BAGHDAD, JAN . 19 – The onslaught against Mosul has begun. Occupation forces are launching attacks into Iraq's third-largest city. There are mass resignations of police and elections polling staff there, and another new police chief has been awarded control of the 1,000-strong police force, which had more than 5,000 men just two months ago.

In Ramadi, fierce clashes continue between the bringers of "democracy" and those resisting the occupation. It's reported that five huge explosions hammered a U.S. base near the city. –In Samarra, U.S. soldiers opened fire on a car filled with civilians. A military spokesperson said warning shots were fired before the car was shot, wounding two people. However, Iraqi police, along with several witnesses, reported that the car was shot by a tank and that four people died. Just yesterday a U.S. soldier was killed in Samarra, along with four Iraqi soldiers.

Closer to home, an Iraqi Army patrol was attacked just south of the capital, injuring two soldiers. Horrible as that is, the wounded men fared better than 15 of their comrades, who were recently kidnapped from a bus near Hit.

As the gas crisis worsens by the day, 300 followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr began a sit-in today at the Oil Ministry. Their chief complaint is simple: "Why does the U.S. military have plenty of gasoline for their vehicles and Iraqis do not?"

Good question.

The new freedom

As I'm preparing for my day this morning and making coffee, the Green Zone is mortared. Just like yesterday. And the day before that. And ... well, you get the idea.

Of course, these are only the highlights of the violence. Stories of the new "freedom" being enjoyed by Iraqis abound in daily life as well.

Abu Talat's wife works in a bank, and she told him many of the banks in Baghdad are paying their employees in advance for the next two weeks for fear of bank robberies during the "elections."

Most of the day has found our cell phones without a signal. Recently the Iraqi "government" announced that in order to provide security for the polls Jan. 30, cell and satellite phones will be cut and the use of cars will be limited the day before, of, and after the "elections."

I say "elections" because the Higher Commission for Elections announced that it won't be releasing the names of the candidates prior to the "elections." With 4 of Iraq's 18 governorates unable to participate in them, an estimated 90 percent of the Sunni population not voting, a sizable amount of the Shiites boycotting, and a very large percentage of Iraqis unwilling to vote because of the horrendous security situation, calling them elections seems a bit of a stretch.

Apaches rumble low overhead as Talat and I head over to al-Dora to visit some friends. We weave through some concrete barriers on the on-ramp to the highway.

Once at our destination, we share coffee with our friends. I ask one of them, a college student, how things are going.

"The problems are endless," she tells me. "No electricity, no jobs, and there is never enough money."

Her sister tells us there has been fighting in al-Dora every day, and the electricity is usually cut when it occurs.

We talk some more before taking off, as it's getting dark. I recall that a friend from Baquba told me earlier today, when my mobile was actually receiving a signal, that there had been fighting there every day and many home raids. He had even been detained for five hours by the military. "I do not know why they detained me," he told me. "This is the freedom – they are free to detain anyone here without a reason."

Black banners

We slowly make our way out of al-Dora, passing one black banner (death announcements) after another. Some of them tell the cause of death along with the person's name.

"That man was killed by an explosion," Talat reads to me, "and that one by gunfire."

The black banners are everywhere in Baghdad. Buildings, fences, and walls are darkened by them at every turn. They've always been visible throughout the occupation, but now, like the beggars, they are everywhere.

The Guardian of London recently reported that "troops from the U.S.-led force in Iraq have caused widespread damage and severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon."

The ancient city, south of Baghdad, has been used by U.S. and Polish forces as a military camp during the occupation, despite objections from archaeologists.

A study conducted by archaeological experts found cracks and gaps where people had tried to gouge out the decorated bricks forming the famous dragons of the Ishtar Gate, "2,600-year-old brick pavement crushed by military vehicles, archaeological fragments scattered across the site, and trenches driven into ancient deposits."

The story in the Guardian continued: " 'Outrage is hardly the word, this is just dreadful,' said Lord Redesdale, an archaeologist and head of the all-party parliamentary archaeological group. 'These are world sites. Not only is what the American forces are doing damaging the archaeology of Iraq, it's actually damaging the cultural heritage of the whole world.' " So Babylon is being destroyed. Along with the Iraqi people.

Dahr Jamail reports from Baghdad for Inter Press Service and other outlets. His blog is at www.dahrjamailiraq.com.