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CODEPINK
The Power of Community
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Get the DVD here
This inspiring film shows how Cuba was able to evolve and grow after losing its oil source. Also, the solution looks a LOT like the South Central Farm!
Participating
Organizations
CFWP is not an umbrella group, but it seeks unity with established organizations. Participants have included:
ActionLA
Alliance for Democracy
AIM Southern California Chapter (American Indian Movement)
Coalition Against Militarism In Our Schools
CodePINK
Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence
CISPES
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy & Socialism
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
Labor Against the War - LA
Neighbors for Peace & Justice
Office of the Americas
Out Against the War
Physicians For Peace
Political Poster Collective
Topanga Peace Alliance
Whittier Area Peace & Justice Coalition
Women In Black-LA
Young Koreans United - L.A.
And check out this new series on LinkTV - also by Greenwald/Brave New Films
DVD out NOW!
Santa Monica Beach
February 15, 2004
(Photo by Elke Heitmeyer)
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Events
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News
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US Iraq Military Dead
icasualties.org
IRAQ WAR MORATORIUM!
Monthly Anti-War Action
The Iraq Moratorium will be an escalating, monthly expression of determination to end the war. On the third Friday of every month, we will encourage people to make a break with business as usual. It could be as simple as a slight show of solidarity, or a minor break in the daily routine. It can be an individual action as simple as putting up a sign or wearing a black arm band or a button. It can be a group action such as a vigil, banner drop, or screening. It can even be an online or telephone action such as calling Congress. It's up to you.
Many organizations, including the Coalition For World Peace, support the Iraq Moratorium and participate in its planning and execution. CFWP usually holds up banners in a busy spot downtown, at 5th Street and Figueroa near the 110 entrance during ther afternoon rush hour.
NEXT
MEETING:
The next meeting of the Coalition For World Peace is to be announced.
We will meet at the Korean Resource Center, Los Angeles (KRCLA), 900 S. Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019 (SE corner, 1 block north of Olympic Blvd). Contact for more information: staff --at-- coalitionforworldpeace.org
4000!
For what noble cause DID they die, Mister President?
Wire services and icasualties.org are reporting that US combat death number 4000 was reached when an IED killed four US soldiers in the supposedly now peaceful Baghdad, on March 23 - Easter!!!!! Once again, the human cost of this immoral war has intruded on what is supposed to be a hopeful celebration. Don't forget that number 3000 came on New Year's Eve just over a year ago!
Still believe the media when they say the surge is working? It isn't. You're being lied to.
In fact, the US death rate has been shockingly consistent, even while we're being told that the corner has been turned. Deaths peaked in 2004, then declined slightly, and then rose again. Actually, 2007 was the deadliest year of the whole war - 901! Meanwhile, the number of wounded is absolutely staggering, and you don't hear about them. And of course no one talks about the millions of dead, maimed, and displaced Iraqi civilians, as if their lives just don't matter.
No, the horror has not changed AT ALL. Don't believe everything you see on TV...
CFWP at Hollywood March
CFWP thanks all who came out to this important march. It didn't rain (much), and it was a great day. Both KFWB and KNX news radio gave the event live coverage, and they were amazingly sympathetic to us. KPFK, of course, was very evident as well. We love our K.
Moratorium Recruiting Action Successful
The Coalition For World Peace joined a number of other organizations for the Iraq Moratorium at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center near Hollywood and La Brea. Many banners and signs were placed in front of the center after it closed early. We thank the activists who came out.
Help Cut Campaign B.S.
We've started a new feature. It's a FAQ, but ours is FREQUENTLY AVOIDED QUESTIONS. We're compiling a list of everyone's suggestions for REAL questions to ask politicians, instead of the softballs lobbed by the media. We'll also keep up a list of places you can ask them. All this is right here, on our Action page.
Federal Building Encampment
September, 2007
3000
Too
Many!
What will YOU do?
On New Year's Eve, supposedly a time for celebration, the dreaded but inevitable announcement came from the Pentagon via Associated Press. This illegal, immoral, and unjustified presidential vendetta in Iraq has killed the 3000th American soldier.
