With over 1 million Iraqi dead, 4 million refugees, 4,000 dead American soldiers and a total cost of 1-4 trillion dollars, the war in Iraq remains the most important fact of American politics, but it has faded from the headlines. The scraps of television coverage that still make the news don't go far beyond US military press releases and Iraqi politicians interviewed inside the Green Zone. 'Beyond the Walls' is a collection of short films from the other side of the blast shields in Iraq's walled cities. Rick Rowley covers a very different side of the war than is ever seen on American television. He report unembedded from war-torn Falluja, from the giant US prison at Umm Qasr, from the Mehdi Army stronghold inside Sadr City, from the places where mainstream corporate channels can not or will not go.

The U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is a pact that provides a legal basis for U.S. troops in Iraq and establishes their departure from Iraq by December 31st, 2011 pending any negotiations. On November 16th, 2008, Iraq's Cabinet approved the agreement. On November 27th, the Iraqi Parliament ratified the agreement. Followers of Moqtada al-Sadr and many others protested the passing of the accord as prolonging and legitimizing the occupation, and Grand Ayatollah Sistani expressed concerns with the ratified version. On December 4th, Iraq's presidential council approved the security pact. A referendum must be held by mid-2009 which may terminate the agreement and require Coalition forces to completely leave by the middle of 2010.

On June 17th, 2008, a U.S. military judge dismissed charges against another Marine connected to the massacre of twenty-four unarmed Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha. Of the eight Marines originally charged in the case, only one still faces prosecution. Criminal charges have been dismissed against six of the Marines and a seventh Marine was acquitted.

Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the US military shelling of the Hotel Palestine in Baghdad. The attack killed two journalists: Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network, Telecinco. The Pentagon has called the killings accidental, but in a broadcast exclusive aired a few weeks ago, Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) revealed that she saw secret US military documents which listed the hotel as a possible target. Kinne also disclosed that she was personally ordered to eavesdrop on Americans working for news organizations and NGOs in Iraq. Originally, Kinne actually released this information last July, but her story was not picked up by any significant news outlets. After the airing of the interview on Democracy Now!, however, the International Federation of Journalists condemned the attacks and called for a full, independent investigation. Soon thereafter, Reuters followed suit by calling for a new investigation into the attack.

Image montage from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Background Coverage: Independent Witnesses to War Perish at the Hands of the U.S. Military in Iraq || July 2007 Initial Revelation: "New NSA Whistleblower Speaks" || DN!'s Original Story of Kinne's Revelations || Reuters seeks new inquiry into Iraq hotel deaths || CPJ: Five years after deadly Palestine Hotel and Al-Jazeera strikes, unanswered questions linger || Condemnation from International Federation of Journalists || Clip of DN! Kinne interview (from minute 4:02-5:29) || Transcript of Clip of Interview ( En Espanol) || Entrevista de Adrienne Kinne en Espanol || 2004 Report from Reporters Without Borders: Two murders and a Lie | PDF version || Additional DN! coverage: Brother of Slain Journalist Jose Couso Calls for Prosecution of Those Responsible for U.S. Attack on Palestine Hotel (3/23/2005) | Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness–Documentary Exposes the Truth Behind the Attack (3/23/2005) | Wounded Spanish Journalist Olga Rodriguez Describes the U.S. Attack on the Palestine Hotel That Killed Two of Her Colleagues (3/23/2005) | Family of Spanish Journalist Killed by U.S. Forces in Baghdad Accuses U.S. of War Crime (11/23/2004) | U.S. Accused of Lying About Its Troops Killing Journalists in Iraq (1/16/2004)

On May 30th, tens of thousands of Iraqis protested in a number of cities against the proposed agreement between the puppet regime of Nouri al-Maliki and the Bush administration that would codify a long-term US military occupation.

Fighting between Iraqi government forces and militias loyal to Moqtada Sadr erupted March 25th in Basra. A new civil war is breaking out in Iraq as American-backed Iraqi government forces, many of whom are members of SCIRI's Badr militia, fight rival Shia militiamen tied to Sadr's Mehdi army. Fighting quickly engulfed Baghdad's Sadr City and spread to other towns. On March 28th, US planes bombed alleged Mehdi Army positions both in Basra and in Baghdad. Despite the US intervention, government troops were unable to pierce Mehdi Army defenses or over-run their positions. The police force in Basra suffered numerous mutinies.

