Did Dog-Shit-Girl merely earn her comeuppance, by letting her lapdog soil the spotless train? Because she's also been mercilessly raped by her own society, for a minor infraction. Her rapists are cowards with video cellphones, who are confrontational only with the keyboard and mouse. The real crime here is her punishment, meted-out by an unelected pious clergy representing Mob Sharia, a new code that we have no real experience with. Mobs have been the beginnings of many a tyranny -- the ochlocratic mobs of Rome demanding the praetorian prefect Cleander's head; or the Parisian mobs of the French revolution. Now it's passengers on trains, with small devices. It's us.

Mobs; swarms; social networks. These terms are the salon parlance of contemporary movers and shakers who can make game boxes, video phones and iPods do a lot more than play DRM-copyrighted corporate schlock by Sting. Yes, they're dastardly clever, and very innovative. The good might be outweighed by the bad with respect to this boring technology -- and that's bore as in 'to bore holes,' like termites in soft wood, eventually permeating it into useless sponge. But who's really to say how all this will turn out? Power is shifting and collecting in unexpected, strange places.

In tyrannies, you watch your back; you modify your behavior to suit the regime. But what regime might gae-ttong-nyue be? Does it have a center, or a head? Or is it the shifting sands -- reactive swarms that group, morph, innovate and regroup to suit momentary morality? And if nobody runs this tyranny, then it's complete, and final -- never to be undone, having become culture itself. We simply become a part of it, mirroring the endless bits that compose it.

Power is politics, and technology changes who or what has that power. We live in a culture that clings to lost political ideals while technology routes around power centers, and establishes new ones. And they might not even be influenced by people, in the end. That's an open question.

Technological innovation in our time means so much more than interesting blogs, democracy in Lebanon and chatting with people across the planet for free. It means the rules of society and culture are being rearranged, even abolished. Hopefully for the better. But nobody's writing the new rules in this revolution -- hyper-evolution has the quill and parchment. What comes out of all of it for us may not be cumulatively for the better.

Whatever we gain in life, we attain it at the cost of what we have, and what we are. Nostalgia is the recognition of what we have lost. We shouldn't avoid change, but we should see ourselves clearly. History's major fulcrums have rarely been predicted, much less preempted or navigated until they're upon us. History's newest fulcrum might begin with a feculent dog on a metro train in Seoul.

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The composition of the forces lost tells us plenty about the mission. They were supporting Operation Red Wing, which is the hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban leadership on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mullah Omar are specific targets of this operation.

While this is purely speculation, the ferocity of the attack on the ground team, the composition of the US relief force, and the sophistication of the attack on the Night Stalker may indicate the ground team sniffed out an important node in the al Qaeda/Taliban chain of command. CENTCOM states units are moving to blocking positions to prevent the escape of the attacking unit.

The hunt continues. Today, the hunters, their families and America mourns.

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During the ceremonies, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed India's position that all military technology restrictions should be dropped. He won't get his wish immediately, but they'll be eased coonsiderably, from fighter aircraft to the even more important maritime patrol category. Those barriers will diminish even further as trust and cooperation grow.

In the area of missile defense, for instance, efforts will begin with efforts to secure approval of Patriot PAC-3 missiles for India (prevous offers had involved less advanced PAC-2s). No word on whether India's previous requests for Israeli-American Arrow THAAD missile defense system would also be approved.

Furthermore, the MFDR envisages joint and combined exercises and exchanges between both sides, naval pilot training... and increased cooperation in the areas of worldwide peacekeeping operations and expansion of interaction with other nations "in ways that promote regional and global peace and stability."

If a Mumbai Doctrine does arise, that last bit will be its first seed.

During Dr. Rice's March 2005 visit to India, the United States talked about helping India become a "major world power in the 21st century" even as it announced moves to beef up Pakistan's military. This agreement shows that Washington was serious. Very serious.

By now, I'm sure you're all asking where China fits in. Actually, India took great pains to avoid any semblance of targeting China with this agreement, and the USA is denying up and down that this has anything to do with China.

As Winds' summary of China's Geopolitical drivers and issues notes, however, the competition is implicit. Both China and India need resources to fuel their growing and industrializing economies. Both have sizable expatriate communities in Africa, which has a lot of mineral resources and is unstable enough to be open to influence. Both also need to ship oil from the Middle East, and both will be shipping it through the Indian Ocean and watching the Straits of Malacca as an economic lifeline. Hence India's giant new naval base INS Kadamba, counterpart to Pakistan's deep-water port of Gwadar (built with Chinese help). Neither party has any interest in provoking anything, but both know that having a stronger position will matter down the road, and will affect everybody's calculations.

It doesn't get much stronger than being a geopolitical strategic partner of the United States. China doesn't have to be challenged directly or even mentioned to have its options hemmed, and that's what just happened.

Note, too, that the Vietnamese are also making friendly overtures toward the USA these days (QuillNews explains why). As Voice of Vietnam noted on June 21/05:

"In their joint statement released after the talks, the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral co-operation on trans-national issues, including the global fight against terrorism, crime, narcotics, and trafficking in persons, and to deepen co-operation on health and humanitarian issues, including the prevention of pandemics, especially of HIV/AIDS and Avian Influenza.

They reaffirmed their governments' determination to implement fully the commitments made under the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. President Bush expressed strong support for Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organisation."

Cam Ranh Bay is a very fine port - I wouldn't make a move just yet, but down the road it might make a fine foreign base for a naval ally with strong interests in the area.

Pretty soon some sad-eyed Chinese politician will have to campaign for election on a platform of being "stronger at home, and more respected abroad." Oh... right. Nevermind.

Still, you get the idea. Cooperation between India and the USA can be expected to start blossoming at all levels. I think Robin can expect to meet a few Indian cadets on future West Point R-Days, for instance, though India's ties with the British military system will also continue. The two countries tech sectors will continue to tighten ties already forged by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, expatriates, and re-patriates. Cultural relations will expand, and political ties will deepen just as the Desi community in the USA itself begins to furnish rising stars like Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and flex its political muscles. The relationship will have its ups and downs, as many in India are still wary of the USA due to US sanctions over India's nuclear program, remnants of Soviet-era mindsets, etc. Agreement on every issue isn't necessary, so long as the broader relationship continues to evolve.

As the Times of India notes:

"Indicative of New Delhi's broader goals is a paragraph in the agreement that talks of the two sides working "to conclude defence transactions, not solely as ends in and of themselves, but as a means to strengthen our countries' security, reinforce our strategic partnership, achieve greater interaction between our armed forces, and build greater understanding between our defence establishments."

May that understanding bloom, grow, and spiral beyond to new horizons. Together.

SIDEBAR: Having offered an overview and analysis, I'm going to end this piece with something unusual: a thank-you.

There's a man out there who deserves serious recognition for these developments, but won't get it because it came after his time. Ambassador Robert Blackwill's advocacy and efforts an a truly excellent representative (and poet) during his recent term in India played an important role at a critical time, from 9/11 to the Shuttle Columbia disaster and beyond. His piece on the future of U.S.-India relations is an excellent recap of that history, and may prove prophetic. If this alliance develops the way I think it will, he'll be one poet who really did help change the world.

Thank you, sir.

Additional Readings and Sources

• Desiblogger Nitin Pai adds some thoughts and analysis, including some future irritants etc. Loved the star-crossed lovers quote from the Economist.

• More Indian and Desi thoughts over at the Bharat Rakshak India defence message board. Reaction varies from "show me" to positive, and they have shown interest in your comments as well as this article. As our Silicon Valley team member Tim Oren put it: we are all diplomats now.

• Agence-France Presse (June 29/05) - U.S. India Sign 10-Year Defense Pact.

• Times of India (June 29/05) - India, US Sign Defence Pact

• NewIndiapress.com (June 29/05) - India, US sign 10-year defence pact

• Financial Times.com (June 29/05) - US signs formal defence pact with India. Note the comments re: India, containment of China, and non-alignment, and also this article which comments on some of the divided opinions within India.

• Winds of Change.NET (June 6/05) - India's Big Naval Move: INS Kadamba

• Winds of Change.NET (April 12/05) - That India Fighter Deal. See also my follow-up discussion with Bill Rice, now blogging at our affiliate blog The 4th Rail.

• Defense Industry Daily - India Topic Category

Finally, the US-India Institute is a good place to go for ongoing briefings. It has been established to promote a lasting alliance between the world's two largest democracies, an alliance rooted in stronger economic and national security ties between the two countries and reflecting their common commitment to preserving democratic freedoms.

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IRAN REPORTS

• Russia agrees to build six more reactors going forward. Meanwhile, Sam Nunn argues that America should do more and give more money to Russia for nuclear security. Much more. You know...the Russia who's former Nuclear Minister is jailed and has been indicted by the US for embezzlement of those same Nuclear Security Funds? Let's keep the money and send them a Nuclear Security Memo: Stop Building Iran's Nuclear Reactors!

• Ayelet Savyon declares "Second Islamic Revolution" now complete. We saw above how president-'elect' Ahmadinejad participated in the first one. Funny thing happened on the way to the polling booth last Friday...some Iranians picked up a paper declaring his 'win' before voting started. No worry. Just a minor glitch.

IRAQ

• Carnival of the Liberated shows us an Iraqi Blogger pointing out that Iraqi National Guard uniforms can be bought openly in Baghdad bazaars. Our fine Jihadi friends wear them and wield the full power of Iraqi officers in Iraqi neighborhoods. That would tend to make Iraqi officers in stations and barracks suspicious of everyone approaching, uniformed or not. Not a good state.

• Chrenk’s Good News from Iraq noted the Marines' capture of an al Qaeda Jihad Manual. Watch Your Six hears that it contains "moral justification for killing innocent Iraqis."

• While a Shia leader was killed in a bombing Tuesday, the al Qaeda in Iraq leader said responsible for kidnappings & extracting ransom was removed from circulation.

• A ‘Defining Battle’ against terrorists was waged and won by Iraqi troops…all the while, Michael Yon was Walking the Line. Part I, Part II & Part III. We'll refrain from naming a few editors who should make that required reading.

AFGHANISTAN

• A Night Stalker was shot down in Afghanistan. All 17 souls aboard are believed perished. Godspeed, brothers. May swift vengeance meet the Taliban who claim it.

• Zalmay Khalilzad's would-be assassins have been arrested.

• Bombs kill senior Afghan policeman & 4 others.

• Operation Diablo Reach Back hits the ground running.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• Hizballah attacks Israeli positions at Shebaa Farms along Syrian/Lebanese/Israeli border, one Israeli dead. Iran is still stirring regional pot via Hizballah.

• Terrorists are using the infirm…again. Meanwhile, to contrast that, in Yemen an 81 year old rebel leader was shot dead…in battle.

• The lone remaining Syrian opposition group refuses to disband after government orders.

AMERICAN DOMESTIC SECURITY

• Middle Eastern illegal alien w/terror ties funding Jihad via black market baby formula.
  
• US, Mexico, and Canada to share terror lists and ‘shore up points’? With what? Minuteman Volunteers? Forget that noise altogether. You'd better start asking: "What borders?" This is what we send before Congress? That's not an answer to security. That's a whole new set of problems. We'll take 5,000 more Border Patrol Agents and Canada can keep their healthcare and Mexico can keep their corruption and incompetence. Thank you, Mr. Pastor. You can go now.

AFRICA

• 3rd Acquital for Kenyan terror suspects??? What was that I said about Mexico?

• Darfur War Crimes possibly to be taken up by ICC. How many dead? UN is shy to say…guilt maybe?
  
• The African Union has rejected demands from US and others that the demolition of communities in Zimbabwe be stopped. All is well in Zimbabwe. What’s all the complaining about? Naturally, a UN envoy says talks with Mugabe were “very good”. All is well.

• The US Coast Guard is training off coast of Nigeria to assist in such areas as piracy, drug trafficking and terrorism.

• Douglas Farah reminds us that when we think of the Africa situation, think of Iran.

ASIA & AUSTRALIA

• Bangladeshi incursions into India could force new IAF Airbase on the Bangladeshi border.

• China’s CNOOC is bidding hot and heavy for UnoCal. Thomas Quill pours cold water on all the fire-breathing and panting that this has caused. With much due respect, that works fine in peace time. Once China decides it's worth it to hit the waters of the Taiwan Straits, the implications amplify a bit. Need we revisit The Cox Report before considering giving China Unocal?

EUROPE

• The Socialist Zapatero-led government of Spain, ironically thrust into power after the pre-election terrorist bombing of the Madrid train station, has prevented the victims of terrorism from demonstrating in front of the Congress of Deputies building in Madrid. Isn’t that special?

• France demands “clear prospects for full sovereignty” for Iraqi people after Bush speech? The sooner you man a post…well…maybe not. Just stay in France.

• Turkey’s EU membership prospects reduced to “partnership”? Maybe enlarging the EU isn’t such a bright idea after the proposed constitution was soundly rejected. Better get the rest of your house in order before you start building an addition. Meanwhile, Turkey & NATO are doing just fine.

THE GLOBAL WAR

• UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, hears rumors of ‘jail-ships’ and wants investigations...and access to Gitmo...or else. What? He'll invade? Nowak fears abuse and brutality at the hands of American Forces.

• Security Watchtower reminds of the 70 Achievements in the War on Terrorism.

• Colombians now want to trade American hostages.

We try to close on a lighter note if possible. This week, it's possible. Twice.

There are a lot of things I miss about military life and the military profession. Really important ramblings like this one are among the Most Missed Military Musings.

Also...Why are the headlines never like this?

Thanks for reading! (And tolerating a week without Colt.) If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know.

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I should note here that I had added the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to this post. An analysis at their site has merit on second reading, but their quoted spokesperson in Gateway Pundit's article seems to be way off the beam. Trouble is, I need the news link for that to see the full context. So, I've changed my stance to "reserve judgment" and written to GP.

UPDATE: Got the CEIP quote context, or at least the news report URL, from GP, who has incorporated it into his article. On review, this is a clear example of idiotarianism, but not aid and comfort per IPS. Meanwhile, here's an article that adds further weight to the idea that the CEIP's written analysis may be on to something. So the good news, they aren't complete idiots.

More good and valid examples from others in the comments, including our favourite idiotarian Ward Churchill. Guess what he's up to now?

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Growth of the Insurgency

• The US initially tried to restrict the development of the new Iraqi armed forces to a token force geared towards defending the country's borders from external aggressors. No police forces were created to deal with local insurgency and security challenges. The US also refused to heed warnings from military advisory teams about the problems involved in organizing and training the new Iraqi armed forces.

• Because the US failed to treat the Iraqi people as partners in the counter-insurgency efforts for nearly a year after the end of major combat or attempt to train or equip them for counter-insurgency operations until April 2004, well after the insurgency had al ready emerged.

• Policymakers and the US military initially assumed that most of the first year would be spent defeating the remnants of Saddam's followers, who would be defeated well before the Iraqi elections. They did not understand the threat that might emerge if they were unable to provide jobs or pensions for Iraqi career officers or co-opt them into the new government. As a result, the US was slow to see that some form of transition payments that were badly needed by the younger Iraqi soldiers who now faced nation-wide unemployment.

• As late as the spring of 2004, the US still refused to acknowledge the true scope of the insurgent threat and made little steps to rebuild a convincing mixture of Iraqi military and security forces, thereby cementing the impression of the US as a conqueror rather than a liberator.

• The US failed to establish the proper political conditions to reduce Iraqi resentment of the occupation and create the climate that would eas e the task, such as making clear that neither the US or UK had any economic ambitions towards Iraq or desire to keep the new Iraqi military weak to prevent them from challenging Coalition control of the country. Nor did the US immediately react to the crime wave and looting that occurred throughout Iraq almost immediately following the war, acting as though it had years rather than months to shape the post-war Iraqi political climate.

Failure to Admit the Scope Through Mid-2004

• Because the US was slow to react to the growth of the insurgency in Iraq, its largely domestic character, and its popular support base amongst Iraq's Sunni Arabs. The military and intelligence effort to understand the terrorist threat posed by the insurgency did not even begin until the fall of 2003.

• From 2003 to early 2004, senior US officials did not plan or respond effectively to the insurgency, referring to the insurgents as scattered terrorist cells and conti nued to issue estimates that their total number could not exceed more than 5,000 and that they had no popular support. In doing so, the US ignored the earlier warnings by Iraqi opinion polls and claimed that all political, economic, and security efforts were either completely successful or would soon become so in a manner eerily reminiscient of Vietnam. As late as July 2004, senior administration officials were still talking about there being only 5,000 even when many experts on the grounds estimated that there might be as many as 12-16,000. Signs of Shi'ite-Sunni tension as well as ethnic tensions in the north were likewise ignored.

• The official assessments of the insurgency ignored the fact that the US was dealing with a mixture of Iraqi nationalism, Sunni resentment, and popular Sunni opposition to any form of Western occupation. The problem within the Sunni Arab community was that the insurgency had broad support rather than a small group of "dead-enders."

• From the beginning, there were a large number of mercenaries and criminal elements that operated in tandem with the insurgency, creating an environment in which volunteers could easily be recruited and trained for street fighting as well as sabotage and terrorist operations. Insurgent spies in the Iraqi government, the new Iraqi military, as well as amongst Iraqis working for the US, media, and NGOs provided excellent HUMINT to the insurgent leadership while saboteurs were able to easily penetrate both the government and the Iraqi economy.

• Iraqi and foreign journalists have provide both an inadvertent and a deliberate propaganda arm to the insurgency, with the heavy media coverage of insurgent attacks and activities providing a command and communications network to the insurgency. This network provided warnings, told insurgents what attacks were and were not successful (both tactically and from a propaganda perspective), and helped them to coordinate with other insurgent cel ls and groups. This led to a race between the insurgency and the US to see whose strength grew the fastest and who was able to learn more about their enemies.

Evolving Threat Tactics

• Through the summer and fall of 2003, Iraqi insurgents emerged as an effective fighting force with significant popular support among the Sunni Arabs and were able to adopt a more sophisticated array of tactics. Native and foreign Islamists also developed into a threat that eventually sought to divide Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite populations that by the fall of 2004 had taken on the characteristics of a low-level civil war.

• There are no reliable unclassified counts of insurgent attacks or incidents, just as there are no longer counts of casualties on either side since only the US publicly reports its casualties, the Iraqi government classifies its own casualty figures, and estimates of insurgent casualties are tenuous at best.

• From September 2003 to Octobe r 2004, insurgent tactics were balanced between IEDs, direct fire, and indirect fire in the form of car and suicide bombings with the number of attacks significantly increasing per month. The distribution of insurgent attacks varies, though it has been steadily rising in Mosul since the fall of Fallujah. Baghdad receives 300-400 attacks a month, more than twice as many attacks as other provinces. Al-Anbar, Salahuddin, and Nineveh receive 1/3-1/2 as many, while Babil and Diyala average 100 a month and far lower levels occur in Tamin and Basra.

• With the defeat of Sadr and the Mahdi Army, insurgent activities in Karbala, Dhi Qar, Wassit, Missan, Muthanna, Najaf, and Qaddisiyyah have declined. Irbil, Dohuk, and Sulaymaniyyah have long been administered by the KDP and PUK and have long been relatively peaceful.

• 60% of insurgent attacks take place at unspecified times, 10% are in the morning, 11% in the afternoon, and 19% are at night.

Political, Psycholo gical, and Information Warfare Lessons

• The goals, strategies, and tactics used by insurgents have steadily evolved since the fall of 2003. Focusing on the fact that the media tends to focus on dramatic high casualty attacks, little analysis was performed on the insurgency to note that there were different groups of insurgents and terrorists that steadily evolved a wider range of tactics that they utilized whenever it was convenient.

As a result, insurgents sought to focus on the following methods and tactics:

• Attacking structures of governance and security by political, ideological, and violent means to wear down Western nation-building efforts, intimidate and subvert the Iraqi security forces, and demonstrate to the general population that the new government cannot deliver either essential economic services or personal security.

• Forming alliances of convenience and informal associations with other groups to attack the US, the new Iraqi government, and any further efforts at nation-building by operating on the basis that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and creating a franchise of terrorist cells and independent units that creates a diverse mixture of enemies that are difficult to identify or track.

• Attack Iraqi elites along ethno-sectarian fault lines in order to prevent nation-building and proper governance by inciting a civil war.

• As the US played down its role and the new Iraqi government grew in influence and power, insurgents shifted their attacks towards going after Iraqi government, military, police, and security forces. They also stepped up efforts to prevent Sunni participation in the government and to provoke tensions along Sunni-Shi'ite and Arab-Kurdish lines.

• There are no clear divisions within the insurgency, but Baathists tended to focus on targeting the emerging Iraqi government while Islamist utilized suicide bombings in mass casualty attacks against Iraq's Sh i'ite and Kurdish populations in order to undermine the new government and to provoke a civil war as well as targeting Shi'ite and Kurdish politicians, commanders, and clerics.

• The scale upscaling of Sunni attacks against Shi'ites after the Iraqi elections led some Shi'ites to talk about Sunni ethnic cleansing. Similar attacks have been carried out against Kurds, but both Kurdish groups maintain far better security in their areas than exist in the rest of the country. Since May 2005, the unending wave of Sunni attacks had begun to provoke Shi'ite reprisals and Sunni bodies are now being discovered in unmarked graves.

• The insurgents have linked their war against the US with crime and looting, thereby enlisting the criminal element to support attacks on infrastructure and reconstruction efforts, raise funding for the insurgency, and exploit the unemployment to by tapping into the criminal element in order to strengthen local insurgent and terrorist cells.

• Al-Qaeda and the Baathists have mounted attacks on petroleum and oil facilities in order to deny the Iraqi government revenue, affect local power supply and the Iraqi ability to obtain fuel, attract media attention, and deter foreign investment and development in Iraq's most valuable resource. The impact of these actions can be seen in the fact that from January 2004 to April 2005 electric power generation remained far below the projected US goals and usually under prewar levels. Iraqi exports only 1.3-1.4 MMBD from January to April 2005 in large part because of pipeline and facility sabotage by insurgents.