END THIS WAR NOW.
IMPEACH THE GANGSTERS.
KEEP TELLING CONGRESS THAT THE PEOPLE SAY, "ENOUGH!"
"BASTA YA!"
Other useful links:
IRAN WAR MAY BE IMMINENT!
Sources quoted in several magazine articles cite stepped-up military planning and US Navy deployments as evidence that some kind of attack on Iran will very likely take place this year. While the October Surprise was a phone blitz at home, not an attack abroad, attempts to provoke Iran into starting it seem to be ongoing in the Strait of Hormuz.
Keep in mind that any air campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities is worthless without using tactical nukes. THIS WILL BE A NUCLEAR WAR. At this point, if you're sitting still, it's on a moving train.
Angelides made the Guard a major campaign issue, making our petition drive more relevant than ever.
Details here
VIDEO OUTREACH IS BACK!
Friday, October 6 (and every two weeks thereafter), the Coalition for World Peace video outreach team will be screening films outdoors at the Third Street Promenade between 8 and 10 PM.
Our exact location can't be guaranteed, but we usually set up between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway. If it's too crowded there, you'll find us on one of the other two blocks of the Promenade (between Santa Monica and Arizona, or Arizona and Wilshire).
If you can help out (which basically means just being there and talking to people), please join us. There's a lot of foot traffic on Friday nights and the more people we have, the more impact we'll have.
For more information, e-mail us at: FilmShow@CoalitionForWorldPeace.org
NEW ARLINGTON WEST WEB SITE
The Arlington West Memorial at Santa Monica Beach now has its own web site. Check it out here.
Here's how
Support Grows
to Bring Home
the Guard!
Santa Monica, San Fernando Support CA Guard back in CA!
The Santa Monica City Council UNANIMOUSLY approved a resolution in support of the State Assembly Joint Resolution to go on record that WE WANT THE CA GUARD HOME. San Fernando and Mendocino County passed something similar, and Marin County passed one favoring ALL TROOPS HOME NOW. Similar resolutions are being worked on for Los Angeles, Glendale, Culver City, West Hollywood, and others.
CFWP and the National Guard Working Group thank all who showed up at the rally and council meeting in Santa Monica.
PLEASE ATTEND YOUR LOCAL PEACE VIGIL!
Go here for the UPDATED list.
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Preparing the Battlefield
The New Yorker
July 7, 2008
By Seymour M. Hersh
The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran.
Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.
...
A Democratic senator told me that, late last year, in an off-the-record lunch meeting, Secretary of Defense Gates met with the Democratic caucus in the Senate. (Such meetings are held regularly.) Gates warned of the consequences if the Bush Administration staged a preëmptive strike on Iran, saying, as the senator recalled, "We’ll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America."
Full Story
Kiss Your
$23,000,000,000
Goodbye!
BBC News
June 10, 2008
By Jane Corbin
BBC News
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
...
Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, its egregious. It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
Full Story
War Protest Shuts ALL West Coast Ports!
Los Angeles Times
May 1, 2008
By Louis Sahagun,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Thousands of dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, took the day off work today in what their union called a protest of the war in Iraq, effectively shutting down operations at the busy complexes.
The show of force by the union came two months before the contract expires between the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents port operators and large shippers, many of them foreign-owned.
"We are supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq," said union President Bob McEllrath.
...
Full Story
US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 23, 2008
By ROBERT H. REID
BAGHDAD (AP) — A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. The grim milestone came on a day when at least 61 people were killed across the country.
...
The soldiers with Multi-National Division — Baghdad were on a patrol when their vehicle was struck at about 10 p.m. in southern Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was wounded in the attack.
...
The 4,000 figure is according to an Associated Press count that includes eight civilians who worked for the Department of Defense.
Full Story
War Will Cost
$3 Trillion
Detroit Free Press
February 28, 2008
By Kevin G. Hall,
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration predicted the war would be self-financing and rebuilding the nation would cost less than $2 billion.
