Thursday, May 03, 2007

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death

wired
The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules
(.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document "that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum." The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing" anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.

Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action."

Despite the absolutist language, the guidelines' author, Major Ray Ceralde, said there is some leeway in enforcement of the rules. "It is not practical to check all communication, especially private communication," he noted in an e-mail. "Some units may require that soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review. Other units may require a review before every posting."

But with the regulations drawn so tightly, "many commanders will feel like they have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from blogging -- or even using e-mail," said Jeff Nuding, who won the bronze star for his service in Iraq. "If I'm a commander, and think that any slip-up gets me screwed, I'm making it easy: No blogs," added Nuding, writer of the "pro-victory" Dadmanly site. "I think this means the end of my blogging."

Active-duty troops aren't the only ones affected by the new guidelines. Civilians working for the military, Army contractors -- even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive as well.

But, while the regulations may apply to a broad swath of people, not everybody affected can actually read them. In a Kafka-esque turn, the guidelines are kept on the military's restricted Army Knowledge Online intranet. Many Army contractors -- and many family members -- don't have access to the site. Even those able to get in are finding their access is blocked to that particular file.

"Even though it is supposedly rewritten to include rules for contractors (i.e., me) I am not allowed to download it," e-mails Perry Jeffries, an Iraq war veteran now working as a contractor to the Armed Services Blood Program.

The U.S. military -- all militaries -- have long been concerned about their personnel inadvertently letting sensitive information out. Troops' mail was read and censored throughout World War II; back home, government posters warned citizens "careless talk kills."

Military blogs, or milblogs, as they're known in service-member circles, only make the potential for mischief worse. On a website, anyone, including foreign intelligence agents, can stop by and look for information.

"All that stuff we used to get around a bar and say to each other -- well, now because we're publishing it in open forums, now it's intel," said milblogger and retired Army officer John Donovan.

Passing on classified data -- real secrets -- is already a serious military crime. The new regulations (and their author) take an unusually expansive view of what kind of unclassified information a foe might find useful. In an article published by the official Army News Service, Maj. Ceralde "described how the Pentagon parking lot had more parked cars than usual on the evening of Jan. 16, 1991, and how pizza parlors noticed a significant increase of pizza to the Pentagon.... These observations are indicators, unclassified information available to all … that Operation Desert Storm (was about to) beg(i)n."

Son Of JFK Conspirator Drops New Bombshell Revelations

prisonplanet.com
Costner was set to make documentary on Hunt's confession, before Miami mafia stepped in, E. Howard believed government had sabotaged his wife's plane

As the explosive revelation of E. Howard Hunt's deathbed confession, in which the former CIA agent and Watergate conspirator admits that he was part of a CIA conspiracy to assassinate JFK, continues to rage across the Internet, the establishment media remains almost mute on what is undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of the decade.

Saint John Hunt, E. Howard Hunt's oldest son, joined Alex Jones yesterday to drop new bombshells about his father's story. Click here to listen.

Hunt was first made aware of what his father knew about the events of November 22nd 1963 when he came into receipt of hand-written memos that outlined the birth of the plot to kill JFK in Miami where it was discussed that a coup needed to take place in order to topple Kennedy and save the CIA from being splintered into a thousand pieces, as JFK had promised.

Saint John then opened his mailbox one January morning in 2004 to discover an unlabeled cassette tape on which his father details the identity of the individuals that were involved in the actual assassination of JFK.

E. Howard Hunt names numerous individuals with both direct and indirect CIA connections as having played a role in the assassination of Kennedy, while describing himself as a "bench warmer" in the plot. Saint John Hunt agreed that the use of this term indicates that Hunt was willing to play a larger role in the murder conspiracy had he been required, but was primarily used in an oversight role.

Hunt alleges on the tape that then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was involved in the planning of the assassination and in the cover-up, stating that LBJ, "Had an almost maniacal urge to become president, he regarded JFK as an obstacle to achieving that."