• By attacking US and other aid projects, the insurgents hope to undermine local acceptance of both the US and the new Iraqi government. As of March 31, 2005 276 civilians working on US aid projects and 2,582 wounded while the number of contractors killed by insurgents rose 19% following the Iraqi elections, with a total of 303 US and foreign contractors killed from March 2003 to May 2005.

• Islamists and other insurgent groups have learned how to capture maximum exposure to their cause using the regional media, the Internet, and above all else the Arab satellite news channels. As a result, the insurgents have paid close attention to media reactions and tailored their attacks in order to cultivate high-profile coverage.

• While maintaining a strategy of constant attrition, insurgents have struck hard at major calendar turning points and/or targets with high political, social, and economic impact. By learning the importance of a constant low-level body count they have worked to create a steady climate of violence that keeps the US in a constant security effort, makes it difficult for new Iraqi forces to protect their country, pressures US and Iraqi forces to disperse them, and ensures that Iraq remains a source of constant media coverage. In addition, the Islamist insurgents have demonstrated an improving capability to target holidays, elections, and political events.

• As insurgent organization improved, they shifted from hit-and-run attacks to larger and better-organized raids that could capture major media attention even if they failed, such as the major Zarqawi raid on Abu Ghraib prison in April 2005 as are continual attacks on the "Green Zone" in Baghdad and major US military facilities like those in Mosul, often using Iraqi uniforms, vehicles, fake IDs, and intelligence provided by moles in the new Iraqi government.

• By pushing "hot buttons," insurgents utilize attacks that provoke maximum political and psychological reactions similar to those used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in order to provoke an over-reaction. An example of these types of attacks are the near-constant assaults on the "Green Zone" and along the road to Baghdad airport. The airport road in particular passed right through a hostile Sunni area and hence was a perfect staging ground for mounting IED, car bomb, rocket, and mortar attacks against other parts of the Iraqi capital.

• Using regional, Western, and other media insurgents have been able to use interview access, tapes, taking journalists as well as their drivers and assistants hostage, politically-led and motivated crowds, and timed or targeted attacks to manipulate Western and other external media. Insurgents have also manipulated US official briefings with planted questions.

• Using American civilians as proxies for their government as well as going after American businessmen in ways aimed at achieving maximum political and media attention in the US.

• By attacking the UN, NGOs, embassies, aid personnel, and foreign workers (particularly women) insurgents are able to gain media attention and force some organizations to abandon the country. Kidnapping and killing foreign workers puts pressure on their governments and sometimes leads governments from preventing their citizens from working in Iraq. There have been 264 kidnappings between April 2004 and January 2005 with 47 of the kidnapped being killed, 56 still missing, 150 released, 5 escaped, and 6 rescued. Given that there are 100,000 foreigners in Iraq during this period, this means they had a 1 in 380 chance of being kidnapped and a 20% of being killed or beheaded if they were.

• Kidnapping and murdering Iraqi professionals, media, and intelligentsia offer the insurgents a soft target that cannot be defended against, make successful governance by the new government difficult, create problems for police and security forces, weaken the economy, and exacerbates the general feeling of insecurity. 80 professors, 50 physicians, and 31 journalist and media assistants were kidnapped and murdered during the course of 2004.

• By desecrating corpses and beheading kidnap victims, Iraqi insurgents have discovered a potent political and psychological weapons to divide the West from the Islamic world in order to provoke a "clash of civilizations."

• Unlike previous terrorist groups, Islamist terrorists do not seek to negotiate with those they terrorize but rather to create conditions from which they can drive the West away, undermine secular and moderate regimes, and create the conditions under which they can build Islamist theocracies according to their own design. For this reason, Islamists seek to carry out mass casualty attacks, execute hostages, and engage in macabre beheadings even if the result is provoking anger and hostility against fellow Muslims. Bin Laden and his followers do not seek to persuade but rather to alienate the US from Arab regimes in order to undermine them and curtail Western influence. The goal of most Baathists is limited to driving the US out of Iraq but involves many of the same methods. As a result, it must be understood that from the insurgents' perspective, the more horrific the attack the better. Simple casualties do not receive the same media attention as large bombs set off the mi ddle of a crowd, desecrating corpses, beheading hostages, ect. These actions also breed more anger and alienation against the US for its failure to provide security, leading to more stringent security measures and hasty violent responses that play into the enemy's hands.

• Iraqi "body dumps" are a new variation on this theme as insurgents have dumped the bodies of dead Iraqis in rivers, soccer stadiums, and other public locations where they would be found without any clear idea of who killed them or why.

• By confusing the identity of the attacker by making multiple claims and multiple names, insurgents have made it more difficult for the US to determine who to respond against and producing more media coverage and speculation. These false flag operations have been limited to date, but insurgent attacks have frequently been accompanied by attempts to confuse the attackers' identities or attempt to blame the US for the attacks by failing to provide adequate security.

• Forming sanctuaries in cities like Fallujah, setting up bases in mosques, shrines, and other high value targets whose destruction could not be achieved with a high structural impact. The failure to immediately attack Zarqawi in Fallujah and Sadr in An Najaf has increased the suspicion that the mere existence of such sanctuaries create a temporary defensive deterrent that can be exploited to make the US appear anti-Islamic or attacking Arab culture rather than an enemy group.

• Exploiting, exaggerating, and falsifying US attacks that cause civilian casualties, collateral damage, friendly fire, etc. These insurgent claims are amplified by real incidents of misconduct by US troops (i.e. Abu Ghraib) as well as careless political and media rhetoric by US officials and military officers that only serve to benefit both bin Laden and the Baathists who are fighting not to influence Western or world opinion but rather to dominate both Iraq and the entire Islamic world.

Methods of Attack

• The use of IEDs perfected in tactics first used by Hezbollah and the Afghan Arabs against the USSR. In Iraq, insurgents have used the nation's enormous explosive, bomb, and artillery stockpiles to make IEDs as well as car bombs. Using low-grade IEDs, sophisticated IEDs, and large car and truck bombs the insurgents have a rather robust arsenal at their disposal.

• Basing their initial efforts on simple weapons designs (some of them created using Arabic translations of US field manuals on booby traps), the insurgents soon learned to use more sophisticated triggers and detonators to counter US electronic counter-measures and increased their distance away from the actual bomb. Only 10% of Iraqi IEDs are modeled after US Army Field Manual 5-31, an Iraqi translation of which was published in 1987. Insurgents also developed crude charges to attack US armored and other vehicles.

• Paying close attention to US intelligence collection and counter-IED operations, insurgents altered their behavior accordingly and began digging holes within which to place IEDs and then paving them over as well as stealing Iraqi vehicles, uniforms, and IDs to penetrate security areas and linking bombings to ambushes using rifles and RPGs as soon as the response force arrives. By September 2004, 500-600 IEDs were being detonated every month but by May 2005 coalition forces had been able to find and defuse 30-40% of IEDs even though the net number of such devices had increased. 70% of US casualties since the end of major combat have been the direct result of IEDs, though similar data is not available with respect to Iraqi casualties.

• Using mixed attacks and trying to ambush military and emergency forces in follow-up strikes, mounting complex attacks when IEDs are set off and then using either additional IEDs or follow-up strikes.

• Increasing sequential ambushes to draw US or Iraqi forces into follow-up attacks using small arms and light weapons rather than heavier anti-tank weapons and have only been able to down 1 aircraft to date using MANPADS. They have, however, improved their tactics from single fire ambushes to multiple firings mixing small arms, RPGs, and light automatic weapons.

• "Swarming" attacks on vehicles in rapid attacks in order to exploit the vulnerability of soft-skinned vehicles, in some cases firing as many as 8 RPGs into a vehicle in a single attack.

• Suicide bombings and suicide car bombings account for 60% of Iraqi police and recruit casualties and are frequently used even when not tactically necessary in order to attract media attention and emphasize dedication and commitment within the organization. Most suicide bombers are not Iraqis and have been recruited and psychologically prepare for suicide missions by external Islamist organizations. Suicide bombings also serve as a "force multiplier" for the insurgency in that they allow relatively small Islamist groups to carry out major attacks resulting in high casualties with relatively little effort.

• The use of suicide squads recently came into play following the Battle of Fallujah in which small groups of insurgents stay behind to defend bases they cannot hope to hold so that larger numbers of their comrades can escape.

• Islamic fighters in both Iraq and Afghanistan have recently shown to a steady improvement in their use of mortars, anti-tank weapons, rockets, and timed explosives as well as light weapons and use of armor-piercing bullets.

• While initially possessing very poor marksmanship, Iraqi insurgents soon improved their capabilities and developed their own snipers, which were mixed in with regular insurgent forces. While overall insurgent marksmanship remains very poor its sniper corps is definitely a force to be reckoned with and possesses modern sniper rifles, armor piercing bullets, and body armor obtained from outside Iraq by foreign Islamist groups.

• Striking at visible infrastructure targets including water and power plants, the Kirkuk oil fields, and the oil storage tanks at Baiji has severely damaged the government's revenue and forced it to recruit security forces devoted solely to the purpose of protecting these facilities.

• Insurgents soon found that it was far easier to kill Iraqi officials, security forces, and their families than it was to target their US counterparts. They also learned that it was easier to target mid-level officials and members of the educated elite, thereby creating a climate of instability and forcing the US to pull troops away from offensive duty towards protecting these individuals so as to tie up enemy resources and prevent them from mounting offensives against insurgent strongholds like Fallujah. By going after elections and local elected officials, insurgents sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the process and intimidate the general population in far wider areas than those subject to regular insurgent attacks.

• By attacking Iraqi security forces on leave, their families, and enlistees the insurgents have tended to focus the majority of their attacks on the weakest links in the new Iraqi security forces and demoralized their stronger counterparts due to the mass nature of the killings. Invariably, these attacks have focused on the Iraqi police, who are the weakest in the country's infrastructure.

• The insurgents have learned enough about COMINT and SIGINT to avoid resorting to direct communications and instead relying on human couriers, the Internet, and random methods of electronic communication to avoid detection. Smuggling, drug sales, looting, and direct fund transfer also avoid traditional financial channels and enable the insurgents to by-pass many of the traditional banking controls in order to obtain cash. Islamist groups operating in Iraq likewise have their own fundraising and distribution network spread out across several countries.

• Transforming sympathetic or partially sympathetic Sunni towns into urban sanctuaries for the insurgency, hiding amongst the civilian population and encouraging collective retaliation as a means of alienating the townspeople from US nation-building efforts.

• Using neighboring states and cross-border areas as a sanctuary, most recently seen in the establishment of an insurgent enclave in Syria from Hit to Haditha and through Ubaydi, Qaim, and Qusaybah along the road to Abu Kamal.

• Not concentrating operatives into a single command and control center but rather dispersing them throughout the country in the form of suicide and sleeper squads. The suicide squads fight against the US if the cell is uncovered while the sleepers disperse amongst the general population.

• Exploiting weaknesses in US HUMINT by concealing the total numbers of insurgent dead and wounded as much as possible.

• Using text messaging on cell phones as a means of countering US electronic intercept capabilities in addition to using more than one phone to communicate a single message. Media leaks concerning US intelligence collection methods have also led insurgents refining their communications capabilities.
  
• Exploiting fixed patterns in US or Iraqi behavior, attacking US weaknesses in terms of translators and HUMINT, and most of all dispersing under pressure and enabling a US to "pacify" an area only to return later reemerge when the US forces grow lax.

• Using the media, infiltrators and ex-detainees for counter-intelligence, in particular learning from ex-detainees' capture about the nature of US intelligence methods.

Dan's comments

There's quite a lot here about the bad guys and what they do, but it's a pretty thorough run-down of enemy tactics and their lack of regard for human life. And if the last installment of Cordesman was red meat as far as critics of the post-war planning (or absence thereof) are concerned, this installment certainly has more than enough red meat for anyone who wants to claim that the media (Arab and Western) often plays directly into the hands of the insurgency.

Cordesman's point as far as the utter disregard for human life possessed by the insurgency as well as their ultimate goals are concerned should also be required reading for anyone now calling for an immediate US withdrawl, since to do so would almost certainly leave these guys in charge.

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We can answer that one for you Prakash: You spend 12-13 hours a day sitting in a room attempting to seek a connection with irate BT customers. After a while, your emotionally loneliness kicks in and you decide to seek a connection closer to home. Suddenly, in walks Ashish Gupta with a "let's go to fourth base you call centre minx" look in his eye...

Anyone reading this who has recently outsourced his or her call centre operation to Mumbai should not, however, imagine that the BPO management is going to take this rampant promiscuity lying down. J Kalyanaraman, Human Resources supremo at HCL Comnet, asserts: "Filming is essential as it is in tune with keeping the faith of employees. It's not a breach of employee privacy as there is a huge amount of customer-sensitive information involved, so it makes good sense to impose surveillance. First instances of compromising behaviour (kissing, smooching in the office premises) are let off with a stern warning as such kind of behaviour is similar to misuse of facilities given by the organisation and is therefore liable for punishment."

Quite what this punishment is, we do not know, but it likely involves being locked into a secure cubicle for a month and put on conservatory sales cold-calling duty. Or worse - three months on the BT overdue bill roster. Cor blimey.

The world is ...flat... indeed.

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"What we're likely to end up with is backdoor piecemeal imposition of the bulk of the European Constitution. The EU's so-called "democratic deficit" - the remoteness of the unaccountable unelected governing class - is, as they say, not a bug but a feature. It was set up that way because, after the massive popularity of Nazism and Fascism, the post-war European elites decided that it was necessary to build institutions that restrain the will of the people rather than express it. In the long run, that's merely a more leisurely and scenic route back to where they came in."

Yeah, we've wondered about that over here, too. And as Germany bulldozes the monument to East Germany's victims in order to erase the past, the questions grow.

What was that Santayana said...?

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For those of you not from Los Angeles, please understand that if the Blue states have a beating heart, it's located within a block of where we were eating. I'd bet serious money that Chirac would easily beat Bush in an election held there, and that "W-'04" bumperstickers are only found on the trucks of the tradesmen doing work there.

A guy walked up to us, excused himself, and said "Pardon me, but you just look really familiar to me. Did we know each other in Iraq? I was in Mosul."

Phil and I looked at each other, surprised, and Phil explained that no, he hadn't been there yet, but would be within 90 days. Our visitor (and I'm kicking myself and apologizing for not noting down his name) explained that he'd been injured when an IED flipped his vehicle, and had come home to have orthopedic surgery and recover.

Phil and I wished him well, and thanked him for his service. He'd been in for 15 years, and wasn't sure what he would be doing next. We suggested that getting better ought to be the first step, and then all kinds of possibilities would open up.

We all shook hands and he left with his fiancee.

Phil then pointed something out to me that I hadn't thought about until then.

Five years from now, guy like this - Iraq veterans - are going to be an incredibly powerful interest group. Neither of us would be surprised to see them start running for office in significant numbers (note that Blackfive already points to one who says he will). And that has some serious and interesting implications for the Democrats if they continue to be painted as the antimilitary party, and for the Republicans if they don't back up their pro-troops rhetoric with serious veterans services.

And in case you're wondering, of course I bought.

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• To answer those sorts of scenario questions, it helps to be able to chart the underlying trends and forces in a society right now, then group them and look at the different stories they might tell. Winds' comprehensive post on China's Stresses, Goals, Military Buildups... and Futures offers some of that, along with tips on how to do that analysis.

• You can also find trends, indicators, and possibilities in my Oct. 2004 China framework article, which adds contributions from a number of readers on each point.

• After reading Simon's thoughts, some of his issues are addressed directly in our recent piece about democracy, liberty and global development, which talks about China in particular. That post includes new insights into Barnett's "Pentagon's New Map" core/gap thesis, the China vs. India models, the idea of an intelligence/ knowledge base 'river' in every society, and why lack of "requisite variety" in China (i.e. a blocked river) may kill you or those you love.

Having thrown those out there, I'll start with a provocative idea:

Once the problem is framed in terms of requisite variety, could it be possible to have a non-Democratic China Post-CPC, that nonetheless takes steps in the right direction and so sets the stage for coping now and positive change later? What could that look like?

Back to you, Simon (and to our readers, too)....

UPDATE: New Winds Top Prospect (we rotate that blogroll now and again, as Den Beste-san did) Pundita responds to Simon World. (Hat Tip: Dave Schuler)

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The Academy is attracting high quality candidates: 188 of this year's crop were HS student body or class presidents, 102 valedictorians, 37 salutatorians. 455 particiapted in scouting, 154 of whom were Eagle scouts (men) or Gold Award recipients (women). Here they are a day after arriving:

Usual attrition rate between Reception day and Acceptance day, when those who choose (& are allowed) to stay as cadets take the cadet oath, is 5-10%.

(Photos from USMA website.)

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"Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Cafe" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Great joke, right? Uh...

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

Ongoing updates can be found at the FreeStar Media web site.

I'm an original intent kind of guy, and I'm not conversant with the legal arguments. It's possible that the decision in Kelo was unfortunate but the only one that could be supported based on what the state of the law is (though Justice Thomas' well-written dissent suggests probably not).

All I know is, expropriating someone's home to give to a commercial developer is wrong, wrong, wrong - an abuse of a sovereign people, and one of the biggest invitations to corruption I have ever seen. So it will be a ton of fun to follow this one. Normally I'm pretty sympathetic to the idea that public officials must not be harassed in the performance of their duties - but in this case, the punishment definitely fits the crime.

At the very least, it should get some great and thought-provoking publicity if they muster the Board of Selectmen votes. Maybe it will even a few people to consider the merits of studying libertarian legal theory in law schools, as a much-needed counterbalance and perspective.

I should add that there is no such thing as property rights in Canada. Mind you, there are an awful lot of rights and safeguards that don't exist in Canada (Hat Tip: Jack "Zed" Zidaric).

UPDATE: Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) doesn't seem to get.... well, a lot of things.

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"First, a few words about the author of Twilight in the Desert. Matthew ("Matt") Simmons is not a militant environmentalist or anti-oil partisan; he is chairman and chief executive officer of one of the nation's leading oil-industry investment banks, Simmons & Company International. For decades, Simmons has been pouring billions of dollars into the energy business, financing the exploration and development of new oil reservoirs. In the process, he has become a friend and associate of many of the top figures in the oil industry, including Bush and Cheney. He has also accumulated a vast storehouse of information about the world's major oilfields, the prospects for new discoveries, and the techniques for extracting and marketing petroleum. There is virtually no figure better equipped than Simmons to assess the state of the world's oil supply. And this is why his assessment of Saudi Arabia's oil production capacity is so devastating."

The Saudi oil bombshell, by Michael T Klare is published in the Asia Times, whose domain seems to be down at the moment. Some excerpts:

"Saudi Arabia is about to face the exhaustion of its giant fields and, in the relatively near future, will probably experience a sharp decline in output. "There is only a small probability that Saudi Arabia will ever deliver the quantities of petroleum that are assigned to it in all the major forecasts of world oil production and consumption," Simmons writes in Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. "Saudi Arabian production," he adds, italicizing his claims to drive home his point, "is at or very near its peak sustainable volume ... and it is likely to go into decline in the very foreseeable future."

In addition, there is little chance that Saudi Arabia will ever discover new fields that can take up the slack from those now in decline. "Saudi Arabia's exploration efforts over the last three decades were more intense than most observers have assumed," Simmons asserts. "The results of these efforts were modest at best."

If Simmons is right about Saudi Arabian oil production - and the official dogma is wrong - we can kiss the era of abundant petroleum goodbye forever. This is so for a simple reason: Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil producer, and there is no other major supplier (or combination of suppliers) capable of making up for the loss in Saudi production if its output falters...."

And...

"To fully grasp Saudi Arabia's vital importance to the global energy equation, it is necessary to consider the DoE's projections of future world oil demand and supply. Because of the rapidly growing international thirst for petroleum - much of it coming from the United States and Europe, but an increasing share from China, India and other developing nations - the world's expected requirement for petroleum is projected to jump from 77 million barrels per day in 2001 to 121 million barrels by 2025, a net increase of 44 million barrels. Fortunately, says the DoE, global oil output will also rise by this amount in the years ahead, and so there will be no significant oil shortage to worry about. But over one-fourth of this additional oil - some 12.3 million barrels per day - will have to come from Saudi Arabia, the only country capable of increasing its output by this amount. Take away Saudi Arabia's added 12.3 million barrels, and there is no possibility of satisfying anticipated world demand in 2025.

One could, of course, suggest that some other oil producers will step in to provide the additional supplies needed, notably Iraq, Nigeria and Russia. But these countries together would have to increase their own output by more than 100% simply to play their already assigned part in the DoE's anticipated global supply gain over the next two decades. This in itself may exceed their production capacities. To suggest that they could also make up for the shortfall in Saudi production stretches credulity to the breaking point."

So, what's up with the Saudis?

"In the end, therefore, it comes down to this: America's entire energy strategy, with its commitment to an increased reliance on petroleum as the major source of our energy, rests on the unproven claims of Saudi oil producers that they can, in fact, continuously increase Saudi output in accordance with the DoE's predictions.

And this is where Simmons enters the picture, with his meticulously documented book showing that Saudi producers cannot be trusted to tell the truth about future Saudi oil output....

...Essentially, Simmons' argument boils down to four major points:

• Most of Saudi Arabia's oil output is generated by a few giant fields, of which Ghawar - the world's largest - is the most prolific.

• These giant fields were first developed 40 to 50 years ago, and have since given up much of their easily extracted petroleum.

• To maintain high levels of production in these fields, the Saudis have come to rely increasingly on the use of water injection and other secondary recovery methods to compensate for the drop in natural field pressure.

• As time goes on, the ratio of water to oil in these underground fields rises to the point where further oil extraction becomes difficult, if not impossible. To top it all off, there is very little reason to assume that future Saudi exploration will result in the discovery of new fields to replace those now in decline....

...By drawing on these technical studies - cited here for the first time in a systematic, public manner - Simmons is able to show that Ghawar and other large fields are rapidly approaching the end of their productive lives."

Caveat reader - but something to think about.

UPDATES:

• IAGS has audio, a transcript and even slides from Matthew Simmons' presentation.

