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Letter to the editor

Last week in Iraq

By Times Wires
Published September 23, 2007

Attacks

-Suspected Sunni insurgents raided Shiite villages north of Baghdad on Sept. 16, killing at least 15 people and setting homes ablaze, police said. Officials said 54 people were killed or found dead nationwide.

-U.S troops captured 11 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents during operations in the Tigris River valley in the north, the military said Wednesday.

-Violence is down in Baghdad after a seven-month security operation, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the U.S. second-in-command in Iraq, said Thursday.

Military

-Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sept. 16 that he would recommend a veto of a Senate proposal that would give troops more rest between deployments in Iraq, branding it a dangerous "back-door way" to draw down forces.

-The U.S. military on Sept. 16 announced the arrest of a suspect in the killing of a sheik who spearheaded the U.S.-backed Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq.

-Gen. David Petraeus' report to Congress and President Bush's nationally televised address have had little effect on Americans' distaste for the Iraq war, according to a poll released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Fifty-four percent still favor bringing the troops home as soon as possible, a number unchanged in months.

-The Senate blocked legislation Wednesday that would have regulated the amount of time troops spent in combat, a blow for Democrats struggling to challenge Bush's Iraq policies. On Friday, Senate Democrats also lost the vote on a bill that would have ordered most U.S. troops home in nine months.

Rebuilding

-The Iraqi government said Monday it was ordering Blackwater USA, the security firm that protects U.S. diplomats, to leave the country after what it said was the fatal shooting of a number of Iraqi civilians following a car bomb attack against a State Department convoy on Sept. 16.

-The United States on Tuesday suspended land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of 11 civilians by Blackwater USA. The firm resumed guarding U.S. convoys Friday.

-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday disputed Blackwater USA's version of the weekend shooting that left at least 11 people dead, suggesting that the U.S. Embassy find another company to protect its diplomats.

-Iraq's inquiry into the deadly shooting by Blackwater USA in Baghdad expanded Friday to include allegations about the security firm's involvement in six other violent episodes this year that left at least 10 Iraqis dead. Separately, U.S. officials said that federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of Blackwater illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Deaths

As of Saturday, 3,795 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. Identifications as reported by the U.S. military and not previously published:

-Marine Cpl. Terrence P. Allen, 21, Pennsauken, N.J., noncombat Sept. 15; Anbar province.

-Army Spc. Matthew J. Emerson, 20; Grandview, Wash.; noncombat Tuesday; Ninevah province.

-Army Capt. (Dr.) Roselle M. Hoffmaster, 32, Cleveland; noncombat Thursday; Kirkuk.

-Army Sgt. Edmund J. Jeffers, 23, Daleville, Ala.; noncombat Wednesday; Taqqadum.

-Army Pfc. Luigi Marciante Jr., 25, Elizabeth, N.J.; explosion Thursday; Muqdadiyah.

-Army Pvt. Christopher M. McCloud, 24, Malakoff, Texas; explosion Sept. 14; Baghdad.

-Army Cpl. Graham M. McMahon, 22, Corvallis, Ore.; illness Wednesday; Balad.

-Army Spc. Todd A. Motley, 23, Clare, Mich.; explosion Sept. 14; Baghdad.

-Army Pfc. Christian M. Neff, 19, Lima, Ohio; explosion Wednesday; Baghdad.

-Army Spc. Nicholas P. Olson, 22, Novato, Calif.; explosion Tuesday; Muqdadiyah.

-Army Spc. Jonathan Rivadeneira, 22, Jackson Heights, N.Y.; explosion Sept. 14; Baghdad.

-Army Staff Sgt. Michael L. Townes, 29, Las Vegas; illness Sept. 16; Balad.

-Army Staff Sgt. Terry D. Wagoner, 28, Piedmont, S.C.; explosion Sept. 14; Baghdad.

-Army Spc. John J. Young, 24, Savannah, Ga.; noncombat Friday; Camp Stryker.

-Army Spc. Aaron J. Walker, 23, Harker Heights, Texas; small-arms fire Tuesday; Baghdad.

[Last modified September 23, 2007, 01:09:43]