In the Alex Jones Show interview, Hunt reveals how Kevin Costner, star of the JFK movie, had shared a mutual friend with E. Howard Hunt and had subsequently visited Hunt in Miami in the interests of producing a documentary film based on Hunt's knowledge of the plot.

"Kevin Costner flies down and is introduced to my father by this mutual friend and Kevin just blurted out, 'so who killed JFK'? My father's jaw dropped and he turned around and looked at his wife and said, 'what did he say'?"

"So the whole thing just kind of blew up in its face and that was the end of that," said Hunt.

Hunt said that Costner had become "somewhat of a conspiracy enthusiast" after having made the JFK movie and was very interested in starting a project based on E. Howard Hunt's revelations.

"What my father devised was a code and a key to give Mr. Costner the relevant information without naming the names," said Hunt, "He listed out a chain of command and a timeline series of events and things that took place along with the most important players in the plot."

Costner considered the information to be "dynamite stuff," but elements of the "Miami mafia" derailed the project and the documentary never got off the ground.

Saint John Hunt also revealed for the first time that E. Howard Hunt thought that the Chicago plane crash that killed his wife in 1972 was not an accident. Investigators discovered at least $10,000 dollars in Dorothy Hunt's luggage, money that Saint John Hunt alleges was Nixon campaign funds used to payoff the families of the Watergate burglars to keep them quiet about the involvement of the Nixon White House in the Watergate break-in and cover-up.

"Later on in his life at one of these bedside confessions....tears started welling up in his eyes and he said, 'you know Saint I was so deeply concerned that what they did to your mother they could have done to you children' and that caused the hair on my neck to stand up - that was the first disclosure from my father that he thought there was something else going on besides sheer pilot error," said Hunt.

Eyewitnesses reported that the plane exploded above treetop level before it had even hit the runway.

Hunt said that "at least 20-25 FBI members," as well as numerous DIA agents were at the scene of the crash within minutes before rescue personnel had even arrived, and that this fact was attested to in a letter sent by the head of the Chicago FBI to investigator Sherman Skolnick.

Hunt cited numerous coincidences surrounding the aftermath of the crash, including Nixon's appointment of his henchman, Egil Krough, to the National Transportation Safety Board which investigates plane crashes, the very day after the incident.

When asked about the photos of the "three tramps" that were arrested on the scene of the JFK murder but were later ordered released, Hunt agreed that they likely showed his father and the two other key conspirators.

"As my father's son, every time I look at that comparison photo between the tramps and my father - it looks like my father to me," said Hunt.

Hunt also said that he was reasonably confident that one of the other tramps was CIA operative Frank Sturgis, who his father had also named as a key member of the murder plot.

Hunt said that his father was not one of the shooters but was more of a manager of the plot on a command level, but was later "hung out to dry" by the CIA and the government.

Asked why Hunt became a willing conspirator in the plot to murder JFK, Hunt responded,"Within intelligence circles, he felt that it was an imperative situation that President Kennedy not be allowed to serve in that office for any longer because there was a lot of crucial things coming down, there was the Vietnam war, there was also the anger and the threats Kennedy had made to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces."

Hunt also said that his father eventually desired to become the director of the CIA and Kennedy was a direct obstacle to that goal.

Hunt concluded by agreeing that his father's legacy was that of a patriotic American who was manipulated and twisted by people like LBJ and Nixon, later to be deserted and have his family torn apart by these same criminals.

E. Howard Hunt finally redeemed himself shortly before his death by blowing the whistle on the JFK murder plot, but now there is a fresh attempt to bury this information on behalf of the compromised and cowardly establishment media, who have afforded this bombshell story almost no attention at all while lavishly devoting coverage to the mindlessness of Britney Spears' comeback and radio host Don Imus' off-hand comments.

Once again the responsibility lies with alternative media and the Internet to make sure E. Howard Hunt's story is heard.

Federal Reserve to contact 10,000 families about finances

AP
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants to discover key facts about the personal finances of thousands of Americans, and he is promising that the information will be held in strict confidence.