• The CS Monitor has an article from several experts giving the opposing view. (Hat Tip: Arjan Dasselaar of Zacht Ei)

• WSJ OpinionJournal is asking the same question.

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When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Lesson: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."

Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Lesson: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3

A sales rep and an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Lesson: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: - "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up. (Or have a strong union - see Ariel's comment)

Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Lesson: Bullsh-t might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

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Reihan (who's really smart and you should be reading, BTW) challenges this notion, and points out that Boeing has, once again 'broken the model' with the 787 Dreamliner, which appears to be beating Airbus up, eating their lunch and then making them do the dishes to boot.

Conveniently, the ad copy neglects to mention that Perlstein hangs his analysis on the many failures of Boeing, a company relentlessly focused on the "stock ticker" -- i.e., short-term financial gains -- as against Airbus, for decades a government-backed consortium that engaged in all of that "long-term planning," what some might call crony capitalism, Atari Democrats loved in days past. Old habits die hard. It's a compelling narrative. Old Europe is teaching Boeing a few new tricks, or so Perlstein, clearly not a very keen student of political economy, would have you believe. The trouble is that Boeing is kicking Airbus's ass.

Reiohan, Reihan..it's a metaphor. It's not meant as a literal model for how the Democrats should be (Make the Democratic Party more like Airbus Industrie!!...no). It's a useful way to explain the difference between what the Democratic Party actually does - which it to set policy by some arcane combination of scrivening of entrails (sadly, not those of the political consultants who keep leading it off cliffs) and a secret Esalen encounter group between interest group leaders - and what it should be doing, which is to sit down and craft an explicit vision of how it will make life better and more secure for the vast majority of Americans who are looking down the barrel of unstoppable globalization. Or something, anything that implies a solid connection to the future.

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Saddam's powder keg

• One of the key legacies of British colonial policy was to enlist a friendly minority to assist them in administering the colony and in the case of Iraq that minority was the Sunnis. The difficulties faced by the Iraqi Sunnis in retaining their status as the nation's ruling elite was further compounded by the rise of Saddam Hussein when he assumed full power in 1979.

• As a result, Iraq was perpetually ruled by a small, rural clique of Sunni Arabs that used Baathism and the violent mechanisms of the state to retain power. Its economy was undeveloped, agriculture remained primitive and unproductive, state-run industries undercut development, and the state-run financial sector set up barriers to both trade and foreign investment. These problems were exacerbated under Saddam, who turned the Iraqi economy into a command kleptocracy in which Saddam and his cronies exploited their positions solely to secure power and personal
  wealth.

• Already impoverished from the huge debt created during the Iraq-Iran War and the subsequent Gulf War, Iraqi infrastructure, education, and oil development were all crippled in the aftermath of the latter conflict and the imposition of international sanctions. Political dissent became even more dangerous, Kurdish efforts towards autonomy were met with violence, the use of poison gas, and ethnic cleansing. Secular and religious Iraqi Shi'ite leaders were placed under constant surveillance and subject to imprisonment and assassination campaigns. The marshlands along the Iranian border became a sanctuary for deserters and Shi'ite opposition groups.

• Following the Gulf War, Shi'ite uprisings were brutally suppressed, leading to series of low-level clashes between Shi'ites and the regime that lasted until Saddam was overthrown. While these clashes received little international attention, post-war discoveries of mass graves of both Shi'ite rebels and Iraqi civilians demonstrate how serious these clashes became and led to further Shi'ite alienation against Sunnis and leaving a lasting anger at the US and UK for failing to defend the Shi'ites (in contrast to the Kurds) that President Bush had initially encouraged to rise up to begin with.

• Parallel Kurdish uprisings in northern Iraq led to a flood of refugees into Turkey following the uprising's suppression and the use of US airpower and international aid efforts to create a safe zone for the Kurds. As a result, the Kurdish factions were able to operate with a level of security unavailable to the Shi'ites but also left them in a legal limbo with more than a third of Saddam's troops massed along the periphery of their "security zone." Divisions between the two largest Kurdish groups led to open fighting between them during the early 1990s, even to the point of the KDP accepting support from Saddam against the PUK. The end-result of this process, however, was to increase the Kurdish desire for an independent state as well as that many dispossessed Kurds were unable to return to their homes in "Arabized" areas of Kirkuk and
  Mosul.

• From 1991-2003, Saddam sought to increase support for his regime by exploiting tribal divisions that he had previously tried to abolish and giving positions of power to those tribal and clan leaders who were willing to endorse his will. He made a cynical attempt to exploit religion by publicly embracing Islam and supporting Sunni Wahhabis while penalizing those Shi'ite clerics he regarded as a threat. Money was poured into the Sunni majority regions of western Iraq, government and security positions were given exclusively to Sunnis, and those resources that existed were poured into military industries that favored Sunni employment. As a result, the Iraqi economy and urban environment was restructured to favor the Sunni cities of Tikrit, Samarra, Fallujah, Ramadi, and other towns regarded as being loyal to Saddam.

• Saddam manipulated rationing, import control, state funds, and the UN oil-for-food program for his own ends, undercutting economic development while the weakening of Iraqi education, medical services, and infrastructure were used as a propaganda tool in the hopes of persuading the UN to lift its sanctions. He also favored key cities like Baghdad in order to prevent urban unrest, leaving most of the countryside with little in the way of water, power, and sewage systems. Rather than restoring and developing the oil industry, existing fields were overused, funds were redirected to the regime, and exports were manipulated in order to obtain kickbacks and get support from sympathetic nations like Syria. In order to conceal these efforts, Saddam launched a massive propaganda campaign aimed at blaming the US and the UN for all of Iraq's domestic ills.

• As a result of these events, Iraq circa 2003 was divided by far greater pressures and had far less capability for political leadership thanks to more than 2 years of neglect, misrule, and oppression by Saddam Hussein.

America's Strategic Mistakes

• The US planned to fight a regional war with speed, efficiency, and low cost but the US post-war strategy was unrealistic and all but impossible to achieve. As a result, the US planned only for the destruction of the Iraqi military during the actual conflict rather than dealing with a major insurgency in its aftermath. The most obvious mistake can be seen in that the US estimates with respect to Iraqi WMD stockpiles that were so key to pre-war planning were later found not to exist, but the administration and senior military leadership made a far more serious mistake by essentially wishing away all the problems involved in stability operations and nation-building, leading them to make massive policy and military errors that led to the creation of much of the climate for insurgency in Iraq.

• A full understanding of what happened is still unclear and it is far easier to accuse specific US leaders than it is to understand what really happened or assign responsibility with any credibility. All the same, it seems clear that many key decisions were made in ways that bypassed the US interagency process, ignored the warnings of US regional and intelligence experts, ignored the earlier military war and stability planning conducted at CENTCOM, and ignored the warnings of policy-makers
  and experts in allied states such as the UK. Too much credibility was given to ideologues and true believers both as to the ease with which the war could be fought as well as to Iraqi exile groups that exaggerated the level of Iraqi popular support for the invasion, the ease with which Saddam could be replaced, and the scale of Iraqi ethnic and sectarian divisions as well as the sheer scale of Saddam's economic mismanagement.

• These issues were compounded by leadership within the Office of the Secretary of Defense that put intense pressure on the US military to plan for the lowest possible level of deployment and then to delay that deployment in order for the political need to appear precipitous at the UN. The US military leadership actively resisted planning for and involvement in large-scale enduring stability and nation-building activity and failed to plan and deploy for the risk of a major insurgency.

• Regardless of the cause, the US failure to plan for meaningful stability operations and nation-building was by far the most serious strategic mistake going into the war that led to the insurgency and crime that are the focus of Cordesman's analysis. In addition to these major mistakes, there were a host of lesser problems including: the failure to accurately assess Iraqi nationalism, cultural differences, and the difficulties of a modernizing an infrastructure designed to accomodate ~16,000,000 for a population of ~25,000,000, unrealistic estimates of the nation's oil wealth, support for the former regime in the Sunni areas, secular vs. theocratic tensions, and the impact of tribalism, demographics, and unemployment that became US problems the moment the coalition overthrew Saddam.

Other problems included but are no means limited to:

• The failure to plan or execute an effective information operations campaign prior to the invasion to "win hearts and minds" in order to persuade them that the US had not come to conquer Iraq, leading to a failure to anticipate the flood of conspiracy theories that followed the beginning of US military operations.

• The failure to create or provide anything resembling the kind and number of civilian elements from the US government necessary for nation-building and stability operations. These problems were particularly serious in the State Department and other civilian agencies and many of the civilians who were available were neither willing nor recruited to take the kinds of risks necessary in the field.

• The failure to plan or execute for the continuity of local, provincial, and national government, to anticipate the risk that the Iraqi government would simply dissolve or to plan for the military, police, and security forces necessary for maintaining such continuity as well as to win the support of those Iraqi officials and officers needed to preserve the core of governance in order to create an environment both local legitimacy and security.

• Broad failures by military and intelligence officials who distorted or selectively interpreted the data, leading them to erroneous conclusions and poor post-war planning.

• An over-reliance on exile groups with limited credibility and influence inside Iraq as well as the failure to anticipate Iraqi expectations post-Saddam and miscalculations about the level of UN support and US ability to secure transit through Turkey.

• Failing to provide the personnel and skills necessary to secure the Iraqi rear and urban areas as the Coalition advanced and prevent the massive looting of government buildings, military bases, and arms depots during and after the fighting. As a result, the existing machinery of government collapsed and it was not until May 2003 (2 months after the fall of Baghdad) that 4,000 MPs were deployed to patrol Baghdad and even then it took time for them to arrive. No serious effort was made to rebuild the Iraqi military until June 2004 despite the mass desertions during the war and the social unrest prompted by disbanding the Baath Party and its attendant security forces.

• The creation of the Office of Reconstruction and Assistance (ORHA) initially recruited military and civilian officials for only 3 month tours. ORHA planned to retain the old ministries and government functions but was given only limited human and financial resources, not allowed meaningful liaison powers with neighboring states, was never integrated into the military command, and was not even present in Baghdad until 12 days after the city fell.

• Failure to anticipate the threat of the insurgency and external infiltration despite significant intelligence warnings. US forces were also not deployed for counter-insurgency operations, civil-military operations, and nation-building in the immediate aftermath of the regime's collapse. Creation of regional commands was done on the basis of administrative convenience and most of the stabilization tasks was left up to improvization of local commanders with little if any civilian support.

• Lack of language and regional expertise on the part of US ground forces as well as the absence of human intelligence (HUMINT) for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

• Premature planning for US withdrawl from Iraq before the situation was secure or clear, with major reductions initially planned for as soon as 3 months following the fall of Saddam's regime rather than plans for a sustained period of stabilization operations.

• The creation of an occupation authority (the CPA) that initially planned several years of occupation rather than speeding up the transfer of sovereignty back to the Iraqi people ASAP. The CPA's record is quite mixed, but it seems that it only began planning to transfer sovereignty back to the Iraqi people after October 2003 and the choice of June 2004 as the transfer date was largely arbitrary and hence not very convincing to the Iraqi people.

Important Addendum to the Above

• Foresight is always harder than 20-20 hindsight.

• No predicted the current status quo, but many of these problems that allowed for the current insurgency were raised during interagency planning sessions during the summer and fall of 2002. The problem is not that the system did not work but rather that the US military and political leadership did not heed what they regarded as negative advice for a variety of reasons, in so doing creating an environment in which the current insurgency was able to arise.

Dan's comments

As I said, a lot of this makes a great deal of sense to me, though I tend to attribute a lot more to the inter-agency infighting that occurred during the run-up to war than Cordesman does. This infighting seems to me to have delayed much of the post-war planning and led to a pattern of rather schizophrenic behavior on the part of the US government: anybody see a disconnect in planning a rapid draw-down of US forces following the war and planning to set up the CPA to run Iraq for 3 years?

As many already have noted, Cordesman comes down pretty harsh on the neocons in government in this study, though I'm not so certain whether or not many of specific policies he lists the US as having tripped up on (not turning sovereignty over to the Iraqis, etc.) aren't policies that most of the folks over at AEI support anyway and attribute the failure to implement said policies to the CIA or the State Department. There is also a great deal of irony that for all his criticism of the neocons, Cordesman's analysis pretty much accepts their "regional war" paradigm with respect to Syrian and Iranian involvement in the insurgency and the role of foreign terrorists like Zarqawi.

In any event, hope you enjoyed this first installment and are looking forward to future summaries. Part 2 continues here.

« ok, I'm done now

SOCIETY:

• The joint American-European Union conference on Iraq held in Brussels (the one mentioned by Kofi Annan above) has mobilized significant section of the international community to rally behind Iraq:
  

  Nations from around the world gave their full backing to the new Iraqi government’s road map for reform Wednesday, promising support, expertise and aid as Iraqis work to secure order, rejuvenate the economy and draft a new constitution. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari presented their transitional government’s vision for Iraq at a one-day international conference that brought together more than 80 senior officials from the U.N., the European Union, the United States and nations as far away as Fiji.

• In other diplomatic news, "Iraq will begin restoring full diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, officials said Wednesday -- ending more than a decade of frozen ties with its Arab neighbors."
  


• Back on the domestic scene, on June 14, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari received an almost unanimous vote of confidence from the National Assembly for his government and its program. The work on the most important part of that program, drafting the new constitution, is moving on:
  

  Two specialized committees were formed to follow up the political process in Iraq and offer advise for drafting the country's new constitution.

  Iraqi Islamic Party member Ayad Samarai said... an Islamic consultative committee comprising Sunni and Shiite parties and politicians was set up to discuss constitutional issues before they are presented to the 55-member parliamentary body in charge of drafting the constitution.

  At the same time, U.N. Secretary General personal representative in Iraq Ashraf Kadi announced that a second international consultative committee based in Baghdad was formed to monitor and boost the political process, especially the drafting of the constitution.

• The president of the Iraqi constitutional committee Humam Hamudi has in fact announced that the constitutional committee has completed 80 per cent of its work already. In another good news, a compromise has been reached about the participation of members of the Sunni community in the constitutional process:
  

  Under the deal, 15 Sunni Arabs would join two members of the minority already on the committee. Another 10 Sunni Arabs would join, but only in an advisory capacity... Because the 15 Sunni Arabs to be added are not elected members of parliament, they would join the committee's 55 legislators in a parallel body. That 70-member body would make decisions by consensus and pass them back to the 55 lawmakers for ratification.

• Meanwhile, Iraqi blogger Mohammed notes "constitution fever" is gripping the population: "Public conferences and sessions in Baghdad and other provinces seem to be endless nowadays; municipalities, NGOs and forums are all very excited about Iraq's top topic which is writing the Iraqi constitution and they obviously don't want to miss the chance to take part in the historic event. Such activities play a good role in educating the population and activating the concept of public involvement in the state's decisive steps through organizing sending the people's suggestions and thoughts to the authorities and making sure they're being considered."
  


• Foreign assistance for the constitutional process also keeps pouring in. Canadian Forum of Federations is sending a delegation to Iraq to give assistance with drafting the constitution. Says Celine Auclair, the Forum's vice-president: "We have been approached by an American NGO, the National Democratic Institute, to support the UNAMI effort in drafting the new Iraqi constitution. What they are looking for is expertise on federalism, because a federal regime will probably be adopted as the new political structure for Iraq."
  


• Meanwhile, an important conservative religious figure has condemned terrorism and calls for jihad in Iraq:
  

  In a statement, Sheikh Abu Manar Al Alami, president of the Council for Islamic Call and Guidance for the Salafi trend, called the Arab fighters to refrain from the martyr attacks. He confirmed the nullity of the religious opinions of Jihad in Iraq, which have been launched by some Salafi clergymen in Saudi Arabia. He strongly rejected accusing the Salafi trend of being extremist and adopting terrorism. He said, “The idea of expiating Muslims and allowing the murder of Shiaas has no connection to the Salafi trend. He described those as khawarej (rebellious religious radicals), who adopt odd and wrong ideas.” In what is considered as the clearest statement issued by the biggest Salafi clergyman in Iraq with regard to his opinion of Al Qaida organization and its head Osama Ben Laden, Sheikh Al Alami confirmed the invalidity of Ben Laden’s opinion and expressed his rejection of the terrorist operations that elements of Al Qaida are executing in Iraq and other regions of the world. The head of Salafia in Iraq, who met with the Prime Minister Ibrahim al Ja’fari, accompanied with a delegation of clergymen, said, “The expiatory groups, which he refused to call Salafi, are killing Shiaas and Sunnis. They circulate that the sons of these two sects are killing each other, so as to ignite a sectarian war.”

• In local news, "Kurdish lawmakers in northern Iraq have elected nationalist Massoud Barzani as regional president, giving Kurds the promise of greater autonomy after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein. Mr. Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, will be formally sworn in Tuesday. His long-time rival, Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, became president of Iraq's power-sharing government earlier this year." Meanwhile, a delegation from Nasriyah province has visited their counterparts from the Tuscan Regional Council in Italy. "One of the goals... is to study in depth the knowledge of regional institution, constitutional and administrative regulation, defining jurisdiction, tasks and relations with the central government. Other agreements may be reached regarding twinship and works to enhance the water system and make water drinkable, solid urban waste disposal, agricultural development, archaeological heritage preservation." Similar relationships are being set up elsewhere around the world; for example Arizona's Tempe is entering into a sister city arrangement with Hilla, south of Baghdad.
  


• Foreign assistance continues for Iraq's political process, public administration, and rebuilding of the civil society. The European Union's latest program will contribute €10million ($12 million) "to continue supporting the political process, the development of civil society and respect of human rights. In this area, the EU stands ready to assist and provide experts, for example, to:
  

  - The Constitutional process, in co-operation with the UN;

  - Future elections, including a possible EU observation mission on the ground if invited by the Iraqi government and if security circumstances permit;

  - In addition €45million [$54 million] have been set aside allowing for a flexible response to changing circumstances on the ground and responding to the needs identified by the newly elected Iraqi government.

  - Primary focus will be on strengthening the Iraqi institutions.

• USAID also continues to work on various initiatives to build and strengthen public administration and civil society. Among recent developments:
  

  - A USAID partner supporting the Iraqi National Assembly (INA) outlined technical assistance to be provided to the INA during a meeting with Deputy Speaker Areef Tayfoor...

  - The USAID partner supporting the Iraqi Transitional Government held two advocacy training sessions in May for 49 women representing seven political parties and several non-governmental organizations...

  - Recently, USAID's partner supporting the Iraqi Transitional Government awarded seven micro-grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) from southern Iraq...

  - With the support of a USAID partner, the INA's women's caucus group met to identify areas of common interest in the drafting of the new constitution...

  - USAID's partner supporting the Iraqi Transitional Government recently conducted a 10-day "NGO Capacity Building Training Seminar" for civil society activists from Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, Karbala, and Najaf.

• The European Union will also be contributed to strengthening Iraq's justice system:
  

  The European Union mission for training Iraqi magistrates and senior law enforcement officials is set to begin on 1 July...

  The objective of the Eujust Lex mission is to train 770 magistrates, senior policemen and prison officers within the year...

  A coordination office will be established in Baghdad and also in Brussels, but the actual training will be carried out in 20 EU nations.

  All 25 EU member states are funding the mission, which involves around 20 European staff, for a total of 10 million euros [$12 million].

• You can also meet the mission's head, former assistant chief constable Stephen White from Ulster.
  


• In another aspects of dealing with legacies of the past, the Ministry of Immigration is now considering restoring citizneship to those Iraqis who have been stripped of it for political reasons by Saddam since 1980. And to confront a continuing scourge, a new phone hotline has been established by the Ministry of Defense to enable concerned citizens with information to report instances of corruption in the area of defense and security.
  


• Iraq is experiencing a wedding boom:
  

  Business is booming for the wedding DJ in the Iraqi capital.

  The party planner at the city's upscale Hunting Club can't find enough floral designers to keep up with decoration demands.

  Overwhelmed by the demand for marriage contracts, two judges in Basra are turning away would-be brides and grooms.

  And an unscripted series that follows couples as they plan their weddings is among the most popular shows on Iraqi TV.

  Since President Saddam Hussein was ousted two years ago, the number of nuptials in Iraq has soared, say party planners, judges and clergy members.

  Although there are no reliable countrywide statistics, those in the business estimate that the number of "I do's" has doubled since the uneasy months before and after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

  Some say a better living standard is driving Iraqis to the altar. Others speculate that many weddings were postponed because of the war, and couples are catching up. And there are those with a more existential bent, who see wedding celebrations as a retort to death itself.

• In media news, a new initiative aimed at women hits the airwaves:
  

  A radio station focusing on women's issues has hit the airwaves in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

  Topics under discussion include the importance of women's rights and the new constitution, the forthcoming general election, childhood needs and family problems.

  "The radio station is a voice for Iraqi women in the country, a voice to speak about her rights, her issues, her ambitions, her problems without hesitation," manager of the radio station, Majed Rahak, said.

  Known as radio "al-Mahaba" meaning love in Arabic, the station is supported by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) programme.

• International Federation of Journalists, meanwhile, is holding training sessions for journalists in Basra.
  


• Internet is also offering Iraqis a chance to speak out:
  

  There are new voices in Iraq, bursting with opinions that once were only whispered in private. They are the voices of private citizens who have discovered the Internet as a means of global communication. These people are writing personal Internet "blog" journals that are read and reacted to both inside Iraq and around the world. One Iraqi blogger told VOA "It offers you an opportunity to communicate with people. There are no censors." Another said "The right of the people to express their discontent is great! That is freedom that wasn't available before." A third commented "This is a great opportunity to be like the bridge between two cultures."

• The number of Internet users in Iraq is still small, but growing very fast, as is the number of Internet cafes springing up around the country. Most blogs so far are in English language, but that's also changing: "According to Friends of Democracy, a non-profit organization training Iraqi bloggers and registering hundreds of new websites, a newly developed Arabic software is opening doors across the Middle East. Judging by the requests Friends of Democracy is receiving from the region, the strategy of promoting democracy through the Internet appears to be working."
  


