1 600 gefallene US-Soldaten im Iraq
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hours before President Bush is scheduled to deliver a speech Wednesday morning, the White House went on the offensive by releasing a declassified document that it says outlines strategy for victory in Iraq.
Bush's speech at 9:50 a.m. ET is part of a plan to bolster public support for the increasingly unpopular U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The 38-page released document, titled "Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq," attempts to define what victory in Iraq means in the short term, the "medium term" and the long term. (Watch why Bush is making his speech on Iraq -- 1:42)
The plan calls for pursuing three tracks: political, security and economic. The tracks are broken down into eight pillars, including defeating terrorists and neutralizing the insurgency; helping Iraq strengthen its economy; and increasing international support for Iraq.
"With resolve, victory will be achieved, although not by a date certain," the report said. "No war has ever been won on a timetable and neither will this one."
"We expect, but cannot guarantee, that our force posture will change over the next year, as the political process advances and Iraqi security forces grow and gain experience," the report said. "Our mission in Iraq is to win the war. Our troops will return home when that mission is complete."
The declassified version is part of a much longer and more comprehensive report. (White House plan [PDF])
During a speech Tuesday night in Denver, Colorado, Bush insisted that he would not withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq "without having achieved victory."
Earlier in the day, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexican border, Bush said any decisions he makes will be based on the recommendations of top U.S. commanders.
"If they tell me we need more troops, we'll provide more troops," he said. "If they tell me we've got a sufficient level of troops, that'll be the level of troops.
"If they tell me that the Iraqis are ready to take more and more responsibility and that we'll be able to bring some Americans home, I will do that."
But he said he would not let the U.S. troops killed in Iraq "die in vain" by withdrawing before a stable, democratic Iraq emerges.
"That's what's important for the American people to understand -- that, one, we are not going to cut and run; two, we'll achieve our objective; and three, the president is going to listen to those who are on the ground who can make the best assessment," Bush said.
About 159,000 American troops are in Iraq, up from about 138,000 in the summer, as the country prepares for its third round of voting this year.
Iraqis are set to select a permanent National Assembly December 15, after choosing a transitional parliament in January and approving a constitution in October.
The Pentagon has said that the level of troops is likely to go back down to the summer's level after the election.
The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 on the contention that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was trying to obtain nuclear weapons and had concealed chemical and biological weapons stockpiles from U.N. weapons inspectors.
No such weapons were found once Hussein was toppled, and American troops have been battling a persistent insurgency since his government collapsed in April 2003.
The Bush administration now says U.S. troops must help stabilize Iraq's fledgling government and prevent the country from becoming a haven for Islamic militants linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network.
U.S. death toll rises
The U.S. death toll reached 2,110 Tuesday when a roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers north of Baghdad, and support for the conflict has dropped sharply in recent months. (Full story)
Only 35 percent of those surveyed in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken earlier this month said they approved of Bush's handling of the conflict, and 54 percent said the invasion had been a mistake. (Full story)
From El Paso, Texas, Bush flew to Denver for a Republican fund-raiser Tuesday.
A crowd of anti-war demonstrators met him after he landed, waving signs urging Bush's impeachment and a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Some waved their middle fingers at reporters traveling with the president.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush would outline "real progress" in the training of Iraqi security forces during his Wednesday speech at the U.S. Naval Academy.
In 2006, McClellan said, "the expectation is that conditions will be changing on the ground -- we've been making real progress with the training of Iraqi security forces -- and that conditions will permit us to be able to reduce our presence."
Reed: Close 'credibility gap'
Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, told reporters Tuesday Bush has to close a "growing credibility gap" by offering a detailed explanation of what remains to be done in Iraq, not just what has been accomplished so far.
"It's easy to sloganize and talk about 'Everything's going well,'" said Reed, a member of the Armed Services Committee, in comments to reporters ahead of Bush's speech Wednesday.
"But I think those speeches over the last two years have left a big gap between the American public -- what they hear from the president and what they see every day on television and read in the newspapers -- and that gap has to close," he said. "This has got to be unvarnished."
Ramadi war lange Zeit ein Brennpunkt des Aufstandes gegen US-geführte Truppen und die irakische Regierung. Die Stadt liegt westlich von Bagdad.
