European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 3 Karim iraqi soldiers search a car at a checkpoint on a major Road in Baghdad Sadr City neighbourhood on iraqi and forces conducted raids in the neighbourhood in the Early apparently searching for five British men abducted from a nearby building on search goes on for abducted brits iraqi forces believe the five Are held in Sadr City by Ravi Nessman the associated press Baghdad hundreds of iraqi and troops cordoned off sections of Baghdad Sadr City slum Early wednesday and conducted a series of raids in an apparent Effort to find five British citizens whom iraqi officials believed were abducted by the shiite Mahdi army British embassy officials held ongoing talks wednesday with iraqi officials to discuss the Britain foreign office Brit Ains cobra crisis committee also was to meet for the second the five men were pulled out of a finance ministry office by about 40 heavily armed men in police uniforms in Broad Daylight tues Day and driven in a Convoy of 19 Fourshee drive vehicles toward Sadr according to iraqi officials in the Interior and finance a top Interior ministry who refused to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the said the authorities were working on the Assumption the five men were abducted by Radical cleric Muntada Alsa drs Mahdi because the area they were taken from is controlled by the British foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said officials were doing All they could to ensure the men were released this is clearly a very distressing time for All she said upon arriving at a group of eight meeting in Germa it is not helpful at this stage to speculate on what might have she we Are working closely with the iraqi authorities to establish the facts and doing All we can to secure their Swift and Safe soon after the iraqi forces established a special battalion of iraqi soldiers and police officers to search for the said Qassim Al an iraqi army we Are conducting search operations near the site where the abduction took he said maybe today or in the com ing few we will find them with the help of secret residents of Sadr City said hundreds of american and iraqi troops sealed off areas of the shiite neighbourhood overnight and car ried out a series of arrest raids that lasted until the residents spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals for speak ing to the Western the military said in a statement wednesday that it had arrested five suspected militants and one suspected Leader of a Mili Tant cell during Early morning raids in Sadr those arrested were believed part of a cell that smuggled weapons in from Iran and sent militants to Iran for the state ment the statement did not link the raid to the missing two civilians were killed and four others injured in crossfire from gun Battles that broke out during one of the police the civilians had been sleeping on their roofs in a traditional iraqi custom to escape the brutal police speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the the responding to a query from the associated said in an email that it had conducted two raids in Sadr City but said no shots were a Roadside bomb that apparently targeted a passing police patrol in Sadr City missed and killed one civilian and wounded four police retired general Iraq was not ready for democracy stars and stripes a prominent Iraq War Hawk who urged the Bush administration to oust Saddam Hussein and move quickly to democracy now says that elections occurred too the Washington examiner re ported i think we need some sort of authoritarian government in the paper quotes retired air Force Thomas Mclyn who was an unofficial adviser to former defense Secre tary Donald As Mclnerney told the paper that Iraq needs More time to set up democratic such As a functioning police Force and jus Tice and to bring sunni and shiite muslims i thought if they were Given a Chance at democracy they would seize said a fre quent commentator on the Fox news i was fundamentally this is their first elected they have never had a government that is supposed to help last the Senate Intelli gence committee released a re port on the intelligence commune Tys warnings about Iraq before the March 2003 the los Angeles times on Fri Day reported that the National intelligence councils 40page pre War analysis spelled out the Obsta cles to an elected government in those obstacles included establishing an iraqi democracy would be a difficult and probably turbulent with potential for backsliding into Iraq tradition of authoritarian unless the occupying forces prevented score settling would occur throughout Iraq be tween those associated with Sadd ams regime and those who have suffered most under among the majority shiite which Saddam had kept out of a political form of islam could take particularly if economic recovery were slow and foreign troops remained in the country for a Long Iran probably would try to shape the pos Saddam in a bid to position itself As a regional Al Aida probably would take advantage of the War to in crease its terrorist activities and the lines Between it and other terrorist groups could become deaths in Iraq the associated press As of at least members of the military have died since the beginning of the Iraq War in March according to an associated press the figure includes seven military at least died As a result of hostile according to the military the a count is 16 higher than the defense depart ments last updated tues Day at 10 since the Start of Mili tary operations in service members have been wounded in hostile a according to the defense departments weekly the latest deaths reported by the military six soldiers were killed monday by explosions near their vehicles in Dyala prov two soldiers were killed monday when their helicopter crashed in Dyala two soldiers were killed monday when their patrol was hit by a Roadside bomb in Southern the latest identifications re ported by the military army Clinton died saturday in Baghdad when his vehicle struck an explosive As signed to the 1st 18th infantry 2nd brigade combat 1st in Fantry Marine Lance Emmanuel Eagle Texas died sunday from a noncombat related vehicle Accident at Kuwait naval Kuwait assigned to Bat Talion Landing team 1st Battal Lith Marine 13th Marine expeditionary i Marine expeditionary Camp army Francis Trussel died saturday from an explosive in Tahir assigned to the 1st 12th cavalry 3rd brigade com Bat 1st cavalry Divi fort army Mark died thursday at the National naval medical Bethe of wounds suffered May 4 in Baghdad when his vehicle struck an explosive As signed to the 1st 5th cavalry 2nd Bri Gade combat 1st cavalry fort Marine Lance David died Friday from a non combat related incident in Anbar province assigned to the 3rd 6th Marine 2nd Marine Divi ii Marine expeditionary Camp Marine Nicholas died saturday during combat in Anbar province assigned to the 1st reconnaissance Battal 1st Marine i Marine expeditionary Camp