What more proof do you need that the U.S. sponsors “terrorism” and wants civil war in Iraq? See article below. jamie

U.S. Considers Elite Hit-Squads for Iraq -Report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is debating whether to set up elite hit-squads to target leaders of the Iraq (news - web sites) insurgency in a new strategy based on tactics used against leftist guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago, Newsweek magazine reported on Saturday.

One proposal would send U.S. Special Forces teams to advise, support and possibly train Iraqi squads of hand-picked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen to target Sunni insurgents and their sympathizers, Newsweek said, citing military insiders familiar with the discussions.
The squads may operate across the border in Syria, Newsweek said on its web site, but added it was unclear whether they would assassinate leaders or be involved in "snatch" operations.
The magazine said the plan is being called "the Salvador option" after strategy instigated during the Reagan administration's battle against the leftist guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador (news - web sites) in the early 1980s.
Then, faced with a losing war against Salvadoran rebels, the U.S. government funded or supported "nationalist" forces to hunt down and kill rebel leaders and sympathizers.
"What everyone agrees is that we can't just go on as we are," one unidentified senior military officer told Newsweek. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing."
Newsweek said Pentagon sources emphasize there has been no decision to launch the special squads. The Defense Department had no comment on the Newsweek article.
Amid concern over a bold and growing insurgency, the Pentagon is sending retired Gen. Gary Luck to Iraq next week to review overall military operations.

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PS U.S.. death toll in Iraq now stands at 1353 “officially.” Here are the latest details from www.icasualties.org Please spread widely.

01/09/05 BBC: Court martial for British soldier A soldier who was investigated by the Army over photographs which allegedly showed Iraqi prisoners of war being abused is to face a court martial.
01/09/05 CJTF7: Two Killed, Another Injured at Near Ad DuluiyahFirst Infantry Division Soldiers engaged a vehicle failing to stop at a traffic control point near Ad Duluiyah on Jan. 9. The vehicle swerved off the road and hit a telephone pole.
01/09/05 UPI: Party leader assassinated in IraqThe manager of the Iraqi National Accord party, headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, was assassinated Sunday near his home in Baghdad.
01/09/05 KUNA: Senior Iraqi officer killed in Samarra Eyewitnesses told KUNA on the phone the gunmen opened fire at Lieut. Col. Mohammed Muthaffar near Al-Malwiyah Minaret in the town of Samarra, killing him instantly before fleeing the scene.
01/09/05 AP: Ukrainian, Kazakh soldiers killed in explosion in IraqSeven Ukrainian soldiers and one Kazakh soldier serving in Iraq were killed in an explosion while loading bombs that could be used by warplanes, the Defense Ministry said Sunday.
01/09/05 Xinhuanet: S.Korea tries to verify report on citizen kidnapped in Iraq The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Sunday was trying to verify a report that one or two South Korean citizens have been kidnapped in Iraq, reported the South Koreannational Yonhap News Agency.
01/09/05 INQ7: 27 Filipinos arrive home from Iraq TWENTY-SEVEN overseas Filipino workers based in the northern Iraqi flashpoint city of Mosul arrived in Manila last night after they were repatriated with the help of the Philippine Embassy in Turkey.
01/09/05 Scranton Tribune: Latest Guard Deployment Includes Mostly Women More than 20 of the 32 National Guard soldiers being deployed from the Taylor-based 228th Forward Support Company B are women. The soldiers were honored as they prepared to leave today for training before a tour of duty in Iraq.
01/09/05 AP: Marine Stripped Of His Purple HeartA marine who earned a Purple Heart after he nearly died in a humvee crash in iraq has been stripped of the medal because the military determined his injuries were not combat-related.
01/09/05 TTV: Iraqi police chief assassinatedThe acting police chief in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra has been assassinated by gunmen. Gunmen opened fire on Mohammed al-Badri as he travelled in his car near Samarra
01/09/05 CJTF7: Three Bodies Found Near SamarraFirst Infantry Division Soldiers discovered the bodies of three males near Samarra at about 9:30 a.m. on January 8. Identification was found on the third belonging to a Baghdad IPS officer. The other two had no identification on them.
01/09/05 Reuters: U.S. Considers Elite Hit-Squads for IraqThe Pentagon is debating whether to set up elite hit-squads to target leaders of the Iraq (news - web sites) insurgency in a new strategy based on tactics used against leftist guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago
01/09/05 AFP: British Government to send 650 more troops to guard Iraq vote The government will this week announce the politically risky move of sending up to 650 more troops to Iraq for a hazardous mission policing the country's election.
01/09/05 cjtf7: Soldier Killed in IED Attack A Task Force Baghdad Soldier was killed at about 9 a.m. on Jan. 9 after a patrol was struck by an improvised explosive device.
01/09/05 AP: U.S. Troops Kill 5 After Roadside BombingAmerican troops opened fire after their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb at a checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least two policemen and three civilians, police said Sunday
01/09/05 Reuters: Several Killed as U.S. Bombs Wrong Target in IraqU.S. warplane mistakenly bombed a house in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing several people in an attack likely to inflame anti-American anger ahead of controversial elections due at the end of the month
01/08/05 DPA: Samarra election commission members resignAll of the members of the High Election Commission in the Sunni-majority city of Samarra resigned Saturday in support of a call to boycott upcoming elections from the Muslim Clerics Association ...
01/08/05 DoD Identifies Army Casualty Pfc. Kenneth G. Vonronn, 20, of Bloomingburg, N.Y., died January 6 in Baghdad, when an IED struck his Bradley fighting vehicle. He was assigned to the Army National Guard’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Bat., 69th Inf. Reg., 42nd Inf. Div.
01/08/05 Reuters: Blast Kills 14 in N.Iraq Village, Locals Blame U.S.A house in northern Iraq was destroyed overnight in what residents said on Saturday was a U.S. air strike that killed 14 people and wounded five.
01/08/05 NYTimes: U.S. Said to Hold More Foreigners in Iraq Fighting After raids in recent months that captured hundreds of insurgents in Iraq, the United States has significantly increased the number of prisoners it says are foreign fighters...
01/08/05 Kuna: Gunmen arrested in northern city of MosulAmerican forces have arrested 17 gunmen in several raids in the northern city of Mosul over the past 24 hours, a statement by the Multinational forces said Saturday
01/08/05 Reuters: Large Explosion Hits Western Baghdad - Witnessespowerful explosion shook western Baghdad on Saturday, witnesses said, but police said they had not found the location of the blast and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
01/08/05 BBC: Woman Soldier From Here Is Wounded In Iraq Attack Sgt. Angela Michelle Ricker Jarbo, 28, was wounded in Iraq...she had suffered a broken leg and other, less serious, injuries on Jan. 3 when a roadside bomb exploded near a military truck...
01/08/05 BBC: US hails arrest of Iraq militant American forces have announced the arrest of a key member of an al-Qaeda-linked group in Iraq.
01/08/05 aljazeera: Missing Iraq reporter said to be aliveA group of armed and masked men in Iraq has claimed that a "female journalist and her companion" were in "good health," but did not say whether the woman was missing French reporter Florence Aubenas