Operation Iraqi Freedom/External links: Year Three (March 19, 2005 - May 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.

For more Year Three links see:


 * Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Three: Quagmire September-March 18, 2006
 * Operation Iraqi Freedom: Year Three: Quagmire June-August 2005

See Task Bar for more links.

Background

 * Glenn Kutler's "U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Two-Year Retrospective," Foreign Policy Research Institute, Summer 2005 (16-page pdf).

Websites

 * Iraq Casualty Count: Calendar of US Military Dead during Iraq War, Iraq Coalition Casualties, and Casualties in Iraq.
 * DefendAmerica.mil.
 * Fact Sheet: Iraqi War from InfoPlease.com.
 * IraqWar.info.
 * "Post-Invasion Iraq, 2003-2006" in the Wikipedia (originally entitled "Occupation of Iraq 2003-2004.")

March 2005

 * Tom Engelhardt, "Deconstructing Iraq: Year Three Begins," Tom Dispatch, March 19, 2005.
 * Ann Scott Tyson, "Two Years Later, Iraq War Drains Military. Heavy Demands Offset Combat Experience," Washington Post, March 19, 2005.
 * "Washington’s criminal war against Iraq enters its third year," The World Revolution, March 30, 2005.

May 2005

 * Ghali Hassan, "Media Disinformation and the Nature of the Iraqi Resistance," Global Research (Canada), May 2005.
 * "Poll: Most in U.S. say Iraq war not worthwhile," CNN, May 4, 2005.
 * Guy Anderson, "US defence budget will equal ROW combined 'within 12 months'," Janes.com, May 4, 2005.
 * Kevin Zeese, "An Interview with Patrick Resta of Iraq Veterans Against the War. 'Sent Into Combat Unequipped and Unprepared,'" CounterPunch, May 5, 2005.
 * Robert Dreyfuss, "The Quagmire. As the Iraq war drags on, it's beginning to look a lot like Vietnam," Rolling Stone, May 5, 2005.
 * Andrew Greeley, "How long can Bush spin big lies into truth on Iraq war?," Chicago Sun-Times, May 6, 2005.
 * "Militants vow revenge for mosque shooting. Web posting comes after U.S. Marine cleared," Reuters, May 6, 2005.
 * "Baghdad bomb kills Americans, Iraqis," Al Jazeera, May 7, 2005.
 * Omar Fekeiki and Ellen Knickmeyer, "Two Suicide Bombings Kill at Least 24 in Iraq," Washington Post, May 7, 2005.
 * Michael Martinez and Liz Sly, "Iraq bombings kill 29; 2 Americans among casualties," Chicao Tribune, May 7, 2005.
 * "U.S. deaths in Iraq surpass 1,600. Al-Zarqawi aide captured, says American military," CNN, May 8, 2005.
 * Juan Cole, "2-Day Bombing total of 100 Dead, Hundreds Wounded. Zarqawi Threatens to Hit American Homeland," Informed Comment, May 8, 2005: "The United States military does not control Baghdad. It doesn't control the major roads leading out of the capital. It does not control the downtown area except possibly the heavily barricaded 'green zone.' It does not control the capital. The guerrillas strike at will, even at Iraqi notables who can afford American security guards (many of them e.g. ex-Navy Seals). If the US military does not control the capital of a country it conquered, then it controls nothing of importance. Ipso facto, Iraq is a failed state."
 * Suleiman al-Khalidi, "Iraq president says militants funded from abroad," Reuters, May 8, 2005: "Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, gets funds from certain foreign countries and Islamist radicals abroad, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said. ... Talabani, who refused to name the foreign countries concerned..."
 * James Janega, "U.S. troops launch attacks against villages along Euphrates," Chicago Tribune, May 8, 2005.
 * Hannah Allam and Warren P. Strobel, "Amidst doubts, CIA hangs on to control of Iraqi intelligence service," Knight Ridder, May 8, 2005.
 * Griff Witte, "Ability to Track Costs in Iraq May Be Difficult, Report Says," Washington Post, May 9, 2005.
 * Jeff St. Clair, "'More Powerful Than the US Army.' Straight to Bechtel," CounterPunch, May 9, 2005.