• In cultural news, read this wonderful story of the will to triumph over adversity:
  

  It was a gala classical concert with favorites by Beethoven and Schubert. But in Baghdad Friday night that meant blanket security — dozens of undercover police blended into the invitation-only crowd of 300.

  Just performing is a victory for the 73 members of the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra and it's why Iraqi soloist Karim Wasfi chose the Dvorzak Cello Concerto.

  “It has this will of survival,” says Wasfi. “It has this winning feeling in it. The music makes you feel a winner, somehow.”

  The orchestra knows all about survival. The first in the Arab world, it struggled through two wars and economic sanctions under Saddam Hussein. The best talent fled Iraq. Musicians who stayed earned $1 a month and instruments fell into disrepair.

  Still, the group, somehow, played on. And after Saddam's fall, life — and salaries — improved. There were also gifts of new instruments and a trip to America — all funded by the former U.S. authority in Iraq — highlighted by a concert in Washington, D.C., attended by President Bush.

  Karim Wasfi, who studied cello at the University of Indiana Music School, gave up a lucrative music career in America. Instead, he's come home to give back.

  “The challenge is huge and the rebuilding process is huge,” says Wasfi.

  This mix of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Christians are working hard — and together. The musicians see themselves as more than simply makers of music. This orchestra is their cause. It is living proof that Iraq can offer not just bombs and death, but beauty as well.

  Karim Wasfi knows he can't stop the violence, but his music can at least give life to something better.

  “The message is that we are stronger than the situation,” he says.

  And it's spreading with every courageous curtain call.

• For another report on the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra see here.
  


• And in sports news, "2,000 soccer fans tried to ignore the violence and watched two of Iraq’s elite teams play at Baghdad’s biggest sports complex, the 50,000-capacity Shaab Stadium. It reopened to the public yesterday after it was commandeered two years ago for a US military base. Zawraa, an ancient name for Baghdad, beat Shurta, Arabic for police, 2-0 in a game that many spectators feared could be marred by a mortar attack or suicide bombing."

ECONOMY:

• Saddam left Iraq with a mind-boggling debt of $125 billion. Now, Iraq is negotiating debt reduction or forgiveness with the whole range of state and commercial entities. The latest agreement to be signed is with Canada, which has agreed to write off 80 per cent, or $470 million of Iraqi debt. Every little bit helps, and little Slovakia will also forgive Iraq its debt amounting to Sk35.2 million ($10.8 million).
  


• Meanwhile, in further developments at the stock exchange:
  

  The Iraqi stock market has received a promise from the International Federation of Stock Exchanges to be accepted as a member in it, upon the completion of the necessary documents and meeting the terms for joining it.

  This came after the federation, located in Paris, has ended its international conference in Beijing this week, with the participation of more than 50 global stock exchanges.

  Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, executive manager of the stock market, who participated in the conference, heading a delegation of the stock market, said that various participating international stock exchanges have expressed their desire to sign mutual agreements to develop the mutual work with the Iraqi stock market, which reinforces the chances of the latter to gain the necessary expertise in the electronic exchange and the modern methods of banking deposit.

• The authorities have announced long-term plans which will hopefully serve to boost the reconstruction efforts:
  

  The Ministry of Industry says it is planning to construct 10 new cement plants across the country, the minister said... He put the capacity of these plants at 10 million tons annually.

  Unlike other countries in the Middle East, Iraq has significant limestone reserves, making it a competitive and low cost producer of cement. It currently has 18 cement plants with a total installed capacity of over 20 million tons per year...

  Najafi, the industry minister, said the country would need up to 24 million tons of cement a year to meet the flurry of reconstruction which has yet to start.

• While Saddam kept constructing palaces, Iraqis had to do without new accommodation, with the result that today there exists a shortage of some 3 million apartments throughout the country. With this accommodation crisis in mind, the authorities are heading for a shake-up of the sector:
  

  The Iraqi minister of housing and construction, Jasem Mohammed Jaafar, expects decrease in the prices of lands, up to some 25% of their current levels, if the new housing investment law would be ratified. Jaafar added the new law will provide a solution for the housing crisis during the next two years...

  He added that 5,000 units are accomplished in the framework of the annual program of this huge project... [and] that the ministry has started to construct five housing complexes in Misan, Kirkuk, Mosul, Baghdad and Karbala, and will start to set up 10additional complexes, if the government approves plans. Financing for these projects will come from the ministry's budget.

  He added that 2006-2007 will face a "huge housing revolution" with the implementation of the investment program and the forming of investment authority composed of six ministries (housing, finance, municipalities, planning, and the Central Bank). This Authority will encourage investors to participate in financing of housing projects, especially since the donor countries did not allocate additional funds for housing, except for $240 million allocated by the American ministry of transportation for roads and bridges projects.

  There are more than US$1billion of Iraqi capital held by expatriates, who are ready to finance these projects under the supervision of the ministry, which will participate in advising and construction of housing units to be sold to the public.

  The investment law, according to the minister, offers many ways of financing, including loans from international banks, construction by local and foreign companies and payment thorough many installments, and more.

  According to the minister, several investors intend to construct towers of 40-42 floors on the banks of Tigris River. These projects will include apartments and hotels. The ministry will only supervise upon the construction of these projects.

• In communication news, "Iraq plans to hold international tenders by the end of this year to replace the country's three expiring cell phone licenses, Reuters reported. The government will hold a conference in London with Arab and global telecoms companies in July to gather opinion on setting the terms and duration of the new licenses, which will replace three licenses issued by the US-led occupation authority in 2003. Egypt's Orascom Telecom holds the license for central Iraq. Kuwait's MTC covers the south, and two mostly Kurdish operators have effectively split the license for Iraqi Kurdistan."
  


• In oil news, the authorities have unveiled am ambitious program for the oil industry:
  

  War-torn Iraq has announced an ambitious 10-year plan to triple oil production to six mln barrels per day by 2015, saying it will need some 20 bln usd in foreign investment to boost output.

  'We have a 10-year broad plan. Our expansion philosophy is to try to replace depleted production volume and add to our national reserves,' N.K. Al-Bayati, director-general of Iraq's oil ministry, told the Asia Oil and Gas conference, according to Agence France-Presse.

  Al-Bayati said the increase in output from the current level of 1.8 mln barrels per day (bpd) would be done in two phases.

  Under the first phase, oil production would increase to 3.5-4.0 mln bpd in 2010, and 5.5-6.0 mln bpd by 2015, he said in an address to some 1,200 delegates.

  Al-Bayati said Iraq was optimistic it would be able to achieve the target despite the ongoing violence and terror threats which have seen oil pipelines frequently blown up.

  'We are very optimistic. We have to be. We have no alternative,' he said. 'God willing the money will come.'

  Al-Bayati said Iraq would try to borrow from the world community and invite international oil companies to modernise its oil industry.

  'We hope the foreign oil companies will help us achieve our goals in these difficult times,' he said.

• In shorter term plans, "the government plans to call on international companies to develop 11 oil fields in the south to increase oil production to 3 million barrels a day, said the manager of oil fields development at the Oil Ministry. At the end of this year, the Oil Ministry is expected to sign contracts with the international companies to develop the southern fields. Among the fields the ministry is trying to develop are the Majnoon field, which has reserves of 12 to 30 billion barrels, and the West Qurna field, which has reserves of 11 to 15 billion barrels."
  


• Many foreign companies are coming onboard already. Norwegian oil company is one of them:
  

  Hydro and Iraq's Petroleum Ministry have signed a cooperative agreement. According to the agreement, Hydro will assist the Ministry by providing training, consultancy and technical studies.

  Early this autumn, three teams of engineers will come to Norway to take part in a four-week long petroleum training programme that will focus on modern working methods and the use of software for multi-disciplinary teams.

  As part of the agreement, Hydro will be given the opportunity to carry out studies of proven oil fields in Iraq that have not yet come on stream. A project team will be set up in Norway and Iraqi nationals will join the team.

• So are the Japanese: "Arabian Oil Co, a unit of Japan's AOC Holdings Inc, has signed a technology cooperation memorandum with the Iraqi oil ministry covering oil field surveys and building and maintaining oil export facilities... Under the agreement, Arabian Oil will start talks with the Iraqi oil ministry in Tokyo within the next couple of days about building pipelines to upgrade Iraqi capacity to export oil and formulate a plan for renovating facilities to pump crude oil to tankers in the Gulf."
  


• In transport news, Iraqi Airways keep expanding their operations:
  

  Iraqi Airways will launch a three-times-a-week service between Amman and the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil on Saturday [11 June] via Baghdad...

  Iraqi Airways also started regular flights this week between Amman and Iraq's southern port of Basra, the spokesman said, adding the four weekly flights would go via Baghdad. The company will be using Boeing 727s and Boeing 737 on both routes.

  Earlier this month, Iraqi Airways launched a regular service between Baghdad and Basra, and in February the airline made its first commercial flight from Erbil to Amman.

• Meanwhile, by the end of June, the authorities are planning to resume flights between Baghdad and Frankfurt, Germany, for the first time in 15 years. Also on the cards, connections with Dubai, Tehran, Istanbul, Beirut and Cairo. In addition, Suleymaniyah airport in Kurdistan will reopen over the next few weeks, a few months ahead of schedule.
  


• And in the latest news, Iraqi Airways flight touched down in London for the first time since 1990, with Iraqi's new prime minister onboard.

RECONSTRUCTION:

• Jordan will be holding the Fourth Donors Conference on Iraq on July 18-19. "The meeting invited countries that have not yet pledged assistance to Iraq to join in to attend the donors conference."
  


• Meanwhile the countries that did pledge assistance already are delivering on promises Japan has been a major contributor to the reconstruction process: "At the 2003 International Donors' Conference on the Reconstruction of Iraq, Japan announced its financial assistance package totaling up to $5 billion. The package includes $1.5 billion in grant aid for immediate needs through 2004 and up to $3.5 billion, mainly in the form of soft loans (yen loans), in order to meet medium-term needs approximately until the end of 2007." Read the whole extensive list of dozens of programs and initiatives the money has been spent on.
  


• In the European Union's 2005 program:
  

  The European Commission adopted a new Assistance Programme for Iraq for 2005 in March with a budget of €200 million [$242 million], supporting the following needs:

  Provision of essential services and jobs (€130million [$157 million]): The funds, also to be channelled through the IRFFI, will continue supporting activities to restore and strengthen delivery of education and health services, increasing employment opportunities, and developing administrative capacity in the Iraqi administration. This support will be important in helping the new government meet the needs and expectations of the Iraqi population.

  Capacity-building in energy and trade (€15million [$18 million]): The EU will offer its genuine expertise and know-how to public and private actors in form of bilateral technical assistance in key sectors for growth such as energy, trade and investment with the aim to increase the capacity of Iraqi institutions.

• Kuwaiti authorities have also recently discussed with the Iraqi side "grants to Iraq to boost the country's reconstruction and development especially in the oil, transport, electricity and health sectors. The two sides discussed the role of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in helping Iraq cope with electrical shortage through the rehabilitation and construction of power stations... Talks also covered providing Iraq with Kuwaiti gasoline, diesel and petroleum derivatives." One, such grant, announced at the donors conference in Brussels, consists of $60 million for infrastructure rehabilitation.
  


• There are also funds coming from the Islamic Development Fund:
  

  The Islamic Development Bank said... it expects to disburse US$500 million to finance reconstruction projects in Iraq.

  The money, raised through bond issues, will be disbursed from a new fund through grants and soft loans over the next two to three years, said the bank's president Ahmad Mohammad Ali.

  Ali said Iraqi central bank governor Senan Al-Shabebi will travel to Jeddah soon to sign a memorandum of understanding to launch the fund, which will be used to finance projects in the fields of education, health, road and general infrastructure.

  The fund is sourced partly from US$500 million in Islamic bonds the bank issued recently, he said. The bond issue - the bank's second after a US$400 million (�333 million) tranche in July 2003 - has been oversubscribed.

• And Ukraine is planning to shift its role in Iraq from security to reconstruction: "Ukraine will continue to play a civilian role in the reconstruction of Iraq after the last of its 1,600 troops leave later this year, Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said... 'We will transform our presence into a non-military presence, having in mind cooperation on such projects as water supply, transportation, the oil and gas industry, the areas where Ukrainians have been known for decades in Iraq,' Tarasyuk told reporters at an international conference on Iraq."
  


• Meanwhile, the United Nations is working to encourage Iraqi expatriates to contribute to reconstruction of their country Iraqis Rebuilding Iraq (IRI) program:
  

  During May, the IRI official website was launched by The Ministry of Development Cooperation with support from UNDP and IOM. The website is part of the wider IRI programme which offers expatriate Iraqis with suitable professional experience the possibility to undertake short-term assignments of up to one year in Iraq. These IRI experts, proficient in Arabic and Kurdish, are highly motivated and committed to serve Iraq in their profession. The programme matches applications with available employment opportunities within Iraqi ministries and public institutions. The website address is www.iraq-iri.org. providing interested Iraqi expatriate candidates with the opportunity to download an IRI application form and submit it electronically. Dozens of Iraqi associations based in neighbouring countries as well as in Europe and North America were contacted as part of the ongoing IRI information campaign. The IRI Support Centre in Amman started to receive queries and completed application forms from potential candidates and in Baghdad the IRI Support Cell had registered over 100 requests from participating ministries looking for Iraqi experts.

• Back in Iraq, the Ministry of Reconstruction and Housing is currently working on various projects around the country worth $90 million:
  

  Work is underway on the Diwaniya-Samawa highway for the construction of two more lanes to ease the flow of traffic in the south, the statement said.

  A new bridge is being constructed to link the religious cities of Kufa and Najaf to facilitate movement of pilgrims during holy days, it added.

  The highway between Doura in Baghdad and Yousiffiya is being repaired, the statement said.

  In Basra, the foundations of a new hospital are being laid down at a total cost of nearly $5 million.

  In Bayaa in Baghdad, work is proceeding on the construction of new interjections and flyovers which are expected to be ready by the end of the year.

• The Ministry of Public Works and Municipalities has announced it will be hiring 87,000 unemployed people for various reconstruction projects throughout the provinces.
  


• End of July has been set as the starting date for the construction of new harbor in the Persian Gulf. It is expected to be the largest project of this type in the region, to take advantage of natural conditions which allow navigation by even the largest ships.
  


• Reconstruction of Fallujah is also progressing:
  

  The government has earmarked $46 million for the building of a new hospital and two housing complexes in Falluja, according to Hamed Jeyad, the engineer in charge of the city’s reconstruction.

  The 200-bed hospital will be supplied “with the state-of-the-art health facilities,” said Jeyad.

  He also said each of the new housing complexes will include 250 flats as well as public amenities.

  The allocation is good news for a city that has borne the brunt of the country’s fight against insurgent activities which have escalated in the past two months. Jeyad said the government has earmarked $100 million to rehabilitate the city’s infrastructure.

• Other projects include 21 new schools expected to be completed in 8 months' time, a new sewage system, maternity hospital, and a new bridge on the Euphrates to ease the traffic congestion.
  


• In the Kurdish province of Suleymania, the local authorities have given out 57,000 plots of land in order to stimulate the economy and make the reconstruction a grass-roots effort.
  


• In electricity news, Japan is helping in southern Iraq, where its troops are based:
  

  The Government of Japan finished setting up four electricity generators (750kVA each) in Al-Zahraa, Samawah city, last year through its grant assistance for grass-roots human security project to Iraq (Governorate of Al-Muthanna). The completion ceremony was held on June 15 (Wed) by the relevant parties in Samawah.

  In addition, in order to cope with chronic electric shortages in the area around Al-Kornish Street in the center of Samawah city, the Government of Japan has decided to provide grant assistance totaling about 884,000 dollars (approximately 94.64 million yen) to the Electricity Department of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna for procurement of three electricity generators (1,250kVA) and three electricity transformers. The Government of Japan signed a grant contract with the Electricity Department of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna on June 15 (Wed) at Samawah...

  This assistance will enable the provision of a steady power supply for the 500 households in collective housing, elementary schools and pumps for water supply system in Al-Zahraa district and also for the 1,000 households, three elementary schools and pumps for water supply and sewerage systems in the areas around Al-Kornish Street.

• Turkey has also promised to increase the flow of the Euphrates River, which will help the hydro power plant at Haditha dam to generate more electricity.
  


• In water and sanitation news, the World Bank will be contributing a significant amount of money towards new water and sanitation projects:
  

  Iraq has clinched a deal with the World Bank for 90 million dollars to finance the war-ravaged country's derelict water supply and sewage networks the Iraqi ministry for public works announced on Wednesday. The destruction of water supply and sewage pipes in fighting and through sabotage in many parts of Iraq has raised the risk of epidemics among the local population. Some of the funds will also be dedicated to housing.

  "The sum will be used to finance 12 projects in nine different provinces - Arbil, Sulaymaniyya and Dahuk in the north; Diyala, Salah ad Din, Baghdad and Karbala in the centre; and, Basra and Amara in the south," ministry spokesman, Muhammad al-Yasiri [said]...

  Some 82 percent of the money will be used to improve drinking water supplies, four percent will help repair or establish sewage works, while 14 percent will be used for housing development, he said.

  Iraq's municipalities and public works minister, Nesreen Berwari, has also won the support of the World Health Organisation and other international bodies for projects aimed at training ministry staff in drinking water issues, as well as ways to combat pollution.

• Thanks to the work of UNICEF, "20 engineers and technicians from the water supply directorates of 4 southern Governorates were trained on Reverse Osmosis Technology to convert saline or brackish water into safe water... 44 reverse osmosis plants were undergoing installation and a further 22 were already functioning [and] two water treatment plants and one compact unit were rehabilitated." Also, "UNICEF continued the daily tankering of water to Eastern Baghdad using private contractors, thus permitting approximately 180,000 people to have access to clean drinking water. 450 tons of essential chemicals were delivered to water treatment plants to assist the Baghdad water authorities with water purification." More on the coming of reverse osmosis technology to Iraq here.
  


• Concerted efforts to rebuild Iraq's neglected education system continue. The United Nations reports on its work to help Iraqi students: "The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq says efforts by U.N. agencies are helping get 460,000 Iraqi children back to school... U.N. agencies repaired 100 sewage-pumping stations that serve more than 4 million Iraqis, de Mistura said. Additionally, the United Nations sponsored computer training for 1,300 school directors, donated hundreds of computers and 36,000 pieces of recreational material to Iraqi schools and is trying to secure 1 million book bags for first graders and 5 million school kits for children up to the sixth grade." Furthermore, "over 130 schools have been rehabilitated with UN assistance in the lower southern region, while in the north, the UN is working to renovate primary schools in rural communities where refugees are expected to return."
  


• USAID also continues to assist (link in PDF):
  

  Sixty-eight Iraqi English teachers recently attended a two week English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher training program in Amman, Jordan. The training introduced the teachers to interactive teaching styles in an effort to upgrade the pedagogical knowledge and competencies of Iraq’s teachers. The English teachers will work as trainers, going on to train 6000 teachers over the summer. USAID will train a total of 100,000 primary and secondary teachers. The training program discussed current practices in language instruction, interactive classroom techniques, effective teaching methods for Arabic speakers, and methods for teaching grammar. One instructor taught a reading framework designed to cultivate vocabulary, increase comprehension and evaluate reading strategies. Another instructor demonstrated ways to apply modern techniques to their sometimes outdated text books. The program concluded with two days of mock presentations. The trainees presented English lessons to instructors and received critical feedback on their presentations.

• France will also be offering additional assistance for Iraqi technical education.
  


• The Ministry of Education has unveiled plans to hire as teachers 65,000 recent graduates and re-hire 35,000 teachers dismissed from work for political reasons by Saddam's regime.
  


• The Ministry of Higher Education has meanwhile announced doubling of salaries for university lecturers:
  

  The increase, from US $200 to $400 per month, was made to stem the academic brain drain to try and keep teachers and lecturers in the country. Huge numbers of qualified and experienced education professionals have already left Iraq following the war in 2003 and as a result of previous conflicts...

  News of the salary increases was welcomed by university teachers.

  "For the first time, the Iraqi government is making a valuable contribution towards university professionals. I believe that it will even increase motivation in our work and I'm really very happy about that," Dr Mayada Hassan, a teacher of medicine at the Mustansirya University in Baghdad said.

  "I arrived this week from Jordan after the news that the government will increase our salaries. It's a good opportunity for us to be well paid for our work and we don't have to search for better jobs outside Iraq," Professor Ziad Tarek said.

• Transparency is also increasing in the education sector:
  

  Exam results for bachelor university degrees in Iraq will be released on the internet this year in an effort to increase transparency and because of continuing insecurity.

  "We are now in a democratic country and results on the internet will help to prevent students from getting extra marks and cheating as it will go directly from the correction room to the internet site with final approval from the ministry of education," general director of baccalaureate exams at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Sabah al-Jaffe, said.

  In the past, students closely linked with the government could rely on being awarded better results, critics of the system have said. The new system will increase transparency, according to officials.

  "During Saddam Hussein's regime my brother got high marks and he could have chosen to specialise and train in medicine, which is really hard to get into. But due to corruption he lost the place to another person. Today, I hope to make my dream come true by entering one of these good training colleges," student Sinan Madeen said.

• In the area of health, World Health Organisation is supporting prevention and control of diseases measures:
  

  - The WHO Technical Review Committee of the Global Drug Facility (GDF) this week approved Iraq's application for an emergency Tuberculosis grant. Based on last years notification (plus an extra 15% to account for possible expansion), the total number of Iraqi patients who need Tuberculosis treatments and will obtain support for one year from WHO and the GDF is 12,072, the estimated cost of this support is close to one million US dollars.

  - WHO supported Malaria and Leishmania Preventative spraying activities have been successfully finalized in many governorates while the Malaria and Leishmania Preventative fogging activities are ongoing.

  - The construction of an extension to a psychiatric unit started this week in Erbil. This construction is part of the UNDG Iraq Trust Fund Mental Health and Non-Communicable Disease Programme, under which other constructions of extensions are to be undertaken in other parts of Iraq.