Coming up on the five-year anniversary of the invasion, a new estimate from a Nobel laureate puts the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at more than $3 trillion. That estimate from economist Joseph Stiglitz also serves as the title of his new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War," which hits store shelves Friday.
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When other factors are added -- such as interest on debt, future borrowing for war expenses, continued military presence in Iraq and lifetime health care and counseling for veterans -- they say the wars' costs range from $5 trillion to $7 trillion.
Full Story
Covert Operation Cuts 4 Middle East Internet Cables
Agence France Presse
Feb. 3, 2008
CAIRO - Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports.
...
Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to Internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia.
A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.
Full Story
UPDATE 2/5/08: Previous reports that the entire country of Iran was entirely, as opposed to partially, cut off from the Internet are erroneous. Other countries, some friendly to the US, were more adversely affected. The full story is at Renesys Blog.
US doubts over Iran boat 'threat'
BBC News
10 January 2008
An alleged threat to blow up US warships "may not have come" from Iranian speedboats involved in a recent stand-off, the BBC has learned.
The voice on a Pentagon tape could instead have come from another ship in the area or a transmitter on land, senior US Navy sources told the BBC.
The US has sent Iran a formal protest over Sunday's stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has accused the US of faking its video of the incident.
...
Full Story
Like Iraq, US intel on Iran faulty
The Associated Press
December 3, 2007
By TERENCE HUNT,
AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
...
"It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
Full Story
Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1
Salon.com
September 24, 2007
By Juan Cole
Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war.
...
There is, in fact, remarkably little substance to the debates now raging in the United States about Ahmadinejad. His quirky personality, penchant for outrageous one-liners, and combative populism are hardly serious concerns for foreign policy. Taking potshots at a bantam cock of a populist like Ahmadinejad is actually a way of expressing another, deeper anxiety: fear of Iran's rising position as a regional power and its challenge to the American and Israeli status quo. The real reason his visit is controversial is that the American right has decided the United States needs to go to war against Iran. Ahmadinejad is therefore being configured as an enemy head of state.
...
David Wurmser, until recently a key Cheney advisor on Middle East affairs and the coauthor of the infamous 1996 white paper that urged an Iraq war, revealed to his circle that Cheney had contemplated having Israel strike at Iranian nuclear research facilities and then using the Iranian reaction as a pretext for a U.S. war on that country. Prominent and well-connected Afghanistan specialist Barnett Rubin also revealed that he was told by an administration insider that there would be an "Iran war rollout" by the Cheneyites this fall.
And now the American war party, undeterred by the quagmire in Iraq, convinced that their model of New Empire is working, is eager to go on the offensive again. They may yet find a pretext to plunge the United States into another war. Ahmadinejad's visit to New York this year will not include his visit to Ground Zero, because that is hallowed ground for American patriotism and he is being depicted as not just a critic of the United States but as the leader of an enemy state. His visit may, however, be ground zero for the next big military struggle of the United States in the Middle East, one that really will make Iraq look like a cakewalk.
Full Story
U.S. Focus
on Ahmadinejad
Puzzles Iranians
The New York Times
September 24, 2007
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Memo From Tehran
...Political analysts here say they are surprised at the degree to which the West focuses on their president, saying that it reflects a general misunderstanding of their system.
Unlike in the United States, in Iran the president is not the head of state nor the commander in chief. That status is held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, whose role combines civil and religious authority. At the moment, this president’s power comes from two sources, they say: the unqualified support of the supreme leader, and the international condemnation he manages to generate when he speaks up.
"The United States pays too much attention to Ahmadinejad," said an Iranian political scientist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. "He is not that consequential."
...
Full Story
Iranians release British sailors
BBC News
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 15 British naval personnel captured in the Gulf are free to leave.
He repeated Iran's view that the British sailors and marines "invaded" Iranian waters, but said they were being released as a "gift" to Britain. They are expected to fly home to the UK on Thursday.
...