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Masked militants attacked a U.S. base and a local government building with mortars and rockets in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Thursday, before holding ground on central streets, residents said.
Scores of heavily armed men set up roadblocks at major entrance and exit points to the city, a heartland of the insurgency in Iraq, and patrolled the main thoroughfares, residents said.
In some areas they dispersed after a few hours, but guerrillas remained in other parts.
Leaflets were distributed and posted on walls, saying al Qaeda in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was taking over the city.
"Its followers will burn the Americans and will drive them back to their homes by force. Iraq will be a graveyard for the Americans and its allies," one of the leaflets read.
After the initial attack, the situation calmed down, with groups of masked men holding ground but not firing their weapons.
In other parts of the city the rebels dispersed, and some residents said U.S. forces were starting to patrol again.
The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for information about the situation.
The assault on Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, began early on Thursday with a mortar and rocket attack on a U.S. base in the city and on a nearby provincial governor's building.
"They've taken control of all the main streets and other sections of Ramadi," a reporter for Reuters there said earlier. "I've seen about 400 armed men controlling streets, some of which were controlled by Americans before."
The U.S. military has a fortified garrison in Ramadi, and usually ventures out to conduct patrols and other operations. Iraqi forces also have bases there.
Ramadi has long been a focal point of militant activity in Iraq. After U.S. forces overran Falluja in a massive offensive last November, many insurgents apparently fled west to Ramadi, which is about 60 km (40 miles) beyond Falluja.
The assault came the day after U.S. President George W. Bush announced details of his strategy in Iraq, saying more efforts would be made to train Iraqi security forces to take on insurgents so that U.S. forces could eventually withdraw.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran has no plans to negotiate with the United States to help make Iraq safe after U.S. troops start leaving, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Wednesday.
"Negotiating with America is not on our agenda or programme," he told a news conference via a translator.
Newsweek magazine reported on Monday that U.S. President George W. Bush had authorized his ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to begin a diplomatic dialogue with Iran about Iraq.
"There will be meetings, and that's also a departure and an adjustment," Khalilzad told Newsweek in an issue dated December 5.
In Washington, a State Department official said Iran had informed the United States it was not interested in speaking about Iraq with Khalilzad.
"We suggested talking about issues of mutual interest and we got back the answer that they were not interested," said the official, who asked not be named.
"That mechanism is still available to discuss these narrow issues," said the official, referring to the U.S. wish for talks to be confined to discussions about Iraq.
Mottaki said Iran wanted the political process in Iraq improved and for the Iraqi people be allowed to decide their territorial integrity. He reiterated that foreign troops should leave Iraq.
At least 2,112 members of the U.S. military have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The victims included a Task Force Baghdad soldier who died of gunshot wounds received Wednesday and a Marine who died of wounds suffered the same day in Fallujah, the U.S. command said. The traffic accident involving a Marine from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing occurred near Camp Taqaddum, 45 miles west of Baghdad, another military statement said.
The November death toll was below the October figure of 96 - the fourth deadliest month for U.S. forces since the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003. Eighty-five U.S. troops died in August.
http://www.freace.de/artikel/200511/281105a.html
füx
US-Botschafter muß Teheran um Unterstützung des Besatzungskurses in Irak bitten. »Abweichung« von bisheriger Politik des Weißen Hauses in Aussicht gestellt
»Wir können nicht bleiben, wir können nicht abziehen, und wir dürfen nicht verlieren.« So faßte kürzlich eine Studie der US-Kriegsuniversität (U.S. Army War College) Pennsylvania das Irak-Dilemma Washingtons zusammen. Um dem Makel einer Niederlage im Irak zu entgehen, ist die US-Regierung nun bereit, außergewöhnliche Schritte zu gehen und sogar Teheran um Hilfe zu bitten. Washingtons einflußreicher Botschafter in Irak, Zalmay Khalilzad, hat jetzt in einem Interview mit dem US-Nachrichtenmagazin Newsweek enthüllt, daß er von Präsident George W. Bush »autorisiert« wurde, zum Zweck der Stabilisierung Iraks »mit Teheran Verhandlungen aufzunehmen«. Dafür hat Khalilzad »auch eine Abweichung« von der bisherigen US-Politik gegenüber dem Iran in Aussicht gestellt. Washington hatte 1979, im Jahr der sogenannten islamischen Revolution, seine diplomatischen Beziehungen zum Iran abgebrochen.
