Operation Iraqi Freedom/External links: Year Three - Quagmire (June-August 2005)

Year Three of Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced on March 19, 2005. The United States and the coalition of the willing long ago passed the point of what could be called the "Beginnings" of what is now more and more obviously a Quagmire.

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Articles & Commentary

The following are articles & commentary for the months June through August 2005. For the months March through May 2005, see Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Three: Quagmire and for September through December 2005, see Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Three: Quagmire September-March 18, 2006.

June 2005

• Joshua Micah Marshall, "Understanding our National Denial about Iraq," TPM Cafe, June 7, 2005.
• The leaked Cabinet Office briefing paper, July 21, 2002: "Iraq: Conditions for Military Action", revealed in the June 12, 2005, Sunday Times (UK) Online.
• "GOP Congressman Wants Troops Out of Iraq," AP, June 12, 2005: Republican Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina, "who voted for the Iraq war said Sunday that 'we've done about as much as we can do' in the country and that the reason for invading Iraq has proven false. ... [Jones] will be among the lawmakers introducing legislation this week calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq." See Iraqi sovereignty: Exit Strategy from Iraq.
• Paul Garwood, "U.S. Toll in Iraq Pushes Past 1,700," AP, June 13, 2005.
• Susan Page, "Poll: USA is losing patience on Iraq," USA Today, June 13, 2005: "Nearly six in 10 Americans say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, a new Gallup Poll finds, the most downbeat view of the war since it began in 2003."
• Tom Lasseter, "Military brass doubt fighting will cure Iraq. Alternative: Bring rebels into politics," KRT News Service, June 13, 2005.
• "Terry Moran vs. Scott McClellan on 'Last Throes' of Insurgency in Iraq," Editor & Publisher, June 16, 2005.
• Bob Burnett, "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," Common Dreams, June 30, 2005.

July 2005

• Dan Smith, Col., "If Vietnam was a Quagmire, Iraq is a Black Hole. General Abizaid, I'm Glad You Asked," CounterPunch, July 15, 2005.
• Billmon, "There Aren't Enough Rocks," Whiskey Bar, July 17, 2005.
• "Iraq war prospects are bleak: ex-officer," Cox News Service, July 19, 2005.
• Julian Borger, "Iraqi forces nowhere near being able to fight insurgency on their own, Senate told. Assessment suggests US occupation has a long future," Guardian/UK, July 22, 2005.
• Andrew Grice, Interview: "Geoff Hoon: 'We failed to predict the sheer level of violence in post-war Iraq'," Independent/UK, July 25, 2005.
• Gene Lyons, "Overextended, overexposed and surrounded," Arkansas Democrat Gazette, July 27, 2005: "Sooner or later, somebody’s going to have to be irresponsible enough to suggest a sane way out of Iraq."
• Editorial: "The Iraq mess," Toledo Blade, July 27, 2005.
• Jonathan Schell, "Rove's Nuclear Threats," Tom Paine.Common Sense, July 28, 2005.
• Barry Schweid, "Panel: Bush Was Unready for Postwar Iraq," Associated Press, July 28, 2005.
• Paul Craig Roberts, "Leave Now. Departing Iraq," CounterPunch, July 28, 2005.
• Robert Burns, "U.S. General Seeks Iraq Pullout by 2006," Associated Press, July 28, 2005.
• Ann Scott Tyson and Ellen Knickmeyer, "U.S. Signals Spring Start for Pullout. General Restates Position, Noting Contingencies, During Rumsfeld Visit to Baghdad," Washington Post, July 28, 2005.
• "Army: Mental ills worsen after troops return. Thirty percent develop problems within four months," Associated Press (CNN), July 28, 2005.
• Guy Taylor, "Military medical center to serve severely wounded," Washington Times, July 29, 2005.
• Sam Graham-Felsen, "Operation: Enduring Presence," AlterNet, posted July 28, 2005; printed July 29, 2005.
• Andrew Greely, "Neck deep in the Big Muddy," Chicago Sun-Times, July 29, 2005.
• Carol J. Williams, "Soldiers Get Extra Layer of Defense," Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2005: "... Two-thirds of the nearly 6,000 Humvees deployed across Iraq are factory-armored." ... which means that the remaining one-third isn't.
• Renae Merle and Griff Witte, "Security Costs Slow Iraq Reconstruction. Contract Excesses Also Hamper Progress," Washington Post, July 29, 2005.

