraph (UK), January 11, 2007.
• Frank Main, "FBI details threat from gangs in military. Says members of Illinois biker gangs in Iraq," Chicago Sun-Times, January 20, 2007.
• Zia Mian, "The Three U.S. Armies in Iraq," Foreign Policy in Focus, January 22, 2007.
• Johanna Neuman and Julian Barnes, "U.S. command nominee terms Iraq situation 'dire'," Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2007.
• Damien Cave, "'Man Down': When One Bullet Alters Everything," New York Times, January 29, 2007.
• Rupert Cornwell, "US must abandon Iraqi cities or face nightmare scenario, say experts," The Independent (UK), January 30, 2007.
• Patrick Cockburn, "The Waco of Iraq? US 'Victory' Against Cult Leader was a Massacre," CounterPunch, January 31, 2007.
• "Media uncritically reported Bush's statement touting Iraqi success in Najaf," Media Matters for America, January 31, 2007.
• "Doubts over battle with messianic cult," UPI, January 31, 2007.

February 2007

• "Double the Troops in 'Surge' (Updated)," DefenseTech.org, February 1, 2007.

• See February 1, 2007, Congressional Budget Office letter to House Budget Committee.
• "Iraq Escalation Could Be Twice As Large As Bush Claimed," Think Progres, February 1, 2007.
• "White House Disputes CBO Report, Says Combat Troops Don’t Need More Support," Think Progress, February 2, 2007.

• Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily, "Government Lies Over Najaf 'Cult' Battle Exposed," Inter Press Service (AlterNet), February 2, 2007.
• "The Analysis: On the 'Polarization' of Iraqis and Their 'Ready Recourse to Violence'," New York Times, February 3, 2007. re National Intelligence Estimate
• Andrew Weaver and Ray McGovern, "Troops Return to Painful Wait for Needed Help," Baltimore Sun (Common Dreams), February 4, 2007: "The California Nurses Association reported that in the first quarter of 2006, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 'treated 20,638 Iraq veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, and they have a backlog of 400,000 cases.' A returning soldier has to wait an average of 165 days for a VA decision on initial disability benefits, and an appeal can take up to three years."
• Steven Simon, "Report Calls for Military Disengagement From Iraq," Council on Foreign Relations, February 7, 2007.
• "Sen. John McCain Fears 'Tet Offensive' in Iraq," Associated Press (NewsMax), February 12, 2007.
• Ann Scott Tyson, "Thousands of Army Humvees Lack Armor Upgrade," Washington Post, February 12, 2007.
• "Iraq war planners forecast only 5,000 GIs in '06. Top generals envisioned stability, democracy after Saddam's ouster," Associated Press (MSNBC), February 15, 2007.
• Sue Pleming, "Ex-envoy says Iraq rebuilding plan won't work," Reuters (ABC News), February 17, 2007. re reconstruction of Iraq
• Anne Hull and Dana Priest, "The Hotel Aftermath. Inside Mologne House, the Survivors of War Wrestle With Military Bureaucracy and Personal Demons," Washington Post, February 19, 2007. re Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal
• Bernard Weiner, "Deja Vu All Over Again: Quagmire Alert," The Crisis Papers, February 20, 2007.
• David S. Cloud, "National Guard May Undertake Iraq Duty Early," New York Times, February 22, 2007.
• Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker, "Ally's Timing Is Awkward for Bush," Washington Post, February 22, 2007. re coalition of the willing: beginning of the end
• Tom Raum, "Coalition of one. U.S. alliance in Iraq splinters as only major partner exits," Associated Press (Chicago Sun-Times), February 22, 2007.
• Claudia Parsons, "Second chlorine bomb may show new militant tactic," Reuters, February 22, 2007.
• Richard A. Oppel Jr., "U.S. Says It Found Chemicals at Iraqi Bomb Factory," New York Times, February 23, 2007.
• Ann Scott Tyson and Joshua Partlow, "Insurgents Broaden Arsenal in Battles With U.S., Iraqi Forces," Washington Post, February 23, 2007.
• Sarah Childress, "Vets on the Street. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are ending up homeless. How could this happen?" Newsweek (MSNBC), February 24, 2007.
• Robert Burns, "2 Army units will forgo desert training," Associated Press (USA TODAY), February 27, 2007.
• Robert Bazell, "In Iraq, a head wound isn't always a trip home. Military personnel with brain injuries pressured to return quickly to duty," NBC News / MSNBC, February 27, 2007.
• Leo Shane III, "At 180 a day, January attacks on coalition hit highest level," Stars and Stripes, February 28, 2007.