The Fed sent out letters this week from Bernanke to approximately 10,000 families living in 79 cities and towns around the country asking them to participate in the central bank's latest "Survey of Consumer Finances."

The survey, which has been done once every three years since 1983, provides detailed information for the central bank and other economic researchers into household finances.

"The results of the survey will fill a gap in our knowledge about the financial circumstances of different types of households," Bernanke wrote in a letter encouraging people to participate.

The data collected will give a representative picture of what Americans own, from houses and cars to stocks and bonds, to how much they borrow and where they borrow the money.

FDA - all antidepressants need new warning labels

news medical
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States wants the manufacturers of antidepressant medications to change the labels on their products.

The FDA says all antidepressants should carry new warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24 during the first few months of treatment.

The proposal will mean current black box warnings on the drugs will be updated to include language stating that scientific data did not show this increased risk in adults older than 24, and that adults ages 65 and older taking antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidality.

The warning will also emphasize that depression and certain other serious psychiatric disorders are themselves the most important causes of suicide.

The FDA says studies have consistently shown a "slight increase" in suicidal thinking and behavior among young adults during early treatment, but the data did not find a higher risk for adults older than 24.

Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says the proposed action represents the FDA's commitment to a high level of post-marketing evaluation of drug products.

Dr. Galson says depression and other psychiatric disorders can have significant consequences if not appropriately treated and antidepressant medications benefit many patients, but it is important that doctors and patients are aware of the risks.

Experts advise people currently prescribed antidepressant medications to continue taking them and see their doctor about any concerns they might have.

The proposed labeling changes apply to the entire category of antidepressants and follows similar labeling changes made in 2005 that warned of a suicidality risk in children and adolescents who use antidepressants.

At that time the FDA requested manufacturers add a black box warning to the labeling of all antidepressants to describe this risk and to emphasize the need for appropriate monitoring and close observation, particularly for younger patients taking these medications.

The FDA also directed manufacturers to develop FDA-approved Medication Guides, which gave user-friendly information to patients.

The Medication Guides are intended to be distributed at the pharmacy with each prescription or refill of a medication.

Following a comprehensive review in 2005 by the FDA of 295 individual antidepressant trials, in 2006, the FDA's Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee agreed that labeling changes were needed.

The review included over 77,000 adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders, and examined the risk of suicidality in adults who are prescribed antidepressants.

The committee said that product labeling needed to reflect the apparent beneficial effect of antidepressants in older adults and to remind health care professionals that the disorders themselves are the most important cause of suicidality.

The FDA has given the manufacturers of antidepressants 30 days to submit their revised product labels and revised Medication Guides to the FDA for review.

Products involved include: Anafranil, Asendin, Aventyl, Celexa, Cymbalta, Desyrel, Elavil, Effexor, Emsam, Etrafon, fluvoxamine maleate, Lexapro, Limbitrol, Ludiomil, Marplan, Nardil, nefazodone HCl, Norpramin, Pamelor, Parnate, Paxil, Pexeva, Prozac, Remeron Sarafem, Seroquel, Sinequan, Surmontil, Symbyax, Tofranil, Tofranil-PM, Triavil, Vivactil, Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Zyban.

Murdoch Left to Woo Bancrofts; Dow Jones Doesn't Act

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co.'s refusal to act on News Corp.'s $5 billion takeover bid leaves Rupert Murdoch with the task of convincing members of the company's controlling Bancroft family to sell.

``This throws the ball back to Murdoch,'' said Ed Atorino, a New York-based analyst with Benchmark Co. ``Murdoch will probably raise his bid and deal with the family.''

Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, said yesterday its board won't act on News Corp.'s offer because the Bancroft family opposes the bid. Family members who control 52 percent of the voting power are against the bid, New York-based Dow Jones said yesterday in a statement.

