The Arab people are notorious for disagreeing about everything, the recent botched "constitution" signing in Baghdad, for example. Or the Arab Summit in Egypt where Libyan leader Moamer al-Kadhafi asked Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, "Who exactly brought you...
Pentagon Beats Out State Dpt for Control of Billions
CBS/AP reports BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) After a power struggle with the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon has won control over most of a $18.4 billion aid package for Iraq, and rebuilding delayed for a month will start this week, U.S. officials in Baghdad said Sunday....
Al Sistani’s non-signers say they’re signing
Happy talk from Iraqi Shiites is in the news. The "constitution", they say, will be signed on Monday. Some are saying they've struck a deal, but no one is saying who they've struck the deal with, exactly. Others say they're just signing the thing, the heck with Al...
British Chief of Defence Staff Bombshell
Guardian: Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, who led Britain's forces to war in Iraq last year, has dramatically broken his silence about the legal crisis which engulfed the Government on the eve of battle. In an extraordinary interview which will reignite the controversy...
Al Sistani’s Shi`a Walkout
Tony Karon, Senior Editor for world coverage at TIME.com, in a commentary for The War In Context has an interesting insight on the Shi`a walkout from the "constitution" signing ceremony yesterday in Baghdad. "Both by some of the issues they've raised and by their...
The American Election and Israeli Occupation
Joshua Micah Marshall, in Talking Points Memo, analyzes the recent headlines indicating that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza has been postponed until after the American presidential election in November. Speculation has been widespread as to what Sharon's motives and...
Iraqis screw up media event
Knight Ridder reports:The scheduled signing of Iraq's interim constitution was indefinitely postponed Friday after five Shiite members of the Governing Council lodged 11th hour objections to some of its key provisions. News that the deal over the document had fallen...
US Army cancels $US327 million contract with Chalabi pal
Reuters/ABC The US Army has cancelled a $US327 million contract to equip the Iraqi army, citing technical problems with the bidding process. An Army official told reporters that new proposals for the work would be sought after a review found a huge spread in competing...