• WHO is also supporting medical education in Iraq, most recently having delivered "15 boxes of health publications and CD-ROMs, for Iraqi Universities (Medical Colleges, Nursing, Dentistry). Furthermore, hundreds of WHO publications and medical literatures were delivered to teaching institutions in Erbil, Dohuk, Suleimanyah and Mosul." In other valuable contribution, WHO has recently delivered 18 ambulances to health facilities in Baghdad.
  


• Various international health bodies are also assisting Iraqi authorities in immunization programs: "As part of ongoing nationwide vaccination programmes for children, UNICEF and WHO supported the Ministry of Health (MoH) in a second stage of the National Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Campaign to immunize children between one and five years, which was completed in five Northern Governorates. Approximately 1.2 million children were immunized during the 14-day campaign with a daily coverage rate of 90 per cent. The National Vaccine Store in Baghdad was supplied with one million doses of Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine to remedy shortages which occurred when the normal MoH delivery process experienced delays. In addition, five million sachets of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) were delivered to primary health care centres across the country in anticipation of diarrhoeal outbreaks in the summer."
  


• UN's World Food Program is also filling a gap: "WFP provided food aid to primary schools and health facilities as a support to vulnerable groups. Accordingly, the MoH were assisted in implementing supplementary feeding activities in 201 health facilities in 36 districts. A total of 11,415 metric tonnes of supplementary food commodities were delivered to Iraq and distributions were ongoing to malnourished children under 5; pregnant and nursing mothers; and TB patients. Additionally, the distribution of 7, 781 metric tonnes of high energy biscuits to children in 2,474 primary schools was completed in May."
  


• Japanese authorities have recently donated medical equipment to Al-Samawah General Hospital. "The aid extended this time will provide both the ophthalmologic and urologic departments of the hospital with equipment necessary for the treatment of retinopathy patients and for therapeutic endoscopy. By reconstructing the medical system of each department of the hospital through this aid, it will become possible to provide treatments which were available only in Baghdad and few other places."
  


• Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health reports about its recent work in Ninweh province: "Model health centers have been established in Nainawa province in Al Wehda, Al Nor, Al Karama, Al Be’aj, Al Hamdania and Hammam Al Alil regions, in addition to creating a consultation clinic for emergencies in Tala’far and establishing 8 residence buildings in the province, for employees and health cadres. He pointed out that the total costs of the projects have reached 2 billion and 30 million dinars."
  


• And in Baghdad, a conference has been held for government authorities and non-government organisations concerned with improving the plight of the handicapped.
  


• In agriculture, various UN agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, are helping to rebuild the sector. In most recent initiatives:
  

  - Comprehensive agricultural supplies worth US $ 5.2 million were procured and were ready for distribution to faming communities.

  - Purchase orders worth US $ 1.2 million were issued for parts to repair two water pumping stations.

  - Urgent equipment and supplies worth US $ 1.5 million for essential livestock services were procured...

  - 29 rural development experts were following a 2-month training course in Morocco on cottage industries, and preparatory work started on the rehabilitation of two selected training centres.

HUMANITARIAN AID:

• Action by Churches Together International is helping people living in remote areas of Iraq to get access to water:
  

  For 8,000 people living in the small village of Al Jazeera in southern Iraq, clean drinking water is now a reality, after ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council, installed a water purification plant. "We have real faith in this project," said NCA's Hans-Erik Grimsrud, the water engineer responsible for setting up the project. "Villagers have been trained to run the plant and sell water at cost price in order to cover any running and maintenance costs," he explained, adding that "the fact that the local council is involved, gives us faith that this plant will continue provide water for the villagers for many years to come."

• As the report notes, "NCA is implementing a number of water projects in Iraq, by linking villages to the existing water network and installing water-purification equipment in hospitals."
  


• Another non-government organisation, AmeriCares also continues their good work in Iraq, thanks to generous support of those back home:
  

  For many children living without parents in Baghdad, AmeriCares' recent donation of new toys and schools supplies was something to celebrate this spring. More than 350 stuffed animals and educational tools were distributed to orphaned children by local partner LIFE Relief & Development.

  The menagerie of stuffed animals were collected by Park 570, Den 3 Cub Scouts of Newtown, Connecticut, as part of AmeriCares "Cuddle Buddies" program. "Cuddle Buddies" is one example of AmeriCares youth-based community outreach activities that work to deliver new educational supplies and arts & crafts to children around the world.

  Also included in this most recent AmeriCares shipment to Baghdad were 16 teaching boards given to a primary school kindergarten class and a sewing training center for women.

  Continuing AmeriCares' commitment of providing medical relief, 10 patient beds and an X-ray screen were also delivered to three local health clinics. In addition, hygiene products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and clothing were dispersed at Al Rahma—an organization that shelters the homeless.

THE COALITION TROOPS:

• Throughout Iraq, the American and the Coalition troops continue to be involved in a whole range of reconstruction and humanitarian activities that complement their security role.
  


• In Basra, troops were instrumental in helping to re-open a major local piece of transport infrastructure:
  

  After almost 20 years of sporadic flying and finally being grounded, the first Iraqi Airways flight landed at Basrah International Airport June 4 with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South.

  The Corps’ goal is to give the Iraqis a functioning civil aviation airport that will allow planes with passengers to land and take off, both domestically and internationally, according to Robert Vanoer, resident engineer for the Basrah Resident Office, Gulf Region District South (GRS).

  “The details the Corps is involved in are critical to the airport,” said Vanoer. “The big piece is to ensure the terminal has air conditioning. Another big piece is the air control tower, which is 12 stories high and has no elevator. The British Army uses it for their physical training. There are other things that are in the works, such as the rehabilitation of the water treatment plant, which is critical to the chillers (air conditioning).”

• Elsewhere, the troops are involved in road construction:
  

  After spending a few months in Iraq, Soldiers soon forget the ease of being able to travel within the United States over more than two million miles of paved roads and streets. It is a little known fact that the first constructed roads date from about 4,000 B.C and were built in Ur, or modern-day Iraq.

  Iraq today has plenty of roadways but for small neighborhoods like Radwaniya, a paved road goes a long way in improving transportation and the economy.

  Iraqi leaders from the Radwaniya Neighborhood Advisory Council along with Coalition forces completed a road project that spans more than four kilometers and cost about $565,000. Radwaniya is a neighborhood located in the district of Al Rasheed.

  "The paving of the Hamourabi village road is great for the community," said Capt. Christian Neels, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment civil-military operations officer, and native of Muscatine, Iowa. "The completion of the road will offer a quicker means of allowing farmers and the local population to get to the market and in the long run, contribute to the economic progress of the area."

• The 7th Infantry Regiment has also completed other projects in the neighborhood, like construction of water towers and renovating schools.
  


• Thanks to the American troops, Baghdad will be having access to more electricity this summer:
  

  Iraqi laborers and General Electric employees recently completed eight months of work on a power plant project which will bring additional electricity to Baghdad.

  This project at the Qudas Power Plant outside of Baghdad was supported by Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and the Army Corps of Engineers.

  "We added 90 megawatts of electricity to the Baghdad power grid. That's huge," said Capt. Steve Heinz commander, 3rd Bde.,1st Armor Div.'s Brigade Engineering Supervisory Team.

• The troops are also working on improving the water infrastructure:
  

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is working to supply southern Iraqis with clean drinking water.

  In the Thi Qar Province, the $173 million Nasiriyah Water Treatment Plant has two scopes of work: to finish the construction on the partially completed plant and to run water pipeline from Ash Shatrah to Suk Ash Sukyakh, and a pipeline north approximate seven kilometers to Har Al Diwiyah, according to Darrell Flinn, construction manager for the Water Sector, Gulf Region South (GRS) District...

  Flinn also said that two other water treatment plants in Nasiriyah are being rehabilitated, and that three compact units will be built in the Missan Province and 14 are currently in various stages of completion in Najaf Province.

  “In Basrah, we have several different projects. We have the Al Tannumah water tower repair project, but the largest is the leak repairs we will be doing all over the city. We will be repairing and patching existing lines. There is close to $9 million for four water main extension jobs, five compact water treatment units at R-Zero, Basrah’s million gallon-per-day treatment unit.”

• In Nasiriyah, the troops were keen to support businesswomen:
  

  When Madame K read William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet,” this couplet moved her so much that she decided to name her fledging construction business Star of the Morning. On June 15, that company completed the first of its two police station construction projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South (GRS) one week ahead of schedule. Five women make up the small business that has been so successful to date, according to Rick Mers, project engineer for the Tallil Area Office, GRS. “They submitted their bid like everyone else and there was no special treatment accorded to them except the preference given to women-owned businesses,” he said. “Fifty-one percent of the company has to be female in order to get the preference.”

• Meanwhile in Baghdad:
  

  With more than $270M worth of projects open for local contractor bids, 130 Iraqi women attended a Women’s Business Day at the Convention Center here to learn more.

  The workshop was sponsored by the Projects and Contracting Office, or PCO, with co-sponsorship and support from the Gulf Region Division, or GRD, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Joint Contracting Command-Iraq, or JCC-I.

  “This day was designed and organized to benefit the Iraqi business woman and the Reconstruction Program,” said Senior Executive Service, Karen Durham-Aguilera, director of programs at PCO. “Our goal is to create diplomatic and long-lasting relationships based on our mutual desire for peace.”

• Spec. Matthew Rosebaugh, 22, of the 82nd Airborne Division recalls his time in Baghdad:
  

  In a suburb south of Baghdad, Rosebaugh and fellow troops employed Iraqis as contractors to rebuild schools, paying them $2 to $3 an hour.

  Rosebaugh said this is more money than they ever saw in their lives. He added that some troops paid people to cook meals and gave them $5.

  "They almost couldn't take it," he said. "It was so much to them."

  Rosebaugh said the troops helped local economy in small ways, buying things from the market or stores and using Iraqis' phones.

  "They would charge you [to use the phone], but it didn't matter," Rosebaugh said. "A call to your family is priceless."

  In addition, the troops got water and power plants running again.

  Rosebaugh said the press doesn't show the people who are happy in Iraq, the people whose lives were changed with soldiers' help.

  "The media will show that there are only 40 percent of homes with running water," he said. "It could have been only 20 percent before."

• You can also follow around Corporal Robert “Bobby” W. Higdon, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, as he makes his daily rounds of reconstruction projects and programs run by the 5th Civil Affairs Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force around Karmah.
  


• And here is a story of the troops in Samarra fighting insurgency and also trying to win hearts and minds at the same time:
  

  A cloud of dust rose as the sand-colored Humvee drove up to the home. Children ran out, smiled and waved. Their American soldiers had come for another visit.

  Staff Sgt. Troy Davis, 40, and Sgt. Bob Randall, 38, weighted down with weapons, ammunition and body armor, clambered out of their vehicle and grinned back. Their adopted Iraqi family was happy to see them.

  Davis handed the mother a hairbrush, perfume and bath products, while Randall dispensed crayons, markers, squirt guns, candy and a keychain of a small toy dog to the family's six children - three boys and three girls ranging from 4 to 13 years old. Davis helped 4-year-old Dona pull the keychain out of the plastic packaging as the toy dog began to say, "Arf, arf, arf."

  The little girl, her hair pulled into pigtails with the help of small white barrettes, smiled shyly. She looked up at Davis. He smiled back.

  Though Charlie Company is here in this dangerous city to look for weapons caches, help arrest insurgents and try to restore peace, the Wisconsin National Guard soldiers also are trying to show Iraqis that Americans mean them no harm. In the Vietnam War, it was called changing hearts and minds. The same phrase is used here.

  To Charlie Company, that means visiting schools in Samarra to spend time with students and hand out pencils, erasers, paper and other school supplies that are sent here from their families back home in Wisconsin. It means visiting the hospital, buying a refrigerator for a girls school, giving stuffed animals to kids and spending their free time with this family on the outskirts of Samarra who don't speak English but can communicate just fine with the soldiers.

  "It makes me feel at home," said Davis, who misses his wife, Jill, and kids, Travis, 14, and Katie, 11, in Lancaster. "We're actually doing something good."

• Meanwhile in Fallujah, the troops are ensuring that their stay doesn't leave the directly affected locals inconvenienced:
  

  United States Marine Corps’ 5th Civil Affairs Group and the United States Army Corps of Engineers kicked off the Property Lease Program here last week.

  Leases were drawn up for local residents whose homes were or are currently occupied by coalition forces.

  Lump sum payments were also made to eligible homeowners for the total time their houses were being used. The payment will include the amount of rent owed through Sept. 30, 2005.

  The II Marine Expeditionary Force set aside about $125,000 in Operations and Maintenance money to pay for three series of payments with the first June 13.

  About 94 leases are expected to be signed and completed during the first phase. On the first day of the program, about 40 were completed.

• Iraqi health system also gets assistance. The Najaf Teaching Hospital is undergoing renovations, thanks to the American forces:
  

  The Najaf Teaching Hospital has transformed from a run down hospital that once harbored militia into a full-time operational outpatient clinic capable of outpatient surgeries and emergency room visits. The hospital was built in 1982 and is identical to 6 other hospitals built at that time throughout Iraq. It is a 420 bed facility with 13 operating theatres capable of surgical specialties for eyes, thoracic, cancer treatment and dialysis

  "The hospital contains 200 medical school students, 50 pharmacy students and 100 residence doctors," said Dr. Safaah Al Ameed, hospital manager. "We employ 1,250 people here."

  This transformation from a Sept. battleground to a viable patient facility is a result of a lot of hard work and renovations. Parsons, Inc performed work under Phase one. The remainder of the project is being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers... "Phase one of the project began in Sept 2004 and was completed in Feb 2005. It was a major cleanup of the basement and first floor. Parsons repaired walls, ceilings and floors," said Capt. Josh Miller, Camp Hotel resident engineer who oversees the hospital project. "Phase two repaired heating, air conditioning, plumbing and mechanical components that serve the hospital's 1st floor, provided security grills on windows, and a vehicle access control gate. The goal for phase two was to quickly advertise and award a local contractor a small 30 day, competitively bid contract, including repairs needed to outpatient services to open to the public again quickly. The outpatient clinic opened to the general public Apr. 18.

  "Phase three is undergoing contract bidding now and will repair and renovate the hospital’s basement (includes industrial kitchen, laundry, and mechanical rooms), 2nd through 7th floors, major utility penthouses on the 8th and 9th floors, and as many out-buildings in the hospital campus as we can do with funds available. Outlying buildings include a 4 story doctors" residence facility, morgue, sewer treatment plant, workshop and storage building, garage, entrance gate and other options. The total cost of the Najaf project is just over $ 15 M.

• See also here.
  


• Sometimes the medical treatment is on a more ad hoc basis:
  

  The decisive actions of Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division helped a young Iraqi boy get the emergency treatment he needed June 5.

  A young Iraqi boy approached the Task Force 1-13 Patrol as they passed through his village near Camp Taji. "I was at home when the American convoy came...I showed them my wounds," the boy said.

  His father knew the Soldiers would help his ailing son: "The Americans showed a lot of interest and they wanted to help him when they saw his condition."

  The Soldiers determined the boy’s illness was serious enough to warrant hospitalization. "Our medics examined the boy and noticed an apple-sized portion of intestine protruding from his abdomen...They said if he didn't get to a hospital soon he could die," said Sgt. Joshua Jenkins, 70th Engineer Battalion, who is assigned to Task Force 1-13.

  The U.S. Soldiers transported the child and his father to Al Taji Military Clinic for treatment.

• In the field of education, the work of one person is being recognized:
  

  Good Housekeeping magazine has recognized a Defense Department employee for getting the Iraqi education system up and running.

  Leslye Arsht's efforts in helping to reorganize, rebuild and return the education system to the Iraqis were recognized June 15 at the Library of Congress. The magazine presented Arsht, former senior adviser to the Iraqi education minister, with a $25,000 award as its grand prize in the Women in Government Award. Arsht currently works for the Military Severely Injured Joint Operations Center.

  In accepting her award, Arsht extended the honors bestowed upon her to the Iraqi people. "I accept this award for all the Iraqis who told me that before Saddam (Hussein), Iraqi Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together as friends and neighbors," she said, "and they wanted that Iraq back.

• As the report notes, "while in Iraq from July 2003 to April 2004, Arsht participated in rebuilding 2,300 Iraqi schools, and training 3,000 supervisors and 32,000 teachers. This was in addition to working with the education minister to help reorganize the ministry. During her stay in Iraq, textbooks were also reprinted without Baathist propaganda and odes to Saddam."
  


• Meanwhile, on the ground, American soldiers continue their work on local projects:
  

  So far this month, soldiers from Task Force Liberty and the Qadaa Council in Baqubah repaired and refurbished local schools earmarked by the council and the director of education. The schools received new classroom desks, stools and chairs as well as new door locks, light socket switches, lighting, coffee tables, iron security gates and replacement glass for broken windows. In Hamrin, Task Force Liberty soldiers distributed school supplies and toys to the town's children. In all, over 10 boxes of pens, pencils, notebooks, coloring books, crayons and toys were collected by the soldiers, with the help of their families back home, and distributed to children ages 3 to 14. The supplies were gifts from the people of the United States to the children of Hamrin, the soldiers told the children and their families.

• Thanks to the generosity of people back home, the troops are able to provide some help to thousands of Iraqi schoolchildren:
  

  Most adults remember the joy of receiving a new box of crayons or coloring book as a child. In the U.S., this moment of joy is easy to achieve, but in Iraq, it is nearly impossible for some schoolchildren.

  Airmen and Soldiers here are trying to change that -- one school packet at a time.

  As participants of the school supply effort, the volunteers collect, sort and deliver supplies to local Iraqi schools.

  "There are a lot of poor families in the Kirkuk area (who) cannot afford the necessary school supplies for their children," said Chaplain (Capt.) Ivan Torres-Graciano of the 506th Air Expeditionary Group. "I come from a poor family, and every year we had to use notebooks from the previous year that had not been entirely used, because my parents did not have enough money to afford all new notebooks for us. I know how important it is for children to have new school supplies for the new school year."

  Supplies for the packets are donated from organizations and individuals in the U.S. Once the supplies get here, Airmen and Soldiers sort the donations and prepare the packets. As many as 400 packets can be made in a few hours if there are enough volunteers and supplies; currently the program is short on both.

• It's not just American soldiers, of course. Other Coalition partners are also contributing to the security and reconstruction efforts. Recently, Japanese troops have officially opened a community sports hall they renovated in the city of Samawa: "The opening ceremony... featured a Japanese drum show amid applause from Iraqi children and teenagers massed in the sports hall. After the opening, the sport equipment was delivered to the Samawian teenagers. The Japanese commander, who played basketball with Iraqi children, also had his photo taken with them."
  


• Here's the Ukrainian contribution:
  

  The 7th DMB of about 1,500 personnel and 370 military vehicles commenced fulfilling its tasks in Iraq on September 22, 2004. During more than six months staying in Wazit its soldiers carried out 800 convoys and 4,500 patrols. Each of military drivers covered about 10,000 km (6,250 miles) of Iraqi roads, in total vehicles of 7th DMB covered more than 2,000,000 km (1,250,000 miles).

  Additionally, 47 persons suspected of participation in terrorist activity were detained and passed to the local law enforcement organizations. A significant amount of weapons and ammunitions were confiscated. Acting together in cooperation with a Kazakhstan field engineering detachment, which was included in structure of 7th DMB, Ukrainian soldiers defused and destroyed more than 80,000 items of ammunition and unexploded ordnance that included shells, self-propelled and hand grenades, field mines, and air and mortar bombs.

  The 7th brigade Civil-Military Cooperation detachment developed and completed more than 100 significant civilian projects, at a cost of more than $U.S. 3,7 million. Ukrainian soldiers helped Iraqis repair and refurbish schools, hospitals, kindergartens, and monuments; restore water-supply lines and sewer systems, supplied the local population with drinking water, provided local government organizations and media with furniture and office equipment. The Ukrainian military doctors from the brigade medical company treated more than 5,500 patients.

• Here's from Azerbeijan:
  

  Nearly two months have passed since the Marines and Sailors of 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment made Hadithah Dam their home. However, America's warriors are not the only ones calling the dam "Home-Sweet-Home".

  Their fellow residents' green camouflage uniforms in the middle of the desert and heel-driving march sets them apart from their Marine comrades-in-arms.

  The Marines simply call these neighbors the "AZ's." The letters "AZ" are not the Greek letters of a new sorority on deck. Rather, it is the nickname of the Azerbaijani soldiers, whose sole responsibility is keeping the walls and waters of Hadithah Dam secure.

  "Having the Azerbaijani Army unit at Hadithah Dam, allows the Marines of my battalion to be on the roads and in the Al-Anbar cities and towns. That's where the terrorists are and that's where we have to go to provide security for the innocent Iraqi people," said Lt. Col. Lionel B. Urquhart, the battalion commander.

SECURITY:

• A growing number of reports suggests that not all is well within the insurgency. This latest from Karabila, near the Syrian border:
  

  U.S. marines watching the skyline from their second-story perch in an abandoned house here saw a curious thing: In the distance, mortar rounds and gunfire popped, but the volleys did not seem to be aimed at them.

  In the dark, one marine spoke in hushed code words on a radio, and after a minute found the answer. "Red on red," he said late Sunday night, using a military term for enemy-on-enemy fire.

  Marines patrolling this desert region near the Syrian border have for months been seeing a strange trend in the complex Iraqi insurgency. Insurgents, they say, have been fighting each other in this constellation of towns along the Euphrates, from Husayba to Qaim. The observations offer a new clue in the hidden world of the insurgency and suggest that there may have been, as American commanders suggest, a split between Islamic militants and local rebels.

  A United Nations official who served in Iraq last year and who consulted widely with militant groups said by telephone that there had been a split for some time.

  "There is a rift," said the official, who requested anonymity. "I'm certain that the nationalist Iraqi part of the insurgency is very much fed up with the jihadists' grabbing the headlines and carrying out the sort of violence that they don't want against innocent civilians."

  The nationalist insurgent groups "are giving a lot of signals implying that there should be a settlement with the Americans," while the jihadists have a purely ideological agenda, he added.