``The board didn't say no,'' Atorino said. ``They said raise your bid and convince 2 percent of the family to go your way.'' Atorino rates the shares ``hold'' and doesn't own them. The Bancroft family members with 52 percent of voting power are a ``small majority,'' he said.

Michael B. Elefante, a director who represents the Bancrofts, informed the board about their decision. Murdoch told Fox News on May 1 that he plans to meet with family members in coming weeks to discuss his $60-a-share offer.

Dow Jones shares rose 30 cents to $56.30 at 9:40 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They surged 55 percent on May 1, when the bid was made public. Class A shares of New York- based News Corp., owner of Fox News, Fox Television and Twentieth Century Fox, rose 11 cents to $21.70.

News Corp.'s offer for Dow Jones, which also owns Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires, was 65 percent above the previous day's closing stock price. Bancroft family members who control more than 50 percent of the voting power rejected the offer shortly after it became public.

Voting Power

The Bancrofts hold about 64 percent of the voting power at Dow Jones through Class A and Class B shares, while owning about 25 percent of the company. The family has controlled the newspaper since 1902.

News Corp.'s bid values the Bancroft stake at about $1.23 billion. Christopher Bancroft and cousins Elizabeth Steele and Leslie Hill, a retired airline pilot, are on the board.

The Bancrofts may approach Thomson Corp., Reuters Plc and Yahoo! Inc. to gauge their interest in buying the family's stake, The Business reported on its Web site.

Murdoch's offer represents about 17 times Dow Jones's projected 2007 profit, based on estimates by Prudential Equity Group analyst Steven Barlow in New York. Newspapers have been selling at 10 times to 11 times earnings, Barlow said. Sam Zell's proposed acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Co. was at 10 times projected 2007 earnings.

Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP competes with Dow Jones in providing financial news and information.

`Greatest Newspaper'

Murdoch has long coveted Dow Jones, whose Wall Street Journal is the second-biggest selling newspaper in the U.S. behind Gannett Co.'s USA Today. Murdoch this week described the Journal as ``the greatest newspaper in America.''

Dow Jones's business media assets would dovetail with News Corp.'s Fox Business News channel, which is scheduled to start broadcasting later this year. News Corp. also publishes 170 newspapers including The Times of London and the New York Post.

Grade 3 dips in reading on FCAT

herald tribune
Florida educators beamed with pride last year when Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results showed that far fewer third-graders were failing in reading.

But new FCAT results released Wednesday showed that their excitement might have been premature. This year -- for the first time in FCAT history -- the number of third-graders failing the test went up.

This year, more than 38,000 Florida third-graders could be held back for failing the FCAT, about 10,000 more than last year.

Schools in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties followed that trend. State and local educators said they were not sure what caused more children to fail, except that perhaps last year's students just did exceptionally well.

Although more third-graders failed this year's reading test than in 2006, the number who failed was still lower than in previous years.

The results released Wednesday also showed that the percentage of third-graders meeting state reading goals dropped this year. The percentage of Florida students reading at grade level fell from 75 percent to 69 percent. State officials said just 6 of Florida's 67 school districts saw improvements.

Last year, educators praised efforts to boost student performance with intense remedial programs.

And despite the poor results, officials say they won't change their focus on remedial reading programs.

"We're going to see fluctuations," said Chancellor Cheri Yecki. "We've seen them in the past and we're going to see them in the future. We still need to stay focused on our reform efforts."

The third-grade FCAT results were the second wave of 2007 FCAT scores to be released. The state also released results for 12th-grade students who need to pass the FCAT to graduate. The number of 12th-graders who failed increased.

This year's third-grade results -- and the state's response -- show just how arbitrary the test scores can be, with student results swinging like a pendulum from one year to the next. Student test performance can be influenced by factors outside the school system's control. What works for one group of students may not necessarily work for the next.

The state's steadfastness was echoed by local districts, who said they will continue remedial programs implemented in the past few years.

"We're going to re-examine what we're doing, but we won't throw the baby out with the bath water based on one set of scores," said Rene Desjardins, assistant superintendent in Charlotte County. "If we were the only ones having bad scores for two years in a row, we would take a hard look at things. But we won't take an emergency shoot-from-the-hip reaction to it."