March 2007

• Tim Dickinson, "Beyond Quagmire. A panel of experts convened by Rolling Stone agree that the war in Iraq is lost. The only question now is: How bad will the coming explosion be?" Rolling Stone, March 2007.
• Ann Scott Tyson, "Shortages Threaten Guard's Capability. 88 Percent of Units Rated 'Not Ready'," Washington Post, March 2, 2007.
• Kristian Williams, "Counterinsurgency 101. General Petraeus says he thinks the war in Iraq is winnable. His recent manual suggests otherwise," In These Times, March 5, 2007.
• Richard Cowan, "Pentagon raises estimate of troops for Iraq," Reuters, March 6, 2007.
• Tom Engelhardt, "Tomgram: The Last Hot-button Issue for the Bush Adminstration. Hostages to Policy. What We Know About Waste and War in Iraq," TomDispatch.com, March 6, 2007.
• Payson Schwin, "REPORT: 72 Percent Of Army Brigades Have Served Multiple Tours of Duty," Think Progress, March 7, 2007.
• Ibon Villelabeitia, "U.S. commander urges talks, sees Baghdad backlash," Reuters, March 8, 2007: Gen. David Petraeus said: "There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq."
• "Senate Democrats Announce Joint Resolution to Transition the Mission in Iraq," PRNewswire, March 8, 2007. re Reid Joint Resolution
• Sarah Wheaton, "War at Home: Withdrawal Plan and Veto Threat," The Caucus Blog/New York Times, March 9, 2007.
• SilentPatriot, "More Casualties From Iraq - Nearly 60,000 U.S. Divorces," Crooks and Liars, March 9, 2007.
• Robert Burns, "Bush Iraq plan costs begin to balloon," Associated Press (USA TODAY), March 9, 2007.
• Editorial: "Another Grim Week in Iraq," New York Times, March 10, 2007.
• "Pentagon Struggles to Find Fresh Troops," Associated Press (NewsMax), March 10, 2007.
• Rob Kall, "When Losers Talk About Victory and Supporting the Troops," OpEdNews, March 10, 2007.
• Peter Baker, "Additional Troop Increase Approved. President Agrees To Send 8,200 More To Iraq, Afghanistan," Washington Post, March 11, 2007.
• Paul Beaver and Paul Beaumont, "'Smart' rebels outstrip US," The Observer (UK), March 11, 2007: "Top American generals make shock admission as Iraq leader pleads with neighbouring countries to seal off their borders."
• David Jackson, "White House lists cuts to pay for more troops," USA TODAY, March 12, 2007.
• Mark Tran, "US plans Iraq withdrawal if 'surge' fails," Guardian Unlimited (UK), March 12, 2007.
• Joseph L. Galloway, Commentary: "A desperate Army is scraping the bottom," McClatchy Newspapers, March 14, 2007.
• Lolita C. Baldor, "Pentagon: Iraq in Some Ways in Civil War," Associated Press (ABC News), March 14, 2007.
• Spencer Ackerman, "The Surge Is (Or Might Not At All Be) Working," TPMmuckraker, March 15, 2007.
• Bryan Bender, "General wants additional troops. Move would boost planned expansion to almost 30,000," Boston Globe, March 15, 2007.
• Larry Margasak, "Thousands Protest As War Enters 5th Year," Associated Press (ABC News), March 17, 2007.
• Tabassum Zakaria, "Gates: 'so far, so good' on new U.S. Iraq strategy," Reuters, March 18, 2007.

Related SourceWatch Resources

In particular see:

• Baker-Hamilton Commission
• civil war in Iraq
• Democrats in Congress are trying to micromanage
• Exit Strategy from Iraq
• Iraq Study Group
• Iraqi unified resistance
• McCain doctrine
• stay the course
• violence in the Middle East
• Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal
• War Crimes Against the Civilians of Iraq