Iraqi Health Ministry Severs Ties With US Over Raid
by Aaron Glantz
The Iraqi Health Ministry is threatening to sever all ties with the U.S. military after American forces attacked the Ministry, arresting its security guards. According to the Health Ministry, the U.S. military also took money meant for employees' salaries.

The raid began at 3 a.m. Sunday, when U.S. troops in Humvees and tanks cordoned off the Ministry of Health and went inside.

"They went to the basement and they damaged the furniture," explained Health Ministry spokesman Qassam Allawi. "I saw it myself. Most of the furniture was damaged. They broke the doors. They broke all the doors and they took the money. According to the minister, they took $35,000 worth of employees' salaries and they detained seven people from the Minister's personal guard."

The American raid marks the latest clash between the United States military and the movement of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which controls the Health Ministry. Sadr has millions of followers and dozens of seats in the parliament. Over the last few weeks, the U.S. has launched numerous attacks on the cleric's Mehdi militia, including a raid on Sadr City that left 10 people dead and dozens injured. The Pentagon denies these raids mark any kind of pattern.

Speaking from Baghdad, U.S. military spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle says American soldiers were following up on a tip that 15 criminals wearing Iraqi army uniforms kidnapped six Iraqi citizens from a Baghdad emergency room and took them to the Ministry of Health.

"The important thing is that if credible information is given on the ground on a source, if the information is determined to be substantial then they'll act on that," she said. "Kidnappings have become a favorite tactic of the terrorists and the death squads."

The Pentagon admitted no abductees were found during the raid and refused to say whose kidnapping set off the sweep. But this isn't the first time allegations have surfaced about kidnappings run out of the ministry. In June, the health chief of Iraq's Diyala province came in for a meeting with the health minister and disappeared inside the ministry building.

Like other Iraqis, lawyer Nezar al-Samarai is concerned about both the crisis of kidnappings in Iraq and the conduct of American soldiers.

"The Ministry of Health previously had a lot of fingers pointing at them having to do with kidnappings in front of the Baghdad morgue, which is nearby," he said. "When people would come to take the bodies of their relatives from the morgue, they would kidnap the men. Still, I think the Americans should go through the right path and ask the government. Take a legal path. Don't raid places and step on Iraqi sovereignty."

Ministry of Health spokesman Allawi agrees.

"If you want to come to the Ministry of Health, you should have called us and told us that you were coming," he said. "We are an open ministry. It's not civilized just to raid."

Now, Allawi says, the Health Ministry has gone on strike, refusing to return to work until the U.S. military releases the detainees, issues an apology, and returns the money allegedly seized in the raid.

"If they don't meet our conditions and our requirements, we will halt all communication and we will not accept anything they're giving," he said. "Not that they're giving us anything, but we will begin to help ourselves."

Ironically, the Health Ministry was the first ministry handed over to the Iraqi government in 2004.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082901680.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...n2064668.shtml.


Medical Journals are also reporting over 80% of physicians have left Bagdhad.

Read thes two stories and it may explain why the military raided the iraq Ministry of health.

Well al-Sadr and his boys are hell bent on becoming the second coming of Saddam, with a Shite flavor

I have morgue pictures and massive piles of bodies floating in rivers but I do not think I will post them.

........Its up to you, but I think it is newsworthy.

Reliance on official stastistics is further complicated in Iraq by political considerations. Information about deaths is highly politically sensitive and may be difficult to obtain. One indication of this are reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the Health Ministry in September 2006 not to disclose more figures about death rates in Iraq to the United Nation

I will link to descriptions instead. In the course of researching a different thread I found information on Iraq Ministry of Health and healthcare. I had read our military had several raids and skirmishes and I was not clear why. It seems the healthcare system is falling apart worse than it was 2003 and 2004 which was pretty bad then. I feel like a POS when I read about the hospitals because I am working just one 24 hour stretch per week in a state of the art hospital and it makes me feel helpless .I have children and family obligations now so instead I read about this and it makes me sick.

I had read reports of U.S. military attacks on hospitals,morgues and the Ministry and now it makes more sense.

Morgue pictures and massive piles of bodies floating in rivers? Gee, it sounds like we've got us another Jenin massacre on our hands. And you really believe that our troops are responsible for all this mass killing?

Let's all get sick why don't we?

There's only one reason I can think of for you posting this garbage when you know that Sadr's Mahdi Army would do anything to regain power, up to and including murder their own people. There is only one reason you could have for posting this article when you know Sadr's Mahdi Army would say anything to discredit our troops. That reason is that you too wish to discredit our troops.

Kix I feel bad for you. If you read the links and my posts you see that it is about Sadr controlling the Ministry of Health and some hospitals and mogues. I now understand why our military is targeting both the ministry ,morgues and hospitals. The pictures I referred to were just of bodies but it was in reference to the aricles and sectarian violence by Sadr and what he was doing to iraqs healthcare system.. I posted this because in the course of researching another thread I read about our military attacking the Ministry and hospitals and as I said above I can see why. Did you read the links or my posts.

You know what kix. We take more contact from mosques schools and hospitals than any other area in Iraq. At saddam mosque in ar ramadi we always get hit with an IED! We also fought for 6 days around that mosque as the enemy looked out on overwatch in the security of their mosque. They used the loud speaker to do a call to arms and spread word troop positions throughout the city. They had the high ground so they could see us where ever we were! But we cant fire on these mosques. Schools and hospitals are often stageing points for insergent attacks. This is how terrorists propaganda works. They hide behind the innocent to fight the troops. You can read this propaganda posted in the local mosqs of how we are targeting these sites and how the mujahadien is just there to defend them. Yeah right! The liberals work in the same way. The propaganda that terror realeases is taken as a truth so that the liberals can get more votes! It is that simple. They know that prolonging the war is their ticket to office. I cant say this enough.

__________________
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." Ronald Reagan http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/war...bout-iraq.html