US casualty coverup, etc.

Sun, 9 Dec 2001 12:41:56 -0800

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Surprise -- the Bush administration is covering up US troop casualties 
so they can
maintain domestic support to expand the war elsewhere; see story at 
bottom.

             ******************************************************

Iraq is high on the list of next targets although the UN is warning us 
not to try it:
(There is some speculation that Somalia is actually our next target.)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1006955620

Annan warns US against carrying terror war to Iraq
SLO: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan cautioned the United States on 
Sunday not
to expand its war on terrorism to Iraq as that war would be lost unless 
waged by all
countries acting in concert.

Annan applauded Washington's renewed engagement in the Middle East where 
he
said the Israelis and the Palestinians now desperately needed help from 
the rest of
the world to put an end to their bloody conflict.

Speaking at a news conference on the eve of a formal ceremony where he 
will receive
  the Nobel Peace Prize, the 63-year-old UN secretary general said US 
military action
against Iraq could dramatically inflame violence in the Middle East.

"Any attempt or any decision to attack Iraq today will be unwise and 
could lead to a
major escalation in the region," Annan said. "I hope that it will not be 
the case."...

          ****************************************************

Meanwhile, a million Afghans are reported to be without food due to the 
anarchy
of war:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=109158

"International aid agencies are warning that more than a million 
destitute Afghans
are beyond their reach and face death from starvation and disease. 
Conditions are
worst not in regions still being fought over, but in areas firmly under 
Northern Alliance
control.

"Unless the security conditions in the north and west improve quickly, 
we must expect
large-scale population movements, suffering and many deaths in the 
coming weeks,"
said Kenzo Oshima, the United Nations' chief co-ordinator of 
humanitarian help, at last
week's conference of donors in Berlin. Aid organisations and their 
German hosts identified
the post-war anarchy as the single biggest killer in Afghanistan. "In 
many regions chaos,
fear and violence still reign," said Joschka Fischer, the German Foreign 
Minister..."

                *************************************************

http://www.SmirkingChimp.com/article.php?sid=4448&mode=thread&order=0

The unreported story: U.S. casualties spiral in Afghanistan
Posted on Sunday, December 09 @ 09:07:30 EST

Scores of US soldiers wounded in Afghanistan have been arriving at the
Khanabad air base in southern Uzbekistan - far more than official reports
suggest

By Andrei Sukhozhilov, Institute For War And Peace Reporting

Its approach announced by the repeated thud of its blade slicing the 
air, the
twin-rotor US helicopter landed at the American military support base at
Khanabad airport, in southern Uzbekistan.

A staging post for special forces' and humanitarian missions into 
Afghanistan,
the base has become busy with another task - receiving increasing 
numbers of
Americans wounded in the fighting.

Uzbek sources at Khanabad suggest that the real figures of US casualties 
are far
higher than the Pentagon's official totals. This IWPR reporter, who 
smuggled himself
onto the facility on December 2, witnessed soldiers scrambling to meet 
an incoming
  US helicopter. They lifted out five wounded men on stretchers and 
loaded them into
waiting vehicles.

Uzbek army personnel working at the air base said scores of US 
casualties have
been arriving there. From November 25 to Decemeber 2, an Uzbek orderly 
working
with American medical staff said he had witnessed the arrival of four to 
five US helicopters
- carrying between them 10-15 American casualties - each day.

The orderly said the US staff he was helping confirmed the casualties 
coming off the
aircraft were Americans.

Over the same period of time, the Pentagon has reported just five 
injured American
servicemen, wounded in a friendly-fire incident during an operation to 
quell a prison
riot near Mazar-e-Sharif. All were evacuated to Khanabad and then on to 
Germany.
The Pentagon's official total US casualty toll for the Afghan conflict 
is eight dead and
41 injured.

Asked about IWPR's findings, Pentagon spokesperson Lt Col. Catherine 
Abbott said,
"I cannot comment on what your reporter may have seen or something an 
orderly may
have told him. As we verify reports, we make the information 
known. . . . . The numbers
that I gave you are the latest that I have."

The IWPR findings come amid US news media criticism of the Pentagon for 
allegedly
restricting press coverage of American casualties. Both the Washington 
Post and the
AP news agency protested Thursday at the military's apparent decision to 
prevent
reporters based inside Afghanistan witnessing the transfer of troops 
injured when a
B-52 bomb went astray in an air-strike on Kandahar. Three US special 
forces soldiers
were killed and 19 wounded in the friendly-fire incident.

This reporter managed to get into the heavily guarded Khanabad facility 
with a group of
parents visiting children serving in an Uzbek military unit based at the 
airport.