Mit Hilfe einer Reihe europäischer Länder üben die USA derzeit Druck auf Teheran wegen dessen Atomprogramms aus. Aber trotz der unverhohlenen US-Drohungen hält Iran an seinem verbrieften Recht der friedlichen Nutzung von Nukleartechnologie fest. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat Washingtons politische Kehrtwende internationales Aufsehen erregt. Der Sprecher des US-Außenministeriums, Sean McCormack, versuchte am Montag, die Wogen zu glätten. Er erklärte, daß Botschafter Khalilzad für die Verhandlungen mit Teheran nur »ein ganz eng begrenztes Mandat« habe, das »ausschließlich für irakische Fragen« gelte.
Trotz dieser Beschwichtigungsversuche dürften die arabischen Verbündeten der USA in der Golfregion über die Aussicht einer iranisch-amerikanischen Zusammenarbeit verunsichert sein. Denn in Saudi-Arabien und den kleineren Golfstaaten leben nicht unbedeutende schiitische Minderheiten, die von den meist feudalistischen Regierungen als »fünfte Kolonne« Teherans mißtrauisch beäugt werden. Ein schiitisch dominierter und von Iran unterstützter Irak würde – so die Befürchtung – eine militant-religiöse Brücke vom Iran zu den schiitischen Glaubensbrüdern in den anderen Golfstaaten schlagen.
Allerdings ist offen, ob sich die iranische Regierung überhaupt auf einen Tango mit Washington einlassen wird. Reaktionen aus Teheran liegen noch nicht vor. Zudem würde die Überwindung innenpolitischer Widerstände gegen eine US-freundliche Politik die Regierung in Teheran viel Kraft kosten. Zugleich ist absehbar, daß Washington versuchen würde, dem Iran die Tanzschritte zu diktieren.
Ohnehin ist die derzeitige Übereinstimmung des iranischen und amerikanischen Interesses an Sicherheit und Stabilität im Irak nur von kurzfristiger Natur. Denn eine damit einhergehende faktische Anerkennung und Stärkung Irans als wichtigster Regionalmacht in der Golfregion steht dem erklärten mittelfristigen Ziel Washingtons, nämlich der Umwandlung des »größeren Mittleren Ostens« nach US-Vorgaben, diametral entgegen. Wenn Washington nun aber trotzdem Teheran um Hilfe im Irak bittet, dann macht das deutlich, wie verzweifelt die Lage der USA in Irak sein muß.
hätt ich wohl vorher überprüfen sollen...sorry
Sunniten fordern Abzug der amerikansichen Truppen aus Al Anbar (größte Provinz des Irak)
A coalition of Sunni Arab parties has called for US troops to withdraw from restive Iraqi towns before the 15 December elections to encourage voting.
"We call on the American forces to leave Iraqi cities, especially the unstable ones, to allow for their residents to exercise their electoral rights in a normal fashion," the Iraqi Concord Front (ICF) said on Thursday.
The ICF said continuing military operations in these areas, mostly north and west of Baghdad, were a "deliberate marginalisation of those who did not participate in past elections.
"As the election approaches, an escalation can be seen in military operations in those provinces that reject the occupation," it said.
That was a particular reference to al-Anbar, west of the capital, which is a key area of rebel activity.
Boycott a mistake
The fight against the US presence in the country is largely made up of Sunni Arabs, so the most unstable towns and cities are those where Sunnis have a strong presence among the populace.
Most Sunnis boycotted the January elections for an interim parliament, a move that many now acknowledge was a mistake since it largely sidelined them from politics over the past year.
Sunnis protested at the time that the polls were taking place under foreign occupation and that their community faced marginalisation by the majority Shia.
The Iraqi Concord Front is made up of the three main Sunni parties: the Conference for the People of Iraq, the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Iraqi National Dialogue.
Bulgaria and Ukraine will begin withdrawing their combined 1,250 troops by mid-December. If Australia, Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea reduce or recall their personnel, more than half of the non-American forces in Iraq could be gone by next summer.
The deaths came as President George W. Bush struggles to boost waning U.S. public support for the war, and as a growing U.S. troop-casualty toll has fueled calls by critics for a timetable to withdraw troops.