• Meanwhile, in other press reports from the region, "the Emirati Al Bayan Newspaper stated that there is current severe division among terrorists and gunmen in Al Musel [Mosul] after arresting the terrorist Mohamed Khalaf Shakara, the assistant of Al Zarqawi, known as Abu Talha. Press sources believe that there are severe divisions among terrorists consequent to the emergence of new opportunities of dialogue with the Iraqi government or the American side, with regard to involvement in the political process, which would lead the groups that were not involved in killing civilians, to put down their weapons and confront the expiatory threats, which call for murdering people and spreading fear among them."
  


• Soldiers in the 155th Brigade Combat Team, made up of 3,500 Mississippi Army National Guard soldiers and others from Vermont and Arkansas, are reporting about security successes around Karbala:
  

  Lt. Col. John Rhodes of Corinth, commander of the 155th Infantry Battalion near Iskandariyah, said attacks have slowed in the more hostile area north of Karbala.

  "Hostile activity did increase a few weeks ago but has returned to normal," he said. "Several weeks ago we detained an influential insurgent so that is what we think contributed to the spike in attacks."

  Rhodes said the battalion increased pressure on the insurgents and has not allowed the action to delay infrastructure projects, particularly the repair of a large crater caused by roadside bombs that destroyed part of an important road.

  "In addition, we opened a new police station that was once an insurgent stronghold," Rhodes said. "The citizens in this community welcomed the change. They were tired of insurgents operating in their area."

  Rhodes said the new police station has contributed to a greater sense of security among the local people.

  "In America this would not be a big event, but for us, it is a major accomplishment," he said. "Turning a hostile area into a stable community is true success."

• And so are soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division:
  

  Since May 20, 2nd BCT operations resulted in detaining more than 600 suspected terrorists, said Lt. Col. Michael J. Infanti, 2nd BCT deputy commander.

  The Commandos recently completed Operation Squeeze Play South, an offensive operation meant to route terrorists out of southern Baghdad. Squeeze Play was the largest combined Iraqi-Coalition operation in Iraq to date, involving four Iraqi brigades and four American battalions, as well as U.S. Air Force and Navy support...

  Part of the operation included an Iraqi-Coalition air assault mission to secure a terrorist safe-house. Iraqi units and Soldiers from 4-31 Infantry flew to the target and detained 50 suspected terrorists. The air assault was the first battalion-level air assault 4-31 Infantry Soldiers participated in since their previous deployment to Afghanistan. It was also only the second time 2nd BCT Soldiers air assaulted with Iraqi forces...

  More than 230 suspected terrorists were detained during Operation Squeeze Play South. The brigade’s previous mission, Operation Commando Brickyard, detained 440 suspected terrorists in the Abu Ghraib district of Baghdad. Second Brigade Soldiers worked with Iraqi Forces to quell the hostile area. Infanti was quick to note that although 2nd BCT commanded the operations, the large majority of raids and missions were handled by Iraqi forces.

  “Contrary to what people believe, this is an Iraqi Army operation,” Infanti said. “Ninety-eight percent of the suspected anti-Iraqi forces detained are under the control of the Iraqi government. This is a great step forward not only for the government and military of Iraq, but for the people of Iraq as well.”

• Brig. Gen. Najah Alshammri, the commander of Iraqi special forces is optimistic about the progress of his forces:
  

  Alshammri... said he's finding it easier to recruit for the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with the number of men signing up rising from an expected 400 to 1,000 this year...

  Alshammri also said "the noose is tightening" around insurgents.

  "We are taking the lead in every fight, with Americans as advisers. Before, Americans were taking the lead and we were following," Alshammri said.

  When U.S forces first went to Iraq, Alshammri fought them, but then switched to working with America.

  "Both times I was protecting my country as a military man," Alshammri said.

• As Iraqi security forces continue to play a bigger role, go on an action with the soldiers of the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade in Baghdad:
  

  The three-day joint mission with the U.S. forces was a definite learning event for the Iraqi Soldiers, according to 2-156th Soldiers who assisted. The Iraqis began with the process of collecting information on their patrols and eventually a target list was developed. The intelligence came largely from the civilian population...

  Staff Sgt. Joshua Robert from Breaux Bridge, La., of A Company, 2nd Bn., 156th Inf., worked with the 1st Bn., 1st IA Bde... Robert said the locals appeared more cooperative with the Iraqi Soldiers, as opposed to raids he and his fellow American Soldiers participated in.

  "It seemed like they welcomed them into their houses a lot more than they do us. I guess it’s kind of like the small towns back in Louisiana where you know everybody, they were more willing to talk to them," he said.

  Sgt. 1st Class Chuck Spotten, a platoon sergeant for D Company, 101st Cav., agreed with Robert.

  "Once the sun came up the civilians brought tea out for the Soldiers, they socialized with the Soldiers, and they gave them water," he said.

  Spotten also described the scene as the convoy passed through the streets of Baghdad.

  "As we drove around the streets it was like a Memorial Day parade," he said. "People were cheering and clapping for their Soldiers and for us, and we had a very good feeling driving through town," he said.

• And Iraqi troops have also taken control over the most dangerous stretch of the road in Baghdad:
  

  Nearly two weeks ago, a special force of Iraqi soldiers took up their new post along one of the city’s most infamous stretches, the link between Baghdad International Airport and the center of Iraq’s newly forming government, the highway known as Airport Road.

  The first few days proved a hard test for the new battalion of 261 soldiers, according to Capt. Richard Dunbar, one of eight Americans assigned to assist the Iraqis in coordinating their patrols and responses to attacks.

  “It was a rough first night,” Dunbar said.

  The first attack on the troops came before midnight, and one was wounded, he said. During the next 48 hours, one soldier was killed and another six were hurt, Dunbar said.

  Since then the gunfire has calmed down, Dunbar said, at least relative calm for the road that many westerners tend to call the most dangerous in the capital city. There have been fewer attacks, and the battalion has begun to gather helpful information from the neighbors, he said.

• Iraqi military also notes improvement in security situation in Salahadin province, now under Iraqi control:
  

  An Iraqi brigade is exercising almost full control over several towns north of Baghdad, seen as among the most dangerous spots in the country. The brigade’s commander Abduljabbar Saleh said his troops were in charge of security over an area extending from Dujail to Beiji, about 170 kilometers north of Baghdad.

  “My brigade is capable of providing 80 per cent of security needs across this large area and in the light of the kind of weapons at its disposal,” Saleh said.

  Most of the area under Saleh’s jurisdiction is situated in the Province of Salahideen of which Tikreet, the hometown of former leader Saddam Hussein, is the capital...

  Saleh said his brigade coordinated with U.S. troops in his area but it “carried out 90 per cent of tasks” involved in fighting the terrorists and insurgents in the province...

  Saleh claimed that there has been “noticeable improvement in the security situation in the province of Salahideen, particularly in the areas under our brigade’s responsibility.”

  He said he had also noticed “a large degree of cooperation” on the part of residents in his area. “We get tips from citizens on individuals and cases threatening the security and life of the people of the province,” he said.

• And around Balad, the American troops have been increasingly moving into the background:
  

  The role of the Coalition Forces in Iraq has evolved into maintaining security and building a new Iraqi army capable of standing on its own.

  Since December, Task Force Liberty Soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, have been keeping Coalition Forces and the Iraqi population safe while developing the new Iraqi army into an autonomous unit by patrolling the area west of Highway 1 in the Task Force 1-128 area of operations...

  Company A, which also now works with Company B, 4th Battalion, Iraqi army, accomplishes its mission by combining all the taskings and incorporating Iraqi army soldiers on every patrol.

  "We’ve been integrating the Iraqi army more and more with each mission we do," said Sgt. 1st Class Dean Kowalke, 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment. "We work them through the planning phases of the mission, pre-combat inspections and pre-combat checks, then take them out on the mission, watch how they do their job and, when we finish the mission, we have an after action review going over the good stuff and the bad stuff, so they can improve."

  The Iraqi soldiers are even beginning to lead missions on their own.

  "Right now, they are to the point they are doing semi-independent patrols where our trucks stay in the background [for observation] and they run their own mission start to finish," said Sgt. 1st Class Brian Faltinson, 3rd Platoon Leader, Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment.

• Here's the report on how one such joint operation worked out in practice.
  


• Read also this report how the Marines are working in Fallujah to prepare a better Iraqi force:
  

  For two nights in a row, shadowy gunmen took a few potshots at the Iraqi soldiers that 1st Lt. Khalid Abdul Rahman Muhamad sent on patrol through Fallujah's Jolan district. That's hardly an uncommon occurrence, and typically, Muhamad would just report the incidents to U.S. marines tasked with securing the northwest section of this restive city. But this time, for the first time, Muhamad turned to Marine Corps Maj. Larry Huggins and offered his own plan to rout out the insurgents with a nighttime raid. That may not seem like much of a development, but even such a nascent show of initiative is taken as evidence of progress. It is just what the U.S. military is hoping to encourage through a nationwide experiment that is putting small deployments of American troops alongside their Iraqi counterparts to provide around-the-clock training, support, and encouragement. In fortified outposts here, for the past four months, Huggins and his team of advisers have lived and worked with the jundi , Arabic for soldiers, of the 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi Intervention Force, a division of the Iraqi Army. The concept is that having marines constantly work with Iraqis will build up strong Iraqi forces faster than can be done through the conventional combination of classroom training, exercises, and occasional joint patrols. And since the Bush administration links U.S. military withdrawal to the readiness of Iraqi defense forces, U.S. soldiers and marines see success in this style of training as America's best hope for a ticket out of Iraq.

• Iraqi Marines are meanwhile preparing to take over the security of oil terminals in the Gulf:
  

  An Iraqi Marine, working with U.S. security forces, said he and his fellow Iraqis look forward to taking full responsibility for the security of the Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals.

  “It’s my duty to defend [the oil terminal]. It belongs to my country. It belongs to my people. Our economy is based on it. I take pride in doing so,” said the Iraqi Marine.

  Forward deployed Sailors attached to Mobile Security Detachment 25 (MSD 25), the unit currently assigned to protect Iraq’s two critical oil platforms, train Iraqi Naval Marine Force personnel to take over all close-in point defense operations aboard ABOT and KAAOT.

  “We are not just helping the Iraqis with the safekeeping of their oil terminals, we are teaching them how to soon takeover the protection of their country’s major asset,” said Lt. Cmdr. Chris Jacobsen, officer-in-charge of MSD 25.

• This is a part of the overall effort to resurrect the small Iraqi navy: "U.S. military officials say they plan to have an Iraqi navy up and running on its own by year’s end. Sailors and Marines with the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet are training and equipping Iraqi forces so that eventually, an 800-sailor Iraqi navy can assume security duties for two oil platforms off the southern port city of Basra."
  


• In another good news for the growth and development of Iraqi security forces, 32,000 battle-exprienced Kurdish pashmerga fighters will be incorporated into the Iraqi Army and Interior Ministry units.
  


• Training of security forces continues. In this area, NATO is also planning to increase its profile and involvement in Iraq:
  

  NATO plans to enlarge its efforts to improve Iraq's fledgling security forces by opening a base near Baghdad that will train 1,000 Iraqi officers each year...

  By September, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization plans to have completed a headquarters at Ar Rustimiyah near Baghdad, where alliance officers will run a program training Iraqi troops to help quell the country's violent insurgency.

  The headquarters will be funded jointly by NATO, the Iraqi government and the U.S. military's training command in Iraq, which is led by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus. The general was in Brussels today to discuss plans for the training mission.

  There are currently 121 NATO officers in Baghdad providing training for Iraqi forces from the defense and interior ministries, alliance officials said. They expect the number of officers to grow over the summer.

• Also involved in training is the Italian contingent:
  

  The Italian Troops in Nassyria are fully involved in the training of the New Iraqi Army and Police Services. That activity goes from the tactical training of unlisted soldiers, up to squad and Platoon level, to the organization of the C2 structure of the 604 Battalion and the HQs of the 72 Brigade of the Iraqi Army. Every morning the escorted convoy of Italian Instructors leaves Camp Mittica and heads to White Horse Iraqi Army Base which, once the Italian main base in Iraq, was handed over to the Iraqi Army in December 04. At White Horse the Italian Instructors amalgamate into the Iraqi units and put their experience of professional soldiering to the advantage of their loyal local comrades. At the moment the core of tactical training is based on teaching techniques and tactics in MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) and each soldier is trained and is required to perform on a squad and platoon level basis.

• Read this report about logistics training of Iraqi forces at Camp Taji.
  


• Lastly, this military first for Iraq: "Iraqi Army Soldiers, working with Coalition aviation assets, conducted the first air assault by Iraqi Army forces in history June 1. Approximately 35 Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division inserted into a landing zone near several small towns and villages outside of Baghdad to conduct raids and door-to-door searches for bomb and vehicle-born IED-making materials and specific persons of interest, said Capt. Jennifer Reynolds, commander of B Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Assault Helicopter Battalion), and a resident of Austin, Texas."
  


• The United Nations is meanwhile working to keep Iraq safer by removing the deadly legacies of past conflicts:
  

  Nearly 500 square kilometres in Iraq have been cleared of landmines over the past year thanks to United Nations-backed efforts to rid the country of potentially deadly unexploded remnants of war, most of them seeded in densely populated regions in the centre and south...

  Approximately one out of every five Iraqis – or 5.4 million people – lives within one kilometre of areas highly contaminated by explosive remnants of war...

  With $3 million in donor funding, the UN launched a project which has trained over two dozen National Explosive Ordnance Disposal Teams from the National Mine Action Authority.

  Over 490,380 square meters have been cleared thanks to the removal of 3,715 mines or other explosive ordnance items, such as shells.

  The UN has also provided staff to Iraq’s National Mine Action Authority while helping it to develop information materials – including posters and television spots – aimed at alerting families, especially children, to the dangers of unexploded remnants of war.

• Speaking of foreign assistance:
  

  Malaysia will share its views and experience in tackling the communist terrorism in the country during the post-independence era at the International Conference on Iraq in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday.

  Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who will leave for Brussels Monday, said as the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) chairman, Malaysia had been invited to share its views and experience on how the war-ravaged Iraq could be redeveloped in the economic, political, social and cultural fields...

  [The Minister] said that initially Malaysia disagreed to the regime change using the military approach but now the situation was different with the formation of a democratic government. "Hence, we must give our support to the reconstruction and restoration of peace and stability in Iraq," he added.

• Iraqi civilians are cooperating more with security forces:
  

  More and more, Iraqi citizens are helping suppress the insurgency in that country, a senior U.S. officer in Baghdad said today.

  "The Iraqi people increasingly are exposing the insurgency," Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said. "In some places there are (terrorist) cells that are concerned that they can't blend into that neighborhood."

  Officials at Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq last week reported that Iraqi citizens helped uncover large weapons caches and assisted Iraqi military and police authorities in rescuing two hostages held in two separate kidnappings. One tip, officials said, came from an Iraqi child who led Iraqi Intervention Forces to a small cache in Mosul.

  Since April, Alston said, tips from the Iraqi public are up threefold, due in part to an advertising campaign that was launched to make Iraqis aware of resources available to report terror activities.

• In stories of increasing public cooperation with security forces:
  


• "An Iraqi citizen walked up to the entrance of Iraqi Army base in central Baghdad just after 6 p.m. June 5 and turned in a machinegun and several hand grenades to Iraqi Soldiers guarding the gate. The man told the guards he’d seen someone drop two sacks in a field the previous night. When the Iraqi man returned to the site in the morning he found the sacks hidden beneath some grass. Inside the bags the Iraqi citizen said he’d found 37 hand grenades, 105 fuses and the machine gun. Iraqi Soldiers went to the site, collected all the weapons and gave them to an explosives team for disposal";
  


• A huge cache of explosives - including over 1,000 sub-munitions and 56,000 fuses - removed from a factory in Northern Zafaraniya, after the factory's owner contacted the Coalition forces on June 5;
  


• "With the help of the Iraqi people, U.S. and Iraqi security forces found a bomb maker, a terrorist financier and weapons caches in Baghdad on June 11 and 12... Acting on another tip earlier, Iraqi police officers arrested three terror suspects - including two foreigners residing in Iraq illegally - and seized weapons and bombs from a house in central Baghdad on June 12"; two roadside bombs have also been located and defused;
  


• Acting on a tip, security forces in northern Baghdad arrested four suspects and seized a partially constructed car bomb on June 15;
  


• "A local farmer reported, and later delivered, a large weapons cache to Task Force Baghdad soldiers June 16. The Iraqi called officials from 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and told them of the weapons cache. The farmer then transported the cache to an agreed-upon location and handed it over to the soldiers. The cache included 400 hand grenades, 45 rocket-propelled grenades, two RPG launchers, and a box of ammunition";
  


• On June 18 and 19, tips from local residents led Task Force Liberty soldiers to two weapons caches containing a variety of bomb-making equipment near Ad Dwar in Salah Ad Din Province;
  


• On June 19, "an Iraqi citizen offered to lead Task Force Baghdad Soldiers to the house of a man targeted for participating in a car bomb attack on Coalition Forces earlier in the week. The citizen took the Soldiers to a house in the Tamariyah district of south Baghdad. No one was home when the Soldiers checked the house; but as they were leaving, the citizen recognized the suspect’s car driving down the street. The Soldiers stopped the vehicle and took the terror suspect into custody for questioning";
  


• Also on the same day, "a resident of central Baghdad told Task Force Baghdad soldiers about a group of terrorists were planning an attack on a coalition check point in Abu Ghraib and offered to go with the soldiers to point out exactly where the suspects lived. The soldiers investigated the tip and took three suspects into custody for questioning. Later, acting on a tip from a second Baghdad resident, Iraqi army soldiers uncovered a cache of weapons containing three mortar rounds, 13 projectiles of various types, 20 pounds of solid rocket fuel, two rockets, an anti-tank mine, and an assortment of blasting caps, fuses and wire";
  


• Thanks to a tip from a local resident, a unit of the military police company of the Ukrainian contingent seized a weapons cache outside the town of Al-Kut;
  


• "An Iraqi citizen’s tip helped Task Force Baghdad Soldiers capture eight terror suspects in the Risalah district of south Baghdad on June 20. Shortly after 6 p.m., the Iraqi told the Soldiers he had seen approximately 10 men running from the site of an attack on the Ministry of the Interior compound into nearby houses. The tipster also said the men running into the houses had AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. When a patrol searched the houses, they detained eight terror suspects, many of whom were found hiding in closets holding loaded weapons".
  


• And in other recent security successes:
  


• The arrest in late May of Musaab Kasser Abdul Rahman Hassan, known as Abu Younis, an Al Qaeda operative responsible for building car bombs and carrying out 60 bombing attacks across Iraq;
  


• "From May 29 to June 1, Soldiers of the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade and 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, teamed up to bust terrorist cells in Baghdad. During the three-day cordon-and-search mission, they captured 47 terror suspects, three of whom were terrorist cell leaders, six AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and one assault rifle. Some detainees provided sworn statements on terrorists in their neighborhoods";
  


• "Coalition forces foiled eight planned attacks in Iraq June 4-5, detained 116 suspected terrorists and killed three others";
  


• The arrest by Iraqi soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division of four foreign terrorists in the Ameriyah district of Baghdad on June 5;
  


• "Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured seven terror suspects, including a man specifically targeted for terrorist activities, and weapons and seized bomb making materials in a series of combat operations conducted in east Baghdad June 6";
  


• The arrest on June 7 of Jassim Hazan Hamadi al-Bazi, also known as Abu Ahmed, an Al Qaeda bomb-maker who manufactured roadside bombs and car bombs from an electronic repair shop in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad;
  


• "Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces took 59 terror suspects into custody during multiple combat operations conducted throughout the capitol June 7. The largest operation was a series of early-morning raids led by the Iraqi Army’s Wolf Brigade that targeted 15 different locations and netted 40 terror suspects in the Mechemics and Al Sadiya areas of south Baghdad. Later in the day, the Wolf Brigade conducted another raid in central Baghdad and apprehended 10 more suspects, including one specifically-targeted terrorist";
  


• Iraqi soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division; the 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and 1st Ministry of Interior Commandos captured several suspects and recovered weapons during a cordon and search operation on June 8 in the Ameriyah District of Baghdad;
  


• "Iraqi Army and Task Force Baghdad soldiers captured 33 terror suspects, seized 2 million Iraqi dinars and confiscated a variety of bomb-making materials in a series of operations conducted June 8 and 9";
  


• During the continuing security operation in Tal Afar, 70 suspects were arrested on June 10;
  


• On June 10, soldiers from 2-2 Iraqi Army Battalion seized a weapons cache including "two 90mm tank rounds, three 107mm rockets, two 122 mm artillery rounds, 13 Katusha PG-9 rockets and four Katusha rocket boosters" at Al Ali;
  


• 
  40 insurgents who set up a checkpoint on the road outside Karabilah in Western Iraq killed in seven precision-guided airstrikes by the US forces on June 11;
  


• "U.S. Third Infantry Division soldiers conducted a raid in southern Baghdad on June 11, uncovering a weapons cache that led to the arrest of several men";
  


• Four members of Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group Ansar Al Sunna arrested in Kirkuk on June 12;
  


• "Basra police forces have mounted 'a daring' operation against smugglers involved in the illegal smuggling of crude oil and byproducts. 'We have shut down 24 illegal terminals and confiscated scores of boats, ships and cranes,' said Lt. Col. Ali Hammadi in a press conference";
  


• "Iraqi police in the city of Kut, south of Baghdad, have arrested some 39 alleged members of the terrorist group Ansar al-Sunna in various operations [between 30 May and 13 June]. A security official told the US-funded Radio Sawa that among those detained was an Egyptian citizen and the driver of a leading terrorist being sought by the Iraqi authorities... Those arrested, as well as reportedly admitting their membership of Ansar al-Sunna, acknowledged that they had killed and slit the throats of various policemen and members of the Shiite community. During April and May more than 200 alleged terrorists were picked up by the police in the same areas";
  


