CNN is reporting:
About 100 Iraqi police who arrived in Najaf over the past week to begin joint patrols with U.S.-led coalition forces on Sunday apparently deserted their posts, U.S. military officials said.
In the past few days, U.S. forces coordinated and trained with the Iraqi police to begin the patrols in the Shiite holy city [...]
Reading A1 critiqes NY Times omsbudsman Okrent’s comment on the notorious “Editor’s Note” non-apology for hyping disinformation about Saddam Hussein’s nonexistent WMD. An excerpt:
The word from Pastor Dan. Daniel Okrent’s rhetorical stance is always, “We journalists.” His job, as he seems to take it, is to offer the (perversely uncomprehending) masses a glimpse into [...]
There’s been a lot of commentary on the Elisabeth Bumiller piece in the NYT yesterday, Conservative Allies Take Chalabi Case to the White House. Bumiller characterizes the neocon visit – “a small delegation of them marched into the West Wing office of Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, to complain about the administration’s abrupt [...]
Arthur Silber paraphrases notable warbots Bill O’Reilly, John Derbyshire, and VD Hanson. Sample: O’Reilly, “If the United States is going to defeat the terrorists, we need to have a total commitment to crushing the bastards. My study of history indicates that the role model we ought to adopt is that provided by one of [...]
5 expat housing compounds have been attacked in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. At least 6 people are known to have been killed, among them one Brit and one American. An unknown number of hostages are being held. At least one body has been dragged through the streets. Situation developing. From [...]
Jim Henley defends Michael Ledeen
According to this article in Salon, here’s what the “peace deal” in Najaf looks like:
On Friday morning, the number of armed men on the streets of Najaf did not seem to have diminished, and in places it seemed to have increased. And as of late Friday afternoon, Mahdi army volunteers were still streaming into Najaf, [...]
What’s this game the UN’s Brahimi is playing with the Iraqi Puppet Council? Apparently the Council has “nominated” one of their own, Iyad Allawi, for PM and now reports are coming out that Brahimi “respects” their choice. Reuters has gone out and interviewed some random Iraqis who scoff at the Puppet Council and [...]
This is a weird story. First, in an article by the Canadian Press mostly about the IGC Puppets “nominating” Iyad Allawi for Prime Minister of Iraq (who asked them what they thought, anyway?) we have a couple of grafs thrown in, separated by other reports on various events in Iraq:
Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers escorting [...]
Oh, so this is why the US has been stuffing everyone they can lay hands on in Iraq into prison. They really do want to teach the Iraqis how to be free, just like in America.
Link swiped from Libertarian Jackass.
zeyad at Healing Iraq has a bitter comment about the American version of justice in Iraq.
If you’ve never heard zeyad’s story about the death of his cousin at the hands of American soldiers, it is here.
Instamonger calls this “misconduct,” but because zeyad is generally pro-invasion he generously allows that perhaps a reprimand is not sufficient [...]
The only new idea in Duhbya’s latest speech is being rejected by the Iraqi Puppet Council as a “waste of resources.”
“We must not be sentimental,” Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer told reporters. “As the Governing Council, we do not agree with demolishing it and the matter will be left for the transitional government,” which is [...]