 * Eric Schmitt, "Rebels Said to Have Pool of Bomb-Rigged Cars," New York Times, May 9, 2005.
 * Christian Lowe, "The Marines’ flawed body armor. Corps recalls more than 5,000 vests that experts rejected — but some remain in the field," Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times, May 9, 2005.
 * "Marines recall thousands of combat vests. Report stirs concerns over whether they'll stop bullets," NBC News/MSNBC, May 9, 2005.
 * Bob Herbert, Op-Ed: "Stranger Than Fiction," New York Times, May 9, 2005: "From the very beginning the war in Iraq has been an exercise in extreme madness, an absurd venture that would have been rich in comic possibilities except for the fact that many thousands of men, women and children have died, and tens of thousands have been crippled, burned or otherwise maimed."
 * Juan Cole, "US Releases Enemy Casualty Estimate of 100," Informed Comment, May 10, 2005: "The Marines are reportedly surprised by the degree of preparation the guerrillas are showing. They also seem to have specialized knowledge of how best to fight the Americans. (This datum suggests that someone in the Iraqi army or government let them know the US was coming. Everyone knows that the police, national guards and security apparatuses are extensively infiltrated by the guerrilla resistance). ... The remarkable thing about the operation was the claim by the US to have killed 100 guerrillas, a new move in the propaganda wars."
 * "Iraqi police vent anger at US after car bombings," ABC News (Australia), May 10, 2005.
 * Bradley Graham, "U.S. to Expand Prison Facilities in Iraq," Washington Post, May 10, 2005.
 * Scott Johnson and John Barry, "A Deadly Guessing Game. A secret study urges that U.S. agencies at least agree on how to measure success or failure in Iraq," Newsweek, May 16, 2005 (issue).
 * Andrew Buncombe, "The deserters: Awol crisis hits the US forces," Independent/UK, May 16, 2005: "As the death toll of troops mounts in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's military recruiting figures have plummeted to an all-time low. Thousands of US servicemen and women are now refusing to serve their country."
 * Paul Krugman, "Staying What Course?" New York Times, May 16, 2005. See The secret Downing Street memo, July 23, 2002 for more information.
 * Ellen Knickmeyer, "Military Offensive in Iraq," PBS Online NewsHour, May 16, 2005.
 * Hannah Allam and Mohammed al Dulaimy, "Marine-led campaign killed friends and foes, Iraqi leaders say," Knight Ridder, May 16, 2005.
 * Holden, "The Debacle Known as Operation Matador," First Draft, May 17, 2005.
 * Walter Pincus, "Prewar Findings Worried Analysts," Washington Post, May 22, 2005.
 * Robert Burns, "Death rate for reservists in Iraq rises," AP, May 24, 2005: "The death rate in Iraq this month among members of the National Guard and Reserve is the highest since January and one of the highest of the entire war, Pentagon figures show."
 * Tom Lasseter, "May on target to become one of deadliest months for U.S. troops," Knight-Ridder, May 24, 2005.
 * Patrick Quinn, "40,000 Iraqis to Form Shield in Baghdad," AP, May 26, 2005.
 * William Rivers Pitt, "Take the Long Way Home," AlterNet, May 26, 2005: "This war does not exist in American living rooms; it is only truly real in the towns that surround Bragg, Ord, Lejeune, and Benning, where the families of the soldiers forced to fight this war live and wait and worry. It is real only at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies arrive home under a cloak of secrecy, entombed in their 'transfer tubes' and wrapped in the flag. ... The war certainly does not exist on my television, and I am tired of that as well."
 * Ari Berman, "Did Someone Say Withdrawal?" The Nation, May 31, 2005: "A House amendment calling on President Bush to develop an exit strategy on Iraq received significant support but, as usual, very little media attention."