Hard to forget

U.S. entrenched Near East regional wars, malfeasance
Re-reporting, editing by Carolyn Bennett

Casualties
April 18, 2010 (accurate totals unknown, usual reporting not updated)

• Anti-war dot com March 19, 2003: Since January 20, 2009 inauguration: 163 dead; 31,775-100,000 wounded; 320,000 U.S. veterans with brain injuries; 18 suicides a day [April 17 update], http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
• Iraq Body Count: documented civilian deaths from violence 95,888 – 104,595, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
• ICasualties IRAQ: 4,391 U.S, 4,709 Coalition; AFGHANISTAN: 1,044 U.S., 1,731 Coalition http://icasualties.org/oif/

April 16, 2010
Afghanistan (Kandahar)
Three foreigners and three Afghan soldiers died and nine people suffered injuries Thursday in Kandahar after a suicide car bomb exploded. The bomb reportedly blew out windows of several buildings including in the home of President Hamid Karzai’s brother. Leading into a scheduled U.S. and NATO major offensive, this “was the second attack of the day in Kandahar, where numerous strikes have occurred in recent weeks.” An earlier explosion in the city’s center destroyed vehicles and shops and injured six people.

April 18, 2010
Afghanistan
Afghan authorities have released three Italian aid workers accused of plotting to kill the governor of an Afghan province. An investigation by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency found that the three men, who had been working as physicians, had no part in a Taliban plot to assassinate Helmand governor Gulab Mangal. Five of the Italian’s six Afghan colleagues who had been implicated in the incident also were released on Sunday.

April 19, 2010, Monday update
Afghanistan [children bombed]
Three children ages 11 to 15 died Monday in the Afghan city of Kandahar. Explosives planted in a donkey cart had been detonated. Police officers and other civilians were counted among the injured. “Children killed in Afghan blast,” April 19, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/2010419141252419585.html

[Another Earthquake destroys]
At least seven people have died and more than 34 suffered injuries when a 5.3 earthquake occurred today in Afghanistan’s highly mountainous Samangan province, northwest of the capital, Kabul. Reports said 40 houses collapsed and more than 300 homes were damaged. Neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikstan also felt the impact. Casualties are expected to rise. “Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan,” April 19, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041991224700369.html

April 18, 2010
Iran
“The region has no need for alien troops and they should return home and let the regional states take care of their own affairs.” Speaking at Iran’s annual Army Day assembly, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the United States “to withdraw its troops from the Gulf region and Afghanistan.” These comments followed the president’s earlier statements at the two-day summit on civilian nuclear energy in Tehran in which he urged formation of a new international body to oversee nuclear disarmament.

The Tehran summit continuing through Sunday “is seen as a counterpoint” to last week’s Washington conference, which excluded Iran. Iran has criticized the 47-nation nuclear security summit based on U.S. domination in nuclear weaponry. The U.S. allegedly “fears Iran’s nuclear program could be a cover for the production of atomic weapons.” Iran’s leaders counter that their country “is entitled to continue [working] on its uranium enrichment” program, the country is not “seeking nuclear weapons,” and its atomic program is “for meeting civilian energy needs”

April 18, 2010
Iraq
Remembering unforgettable malfeasance
On July 12, 2007, the U.S. military responded to reports of small arms fire in a Baghdad suburb. The military stated they were unable to positively identify gunmen and responded by dispatching Apache helicopters to the area. By mid morning that day, a dozen Iraqis had died, among them two Reuters News Agency staffers. The U.S. Apache helicopter had killed all of these people.

The official military inquiry that year cleared all U.S. military personnel involved of wrongdoing but Wikileaks shows a different light. The Sweden-based organization that publishes anonymous submissions and [whistleblower] leaks of sensitive documents from governments and other organizations, posted a video online, now widely in the public arena, that captures the moments leading up to the shootings, the aerial attacks and the audio of the pilots and ground forces communicating. Al Jazeera considers the question of “Collateral Murder” Thursday-Sunday, April 15-18, http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2010/04/20104159123873370.html

April 17-18, 2010
Pakistan and India
Seven people died and 21 suffered wounds today when a suicide car bomb exploded in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat. Police sources said the attack targeted a police station in response to military operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas.… The attack follows yesterday’s suicide bombings in a nearby camp. This explosion struck a crowd of internally displaced people ─ mostly, according to Al Jazeera reporters, from the Orakzai agency where the military has launched a new offensive ─ collecting aid. Forty-one people died and more than 60 suffered injuries.… This month’s UN reports has found a deteriorating security situation in Orakzai and neighboring Kurram district since last November causing 200,000 civilians to leave their homes.

April 17, 2010 (India)
Ten people suffered injuries and fears rose that the country’s most prestigious cricket league, the Indian Premier League, was the target of two bombs set off at a crowded stadium in southern India …The Saturday incident was the second bombing in India since the 2008 three-day assault in Mumbai where 166 people died. The explosion in February hit a restaurant in the western city of Pune. Seventeen people died.

April 19, 2010, Monday update
Pakistan [protesters bombed]
An estimated 25 people died, 30 suffered injuries when a bomb exploded during a protest in old city Peshawar known as Storytellers’ Bazaar. This attack in Pakistan came hours after an eight-year-old boy died and at least 10 people suffered wounds when another bomb exploded outside a high school in Peshawar. Students were ending their school day. Peshawar is close to the border with Afghanistan where hundreds of people have died over the past year. “Bomb blast hits Pakistan protests,” April 19, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041914959513554.html


Sources
“Many dead in Afghan blasts,” April 16, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041518611497590.html
“Afghans free Italian aid workers,” April 18, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/2010418154831591773.html
“Iran demands U.S. troop withdrawal,” April 18, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/201041854124873989.html
“Collateral Murder?” Thursday-Sunday, April 15-18, http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2010/04/20104159123873370.html
“Deaths in Pakistan suicide attacks,” April 18, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041844327780903.html
“Bombs hit India cricket match,” April 17, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041714273045362.html