• On June 14, troops from the Multinational Division Central South on operation in Babil province discovered a weapons cache containing weapons parts, ammunition and about 10 kilograms of explosives, and detained seven terror suspects;
  


• Abed Dawood Suleiman, a former Iraqi general believed to be al-Zarqawi's "military adviser" and his son, former army captain Raed Abed Dawood, arrested in a morning raid on their house in Khalidiya, west of Baghdad, on June 15;
  


• The rescue of Australian-American hostage Douglas Wood by the Iraqi and American security forces in Baghdad on June 15;
  


• On June 15 in Baghdad, Iraqi and American troops seized five suspects, including three wanted members of a terror cell; "arrested eight suspected car-bomb manufacturers and seized a nearly completed car bomb, bomb-making materials, and weapons"; and then arrested another seven suspects during a cordon and search operation in the Shawra Wa Um Jidir district of northeastern Baghdad;
  


• The capture in Mosul on June 16 of Muhammad Khalaf Shakar, known as Abu Talha, described as Al Zarqawi's "most trusted operations agent"; for more background on the operation, including the tensions between various insurgent and terrorist groups in Mosul, read this report;
  


• The arrest of 13 suspects in raids by Iraqi security forces of various areas of the capital on June 16;
  


• "At least seven gunmen were arrested and arms, including ammunition, weapons and 10 kilograms (more than 20 pounds) of explosives, were seized during Operation White Shield in central and southern Iraq on June 16;
  


• Around 50 insurgents were killed in airstrikes in the first two days (17-18 June) of Operation Dagger, 75 miles west of Bahgdad; during the operation, Marines located an insurgent compound containing car bomb factory, and weapons caches. As another report adds: "American marines on an operation to eliminate insurgents broke through the outside wall of a building in this small rural village to find a torture center equipped with electric wires, a noose, handcuffs, a 574-page jihad manual - and four beaten and shackled Iraqis";
  


• "In and around Mosul, U.S. soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) and Task Force Freedom detained nine suspected terrorists and seized a number of weapons during operations June 17 and 18";
  


• Eleven suspects arrested in early morning raids in Baghdad on June 17, including "two terror-cell leaders, a safe house owner, a former Baath party member, and a man wanted for kidnapping and murdering Iraqi soldiers, police and civilians" and "a known member and financier of a foreign terror cell in the Harbiya district of central Baghdad";
  


• On June 17, soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor, 48th Brigade Combat Team discovered a large cache of weapons in south Baghdad, which included "about 100 82-millimeter mortar cases, 67 mortar fuses, a mortar base plate and several mortar tubes";
  


• "Iraqi Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers conducted a series of combat operations June 18 to capture targeted terrorists and seize weapons and contraband... [apprehending] five suspects, including a specifically-identified terror cell financier"; items seized included numerous components for making car bombs. Two roadside bombs were also dismantled that day;
  


• On June 19, "Iraqi security forces and multinational forces killed two terrorists, detained 17 terror suspects, and seized a large cache of weapons in northern Iraq". Meanwhile in Baghdad, "Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad soldiers also captured five terror suspects, one targeted individual, and two weapons caches in one operation today. A second operation netted four terror suspects, bomb-making materials, triggering devices, one propane cylinder, and various false identification cards at one location";
  


• The capture in Mosul on 20 June of Hussein Alaiwi Ibrahim, the top aide of the recently arrested leader of al-Qaeda's Mosul cell, Abu Talha. Ibrahim "was captured during a meeting with another al-Qaeda operative, his driver and his body guard in the northern city Iraqi city";
  


• "Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured 23 terror suspects during early-morning combat operations in the capitol June 20. Most of the suspects were seized at 3:30 a.m. when a Task Force Baghdad unit working in south Baghdad saw a curfew violator run into a house. When the Soldiers investigated, they found 17 men and 12 AK-47 assault rifles in the house. The men were taken into custody for questioning and the weapons seized. Twenty minutes later, terrorists fired at a U.S. patrol in north Baghdad. The Soldiers identified which house the small-arms fire was coming from, and they set up a perimeter and investigated. When the Soldiers searched the house, they found 25 people inside, including seven military aged males. They also found an AK-47 assault rifle, five rifle magazines and spent shell casings on the roof. Six of the seven men were taken into custody for questioning";
  


• Weapons cache recovered (the second one in a week) near Hamiyah by local Iraqi Police led Soldiers of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); "Items seized and subsequently destroyed included 250 57mm anti-aircraft rounds, 15 point-detonating fuses and 3 100mm anti-tank rounds";
  


• "A Task Force Baghdad patrol in north Baghdad stopped an ambulance carrying weapons and 11 military-aged males at 12:30 a.m. on June 21. After observing the ambulance being driven erratically, the Soldiers stopped the vehicle and found eight passengers in the back. They also found one AK-47, one 9mm pistol and two ski masks. The ambulance was not carrying medical supplies or life-saving equipment except one litter-type stretcher. The vehicle was moving about after the Iraqi-imposed curfew and the passengers admitted to having no medical training. The vehicle had no license plates and the men had no paperwork regarding the weapons. All 11 men in the vehicle were detained for further questioning";
  


• Around 70 suspected insurgents and terrorists arrested in raids around the country on June 21.

Kofi Annan finishes his opinion piece thus: “The Iraqi people continue to endure a painful and difficult transition, and they still have a long and tough road ahead. The United Nations is privileged and determined to walk it with them. In doing so, we serve not only the people of Iraq, but the peoples of all nations.” Let us hope that going beyond empty rhetoric, nations are becoming indeed united in the effort to see Iraq through its difficult transition.

As always, if you gave suggestions for future editions, please email goodnewsiraq “at” windsofchange “dot” net.

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Hilal Hussein al-Badrani, a Saudi who commands Ansar al-Sunnah, has been captured outside of Mosul by Iraqi security forces. al-Badrani was arrested while "in possession of weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition". Just recently, Ansar al Sunnah has agreed to enter into an official alliance with the Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) and the Mujahedeen Army. It should be interesting to find out what details al-Badrani may have on this arrangement, as well as his specific knowledge on his organization.

Khalid Suleiman Darwish has been killed in Qaim. Darwish was Zarqawi's number two in command, and was believed to be in the running to succession to al Qaeda in Iraq if Zarqawi is killed or captured. The death of Darwish narrows down the potential successors to Zarqawi, as he is the second prince to be removed from the battlefield in the past month, after the capture of Abu Talha [note: I predicted Darwish would succeed Zarqawi].

al Qaeda in Iraq's senior leadership is taking a pounding of late.

Qaim is certainly a hot theater in Iraq. Abdullah al-Rashood, a very senior member of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia was also killed in Qaim this past week. General Abizaid believes the Coalition has a decent handle on Zarqawi's location. No doubt he is thinking Western Anbar, based on the senior members of al Qaeda in Iraq that have recently exuded the essence of their blood.

Also Read:

Another failed mass attack by "insurgents", this time on an Iraqi police station. The much maligned police fended it off on their own.

Note:

I'm on vacation in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Internet access is working well, so I will post when possible. If there are any readers in the area and you'd like to meet up for a drink, drop me an email. Many, many thanks to reader Marlin for digging up the articles used in this post.

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IRAN REPORTS

• More on Iran's sheltering of al Qaeda, and a follow up from Dan Darling noting that MSNBC article and going into more detail. Dan then draws some connections between the people involved and Iran's new President.

• Ahmadinejad: No need for US ties.
  
• Ahmadinejad: we need out nukes!!!

• More from Regime Change Iran.

IRAQ AND THE GULF

• Syria is the foreign jihadi's conduit to Iraq.

• Suleiman Khalid Darwish, Zarqawi's second in comand and potential successor, has been bagged.

• The leader of Ansar al-Sunnah has been captured.

• Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the Iraqi insurgent leadership agree on a withdrawal plan.

• Rumsfeld admitted on a Sunday morning show that the US has been meeting Sunni insurgency leaders to convince them to lay down their arms, but denied that any negotiation was taking place with Zarqawi's organization.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• Sanctions for Syria?

• Is Israeli Policy in Disarray? Sure looks like it.
  
• A Hamas leader recommends more terror attacks against Israel.

• Israeli settles and troops spar during the destruction of homes in Gaza. An Israeli soldier refuses to follow orders to assist with the destruction of settlements.

• The EU believes Egypt can play a crucial role in Gaza.

AFRICA

• Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says leveling homes of the poor is just fine. But now he instructs the Army to rebuild the homes? Make up your mind.

ASIA & AUSTRALIA

• Bill Gertz is sounding the alarm on China's military buildup; meanwhile, China is set to produce a new generation of trainer fighter jets.

• Nine Indian soldiers are murdered in a roadside bombing in Kashmir.

• Uzbekistan is up for grabs after restricting US flights in country.

• Is the US meeting with Uzbeki terrorists?
  
• Islamists torch a mosque in Bangladesh.

• More beheadings in Thailand.

• Sri Lanka makes peace overtures to the Tamil Tigers.

• Taiwan to install missile defense radars.

EUROPE

• Western Islamists are heading to Iraq, according to European intelligence.

• CIA agents are indicted for kidnapping and rendering Abu Omar.

* Aquitted 9-11 suspect Abdelghani Mzoudi considers suing the German government for prosecuting him.

• Spain will send 500 additional soldiers to Afghanistan to provide security for the election.

• Turkey Warns the EU not to change the rules for entry into the organization.

THE GLOBAL WAR

• Dispatches from the Jihadi belt: the latest releases by al-Qaeda in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and what they tell us about AQ's mindset and reorganization.

• JK: speaking of mindsets, longtime liberal POed poet is very displeased with the recent Gulag accusations et. al., and offers a poed poem on the subject of evil and the corruption of language.

• General Abazaid believes they have a decent handle on Zarqawi's locaton.
  
• Musharraf refutes US claims that Osama's location has been discovered.

Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know.

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REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Zarqawi has formed a "sub brigade" or martyrs' brigade of al-Qaeda in Iraq. In an audio statement, Zarqawi claimed the unit was formed "due to strong insistence from our Iraqi brothers and their desire for Paradise," and that volunteers had applied "in their tens to sign their names to meet their Maker".

• Abdullah al-Rashud, an al-Qaeda aide to Zarqawi was killed in a US air attack at the Jihad Superbowl - the border town of al-Qaim. It is a core component of a smuggling route into the Anbar province of northwestern Iraq. US Forces have been spending a lot of time in that area, interdicting the influx of foreign fighters entering Iraq.

• Michael Yon sends information and pictures about "Critical Nodes" in Iraq, as he tours with CSM Jeffrey Mellinger - the Multinational Forces Command Sergeant Major.

• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that American forces had met with insurgent groups in Iraq many times in an attempt to help the Iraqi government draw less militant insurgents into the political process.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• The Islamic Development Bank continues support of Iraq reconstruction by allocating another $500 million. Kuwait has also pledged more support to reconstruction.

• Here are some of this week's reconstruction highlights: Work continues on the installation of the V-94 combustion gas turbine at the Taza Substation in Kirkuk. The turbine’s enclosure and air intake structure have been installed and workers are currently assembling the generator’s various piping systems. Work is continuing on the rehabilitation of two units at the Doura power plant in southern Baghdad. Although its four steam boilers and turbines are each rated at 160MW, all have been poorly maintained for many years, largely due to spare parts shortages. Workers continued to install equipment and run tests as work moves forward on the refurbishment of a water treatment plant in Karbala. The project is now 54% complete and will be finished in September 2005. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and USAID’s Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for Iraq (ARDI) program will repair two culverts in Babil Governorate that carry water underneath roadways to irrigate farmland. USAID’s Community Action Program (CAP) worked with a Community Action Group (CAG) in a village 100 kilometers outside of Baghdad to improve the local potable water source. The village is located in a largely agricultural area along a connector road of the Baghdad- Karbala highway, and has a population of 1,100. A community outside of Mosul is working with CAP to repair three kilometers of local road. No repairs have been done in the area for over twenty years and the neighborhood roads are impassable. A total of 504,458 Secondary School Student Kits have been distributed to students in 2,244 secondary schools in Iraq. Ten thousand out of school Iraqi youth aged 12-18 will attend Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) schools beginning in the fall that will allow them to make up for two missed years of primary school in one year. Total USAID funds spent from 2003 - June 2005: $5,079,389,496.

IRAQI POLITICS

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

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• BR: Iraq's Prime Minister puts the pressure on Syria to close the borders to prevent the flow of foreign jihadis into Iraq, and states he would back the US in a conflict with Iran. So much for "Shi'ite election winners = Iranian allies" idea...

• In a forum of 80 countries, sponsored by the EU and the US, ministers of the first democratically elected government are getting involved in the international community.

• President Bush is taking his case for the war in Iraq to the American people, as public support for the mission slips. The bully pulpit is a powerful ally in selling the case, but has the President waited too long?

• Wretchard looks at the question of setting a timetable in Iraq and explains why it would be a big first step towards losing the war.

• JK: Chester notes that Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is making the same demands on the Bush administration as the Iraqi insurgents. Of course, his demands were also perfectly in sync with Saddam and his allies before the war, so in that sense nothing much has really changed.

• JK: Which is why I argue that the critics have acted in bad faith at every step - ignore or attack them, and press on to Victory.

ETCETERA

• Former Iraqi Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz, will not testify in court against Saddam Hussein. He is currently in an Iraqi jail awaiting trial.

• Military/legal blogger Phillip Carter is heading to war with the vaunted 101st Air Assault Division. Godspeed to Phillip and his soldiers.

• 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!

Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know. And if you have a tip for a future Iraq Report, email us at MondayIraqReport(at)windsofchange.net.

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• The multicult Left would finally be forced to treat the American flag with reverence, and would begin to advocate forced "re-education" for those who did not.

• The U.S. could advertise widely in the Mideast that American agents were working to insert software viruses into the machines of local flag producers, and secretly substitute some of these micro-encoded materials as well. It's exactly the sort of thing their conspiracy culture would believe, and flag-burnings there would drop almost to zero. After all, one could never be sure one wasn't burning passages from the Koran.

• It would get rid of this dumb constitutional amendment idea.

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The elite Iranian force believed to be protecting Saad bin Laden and two dozen al Qaeda leaders is one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' five branches, and has been given the mission of "exporting the Islamic revolution" by training, arming and collaborating with foreign terrorist groups -- even those that do not share Iran's fundamentalist Shiite brand of Islam ...

...The group has also maintained ties with the al Qaeda terrorist network for more than a decade, according to U.S. and European intelligence officials. Senior al Qaeda leaders first met and formed a tactical alliance with the nascent Jerusalem Force in Sudan in the early 1990s, according to intelligence officials. The group was creating terrorist training camps there at the same time that Osama bin Laden had begun to create his own financial and training infrastructure.

Bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman Zawahiri, used his decade-old relationship with Vahidi, then commander of the Jerusalem Force, to negotiate a safe harbor for some of al Qaeda's leaders who were trapped in the mountains of Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in 2001, according to a European intelligence official.

The group is "a state within a state, and that is why they are able to offer protection to al Qaeda," one European intelligence analyst said. "The Force's senior leaders have long-standing ties to al Qaeda, and, since the fall of Afghanistan, have provided some al Qaeda leaders with travel documents and safe haven."

This should be interesting to watch given that the Qods Force are the guys who are now protecting the surviving al-Qaeda leadership.

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Near as I can tell, Rafsanjani's pragmatism, which seems to include moderating the nastier elements of the Iranian government with respect to their role in the Iraqi insurgency and encouraging negotiations with the Euros. Both of these fly in the face of a lot of people in the Iranian military-intelligence-clerical establishment who feel that they've been too complacent for too long and now have the US on both sides of their border as a result. Having successfully taken control of the Majlis by hook and by crook, these same individuals, the majority of them focused in groups like the Abadgaran movement saw no reason why they shouldn't do the same with regard to the presidency.

Also, contra the assertions of both Ken Pollack and Greg Djerejian, I didn't see any indication that the Iran "hawks" were rubbing their hands together and hoping for an Ahmadinejad victory so that they could press forward with their plans for regime change. Up until the last several days of the campaign, most of us pretty much assumed that Rafsanjani was going to win because he was who we would choose as the most public symbol of the regime if we were the mullahs. You guys think that Pletka op-ed in the New York Times was a false flag operation or something? As for Dr. Ledeen, his most recent column described the showdown between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad as being akin to that between Hitler and the SA, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for either side.

What needs to be understood about Ahmadinejad is that he represents the most extreme elements of the Iranian regime and while he has little true power apart from Khamenei's desires (as I think we've all learned from the example of Khatami) the EU possibility of some grand bargain with Iran is now effectively dead. I mean, according to designated Middle East Expert™ Juan Cole (in one of the most bizarre exercises of moral equivalence I've ever seen online) he's basically an Iranian version of George W. Bush, which should be reason enough for the Europeans and their fellow travelers to hate him.

As readers know, I never believed that Rafsanjani wanted coexistence with the West, so Greg lamentingthe fact that Iran is not going to be the next China gets few shed tears from me. However, I think this last part summarizes the situation in Iran rather aptly:

Will Ukraine style stirrings now become more likely, with younger Iranians increasingly disenchanted with the consolidation of power by ultra-conservatives? Or will a North Korea scenario take place, with a reactionary circle intent on becoming a nuclear power brutishly and successfully stamping out domestic dissent? Or something else?

This depends, I think, on how clever Ahmadinejad and his backers are and we should keep in mind that since all his elections did was expand Khamenei's stranglehold to the nominally-autonomous presidency that very little was actually accomplished and that things will remain on course for the time being. The more cynical element of me, however, is more than a little tempted to set up a betting pool for when Iran pulls out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. And while I realize that such a solution is nothing short of an anathema to all the stabiliticists and self-described "realists" out there, my own sense that since the chances for US-Iranian reproachment are now universally recognized as nil and problems with Iran are likely to proliferate that we are now in the position in which the US is going to have to do something about Iran.

You all know my position on the matter, but the question is, what is that something going to be?

SIDEBAR: THE BROKEN POLITICAL SPECTRUM Yet again displaying the utter uselessness of using either Western or faux Kremlinological terms to describe the Iranian political scene, Ahmadinejad is described as an "ultra-conservative" yet his understanding of economics seems to involve a healthy element of Marx on the side. He's also been described as "socially conservative" because he wants men and women to use separate elevators and supports the execution of homosexuals, yet it was his Abadgaran backers in the Majlis that voted to liberalize the nation's abortion laws. Some people have described him as a fascist, yet for all his fondness for the Baseeji brownshirts he doesn't appear to have any of the corporatist tendencies that dominated Mussolini's Italy for all its statism.

Please understand, this is not some knee-jerk "he's a leftist!" screed, though he does kind of look like some flavors of communist if you can get around the religious element, but rather to make the point that a lot of Iranian (or Iraqi, for that matter) political figures really don't fit into our French-based right/left divide and shouldn't be placed there artificially in an attempt to provide a false context.

UPDATE: This just gets better and better. Ahmadinejad is apparently a founder of the Qods Force. Just how close Ahmadinejad still is with them may well come back into the news again given this story that first appeared in the Washington Post back in 2003. The headline "Iranian Force Has Long Ties to Al Qaeda" says it all, but I add some relevant excerpts and analysis.

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Reading the obituaries for Rep. Jake Pickle last week, I noticed again that his political death was also attributed to his vote in favor of Civil Rights as a representative from an area where that was not the popular will. Every one of those early liberals knew they were risking their careers when they made the vote, and the cost is being felt to this day.

In Senator Yarborough's office, there was a feeling of elation because of the pride in being part of the enlightened side. And there was the knowledge that there was a great deal of hate mail, hate phone calls, rumors of dirty doings (one we heard was that the Senator's office was all black people - we had a group photo made and distributed it to the Texas press), and the beginnings of deriding anyone with social conscience as being a 'bleeding heart liberal'.

In the junior senator's office there was a spirit of innovation, some proud achievements were the Cold War GI Bill of Rights, that gave educational benefits to veterans of undeclared war. That by the way, by that time was Vietnam, now President Johnson's war. Surprised? Yes, we were from the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic party, but we were not the militarist crowd. Senator made derisive remarks on the floor of the Senate about the administration's coopting funds that were appropriated for education, for conservation, for the purchase of lands to become the Padre Mountains National Park - and using them to bomb Vietnam. (He prounounced that 'bum Veetnam'.)

The legislative office was a sweet place, run by el Senador's son, Richard Yarborough. Like his father, Dick was brilliant and long enough part of the power groups of Washington to know how to accomplish things, and to know when nothing could be accomplished. He was also one of the targets of columnist Drew Pearson, and his ca. $30,000 annual salary constantly under attack as nepotism of the most sordid sort.

Like his father whose testimony about the number of shots actually fired into the presidential motorcade which he gave to the investigative committee had been totally ignored - and which is one of the building blocks in any number of conspiracy theories about the actual assassins of President John F. Kennedy - Dick could turn his back on criticism and go on about the business of legislation.

When the Fish and Wildlife Service sent us the notice of a reputed sighting of the threatened species known as the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in a remote area of the Big Thicket, it came to me, as I had the oversight of conservation issues. Probably the reason for that was that is was an undistinguished area, and I was bright, a writer of magazine articles and speechwriter, but with no legal training at the time.

I brought it to Dick's attention that there had been reported a sighting of the bird, and that it had been listed as possibly extinct for some time as there were no confirmed sightings over a period of almost ten years. He referred me to the stories of a backwoods character in the Thicket, who had been asked if he could find the rare bird, replied yes but was generally shunted aside. A short time afterwards, the man had plopped a dead Ivory Bill onto the Wildlife officer's desk saying "Here you are," then strutted back into the piney woods, vindicated in his own mind.

We talked about the fact that the few wildlife service officers actually out there in the field were going to be part of the community, and not so much concerned for a few violations of their rules as with keeping peace and order around them. We came to a conclusion that we took to the Senator, and he concurred. We were going to introduce a bill to give federal protection to the possibly extinct bird, ol' Ivory Bill.