August 2005

• Matthew D. LaPlante, "Utah GI exposed abuses at prison. His reports were brushed off until fellow Utahn stepped in," Salt Lake Tribune, August 1, 2005.
• Dana Priest and Josh White, "Before the War, CIA Reportedly Trained a Team of Iraqis to Aid U.S.," Washington Post, August 3, 2005.
• Josh White, "Documents Tell of Brutal Improvisation by GIs. Interrogated General's Sleeping-Bag Death, CIA's Use of Secret Iraqi Squad Are Among Details," Washington Post, August 3, 2005.
• John Simpson, "Iraq's descent into bombing quagmire," BBC, August 3, 2005.
• "US issues worldwide travel warning to Americans," Press Trust of India, August 3, 2005.
• "Ohio battalion loses 19 Marines in 2 days," Associated Press (USA Today), August 3, 2005; updated August 4, 2005.
• Joe Danborn, "Ohio Families Mourn Troops Killed in Iraq," Associated Press (Yahoo1 News), August 4, 2005.
• David S. Cloud, "Insurgents Using Bigger, More Lethal Bombs, U.S. Officers Say," New York Times, August 4, 2005.
• Mike Whitney, "Pretty hot in Crawford, pretty hot in Hell," The Smirking Chimp, August 4, 2005: "Fourteen Marines will touch down at Dover Air Force Base tomorrow; their lives cut-short in a brutal war that has yet to produce a rationale. ... The architect of that war will be landing at nearly the same time at his vacation home in Crawford, Texas; resting up from the grueling task of sending other-mother's-sons to die for nothing. ... Where's the outrage?"
• Edward Wong, "U.S. Journalist Who Wrote About Police Corruption Is Abducted and Killed in Basra," New York Times, August 4, 2005. Re Steven Vincent.
• R.J. Crane, "Iraq in a Nutshell: 27 important issues you won't hear from rightwing spinmeisters," topplebush.com, August 4, 2005.
• David Wood, "Amphibious vehicle easy prey in Iraq," Newhouse News Service (Cleveland Plain Dealer), August 4, 2005.
• Dick Petty, "Three more members of National Guard's 48th killed in Iraq," Associated Press (The [Macon, GA] Telegraph), August 4, 2005.
• Juan Cole, "Vietnam-Speak in Iraq," Informed Comment, August 4, 2005.
• "4 More U.S. Service Members Killed in Iraq," Associated Press (New York Times), August 4, 2005: "At least 1,826 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count."
• Tom Raum, "Deadly attacks increase pressure on Bush. New survey shows lowest approval yet for his handling of war," Associated Press (MSNBC), August 4, 2005.
• Nedra Pickler, "Bush: U.S. to Stay in Iraq Despite Deaths," Associated Press (Yahoo! News), August 5, 2005.
• Joe Smydo, "The war on terror takes its toll on Ohio. 16 from Ohio among those killed in action," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 5, 2005.
• Ann Scott Tyson, "Lawsuit Forces Release of More Casualty Images," Washington Post, August 5, 2005.
• Bob Herbert, "To legion of wounded troops, talk of 'Iraq fatigue' must be obscene," New York Times (StarTribune), August 5, 2005.

Flashback #1:

• Ken Adelman, "Cakewalk In Iraq," Washington Post, February 13, 2002: "Even before President Bush had placed Iraq on his 'axis of evil,' dire warnings were being sounded about the danger of acting against Saddam Hussein's regime."
• CBS News, November 15, 2002: "There will be no World War III starting with Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared Thursday, and rejected concerns that a war would be a quagmire. ... 'Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that,' he said. 'It won't be a World War III.'"

