Second Round of Talks between Iran and 5+1 will be held in Baghdad on Wednesday, May 23, 2012

    Just a short heads-up to remind everyone that the second round of talks between Iran and the 5+1 wishful thinking gang will be held in Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Let’s see now… that is just over 2 weeks from now so the way I see it… the MSM should be starting the War Drums up by this weekend or mid next week at the latest. We shall see…

AubreyJ………

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- Above Map Courtesy of RFE-RL

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President Obama Makes Surprise Visit To Iraq And Troops

President Obama Makes Surprise Visit
to Iraq and Troops
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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Photo by Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante - Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs
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President Obama made a surprise visit to Iraq Tuesday at the tail end of a marathon week of meetings in Europe and Turkey… The president landed in Baghdad late Tuesday afternoon local time and plans to visit troops at Camp Victory. He was greeted upon arrival by his top commander in the country, Gen. Ray Odierno. This is Obama's first trip to Iraq as president -- it comes as he begins to execute plans to shift U.S. troops from Iraq, a war he opposed as a candidate, to Afghanistan…
Read the full report at link below…
Obama Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq, Plans to Meet With U.S. Troops
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Obama Praises Troops for Performing ‘Brilliantly’ in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

In an unannounced visit here today, President Barack Obama praised servicemembers and government employees for their professionalism and sacrifice.
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"You have performed brilliantly in every mission that has been given to you," Obama told about 1,500 U.S. servicemembers, government civilians and contractors at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, the headquarters of Multinational Corps Iraq.
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The president thanked the assembled servicemembers for their steadfast focus on the task at hand. "Through controversy and difficulty and politics, you kept your eyes focused on just doing your job."
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Obama acknowledged that work remains to be done in Iraq, but told the servicemembers that through their service, they have been critical in ensuring that Iraq no longer remains a haven for terrorists.
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"You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that you have the thanks of the American people," he said.
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In closing, the president assured the audience that "we have not forgotten what you have already done; we are grateful for what you will do; and as long as I'm in the White House, you're going to get the support you need and the thanks that you deserve from a grateful nation."

From a DoD’s Multinational Corps Iraq news release

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Stopping by Baghdad

The President addresses the troops at the Al Faw Palace in Baghdad in a surprise visit before coming home from Europe.
Video posted on YouTube by the whitehouse

* Transcript and lots of photos HERE
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AubreyJ………

American Soldiers Arrest Of Eight Iranians In Baghdad Raises Tensions Between Washington And Tehran

... In a move that is likely to further escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran, soldiers detained the group of eight Iranians – including one woman - and seven Iraqis after finding unauthorised weapons in their convoy of cars. They were held overnight before being released this morning... The Iranians were taken in blindfolds and handcuffs from the Sheraton hotel in Baghdad after their convoy was stopped at a nearby checkpoint and weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and two 9mm pistols, were seized... During the incident US troops also confiscated a laptop, mobile phones and a briefcase full of Iranian and American money in the hotel...
Read story in full at TimesOnline.co.uk

>>> Multi-National Corps-Iraq has this press release out on the story...

Multi-National Corps-Iraq

Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
Release #20070829-05
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Coalition Forces Detain, Later Release Individuals

Coalition Forces detained a group of 15 individuals traveling together in four vehicles here Tuesday. The group included seven Iraqis and eight Iranian nationals.

Coalition Forces searched the vehicles as the group attempted to enter a checkpoint on Abu Nuwas Street near the Sheraton Hotel. CF confiscated an AK-47 rifle and two 9mm pistols in the possession of the Iraqis in the group. The Iraqis serving as a protective detail had identification but no weapons permits and also had Iranian money.

The individuals were allowed to proceed and went in the Sheraton Hotel.

The CF followed shortly after, based on further instructions from its headquarters element and searched their rooms. While there, CF confiscated a laptop computer, cellphones, and a briefcase full of Iranian and US money.

Contrary to published reports, there was no raid on the hotel.

Following the brief room search the group was taken to a coalition facility for questioning. The Iranian nationals had passports. It was later determined that two of the Iranian individuals were carrying diplomatic credentials.

The Iranian nationals were released in consultation with the Government of Iraq to Iraqi officials.

New US-Iran Talks Start in Baghdad

New US-Iran Talks Start in Baghdad
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

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Iran and the United States launched a second round of rare face-to-face talks in Baghdad on Tuesday to pinpoint the root causes of raging violence in the war-torn Iraq... The talks began at 10.15 AM (0615 GMT) at the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who began the meeting with a brief speech...
Read the rest at FARSnews.com

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>>> The Telegraph.co.uk website has this report out... The second round of talks between the US and Iran aimed at bringing stability to Iraq has reportedly been marred by a tense exchange over American allegations that Teheran is fuelling violence... The meeting in Baghdad was closed to the press but an unnamed official has been quoted as saying that the US ambassador clashed with his Iranian counterpart...
Read the rest at link below...
Iraq talks marred by 'US-Iran clash'

>>> The RadioFreeEurope website has this take on the story today... The chief U.S. envoy at talks with Iranian officials in Baghdad today expressed his concern about what he said is Tehran's continuing support for militant activity in Iraq... Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told reporters he made the remarks today during talks with his Iranian counterpart, Hasan Kazemi-Qomi... Crocker said that although Tehran has a stated policy of supporting a stable and democratic Iraq, Washington does not believe it is following that policy on the ground... Crocker said that in the two months since the envoys' last talks, militant-related activity in Iraq attributed to Iran has increased, not decreased.
Read the rest at link below...
U.S. Envoy Says Iranian Support For Iraqi Militants Increasing

>>> KGAN.com reports...
U.S. ambassador says security subcommittee to be set up with Iran and Iraq

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Iran Should Reconcile Actions with Talk, U.S. Iraq Envoy Says
U.S., Iran, Iraq to establish subcommittee on security issues
Written by David Shelby

USINFO Staff Writer

Washington- The United States would welcome Iran’s bringing its practices in line with its stated policy of supporting a stable and democratic Iraq, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said July 24.