State law requires third-grade students to pass the reading FCAT to be promoted. But the state gives a number of exemptions, including some to students who are disabled or learning English. About half of the third-graders who fail the test move on to fourth grade because of the exemptions.

In recent years, the state has taken some of its focus off of elementary school reading programs and redirected resources into middle and high schools, where scores were lagging.

Locally, administrators say they have put more emphasis on math programs to boost scores. Their efforts may have paid off. As reading scores fell, Southwest Florida school districts all made gains in the percentage of students doing well on the math part of the test.

"The emphasis has been on reading, reading, reading," said Natalie Roca, Sarasota's director of research, assessment and evaluation. "But now there's a shift to math."

At Tuttle Elementary in Sarasota, after several years of not meeting federal benchmarks because of lagging test scores, math became a top priority, said Principal Tom Buchanan.

The school purchased a special computer program for students to spend extra time working on their math skills. Teachers also established goals and periodically tested students to make sure they were mastering skills. This year, 79 percent of Tuttle students met state goals on the FCAT, an increase of 27 percentage points.

"It's a real success story," Buchanan said.

School districts across the state also saw more 12th-graders fail the reading and math parts of the FCAT, which is required to graduate. High school students start taking the test in 10th grade and have about six chances to pass.

Statewide, about 22,000 students who retook the reading part of the test this February failed. About 8,000 failed math. But state and local educators point out that many of those students did not meet other graduation requirements anyway.

Although the actual number of failing 12th-graders went up statewide and in some local districts, Sarasota administrators say it is largely because they had more students retaking the test. The percentage of students who failed actually dropped.

Seniors who did not pass the FCAT this round will not be able to participate in graduation with their class. However, they be able to take the FCAT again after the date of graduation, usually in late May or June. If they still cannot pass it, they will receive a certification of completion, instead of a high school diploma.

Last year, 49 Sarasota County seniors, 1.9 percent of the class, received this certificate because they could not pass one or more sections of the FCAT.

LAPD Chief Disturbed By Rally Violence

cbsnews
Three Investigations Launched Into Cops' Tactics At Immigration Reform Protest
CBS/AP) Three investigations have been launched into police officers' tactics in dispersing a crowd at an immigration rally, where authorities wielded batons and fired rubber bullets into crowds.

"This incident is one of the more disturbing and troubling in my 37-year career," Police Chief William J. Bratton said Thursday on CBS News' The Early Show.

Bratton did not try to defend the actions of his officers, reports CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman. Instead he promised a complete and very public examination of Tuesday night's events.

News images showed police hitting a KCBS/KCAL television cameraman to the ground, shoving people who were walking away from officers and injuries from the rubber bullets.

"All I thought they would do was line up and march and say 'get out of here,'" said KCBS reporter Mark Coogan, one of those beaten. "You didn't have to whack people or fire at people with rubber bullets."

Rally organizers denounced the police action as brutal.

"They were pushing children, elderly, mothers with their babies and beating up on the media" said Angela Sanbrano, an organizer.

"I'm not seeking to defend it all. That's why we're having investigations. I've already indicated I don't like what I see on the videos," Bratton told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen.

The clashes started around 6 p.m. Tuesday, when police tried to disperse demonstrators who moved into a street, according to rally organizers and reporters. Authorities said several people threw rocks and bottles at officers, who used batons to push the crowd back to the sidewalk and then cleared the park.

A police order to disperse was in English and from a police helicopter, a likely ineffective tactic because of the noise and because many at the protest were Spanish-speakers, Bratton said.

"It appears to me, my early review, I have serious problems with the chain of command situation, serious problems with notification of the crowd to disperse, and very serious concerns that so many rounds, almost 240, and we're still trying to pin that down, almost 240 rounds were fired. And no arrests made," Bratton said.

Police union leaders urged against a "rush to judgment."