Uzbek military staff at the base told IWPR that it is increasingly being 
used as a springboard
for humanitarian missions and special forces' raids into Afghanistan. 
They say the former
take place during the day and the latter at night.

At the same time, the airport has been receiving growing numbers of 
casualties. The Uzbek
sources say the hospital there - comprising one floor of a building and 
four large canvas tents
- was full of wounded US soldiers. They said more tents were going to be 
erected to cope with
the influx of casualties.
The Uzbek orderly working with American troops transferring wounded 
comrades from
helicopters said the casualties suffered shrapnel and bullet wounds to 
the arms, leg and head.

The airport sources could not confirm how many incoming casualties had 
died. One Uzbek
soldier said that since October 15 he had helped US servicemen load 20 
body bags onto
American transport planes. But he could not confirm whether they were 
dead US soldiers.

But there is other evidence of American fatalities. One Uzbek officer 
said US soldiers had told
him that four of their comrades had died of their wounds on December 1 
while being airlifted
to Khanabad.

An Uzbek pilot spoke of the death last week of an American soldier who 
he had become friendly
with while he was on the base. The US serviceman, he said, had died in 
the attempt to end the
prison riot on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif two weeks ago. "A lot of 
American troops died
there - it was a real battle, " the pilot said.

Uzbek army personnel say the atmosphere on the base has changed 
distinctly in the last week
or so.

They say that in October when the Americans began deploying at the 
airport, they were gung-ho,
telling their Uzbek counterparts that it would take no more than a month 
and a half to defeat the
Taleban and al-Qaeda.

While the Taleban appear to be on their last legs, al-Qaeda fighters 
continue to resist in mountain
redoubts, with some US servicemen at Khanabad now resigned to a long 
haul.

Uzbek military staff say frustration at this is noticeable. They say 
they have witnessed growing
tensions among American troops, often overhearing arguments and shouting 
matches.

Andrei Sukhozhilov is the pseudonym for journalist based in Uzbekistan.
Reprinted from The Institute For War And Peace Reporting:
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?
archive/rca/rca_200112_91_4_eng.txt

(this last link appears not to work, but this one should:
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?intcrisis_index.html  )

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<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>Surprise -- the Bush administration
is covering up US troop casualties so they can 

maintain domestic support to expand the war elsewhere; see story at
bottom. 

            ******************************************************

Iraq is high on the list of next targets although the UN is warning us
not to try it:

(There is some speculation that Somalia is actually our next target.)

<underline><color><param>1A1A,1A1A,FFFF</param>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1006955620</color></underline>

Annan warns US against carrying terror war to Iraq 

SLO: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan cautioned the United States on
Sunday not 

to expand its war on terrorism to Iraq as that war would be lost
unless waged by all 

countries acting in concert.

Annan applauded Washington's renewed engagement in the Middle East
where he 

said the Israelis and the Palestinians now desperately needed help
from the rest of 

the world to put an end to their bloody conflict.

Speaking at a news conference on the eve of a formal ceremony where he
will receive

 the Nobel Peace Prize, the 63-year-old UN secretary general said US
military action 

against Iraq could dramatically inflame violence in the Middle East.

"Any attempt or any decision to attack Iraq today will be unwise and
could lead to a 

major escalation in the region," Annan said. "I hope that it will not
be the case."...

         ****************************************************

Meanwhile, a million Afghans are reported to be without food due to
the anarchy 

of war:

<underline><color><param>1A1A,1A1A,FFFF</param>http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=109158</color></underline>

</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Arial</param>"International aid
agencies are warning that more than a million destitute Afghans 

are beyond their reach and face death from starvation and disease.
Conditions are 

worst not in regions still being fought over, but in areas firmly
under Northern Alliance 

control.

"Unless the security conditions in the north and west improve quickly,
we must expect 

large-scale population movements, suffering and many deaths in the
coming weeks," 

said Kenzo Oshima, the United Nations' chief co-ordinator of
humanitarian help, at last 

week's conference of donors in Berlin. Aid organisations and their
German hosts identified 

the post-war anarchy as the single biggest killer in Afghanistan. "In
many regions chaos, 

fear and violence still reign," said Joschka Fischer, the German
Foreign Minister..."

</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>

               *************************************************

<underline><color><param>1A1A,1A1A,FFFF</param>http://www.SmirkingChimp.com/article.php?sid=4448&mode=thread&order=0</color></underline>

The unreported story: U.S. casualties spiral in Afghanistan

Posted on Sunday, December 09 @ 09:07:30 EST 

Scores of US soldiers wounded in Afghanistan have been arriving at the 

Khanabad air base in southern Uzbekistan - far more than official
reports 

suggest

By Andrei Sukhozhilov,
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,9999</param>Institute For War And
Peace Reporting

</color></underline>

Its approach announced by the repeated thud of its blade slicing the
air, the 

twin-rotor US helicopter landed at the American military support base
at 

Khanabad airport, in southern Uzbekistan.