CALIFORNIA - Continued anti-war protests are anticipated next week as the pro-war presidential candidate John McCain tours California. Although there has been no formal announcement by any particular anti-war organization, independent local grassroots groups appear to be mobilizing for demonstrations. McCain will be in California from Monday to Wednesday of next week. McCain’s schedule includes stops in San Diego, Palm Desert, Orange County, Los Angeles, Carmel and San Francisco.
From the Newswire:

• Protest McCain Visit to LA – Tuesday the 25th
• 3.25.08: McCAIN COMING TO ORANGE COUNTY & L.A.!!! DO SOMETHING!!!

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, Saturday, March 15, 2008 – Protests were held in Hollywood, Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach to mark the fifth year since the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. An estimated 2,000 protesters gathered at Hollywood & Vine and marched a short eight block route for rally at the CNN building on Sunset. Hundreds marched in Santa Barbara and formed a human peace sign in a local park. In Orange County a Silent Peace March of about 300 people was held in Huntington Beach. Latest From the Newswire:

Hollywood: Hollywood Peace March 3-15-2008, Part 1 & Part 2 by Don Hodges | | CFWP at the M15 March by Hugh Stegman | | Photos from the Anti War Protest in Hollywood 3/15/2008 by Organic Tofu Vegan Burger
Santa Barbara: Anti-War March in Santa Barbara by ForestDefender
Orange County: Orange County Peace Coalition: "How Many More? Resist, Resist the War!" Part 1 & Part 2 by df
VIDEO by df
Santa Monica: Silent Walk for Peace in Santa Monica by sgibson

More local protests are planned this week: This Wednesday, 4:00 pm - End the War Protest in Oldtown Pasadena | | Wednesday 5:30 pm - Candlelight Vigil in Orange County | | March 19th - Protest at Hollywood recruitment center | | March 20th - East LA, Boyle Heights: March & Rally: Stop ICE Raids, No War in Iraq

"We Are the Troops! Bring Us Home!"

WASHINGTON DC, September 15, 2007 – Thousands marched to the Capitol building today and staged acts of mass civil disobedience to protest the ongoing US war on Iraq. Veterans of the Iraq war led the march to the Capitol. The protest culminated in about 175 arrests as the veterans and supporters jumped the fence/police line at the Capitol.

Indymedia.Org feature: Iraq Veterans Against The War Lead March and Civil Disobedience in Washington DC | WSQT Radio Report | Photos

Two Iraqi trade union leaders on a speaking tour of the United States called for rejection of the new oil law being considered in the Iraqi parliament. The law was secretly written in Houston in favor of the U.S. oil companies long before it was ever seen by any member of the Iraqi parliament. If passed, the new oil law would effectively turn over all new oil fields to the control of foreign oil companies. Speaking before an enthusiastic audience of approximately 125 people in the Laborers Hall in San Jose on Sunday, June 10, the two Iraqi trade union leaders from Basra agreed that the U.S. occupation must end. Both leaders clearly indicated that the U.S. occupation itself creates sectarian violence and reduces security.

Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of the Southern Oil Company Union (affiliated with the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions) worked for the Southern Oil Company in Basra for 28 years. Umara was detained by Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1998 for union activities. In the post-Saddam years he has worked on his union’s negotiating team with both the Oil Ministry and British occupation authorities, defending the rights of oil company workers. His colleague Hashmeya Mushin Hussein, President of the Electrical Utility Workers Union, is the first woman to head a national union in Iraq. The Electrical Utility Workers are affiliated with the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW).Read more>>

Related Links: Iraqi Unions Speak Out Against U.S. Occupation / On U.S. tour, Iraqi unionists reject oil grab / Iraqi Union Leaders Speak Out in Santa Cruz / US Labor Against the War / VIDEO: Iraqi Solidarity Tour in Boston

On June 12th, the minarets of the Al-Askariya mosque in Samarra, one of the most revered shrines of Shiite Islam, were reduced to rubble. The mosque was supposed to be one of the most carefully defended locations in Iraq due to its religious significance to Shiites and the violence that followed the bombing of its golden dome in 2006.