The solution to the crisis - freeing the Britons while rewarding the Iranian commanders of the operation - appears to be a face-saving compromise, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran. She says speculation is likely to continue over whether it had anything to do with developments in Iraq, where an Iranian envoy has reportedly been given access to five Iranians captured by US forces, and where a kidnapped diplomat was released on Tuesday.
Full Story
Operation Bite: April 6 sneak attack by US forces against Iran planned, Russian military sources warn
Online Journal
Mar 26, 2007
By Webster G. Tarpley,
Online Journal Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON DC, -- The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 am on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly “Argumenty Nedeli.” Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.
The attack is slated to last for 12 hours, according to Uglanov, from 4 am until 4 pm local time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran. In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20 targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment facilities, research centers, and laboratories.
...
Ivashov noted that it was not to be excluded that the Pentagon would use smaller tactical nuclear weapons against targets of the Iranian nuclear industry.
Full Story
US generals 'will quit' if Bush orders Iran attack
The Sunday Times (UK)
February 25, 2007
By Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter,
Washington
SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.
...
"There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran," a source with close ties to British intelligence said. "There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible."
...
The threat of a wave of resignations coincided with a warning by Vice-President Dick Cheney that all options, including military action, remained on the table. He was responding to a comment by Tony Blair that it would not "be right to take military action against Iran."
Full Story
Blair announces Iraq troops cut
BBC News
21 February 2007
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told MPs that 1,600 British troops will return from Iraq within the next few months.
...
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, whose party opposed the war in Iraq, said the target should be the full withdrawal of British troops by the end of October. He added that the "unpalatable truth" was that Britain was leaving behind a country on the brink on civil war.
...
President Bush's opponents say it shows the British have split with his policy, but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the coalition "remains intact".
Full Story
House Passes Resolution Disapproving of Bush's Iraq Strategy
Bloomberg
February 16, 2007
By Nicholas Johnston
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The House of Representatives renounced President George W. Bush's latest strategy to resolve the four-year war in Iraq, passing a nonbinding resolution that disapproves of his decision to send about 21,000 more U.S. troops to the conflict.
The vote may be the strongest rebuke of a president during wartime since Congress in 1970 rescinded the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that authorized military action in Southeast Asia.
...
To begin forcing a change in policy, Democrats will next turn to military spending measures where they hope to attach conditions to limit troop deployments and block Bush's plans with the force of law.
Full Story
news archives
(updated 8/04)
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Check Out Our Actions Page
Updated 6/18/07
Help Stop LAPD!
Judge Feese has extended the Federal Consent Decree over LAPD until June, 2009!
This decree has done much to make LAPD more accountable to the people, but of course its ingrained paramilitary culture changes slowly. It is important that compliance continue. We must call for the Federal government to make a full and fair investigation. The decree should be extended indefinitely.
We must further demand that the city's hired accountability monitors not release LAPD from this decree until the job is done. Those responsible for the federal consent decree must launch a full and complete investigation of the police misconduct and attacks at the May 1, 2007 MacArthur Park immigrants' rights march.
Contact Mr. Rene Salazar at 213-443-6090 and demand that the consent decree to extended. You may write or send postcards to Mr. Salazar at: Kroll Associates, Inc., 777 South Figueroa, Suite 2400, Los Angeles, California 90017.
Mr. Salazar represents Kroll Associates, Inc., which has been contracted by the City of Los Angeles to oversee, as independent monitor, the Department of Justice Consent Decree imposed by a federal judge.
LEAVE MY CHILD ALONE!
You don't have to let recruiters at your children!
Not many people know that the "No Child Left Behind" act REQUIRES public high schools to hand over names and addresses of students to military recruiters. Even fewer people know that you can opt out of this sneaky little invasion of privacy.
That's why there is a campaign underway by MMOB (Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue), Working Assets, and True Majority so that parents can get their kids off this list by submitting a request in writing to their
school district superintendent. Just go to leavemychildalone.org for full information.
Even if you don't have any or know of any children who are in high school, you can help change the law that lets military recruiters prey on minor children without the parents' explicit permission by writing to your local superintendent and congressman. More info is at leavemychildalone.org, and it's very easy to do.
