Antiwar.com Blog

Or, two more reasons why I’ve lost interest in the LCpl. Boudreaux case.

* Justin interprets the lighthearted hijinks at Abu Ghraib.

* That infamous hate-America rag Stars & Stripes reports on business as usual in Okinawa.

Marines sentenced for mugging of Okinawa man

NAHA, Okinawa — Two Marines found guilty of mugging a 20-year-old Okinawan man in Ginowan last October were sentenced Tuesday in Naha District Court. …

The incident took place Oct. 23 at about 5:55 a.m. following a long night of drinking, according to testimony at previous hearings. [Lance Cpl. Joshua M.] Major testified he was out looking for a fight that morning and picked on the man they saw in a supermarket in the Oyama district of Ginowan, near the base.

He admitted punching the man in the face after Mundell grabbed him from behind. …

Chief Judge Nobuyuki Yokota said there was no doubt both Marines were responsible for the attack.

“While [Cpl. Paul E.] Mundell grabbed the Japanese man from behind, Major punched him in the face for several times,” Yokota said. “Even after knocking the victim down to the ground, Major continued assaulting the man.” …

Yokota said the evidence showed Mundell, Major and another Marine, who was with them but not charged, started drinking beer at their barracks room on Oct. 22 to celebrate completing training at a range. At about 11:40 p.m., they went to a pool hall near the air station, where they stayed until 5 a.m. The trio then stopped by a nearby 24-hour supermarket.

“In the store, they saw the victim, who left after buying a boxed meal,” the judge said in his explanation for finding the two men guilty. “After they left the store, they looked for the victim and followed him for 15 minutes after spotting him again on a street.”

Then, they attacked.

“Using the money they stole, they hailed a taxi to go to Okinawa City, only to find that the bar they were planning to go [to] was closed,” Yokota said. “They then spent some more of the money on boxed meals, which they ate in a taxi on their way back to the air station.”

Imagine the fear of being beaten and robbed by foreign thugs every time you go to the supermarket, and you’ll have some idea why most Iraqis want the U.S. out now.

Bush Administration whines to Qatar about Al Jazeera

“I am not responsible (for) al-Jazeera,” Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said of the Qatar-based station funded by the Gulf ally’s ruler.

“But we will take this concern back to al Jazeera and they have to review (it), because we need al Jazeera to be professional and we don’t want anybody to send lies or to send (the) wrong information,” he said after talks at the White House with Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Hamad said he also discussed plans to sharply increase liquefied natural gas sales to the United States. He told reporters, “There is some agreement to send more gas, around 20 million tons of gas to the United States … by the year 2010.”

I’m sure this deal has NUTHINK to do with al Jazeera….

The Bush administration has warned Qatar its relations with the United States were clouded by what it called “inflammatory” coverage of Iraq by Jazeera, whose satellite broadcasts have a wide Arab audience.

The Bush administration says its Middle East policies promote freedom.

The freedom to be liberated from your property and life….

Here’s the Bush Administration desperately needing a shred of credibility with the Arab world and everything they do alienates them further.

The Bushies–sorry, Iraqi Governing Council–got caught with their pants down on the new Iraqi flag, so they have now changed it. Kind of.

Via Atrios, we learn that Sinclair TV has announced a boycott of Ted Koppel’s Nightline show in which he intends to read the names and show a picture of all the Americans killed in combat in Iraq.

Apparently, Sinclair is only interested in good news from Iraq. This is from a story in the Baltimore Sun dated February 18, 2004:

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Jon Leiberman and Mark Hyman are in Iraq to report the positive, “untold stories” that we’re not getting from the liberal media. Hyman tells David Folkenflik: “Hopefully, what we’ve done is given our viewers more of a sense of what’s happening, beyond ‘There was a car-bombing today.’ …What’s really fascinating to me is the optimism that so many Iraqis have.”

Mmmmkay. Oddly, googling either “Jon Lieberman” or “Mark Hyman” produces no stories with their byline. Maybe they’re still tracking down that good news.

Via Poynter Online:

STATEMENT OF THE SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP

The ABC Television network announced on Tuesday that the Friday, April 30th edition of “Nightline” will consist entirely of Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq. Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.

While the Sinclair Broadcast Group honors the memory of the brave members of the military who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country, we do not believe such political statements should be disguised as news content. As a result, we have decided to preempt the broadcast of “Nightline” this Friday on each of our stations which air ABC programming.

We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some. Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you first question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of the 523 troops killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the thousands of private citizens killed in terrorists attacks since and including the events of September 11, 2001. In his answer, you will find the real motivation behind his action scheduled for this Friday.

ABC NEWS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SINCLAIR

We respectfully disagree with Sinclair’s decision to pre-empt “Nightline’s” tribute to America’s fallen soldiers which will air this Friday, April 30. The Nightline broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country. ABC News is dedicated to thoughtful and balanced coverage and reports on the events shaping our world with neither fear nor favor — as our audience expects, deserves, and rightly demands. Contrary to the statement issued by Sinclair, which takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of terrorism on our citizens, ABC News and all of our broadcasts, including “Nightline,” have reported hundreds of stories on 9-11. Indeed, on the first anniversary of 9-11, ABC News broadcast the names of the victims of that horrific attack.

In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award winning coverage ABC News has produced since September 11, 2001. ABC News will continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the War on Terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News has set for decades.

The general in charge of the US-run prison system in Iraq has been suspended and put under investigation over the alleged abuse of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers.

A senior US military spokesman says Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was suspended from her duties in late January after six US soldiers were indicted for mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

Gen Karpinski and another six officers are under administrative investigation that could result in letters of reprimand.

The US Army confirmed the suspension after American network CBS broadcast images of US troops mistreating Iraqi prisoners.

Photographs aired by the network on 60 Minutes II include one showing a prisoner standing on a box with a hood over his head and wires coming from his hands.

The network says he was told he would be electrocuted if he fell off.

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UPDATE: Rahul Mahajan at Empire Notes makes an interesting post on this topic. Rahul:

April 28, 11:30 am EST. Late start blogging this morning because I was on MSNBC News in a “debate” about the shocking (but not surprising) degradation and abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison committed by U.S. personnel.

Read the rest, including shocking quotes from one of the indicted soldiers’ emails home.

The Independent is reporting that the 36th battalion, composed of Iraqi Arab and Kurdish peshmerga militia , has mutinied. The battalion has been fighting alongside the Marines in the siege of Fallujah. The Independent reports that the Marines separated out those who would fight from those who wouldn’t.

The battalion may have split along ethnic lines. Its soldiers were recruited from the militiamen of the Iraqi political parties which belong to the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, and about half were Kurdish soldiers, known as peshmerga. The Kurds were prepared to fight but Iraqi Arab soldiers said they had had enough. Those who refused to fight were withdrawn from the battlefield for retraining.

The speculation about the peshmerga fighting against the Arabs alongside the Americans is confirmed repeatedly.