The ambassador spoke to journalists in Baghdad, Iraq, shortly after a trilateral meeting to discuss Iraq’s security with the Iranian envoy to Iraq and senior Iraqi officials.

Crocker said that Iran’s stated policy on Iraq is in line with the United States’ policy and in keeping with Iran’s national interests. Nevertheless, he said, the United States and multinational forces have ample evidence from people in custody and from seized weapons shipments to indicate that Iranian support for illegal militia activity has increased over the two months since Crocker's previous meeting with the Iranian ambassador in May.

Crocker said the measure of success for the trilateral talks should be results on the ground, not promises or statements of principle, and he said the results to date have been disappointing. (See related article.)

Nevertheless, he said, the United States is not prepared to abandon the dialogue. He said he and the Iranian ambassador discussed the possibility of establishing a security subcommittee at the expert level to address the problem of violent militias, the threat from al-Qaida and issues of border security. If Iran is serious about supporting Iraqi security, he said, the subcommittee would be a mechanism to demonstrate that.

Crocker’s May 28 meeting with the Iranian ambassador was the first official high-level meeting between Iranian and U.S. officials since the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during Iran’s 1979 revolution.

For more information on U.S. policies, see Iraq Update.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/)

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More to come...
AubreyJ.........

Lawmakers Killed, Many Wounded Inside Iraqi Parliament Building Blast; Suicide Truck Bomb Explodes on Major Bridge in Baghdad, Many Killed and Wounded

Several members of the Iraqi Parliament are reported to have been killed, many more wounded in a blast inside Iraq's Parliament Building, inside the Baghdad’s Green Zone...

A suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River below, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed and many more were wounded in this attack...
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Read about these stories and more at links below:
(Some links should update... for these are ongoing stories)
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* FOXNEWS.com
Sunni Lawmaker Killed in Iraqi Parliament Building Blast

* CNN.com
Lawmaker: Blast kills 2 in Iraqi parliament building

* Middle-East-Online.com
Baghdad bridge bombing kills 10 - Washington accuses Tehran of aiding Sunni insurgency as Gates extends troop tours in Iraq..

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* Iraq The Model website
Jisr al-Hadeed....

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* DOD website
Bush Condemns Attack on Iraqi Parliament

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* UN.org
Top UN officials strongly condemn deadly bombings in Baghdad

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* CENTCOM.mil
STATEMENT FROM GEN. PETRAEUS REGARDING ATTACK ON IRAQI COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES
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* MNF-I website
Statement from Multi-National Force-Iraq condemning the attack against Iraqi leaders

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DoS photo by Michael Gross
* U.S. Department of State website
Remarks by Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Senator John McCain

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* HERE'S THE VIDEO OF BLAST & AFTER *

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* BBCNEWS website
Inquiry into Iraq parliament bomb

Chemical Weapons Now being used in Mortar Shells in Iraq???

Chemical Weapons Now being used in Mortar Shells in Iraq???

There are several stories in this news article by Willard Payne at NewsBlaze.com that need further review... but I chose this part of the article to focus on... and it goes like this... For the past two months, ever since the new security offensive the Baghdad government attempted to make with Washington, attacks against US in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad have increased. And there are still the daily mortar attacks and truck bombs loaded with artillery shells still occurring in the capital. One doctor at a hospital only spoke on condition of anonymity because he was told not to mention the attack at all. However, he admitted that with the breathing problems the attack victims were showing then obviously some of the mortar shells were chemical...
Read this story in full at link below...
Crossfire War - Muqtada al-Sadr Orders Followers to Concentrate on US Forces

*** Now the main reason I chose this part of the story to focus on is because of these TWO lonely stories I found out of Baghdad last weekend......
Click it out at a post I did on Sunday...
Possible Chemical Attack Reported in Baghdad

More to come...?
AubreyJ.........
April 10, 2007

Possible Chemical Attack Reported in Baghdad

KTTC.com web site has this report today... Police say three mortars struck houses in the eastern part of the capital, sending six people to the hospital with breathing difficulties... Doctors say the faces of the injured turned yellow, and that they were unable to open their eyes. One hospital official says chlorine was used in the attack...
Read the rest of this short report HERE

I have only seen two stories come out about this attack... We will just have to wait and see if it holds true...
AubreyJ.........

Senior al-Qaeda Leader Captured In Sunday Morning Baghdad, Iraq Raid

Coalition Forces captured a senior al-Qaeda leader and two others during raid Sunday morning in Baghdad.

Coalition Forces identified the man as the gatekeeper to the al-Qaeda emir of Baghdad. He has alleged ties to several senior al-Qaeda members and is reportedly linked to a number of mass casualty vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks in the Baghdad area.

He was detained along with another known al-Qaeda VBIED cell leader and one other suspect.

“This is a significant step in our efforts to disrupt the VBIED network and their devastating attacks against the Iraqi people,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.
(Taken from press release #A070408a by Multi-National Force-Iraq - Combined Press Information Center, Baghdad, Iraq)