• Marilou Johanek, "As Bush War gets personal, nation must find its outrage," Toledo Blade, August 5, 2005: "One of the great mysteries of the Bush War in Iraq has been the incredible acquiescence of the American people to the unfolding tragedy. There is a seemingly passive acceptance of the conflict-without-end. Some have called the unquestioning silent assent obscene. ... It is surely that and more. Where, in God's name, is the outrage? Where are the protests in the streets against a government that has lied to its citizens and taken them for everything they hold dear?"
• "Rebels Grow More Deadly," Atlanta Journal and Constitution (military.com), August 8, 2005.
• Robert Burns, "Pentagon Expects to Send More Iraq Troops," Associated Press (Washington Post), August 8, 2005: "Anticipating a new burst of insurgent violence, the Pentagon plans to expand the U.S. force in Iraq to improve security for a planned October referendum and a December election. ... Although much public attention has been focused recently on the prospect of reducing U.S. forces next spring and summer, defense officials foresee the likelihood of first increasing troop levels."
• Drew Brown, "Meyers: 'Nobody knows' when Iraqis will take over security," Knight Ridder Newspapers, August 9, 2005.
• James Glanz, "Baghdad Mayor Is Ousted by a Shiite Group and Replaced," New York Times, August 10, 2005.
• "Manufactured bombs 'smuggled from Iran to Iraq'," Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), August 10, 2005: "If US intelligence is correct about the latest find, it would suggest Iran's Revolutionary Guard is moving into a conflict that for the past year has been dominated by Sunnis rather than Shi'ites." See war in Iran.
• "Rumsfeld: Iraq bombs 'clearly from Iran'. Tehran denies involvement," CNN, August 10, 2005.

Flashback #2:

• "Rumsfeld Disputes Iraq Weapons Claim," Associated Press (Fox News), June 10, 2002: "Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a 'world-class liar' who is trying to fool the world into thinking he has no interest in weapons of mass destruction," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said.
• Jim Garamone, "Rumsfeld Discusses Iraq Inspections, WMD Capabilities," American Forces Press Service, September 3, 2002: "Rumsfeld gave a few more details to Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that Iraq is close to building a nuclear weapon. Following the Gulf War, the full extent of Saddam's nuclear weapons program became apparent. 'We know they were a lot closer (to developing a nuclear weapon) than any of the experts had estimated,' Rumsfeld said."

• See Bush's 16 words.

• "Still No Evidence Iraq Has WMD," CBS News, May 4, 2003: "'I never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country,' Rumsfeld said ... weapons of mass destruction will not be easily found in Iraq because Saddam hid them from U.N. inspectors. ... 'We're going to find what we find as a result of talking to people, I believe, not simply by going to some site and hoping to discover it' ..."
• Linda D. Kozaryn, "Bush, Rumsfeld Confident Iraq Had Weapons of Mass Destruction," American Forces Press Service, July 10, 2003: "Countering charges that he misled the public regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, the president said he is confident the Iraqi dictator had a WMD program."
• Jaimie McIntyre, "Rumsfeld: Al Qaeda comments 'misunderstood'. Also concedes WMD claims about Iraq were proved wrong," CNN, October 5, 2004: "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conceded Monday that U.S. intelligence was wrong in its conclusions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and appeared to back off earlier statements suggesting former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had links to al Qaeda."