In a statement released in Falluja, the military said another 11 Marines were wounded in the blast, which was caused by an "improvised explosive device" fashioned from several large artillery shells. Seven of those wounded have been able to return to duty, the military said.
The attack was one of the worst single incidents to hit U.S. Marines in the war.
In another deadly incident, 14 Marines died on August 3 south of Haditha in western Iraq, when their Amphibious Assault Vehicle was blown up with a roadside bomb made from three land mines.
The military statement said that Marines "continue to conduct counterinsurgency operations throughout Falluja and surrounding areas to provide a secure environment for the national elections, December 15."
Iraqi voters choose a new government in those elections, which the Bush administration hopes will help stabilize the country.
The Pentagon's official tally on Friday of U.S. military deaths in the war was 2,125, with nearly 16,000 more wounded in combat.
The incident near Falluja occurred a day after Bush outlined vision for victory in Iraq , in a speech that acknowledged the U.S. military has sustained "setbacks" in the campaign.
The United States has roughly 160,000 troops in Iraq, having built up the force to help provide extra security for the elections.
In his speech, Bush rejected calls for a timetable on bringing troops home, but said a reduction in troop levels may be possible as Iraqi security forces assume a bigger role.
The Marines who were killed were part of Regimental Combat Team 8 of the 2nd Marine Division, part of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, the military said.
Gruß BarCode
Wie souverän ist Deutschland?
Michael Wiesberg
Mehr als 80 Mal sollen Flugzeuge des US-amerikanischen Geheimdienstes CIA zwischen 2002 und 2004 auf den Flughäfen Ramstein und Frankfurt/Main gelandet sein. Diese Landungen soll die CIA vor allem genutzt haben, um unter „Terrorverdacht“ stehende Islamisten ins Ausland zu bringen. Dabei ist es der CIA aufgrund einer Direktive, die auf US-Präsident Bill Clinton zurückgeht, erlaubt, Gefangene an Länder zu überstellen, in denen auch Verhörmethoden möglich sind, die in den USA verboten sind. Aus Sicht der Vereinigten Staaten sind also die Operationen, die jetzt in Europa zum Stein des Anstoßes geworden sind, rechtens.
Daß sich diese Flüge, mit denen Verdächtige offensichtlich in Foltergefängnisse gebracht worden sind oder werden, weder mit den völkerrechtlichen Verpflichtungen, denen der Papierform nach auch die USA unterliegen, noch mit dem Nato-Truppenstatut in Übereinstimmung bringen lassen, zeigt erneut, daß aus Sicht der Vereinigten Staaten staatliche Souveränität dort endet, wo es die „einzige Weltmacht“ kraft eigener Setzung für richtig hält.
Damit wird auch deutlich, daß die „volle Wiederherstellung der Souveränität Deutschlands“, wie sie angeblich im 2+4-Vertrag manifest geworden sein soll, im Bereich der politischen Mythen anzusiedeln ist. Wie es um die Souveränität Deutschlands bestellt ist, verdeutlicht bereits die strategische Bedeutung, die es für die US-Streitkräfte hat: Im Interventionsfall ist Deutschland Sprungbrett für US-Truppenverbände; es stellt über die hiesigen US-Luftbasen die Versorgung der in den Krisenregionen stationierten US-Truppenkontingente sicher. Fiele Deutschland in dieser Drehscheibenfunktion aus, bekäme das Pentagon bei der Sicherstellung der Logistik erhebliche Probleme.
Auch die Artikel 53 und 107 der UN-Charta, die als „Feindstaatenklauseln“ bezeichnet werden, werfen ein Licht darauf, wie es mit der politischen Souveränität Deutschlands bestellt ist. Diese Artikel erlauben ohne Beschlüsse des UN-Sicherheitsrates Zwangsmaßnahmen gegen solche Staaten, die im Zweiten Weltkrieg gegen einen der Unterzeichnerstaaten der Charta Krieg führten, wenn diese sich anschicken sollten, den „Frieden erneut zu bedrohen“.
Die Beantwortung der Frage, was dies konkret heißt, unterliegt allein den Siegermächten des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Bisher hat sich kein deutscher Politiker von Rang zur Aufgabe gemacht, mit aller Vehemenz die längst fällige Revision dieser Klausel einzufordern.
