REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Murdoc has some Operation Squeeze Play photos and introduced us to a vehicle series that private security firms would benefit from - especially these guys (check out the video!)!

• The hits just keep on coming, as U.S. intelligence reports that the insurgency is gaining in sophistication and abilities as the war goes on. Although hardly surprising news, this report is another reminder of the difficulty the Coalition has had in eliminating the insurgency.

• Major K reports - "Business as usual"

• Chrenkoff offers a prayer campaign for al-Zarqawi - the response is enormous.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• Here are some of this week's reconstruction highlights: Work is continuing on a project to repair the sewage collection system in Kadhamiya, a northern suburb of Baghdad with about 1.5 million people. Recently, 77 Iraqi loan officers from non-bank financial institutions took part in training provided by USAID’s Private Sector Development II initiative to learn the basics of small-business lending, cash flow analysis, and business loan analysis. The USAID Iraq Civil Society and Media Support Program (ICSP) recently organized workshops for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on a host of Human Rights related issues. USAID held another training session recently as part of its ongoing “Engendering the Constitution” project for 42 women including INA representatives, five members of the Baghdad City Council and 35 NGO staff. A Baghdad community worked with the Community Action Program (CAP) to complete the construction of an important market of 736 shops offering various services to local residents and will benefit 30,000 people. The CAP partner working in Diyala Governorate is planning to supply 3500 meters of water pipes to a city of about 20,000 people who have been without adequate water since the Iran/Iraq war. One million sachets of Oral Rehydration Salts are being delivered by UNICEF to the Ministry of Health in May as contingency stocks for treatment during the diarrhea/cholera season. Diarrhea is a major killer of children in Iraq causing over around 25% of child deaths. Total USAID funds spent to date: $5,019,283,214.00

IRAQI POLITICS

• The Iraqi government is taking a hard line against those who are convicted of serious crimes in an effort to quell the violence of terrorists and their many copycats in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein, 114 crimes carried the death penalty - after the invasion in 2003, L. Paul Bremmer suspended capital punishment. Last August, the Iraqi government reinstated capital punishment for a small set of violent crimes and for drug trafficking - they are applying the penalty against those "who kill scores of Iraqi people."

• In a country in great need of a hero - the Wolf Brigade - Special Operations Commandos of the Interior Ministry, is rising to the call. Led by Abul Waleed, a Shiite 3-Star General, who was once on Saddam's death row, the Wolf Brigade consists of 2000 commandos from nearly every ethnic group in Iraq. They are also a source of Iraqi "reality TV" - Abul Waleed allowed the videotaping of interrogations and turned it into a primetime TV show.

• The latest Carnival of the Liberated is up at Dean's World.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Tariq Aziz is pleading for international pressure to resolve his situation, as he has been imprisoned by the Coalition since the end of the war. While his claims of innocence are unlikely to be taken seriously, the fact he has been held without trial is likely to draw sympathy.

• Up to eleven members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment could be charged with war crimes for their purported role in the death of an Iraqi hotel receptionist.

ETCETERA

• Autopsies conducted on two Iraqis' exhumed bodies support 2nd Lt. Pantano's assertion that he shot them in self-defense after the men disobeyed his instructions and made a menacing move toward him - Lt. Pantano has been cleared of murder charges, which were likely brought more because he hung a sign "No better friend, no worse enemy" on their corpses as a warning to other terrorists.

• Amid the BBQs and hang out time, we should take time to consider Black Five's poignant post about Memorial Day, which includes the words to the world's saddest song - " No soldier really wants to hear it played during daylight."

• Do you have your GI Bracelet? Many military families fall into financial hardship when the breadwinner is injured or killed. The entire $5 purchase price of the GI Bracelet is donated to support our troops and their families! Please join us to give back to these brave people in their time of need.

• The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops: American, Australian, British, Canadian & Polish. Anyone out there with more information, contact us!

• Don't forget Chief Wiggles' Toys for Iraq drive!

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