Co-sponsored by Ella Baker Center, Code Pink, MilitaryFreeZone.org, and others.
Assorted Activist Links
Bring Them Home Now!
Center for Constitutional Rights
Code Pink
Code Pink - Bring Home CA Guard!
Democracy Now!
Free Speech TV
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Not In Our Name
Pacifica Radio
United for Peace & Justice
Veterans Against the Iraq War
Veterans For Peace
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Visual Resistance
War Resisters League
Join CFWP's Healthcare Not Warfare Campaign
English/Spanish Flyer
Anuncio en Inglés/Español
English Flyer
MEDIA
CHALLENGE !
An
Action from Peace Coalitions
Archive file;
dated, but still has some good information for expressing yourself to the media.
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Photos of the first Arlington West Memorial Project, honoring the dead of Iraq, February 15, 2004, on Santa Monica Beach
WATCHING LEBANON
Washington's interests in Israel's war.
The New Yorker
Posted 2006-08-14
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
...The Bush Administration, however, was closely involved in the planning of Israel's retaliatory attacks. President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were convinced, current and former intelligence and diplomatic officials told me, that a successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against Hezbollah's heavily fortified underground-missile and command-and-control complexes in Lebanon could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preëmptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations, some of which are also buried deep underground.
According to a Middle East expert with knowledge of the current thinking of both the Israeli and the U.S. governments, Israel had devised a plan for attacking Hezbollah-and shared it with Bush Administration officials - well before the July 12th kidnappings. "It's not that the Israelis had a trap that Hezbollah walked into," he said, "but there was a strong feeling in the White House that sooner or later the Israelis were going to do it."
...
Bush's strongest supporter in Europe continues to be British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but many in Blair's own Foreign Office, as a former diplomat said, believe that he has "gone out on a particular limb on this"-especially by accepting Bush's refusal to seek an immediate and total ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. "Blair stands alone on this," the former diplomat said. "He knows he's a lame duck who's on the way out, but he buys it" - the Bush policy. "He drinks the White House Kool-Aid as much as anybody in Washington." The crisis will really start at the end of August, the diplomat added, "when the Iranians"-under a United Nations deadline to stop uranium enrichment-"will say no."
Full story
Washington risks a wider conflict
BBC News
Friday, 28 July 2006
by John Muir
BBC Correspondent Jim Muir, who has been reporting on the current conflict from the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, has covered the upheavals in Lebanon since the original crisis erupted there in 1975. In the second of a two-part series on how this conflict compares with previous ones, he examines Washington's changing role.
Previous eruptions of violence that began in a roughly similar manner, such as the 1996 Grapes of Wrath bombardment, were curtailed at a much lower level than the current paroxysm.
...
If an increasingly isolated US, with anaemic support from Britain, continues to support or even encourage Israel's absolutist approach, the consequences could be dire both in Lebanon and in the wider region. Israel would continue with a prolonged campaign of destruction and running warfare in southern Lebanon, with more destructive raids further north. That situation would be unlikely to remain static and confined.
...
For many of those non-Hezbollah, anti-Syrian factions in the Lebanese government, the key failure in the current crisis has been Washington's: its inability to keep the Middle East road map alive, and to address the core Palestinian issue, its total alignment with Israel, and its apparent willingness to allow Lebanon to be devastated in a proxy war of regional ambitions.
President Bush has declared that the root of the problem is Hezbollah, and that there can be no settlement until that problem is addressed. Throughout the region, Arab moderates and radicals, Sunnis and Shias, would take issue.
Full story
War's Iraqi Death Toll
Tops 50,000
Los Angeles Times
June 25, 2006
by Louise Roug and Doug Smith
BAGHDAD - At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies - a toll 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration.
Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but not counted because of serious lapses in recording deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide since.
The toll, which is mostly of civilians but probably also includes some security forces and insurgents, is daunting: Proportionately, it is equivalent to 570,000 Americans being killed nationwide in the last three years.
In the same period, at least 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.
Full story
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