A staging post for special forces' and humanitarian missions into
Afghanistan, 

the base has become busy with another task - receiving increasing
numbers of 

Americans wounded in the fighting.

Uzbek sources at Khanabad suggest that the real figures of US
casualties are far 

higher than the Pentagon's official totals. This IWPR reporter, who
smuggled himself 

onto the facility on December 2, witnessed soldiers scrambling to meet
an incoming

 US helicopter. They lifted out five wounded men on stretchers and
loaded them into 

waiting vehicles.

Uzbek army personnel working at the air base said scores of US
casualties have 

been arriving there. From November 25 to Decemeber 2, an Uzbek orderly
working 

with American medical staff said he had witnessed the arrival of four
to five US helicopters 

- carrying between them 10-15 American casualties - each day.

The orderly said the US staff he was helping confirmed the casualties
coming off the 

aircraft were Americans.

Over the same period of time, the Pentagon has reported just five
injured American 

servicemen, wounded in a friendly-fire incident during an operation to
quell a prison 

riot near Mazar-e-Sharif. All were evacuated to Khanabad and then on
to Germany.

The Pentagon's official total US casualty toll for the Afghan conflict
is eight dead and 

41 injured.

Asked about IWPR's findings, Pentagon spokesperson Lt Col. Catherine
Abbott said, 

"I cannot comment on what your reporter may have seen or something an
orderly may 

have told him. As we verify reports, we make the information known. .
. . . The numbers 

that I gave you are the latest that I have."

The IWPR findings come amid US news media criticism of the Pentagon
for allegedly 

restricting press coverage of American casualties. Both the Washington
Post and the 

AP news agency protested Thursday at the military's apparent decision
to prevent 

reporters based inside Afghanistan witnessing the transfer of troops
injured when a 

B-52 bomb went astray in an air-strike on Kandahar. Three US special
forces soldiers 

were killed and 19 wounded in the friendly-fire incident.

This reporter managed to get into the heavily guarded Khanabad
facility with a group of 

parents visiting children serving in an Uzbek military unit based at
the airport.

Uzbek military staff at the base told IWPR that it is increasingly
being used as a springboard 

for humanitarian missions and special forces' raids into Afghanistan.
They say the former 

take place during the day and the latter at night.

At the same time, the airport has been receiving growing numbers of
casualties. The Uzbek 

sources say the hospital there - comprising one floor of a building
and four large canvas tents 

- was full of wounded US soldiers. They said more tents were going to
be erected to cope with

the influx of casualties.

The Uzbek orderly working with American troops transferring wounded
comrades from 

helicopters said the casualties suffered shrapnel and bullet wounds to
the arms, leg and head.

The airport sources could not confirm how many incoming casualties had
died. One Uzbek 

soldier said that since October 15 he had helped US servicemen load 20
body bags onto 

American transport planes. But he could not confirm whether they were
dead US soldiers.

But there is other evidence of American fatalities. One Uzbek officer
said US soldiers had told 

him that four of their comrades had died of their wounds on December 1
while being airlifted 

to Khanabad. 

An Uzbek pilot spoke of the death last week of an American soldier who
he had become friendly 

with while he was on the base. The US serviceman, he said, had died in
the attempt to end the 

prison riot on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif two weeks ago. "A lot
of American troops died 

there - it was a real battle, " the pilot said.

Uzbek army personnel say the atmosphere on the base has changed
distinctly in the last week 

or so.

They say that in October when the Americans began deploying at the
airport, they were gung-ho, 

telling their Uzbek counterparts that it would take no more than a
month and a half to defeat the 

Taleban and al-Qaeda. 

While the Taleban appear to be on their last legs, al-Qaeda fighters
continue to resist in mountain 

redoubts, with some US servicemen at Khanabad now resigned to a long
haul.

Uzbek military staff say frustration at this is noticeable. They say
they have witnessed growing 

tensions among American troops, often overhearing arguments and
shouting matches.

Andrei Sukhozhilov is the pseudonym for journalist based in Uzbekistan.

Reprinted from The Institute For War And Peace Reporting:

<underline><color><param>1A1A,1A1A,FFFF</param>http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl</color><color><param>0000,0000,9999</param>?

archive/rca/rca_200112_91_4_eng.txt</color></underline> 

(this last link appears not to work, but this one should:

<underline><color><param>1A1A,1A1A,FFFF</param>http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?intcrisis_index.html</color></underline>  )</fontfamily>
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