• Faiz, "Pentagon Conducts Bogus Poll to Distort Iraq Opinion," Think Progress, August 10, 2005.
• Robert Burns, "Aug. Death Toll for Reserves in Iraq Soars," Associated Press (Yahoo! News), August 11, 2005: "The National Guard and Reserve suffered more combat deaths in Iraq during the first 10 days of August — at least 32, according to a Pentagon count — than in any full month of the entire war."
• Edwin Chen and Mark Mazzetti, "Bush Says Iraq Exit Timetable Is 'Speculation'. Generals said troops might begin pulling out in spring. The president counters that leaving too soon would amount to a betrayal of Iraqi voters," Los Angeles Times, August 12, 2005.
• Peter Baker, "In Iraq, No Clear Finish Line. Timing Is Muddy For U.S. Pullout," Washington Post, August 12, 2005.
• Julia Preston, "Officials See Risk in the Release of Images of Iraq Prisoner Abuse," New York Times, August 12, 2005. See Abu Ghraib: Photographic Evidence of Brutality.
• "Italy hastens troop withdrawal," The Daily Telegraph, August 13, 2005. See coalition of the willing: beginning of the end.
• Hope Yen, "Troops' body armor being replaced again," Associated Press (Boston Globe), August 13, 2005.
• Robin Wright and Ellen Knickmeyer, "U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq. Administration Is Shedding 'Unreality' That Dominated Invasion, Official Says," Washington Post, August 14, 2005.
• Frank Rich, "Someone Tell the President the War Is Over," New York Times, August 14, 2005.
• Robert Fisk, "Secrets of the morgue - Baghdad's body count," Independent (UK) (Guerilla News Network), August 17, 2005: "July was the bloodiest month in Baghdad’s modern history – in all, 1,100 bodies were brought to the city’s mortuary; executed for the most part, eviscerated, stabbed, bludgeoned, tortured to death. The figure is secret. We are not supposed to know that the Iraqi capital’s death toll last month was only 700 short of the total American fatalities in Iraq since April of 2003."
• "Psychological trauma widespread in Iraq," Vermont Guardian, August 16, 2005.
• "22 Soldiers Died Last Week in Iraq," Santa Monica Mirror (California), August 17-23, 2005.
• "Hagel: Iraq growing more like Vietnam," CNN, August 19, 2005: "Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Thursday said the United States is 'getting more and more bogged down' in Iraq and stood by his comments that the White House is disconnected from reality and losing the war."
• Peter Baker, "U.S. 'Will Not Relent' in Iraq, Cheney Tells Veterans Group," Washington Post, August 19, 2005: "... and will hunt down insurgents there 'one at a time if necessary,' implicitly rebutting escalating pressure on the Bush administration to bring U.S. troops home." See related Call for the U.S. to Pullout from Iraq, Exit Strategy from Iraq, and Peace Vigil in Crawford, Texas.
• Kevin Zeese, "The Latest Falsehood. The US is in Iraq to Stablize It," CounterPunch, August 19, 2005.
• Norman Solomon, "Escalating the War in Iraq. Bush's Bloody Option," CounterPunch, August 22, 2005.
• David Pace, "Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans," Associated Press (Yahoo! News), August 23, 2005.
• Gary Kamiya, "Iraq: The unseen war. The grim reality of Iraq rarely appears in the American press. This photo gallery reveals the war's horrible human toll," Salon, August 23, 2005.
• "US must ease grip when Iraqi army ready-US general," Reuters, August 24, 2005.
• Ralph Nader, "American Detachment. It's Time to Make the Iraq War Personal," CounterPunch, August 25, 2005.
• The Harris Poll: "U.S. Pessimism About Iraq Keeps Rising, Poll Shows," Wall Street Journal Online, August 25, 2005.
• Elisabeth Bumiller, "For 3rd Day in a Row, Bush Says Withdrawal Now From Iraq Would Embolden Terrorists," New York Times, August 25, 2005.
• Wesley Kanne Clark, "Before It's Too Late in Iraq," Washington Post, August 26, 2005.
• Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, "Fiddling while Baghdad burns. Iraqis need time and patience to come up with the right constitution. First we must stop the civil war," Guardian (UK), August 28, 2005.
• Paul Craig Roberts, "Mission: Unknown. Does Anyone Know What We're Doing in Iraq?" CounterPunch, August 29, 2005.
• Michael Mandel, "Nuremberg Lesson for Iraq War: It’s Murder," Knight Ridder Newspapers (Common Dreams), August 30, 2005.
• Helen Thomas, "Democrats still backing senseless war," Hearst Newspapers (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), August 30, 2005.
• Gordon Livingston, "Iraq looking more and more like Vietnam," Baltimore Sun, August 30, 2005.
• Roger Morris, "The War for the Future. It's Up to Us to Stop the Dying and the Lying," CounterPunch, August 30, 2005.

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Related SourceWatch Resources

In particular see:

• Exit Strategy from Iraq
• Iraqi unified resistance