Alle diese Entwicklungen müßten der neuen Regierung in Berlin eigentlich zu denken geben. Müßten – denn eine politische Klasse, die offensichtlich keinen Begriff von den Grundlagen politischer Souveränität mehr hat, wird auch auf die Beseitigung des Völkerrechts durch die Vereinigten Staaten in Form laufender Rechtsbrüche oder die Umformatierung Deutschlands in einen uneingeschränkten Freihandelsraum keine angemessenen Antworten geben können. Einzufordern ist aber jetzt und hier der Kampf um die Wiedergewinnung von Souveränität und die Behauptung Deutschlands als politisch eigenständig handelndes Subjekt.
Gruß BarCode
gnade uns gott, wenn einige von den ungenannten postern, dereinst im bt oder an den hebeln der macht sitzen.
teilweise habe ich den eindruck, daß manche hier aufgrund ihrer schulbildung ein starkes defizit aufweisen.
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servus
”Our job there isn’t done,” stated Mr. Bush during his speech at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. "It’s getting done as Iraqi forces are built up and develop the strength to defend their country’s efforts to form a fledgling government. And when it’s done, our forces can come home”.
Analysts viewed Bush’s “feel good” speech, which stresses improved fighting capabilities of Iraqi troops, as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to offer evidence that it has a viable plan for Iraq in the face of mounting criticism from the country’s leading Parties; the Democrats and the Republicans, that the war has been mishandled, according to The Seattle Times.
But on the other hand, some advocate a completely different strategy, favoring a continuing presence of the American occupying forces in the country; despite the surge in violence the invasion caused the country.
In his speech, Bush did nothing but repeating old rhetoric that the Americans’ losses in the country is what granting a safe future for the United States- same claims that have become difficult for the U.S. public and the world to digest anymore.
He failed to address the grim reality his administration is facing now, the difficult and unexpected situation his government is facing in Iraq.
According to the latest figures issued by the Department of Defense and other U.S. and Iraqi official, the Iraqi resistance is growing bolder and stronger than ever, and the number of total casualties inflicted on U.S. troops is once again climbing.
Anti-government and anti-occupation Iraqi rebels seem to have started switching resources from targeting Iraqi security forces to carrying out Multiple Fatality Bomb (MFB) attacks.
As an evidence that technical expertise of the rebels is steadily advancing, recent reports stated that improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs, continue to account for more than half the total casualties inflicted on U.S. troops, accoridng to The United Press International.
With the opposition to Iraq war touching an unprecedented 60 per cent, the Republicans themselves, facing a crucial re-election battle in 2006, have started pressurizing Bush to declare an end to this quagmire and bringing the troops home, regardless of the situation in Iraq.
Republican and Democratic Reps now feel the heat of Iraq flames with the ranks of those fallen in the war constantly swelling, the Khaleej Times stated today.
The timing of Bush’s speech is meant to counter the mounting criticism at home and the continuous sliding in his approval ratings. It also serves the need to head off two potentially greater risks: “a loss of public and congressional”.
Americans now wonder how long will Bush go on like this in Iraq, blundering from one disaster to another.
The Marines from Regimental Combat Team 8, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., were ambushed on Thursday. The unit has suffered some of the highest casualties of the Iraq war.
Also Friday, three U.S. soldiers from the 48th Brigade Combat Team were killed in a traffic accident south of Baghdad, and the military said an Army soldier assigned to the 2nd Marine Division died of wounds suffered the previous day when his vehicle was struck by a rocket in Ramadi, 70 miles west of the capital.
The 14 deaths announced by the military Friday brought to at least 2,127 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Die Entführer der deutschen Archäologin gehören möglicherweise dem arabisch-nationalistischen Milieu der Ischrin-Brigaden an, wie der „Spiegel“ am Samstag unter Berufung auf Informationen aus dem Krisenstab der Bundesregierung berichtete. Dafür spreche der Name, unter dem die Kidnapper firmieren: „Saraja al- Salasil", Sturmtruppen der Erdbeben. Eine Gruppe ähnlichen Namens habe schon früher mit den vor allem sunnitischen Ischrin-Brigaden kooperiert, die seit Sommer 2003 im Irak aktiv sind.
Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) erklärte, die Bundesregierung habe immer noch keinen Kontakt zu den Entführern. „Bedauerlicherweise ist es uns in der ersten Woche nicht gelungen, mittelbar oder unmittelbar Kontakt zu den Entführern aufzunehmen", sagte Steinmeier vor einer weiteren Sitzung des Krisenstabes am Samstag in Berlin. Der Appell von Osthoffs Mutter und Schwester um Freilassung sei im Irak auf große Beachtung gestoßen. Das gelte auch für die Verurteilung der Tat durch religiöse Autoritäten. „Ich gebe zu, wir wären gerne weiter als wir sind", sagte der Minister.
Osthoff war am Freitag vor einer Woche im Nordirak entführt worden. In den vergangenen Tagen hatten die Mutter und die Schwester Osthoffs über den arabischen Nachrichtensender el Dschasira an die Geiselnehmer appelliert, die 43-Jährige freizulassen.
Erstes Ultimatum abgelaufen
Am frühen Freitagmorgen war ein von den Entführern gestelltes Ultimatum abgelaufen. Wie FOCUS aus Berliner Sicherheitskreisen erfuhr, hatten die Geiselnehmer die Bundesregierung in ihrer Video-Botschaft explizit aufgefordert, die Ausbildung irakischer Polizisten zu beenden. Als Frist hatten die Entführer „drei Tage nach Erstausstrahlung des Videos“ gesetzt.
Unter Berufung auf einen hochrangigen BND-Beamten berichtet FOCUS weiter, dass bis Freitag keine konkreten Hinweise auf die Entführer vorgelegen hätten. „Es gibt keine neuen Verlautbarungen, keine Briefe und keine Video-Botschaften“, sagte der Beamte.
Ex-Mann und Kurdenführer eingeschaltet
Intensiv bemüht sich der Krisenstab in Berlin um Vermittler im Irak. So wurde der Kurdenführer Massud Barsani um Mithilfe bei der Kontaktaufnahme zu den Kidnappern gebeten. Der Ebersberger SPD-Bundestagsabgeordnete Ewald Schurer, der Susanne Osthoff gut kennt, sagte FOCUS, das Auswärtige Amt habe auch Kontakt zum Ex-Mann der Entführten im Irak aufgenommen. Die Familie von Salem Bachan gilt als einflussreich im Nordirak.
Erschwert wird die Arbeit des Krisenstabes offenbar durch ein Sicherheitsleck. So gelten einige Telefonleitungen zur deutschen Botschaft in Bagdad als nicht abhörsicher.
Um die elfjährige Tochter der Entführten kümmern sich nach FOCUS-Recherchen derzeit abwechselnd zwei Freundinnen von Susanne Osthoff. Die beiden Frauen kommen auch für die Gebühren des Internats auf, das das Mädchen besucht
(CNN) -- Arabic language news network Al-Jazeera on Friday aired video that appeared to show four abducted Western aid workers, and read a statement it said was from the hostage-takers threatening to kill the hostages if its demands are not met by December 8.
CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video or the statement.
According to the statement read by Al-Jazeera, the Swords of Justice Brigades is demanding the Iraqi government free all prisoners from its jails.
The network said that the American and British hostages called on the U.S. and British governments to end all military presence in Iraq.
Video showed all four hostages separately. American Tom Fox, 54, and Briton Norman Kember, 74, appeared to be addressing the camera, but no sound was available from the Al-Jazeera broadcast. ('Fear on hostages' faces')
Two men who appeared to be Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Sooden, 32, had food in front of them.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams humanitarian group confirmed four of its humanitarian workers were abducted in Iraq last week, and confirmed that the four men shown in a previous video -- released by the hostage-takers and shown on Al-Jazeera Tuesday -- were those four.
On Thursday, CPT issued a statement saying it hopes the four men week "have been able to explain their work and their opposition to the war and the occupation of Iraq."
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A roadside bomb killed 11 Iraqi soldiers and two wounded others Saturday, following the deaths of 10 U.S. Marines in the deadliest attack against American forces in four months.
Elsewhere, a U.S. base at Mosul's airport came under mortar or rocket fire Saturday, wounding two American soldiers, the U.S. military said. Several detonations shook the installation - Forward Operating Base Courage - about 6:50 a.m. the command said.
The attack against the Iraqi soldiers took place near Adhaim, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. Following the blast, the Iraqi convoy came under intense small arms fire, officials added.