"Our officers gave a legal dispersal order and were met with violence. In the coming days it will become clear what transpired," said Los Angeles Police Protective League President Bob Baker in a statement.

Seven officers suffered minor injuries, and another was pushed off his motorcycle, Bratton said. About 10 other people were treated for minor injuries, though authorities expected the number to rise.

The investigations already under way include an overall departmental review of tactics, an internal affairs investigation into the behavior of the officers and commanders on the scene, and an independent review by the Inspector General, the investigative arm of the Police Commission, which sets policy for the Police Department.

John Mack, president of the five-member Police Commission, said he was "deeply disturbed and very disappointed" by the news images.

"This was not a pretty picture. This incident raises serious concern regarding the use of force by some individual officers," said Mack, who is one of Bratton's bosses.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian NuInez, who represents the park district, also asked Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley to launch an independent investigation into the officers' actions.

He said police deliberately led troublemakers back to the peaceful marchers before beginning their assault.

"The only logical conclusion I can come to is that somebody wanted it to bleed into the march so that they can do some target practice on some of the immigrants that were marching," Nunez said.

News organizations also condemned the Police Department for its use of batons and riot guns against members of the media.

"We are sorry for what happened to our employees and find it unacceptable that they would be abused in that way when they were doing their job," said Alfredo Richard, spokesman for the Spanish-language network Telemundo, whose anchor and reporter were hurt.

Bratton promised to investigate the treatment of reporters.

"We should never be engaged in attacking anyone in the media," Bratton said.

Qaeda Figure in Iraq Killed, U.S. Military Says

new york times

American forces have indeed killed a high-ranking member of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq, but not the leader of the group, American military officials said today.

The man killed in the raid was Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri, described as a senior minister of information for Al Qaeda in Iraq who was involved in the kidnappings of Jill Carroll and Tom Fox as well as two Germans, according to Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the American military in Iraq.

Mr. Jubouri’s death and subsequent events may have led to confusion that generated unconfirmed reports of the death of the leader of the group, known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, or of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of another insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq, General Caldwell said.

He said American forces are not certain that Mr. al-Baghdadi even exists.

Mr. Jubouri was involved in the movement of foreign fighters and money into Iraq from Syria, said General Caldwell, who described Mr. Jubouri’s death as “significant.” The general also said Mr. Jubouri was involved in hiding and moving the kidnapped Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll; she was held for two months before being released.

Detainees told American officials that Mr. Jubouri had personal custody of Mr. Fox, an American, and was the last one seen holding him before Mr. Fox was killed, General Caldwell said. Mr. Fox, one of four men from the Chicago-based peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams working in Iraq, was found shot to death in Baghdad on March 10, 2006.

The two Germans were kidnapped in January 2006.

Mr. Jubouri was first captured by coalition forces in 2003 and then was released in 2004, after which he traveled to Syria, where he has family, General Caldwell said. He described Mr. Jubouri as a close associate of Mr. Masri.

American forces have no evidence to confirm reports yesterday from the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior that Mr. Masri had been killed, the general said, nor do they have evidence to confirm reports that Mr. al-Baghdadi was killed.

American forces identified Mr. Jubouri’s body using photographs, and then released it for transportation to a mosque for burial. When the car carrying the body was stopped at an Iraqi checkpoint, the Iraqi forces took possession of the body, and may have thought it was someone else.

DNA testing confirmed the photo identification of Mr. al-Jubouri on Wednesday.

General Caldwell said that Mr. Jubouri was killed while resisting detention at 1:42 a.m. on Tuesday, during coalition military strikes against 29 targets over three days. He said that in all, 95 militants were detained in the raids and 15 were killed.

The raid in which Mr. Jubouri was killed with four other people was conducted on four buildings in a town north of Baghdad and four miles west of the Taji air base. Six people were detained.

In April, American forces conducted 139 operations specifically aimed at Al Qaeda in Iraq, killing 87 and detaining 465, General Caldwell said.