Now over the years I've heard other stories about the ivory-billed woodpecker having been sighted here and there, from Virginia to Costa Rica, and many stories about the 'Lord God' bird that occasionally had nested near one or another story teller. We were willing to be realistic and accept the possibility that none would ever be seen again. It became a joke we used in attracting cosponsors for the bill. It was surely a good thing to give federal protection to an endangered species. Besides, as it was probably extinct, the law would most likely never have to be invoked. In legislative matters, that is something votes can be traded on.

It took some talking, and it took some vote trading, but the bill came through, and in later years Senator told me he had a few things he was really proud of, one of them the first legislation giving federal protection to an endangered species.

Ivory Bill came back. We have now, in 2005, a confirmed and photographed sighting of that big black and white striped, red headed, large and legendary figure. He's been looked for a long time, and eluded so many hopeful birders. Now he's reappeared like the raptors in Jurassic Park, not a far cry from the wildernesses of those piney woods.

Gives you hope that some other of the noble days, the higher things, will come back as well. He's likely got a hidden nest back there still in the Big Thicket, laughing for all he's worth. And a few Alabama Coushattas who aren't telling.

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He told the youth to follow and went into town. When they reached the main square, Nasrudin started to cuff his son and shout:

'How dare you do exactly as I say? This is the punishment fit for one who obeys!'

'Leave him alone!' hissed one young woman. 'How can you beat him for being a model son?'

'This is surely the woman for me, father,' said Nasrudin's son.

'Best to have a choice,' replied the Mulla and led the way to the neighbouring town. Here, he acted out exactly the same scene. But this time, a young girl began to cheer him on:

'That's right! Hit him! Only a fool obeys blindly!'

'Son,' said Nasrudin, with a smile, 'I think we have found you an intelligent bride.'

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Winds of Change.NET's Deadwood Marshals have jointly decided that Raymond's use of such language has crossed an uncrossable line into incitement. As of a few minutes ago, Raymond has been banned from commenting at Winds of Change.

The decision to take this step was echoed, for various reasons, by every one of our Marshals - and it did not come out of the blue. It came to pass after a number of comment deletions over several months, and extensive back-channel efforts by the Winds team and the Marshals. Extensive efforts have been made to bring his contributions into line with Winds comments policy, and with our vision of a site where all opinions are invited and quality discussion is maintained.

It's rare indeed for us to ban a Winds regular; but in this case Raymond has left us no choice other than to do so, or to be complicit in this behavior.

[Edited by Winds founder and team leader Joe Katzman in response to reader questions & input, June 25/05]

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With the exception of the last sentence in the article, it's a pretty good primer on the activities of the 20-25 members of the al-Qaeda ruling council now based in Iran. The reason why the last sentence is bunk is simple: there has been enough noise out of Saif al-Adel, for instance, to draw the conclusion that whatever he's in he's free to use the Internet. That's bad, because if he can use the internet than he can communicate and coordinate with his associates, order attacks, plot grand strategy, et al. One of the products of the time al-Adel had to write, incidentally, was "Iraq al-Jihad," the document that prompted the 3/11 bombers to murder hundreds of innocent Spaniards.

So you'll forgive me for not taking much comfort that al-Adel is in Iranian "custody." By all rights, he should be extradicted back to Egypt, where he faces a death sentence for trying to plow an airplane into the Egyptian parliament in 1987. Especially given where the Iranians are "holding" al-Adel and his associates:

And that’s just what happened, say current U.S. officials. According to reports in the Arab media, they were rounded up and taken to two locations guarded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: one in villas in the Namak Abrud region, near the town of Chalous on the Caspian coast, 60 miles north of Tehran, and the other in Lavizan, a region northwest of the capital that also houses a large military complex.

The facility near Chalous (Chalus) is, for the 89th time, is an underground nuclear weapons development facility, while Lavizan is one of the largest IRGC bases in all of Central province and apparently hosts a number of unconventional facilities. So in addition to being in "villas," the al-Qaeda leadership is not being held at Evin or any of the other notorious Iranian prisons but rather in some of the most heavily-defended installations in the country.

And while we're on the subject of who's being held where, I notice that an Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA-linked individuals they believe were involved in an operation that involved in the rendition of one Abu Omar to Egypt. Now I'll readily concede that I am not the biggest fan of rendition, but the Milan wiretaps make it quite clear that this guy is no angel:

[Abu Umar] Congratulations, you encouraged the youngsters.

[Man] And that is not the end of it. There are so many things to change in order to eliminate God's enemies, the policy of Israel and those who pursue it.

[Abu Umar] That is our hope...

[Man] On 16 of last month there was a confidential meeting with the shaykhs in Poland; the final decision was to completely change the Hizb al-Tahrir front and to build a new organization that concerns itself with the national territory and with the international territory but we need highly trained people at every level.

[Abu Umar] It takes time.

[Man] We have time; we are moving very gradually. There are people already on the inside.

[Abu Umar] What do you mean?

[Man] Now Shaykh Adel and Shaykh Abd al-Wahab have set up various groups in which there are various brothers who have come back from Chechnya.

[Abu Umar] How about Shaykh Adlen?

[Man] He moved before I came here. I met him in 1987. But let us now return to our topic. Our project needs intelligent and highly educated people. Where the Jihad part is concerned, there is Abu Serrah who is planning to set up a battalion of 25 to 26 units but the plan needs to be thoroughly prepared.

[Abu Umar] As long as the Devil does not work his way into it.

[Man] The first thing that I will tell you is that we are aware that we are under surveillance. We know that half the brothers are in jail, including those who have been accused of gathering funds. I repeat, the plan must be studied in detail because the thread begins in Saudi Arabia; the person taking care of this plan is Abu Salman (or Abu Suleyman) who is of the same blood as Emir Abdullah (1) so there is no need for any comment. [Man ends]

At that point both men laugh.

[Man] But the mosques have too high a profile; they must be left alone. We need new structures; we are seeking from seven to nine buildings. We recently bought a four-story building.

[Abu Umar] Are we not concerning ourselves with the mosques?

[Man] Yes, we are concerning ourselves with them. We are also concerning ourselves with financing them, but money has to generate money because the aim is also to form an Islamic army with the name of Force 9 (source translator's note: the term used is Kawa)

[Abu Umar] How are things going in Germany?

[Man] I cannot complain. There are 10 of us; we are taking an interest in Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey and Egypt, Italy and France, but the nerve center is still London... Shaykh Adlen has given a great deal of money; as I told you this plan has no need of any further comments or words.

[Abu Umar] I hope that this will cause our youth to shine.

[Man] That is our objective; each of us has a task, for instance if one has 10 operatives available, he becomes their leader and then it is up to him to decide whether to organize them into smaller groups or to keep them like that. The important thing is to use one's intelligence.

[Abu Umar] Even if they are foreigners (source translator's note: not Arabs)?

[Man] That is not important. We need also foreigners; we have Albanians, Swiss, British... It is enough that they be of a high cultural level. In Germany we have interpreters and interpreters that translate books; we have also in telecommunications [as published], also in Austria; the important thing is that their faith in Islam be sincere.

[Abu Umar] We have never had any problems with them; on the contrary, we have noticed that they are very enthusiastic and they participate.

[Man] Besides, neither you nor I are the ones who decide whether to take them or not; those who make the decision are the people with Hizb al-Tawid.

[Abu Umar] I am very enthusiastic about this plan.

[Man] Never worry about money, because Saudi Arabia's money is your money; the important thing is not to rush ahead, because it is all new; there are old things too, but the training is completely new. The man who wanted to set up the plan is close to Emir Abdullah and we are grateful to Emir Abdullah. Get prepared.

The "man" being referenced there is Zarqawi, the "plan" refers to the poison plots disrupted by European authorities in late 2002 and early 2003, and Emir Abdullah is none other than Osama bin Laden. So whatever one believes about the practice of rendition, let's not have any illusions about who Abu Omar is or what he's involved in.

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al-Rashood’s entry into Iraq provides further evidence that Iraq is indeed a magnet for established international terrorists. Al Qaeda takes great pains to stress success in Qaim, despite the fact al Qaeda has been routed when they engage in open combat. No doubt those who walked away from Qaim would tell a different story than al Qaeda's command. Finally, note the standard jihadi fanaticism; “As a result, our Shaykh achieved his wish… the smell of musk emanated from his blood and Allah granted him his mercy, blessings, and paradise.” Does the "the smell of musk" alert the 72 virgins?

al Qaeda in Iraq feels the need to refute the claims that operatives and lieutenants have been detained. Concerning the recent arrest of 18 terrorists; "The enemies of Allah claimed that they have captured 18 individuals who executed the revenge attack for the Sunni people yesterday (Monday), but we swear that none of them were [captured]…" The capture of Abu Talha is also hotly disputed. It's all lies, see.

Whenever they catch a Muslim, they then claim that they have caught an assistant of our Shaykh [Abu Musab] al-Zarqawi. This method is well-known in the West, leading Spain to claim that it has arrested a group of Zarqawi’s assistants.”
The crusaders consider every Muslim who is associated with Al-Qaeda’s Committee a suspect; anyone who calls for Al-Tawheed is a soldier against the oppressors… anyone who belongs to the circle of Abraham is a terrorist that has declared war on the enemies of Allah. Do not be surprised by what we have told you, because the enemies of Allah in Mosul now declare that they have captured and important person who is an assistant of Zarqawi. We ask you, how many assistants have they previously claimed the capture of? We inform you, O’ brothers of al-Tawheed, that your brothers are safe and sound, declaring jihad in the cause of Allah, and do not fear anything.

A release of photographs of Abu Talha and the others, ala Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would do wonders to dispel al Qaeda’s propaganda.

A curious press release from al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia reports on the success of the destruction of three infidel Saudi helicopters that have tormented the al Qaeda branch. The helicopters are given life-like qualities; “These helicopters took an active role…they participated in demolishing the mosque... ‘O how many times did these helicopters battle… how many times did they spread fear… how many times did they disrespect the holy places of Muslims…” And so on. Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia is obsessed with the fact the Saudi government has suppressed this mission, but in light of al Qaeda’s beating in the country, it appears they are looking for something, anything to claim success.

Finally, there are some structural changes occurring in the Iraqi theater. The Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI), the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, and the Mujahideen Army have announced they will conduct joint operations; "hand in hand to attack the infidels and their assistants with an iron fist until we break the infidels... so that [we] can teach the infidels and their assistants that continuing their war will only make us stronger, more harmonious, and more unified." Co-operation has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side, resources, command, communications, safehouses, weapons and other assets can be shared among the groups, increasing their effectiveness. On the minus side, as the groups integrate more closely, the advantage of operating as separate forces to shield them from counterintelligence operations diminishes.

al Qaeda has announced the formation of an all-Iraqi suicide squad; "…[A]n Iraqi martyrs brigade that is a branch of the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade has been established. Immediately, dozens of individuals rushed forward to sign their names in a race to meet their creator." The fact that almost all of the suicide bombers to this date have been foreigners should cause this claim to be viewed skeptically. To date, the native Iraqi suicide bombers have been blackmailed, coerced, were Downs patients, canine, or were taped to the steering wheels and gas pedals. Perhaps the next batch of recruits will be more willing to “meet their creator” than the prior batch.

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The Low, Dishonest Road Through Gitmo

"But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation, even among people who should and do know better. The debased language that I have been discussing is in some ways very convenient."
(George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language")

The outpouring of hysterical invective from the likes of Amnesty International, Sen. Durbin, and others of late isn't the problem. The moral equivalence. The lack of any broad perspective. The selectiveness of outrage. The blithe indifference to both corrective measures in place, and the consequences of their conduct to the war effort. These are all traits we've seen, in abundance, at many other junctions in this war.

They are not the problem - they are merely symptoms. Symptoms of something larger, deeper, and more malignant.

That's why Col. Ralph Peters (ret.) has it exactly right in "Gitmo Cocktail":

"Has the Bush administration made mistakes regarding Guantanamo? You bet. The biggest one was attempting to placate the critics. By launching a new investigation every time a terrorist had a toothache, our government played into the hands of its enemies.

The truth is that the terrorists and their defenders have something in common. It's not courage, which is one quality violent fanatics don't lack. It's that neither can be appeased.

Any concession only increases their appetites. The Clinton administration's reluctance to respond to terrorist strikes encouraged al Qaeda. If the Bush administration closed the Guantanamo facility, any alternative holding center would be attacked just as rabidly and dishonestly.

If we put our captives up at the Four Seasons, we'd be condemned because somebody smelled bacon at breakfast.

You can't negotiate with terrorists. And you cannot reason with ideologues - whether they're Islamist fanatics or pathetic old lefties fishing for a cause to give meaning to squandered lives. Terrorists, French and German neo-Stalinists, and our own democracy-hating intelligentsia aren't interested in facts. It's all about the comfort of belief.

Let's get this straight: Nothing we could do would appease those who feel a need for our country to fail. We must stop trying to satisfy them.

There's a military maxim that applies to all the nonsense about Gitmo: Don't let the entire battalion get bogged down by a sniper. By attempting to respond to the wild charges leveled by those who offer no solutions themselves - who have no interest in solutions - we've allowed anti-American basket cases from Harvard Yard to the German parliament to create an issue from nothing."

The accusations and assaults will continue as long as any al-Qaeda terrorists are held anywhere, until they are accorded full Prisoner of War status with the right NOT to answer questions. At which point agitation for their release will begin because holding them "indefinitely" i.e. for the duration of the conflict is somehow wrong. It's entirely legal and expected for the POW status they desire, actually, let alone illegal combatants in wartime. But then, misrepresenting and making up "international law" has been part of their practice since Sept. 11, 2001.

The War Against The West

"The events on the battlefield will prove one of the two sides right, and thus bring along with it the undecided and fickle. The latter must be convinced each step of the way that fighting is for the long-term and, tragically so, the safer course of action for the security of themselves and their families. But because we are in a multifaceted war waged over years rather than months, and one broadcast daily and interpreted hourly by those with little knowledge and less objectivity, the administration is forced constantly to remind the public of the vast stakes involved, the enormous success already achieved, and the general-but-difficult goals ahead. To the extent that it tires or relents - for a month, a week, perhaps even a day - the media, the universities, presidential contenders, and a cultural elite will not, and thus will seek to equate the costs and setbacks that are the perennial stuff of war with defeat itself."
(Victor Davis Hanson, 2003/09/05, "Are We at War or At Peace?")

Mark Steyn neatly backs up Peters' - and Hanson's points:

"So, until Guantanamo, America was "viewed as a leader in human rights"? Not in 2004, when Abu Ghraib was the atrocity du jour. Not in 2003, when every humanitarian organization on the planet was predicting the deaths of millions of Iraqis from cholera, dysentery and other diseases caused by America's "war for oil." Not in 2002, when the "human rights" lobby filled the streets of Vancouver and London and Rome and Sydney to protest the Bushitler's plans to end the benign reign of good King Saddam. Not the weekend before 9/11 when the human rights grandees of the U.N. "anti-racism" conference met in South Africa to demand America pay reparations for the Rwandan genocide and to cheer Robert Mugabe to the rafters for calling on Britain and America to "apologize unreservedly for their crimes against humanity." If you close Gitmo tomorrow, the world's anti-Americans will look around and within 48 hours alight on something else for Gulag of the Week."

Let's review: past precedent and real law re: illegal combatants hasn't meant anything so far. Neither have restrictions on interrogation of illegal combatants that are patently ridiculous and endanger both national and global security. Investigations and prosecution when abuses happen, already underway before exposure? Nada. The release of many detainees deemed not be a threat, several of whom have gone right back to terrorist activities?

None of it has made even the slightest dent.

Even as the same media and activists who can't lose their obsessive attention to Gitmo or Abu Ghraib relegate the mass graves of Iraq, the torturers of the Iranian regime, the grisly torture and execution chambers of Fallaujah, even the ongoing populatrity of Hitler's Mein Kampf in the Islamic world to the back pages and the back burner. If they appear at all. Some are honest enough to confess this monstrous inversion of perspective in print. Others have simply made it crystal-clear through their behaviour.

Ralph Peters, again:

"What should enrage every decent citizen is that the real torturers - from Zimbabwe to China, from Syria to North Korea - get a pass from the political left. If terrorists behead defenseless captives on videotape, it's simply an expression of their culture. But if a handful of U.S. troops play an ugly round of Candid Camera, that's a new gulag.

As someone who takes human rights seriously, I'm appalled by the lack of sympathy the left feels toward the victims of any regime other than the Bush administration. Let's shout it to prisoners everywhere: If you're not harmed by an American, your suffering doesn't count.

The left's hypocrisy is immeasurable. The grandchildren of those who defended Stalin are mortified that Saddam Hussein will stand trial. By taking such irresponsible voices seriously, we grant our critics a strength they otherwise lack and simply help them keep their lies alive."

For that is the goal.

Belmont Club's piece "Memory Slam the Door" is a must-read, as he delves into the background of the "Center for Constitutional Rights" which is trying to close down Guantanamo via lawfare. They have a sustained and sordid record, and "human rights" has little to do with their activities. (see also the prequel, "Memory Hold the Door").

These people are not alone.

They hate us because we slew their god-idols, and they're reminded of it every time they look at their cracked altars. It's a concept that increasingly unites the neo-Marxist left and its followers, Islamists, and the neo-nazis of the world into one common idiotarian cause.

Armed Liberal calls it "bad philosophy." Our category archives refer to The War Within the West, a counterpart to and often an enabler of the war being waged outside its privileged walls.

This is not a rational phenomenon. It will not be appeased. It will not be solved by persuasion, any more than the Klan was solved by persuasion. Any more than the Gulags were solved by persuasion. As I wrote in October, 2003 (Islam: "It's the Hate, Stupid!"):

"What's beyond question to me is the fact that the reality and scale of this supremacist hatred must be faced. The alternatives are denial or collusion, both of which are often on display within the West. The wages of their indulgence are the continued growth of that hate, and global-scale death on a scale not seen in decades.

"It's the hate, stupid!" It needs to be confronted, strongly. It needs to end."

The Road To Victory

It does, and we will end it. We will end it by relentlessly pressing onward, to victory:

• Victory in Iraq as the next step in the war, for there is no alternative.

• Victory in the war abroad as a whole. Victory on the war's unpredictable battlefields, while liberty, women's rights, democracy and western culture all aid that victory and sow the Islamists' fields with salt. Victory in order to destroy the ideology that is the source of the threat, and make our triumph a lasting one.

• And victory at home that extends beyond the political sphere, and brings key American institutions back into balance with and accountability to America's public. For the same reason.

The price for these things will be high. The price of losing, on any of these fronts, is everything. Choose.

Those who share these values and goals must be welcomed, even if we disagree on important specifics. We may argue, but ultimately we will fight together - and together we will find the way to victory.

Those who stand with or enable the enemy, however, must pay the price, until their power is diminished or broken. No sanctuary. "Together they guarantee that their places of safety, every media outlet, every school and every place of worship will be transformed into arenas of unparalleled ferocity - to the possible benefit of the world." (Belmont Club, 2004/03/06: "Mordor")

To that end, we will not succumb to hate - we will see our path to victory clearly.

We will not succumb to perfectionism and paralysis - we will walk our path to victory resolutely and relentlessly.

And magnanimity comes only when all is done on each front, and we have won - not before.

That is war. That is victory. Even in "Postmodern War":

"Modern Western man is faced with this awful dilemma, from which he recoils: real peace and successful reconstruction are in direct proportion to the degree that an enemy is humiliatingly defeated and so acknowledges it - the aim being that he will come to feel that he cannot go on being what he has been. To that end, absolute victory may encompass everything from Hiroshima to bombing downtown Belgrade as the price for tranquillity and a democratic and humane postbellum Japan and the Balkans. Not finishing off a defeated Republican Guard in 1991 or sparing looters in April 2003 or breaking off the siege of Fallujah in April 2004 only ensures that more corpses will pile up later. President Bush's so-called Axis of Evil in 2002 - Iraq, Iran, and North Korea - all had in common unfinished business with the U.S. military that had led to a bellum interruptum of sorts. In contrast, the Grenada communists, Noriega, Milosevic, and the Taliban were all defeated, and only after that were their societies rebuilt - and thus Grenada, Panama, Serbia, and Afghanistan now do not belong to the axis of anything. Perhaps for all the debate over how to fight irregular wars in an age of global terrorism, we would do best to recall the realistic, if inelegant, words of the owner of the Oakland Raiders, the infamous Al Davis: "Just win, baby."

Mobilize. And win.

So, what do we do when things go wrong, as they always will? We follow Ralph Peters' advice:

When comments are unavoidable, try this: "We're human. We make mistakes. We fix those mistakes. And we move on. Nothing will divert us from our mission of defeating terror and keeping our country safe."

Nothing. Mistakes, even big mistakes, are made in every war fought (ask us Canadians about Dieppe) - but we pick ourselves up and fight on. Armed Liberal's has the right of it:

"Why do we take that [perfect war] fantasy into account? Because on some basic level, we assume that we're the TV cowboy, and that the bad guys can fire all the bullets they want and the only thing that will happen is that our authentic Western sidekick will get a hole in his hat. They assume that we're omnipotent and omnisicent.

We're not.

We're never good enough to be perfect.

But we are good enough to win, and to be worth winning for."

We are. As I noted in my September 2002 article, The S.P.E.C.T.R.E. of Terror, Inc.:

"WE are the scriptwriters. Happy endings are NOT guaranteed. And the drama is just beginning."

Onward - to victory.

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Religious Hate:

• The Public Debate on Kuwait's School Curricula: To Teach or Not to Teach Jihad

  Kuwaiti educators and intellectuals claim that Kuwait's curricula include extremist messages encouraging terrorism, and that members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement who emigrated from Egypt to Kuwait played a central role in devising the country's Islamic education curricula. Other educators, who occupy positions in the Kuwaiti Education Ministry, argued that blaming the Kuwaiti curricula for extremism and terrorism is not only false but is part of an overall attack on Islam.

• On March 18, 2005 Dr. Amina Wadud led a mixed congregation of men and women in Friday prayers - the first known time in the history of Islam that a woman led the call to prayer. How did Muslim clerics react? Predictably, sentiments ran from plain anger to vehement opposition.

• Images de-humanizing Jews and promoting their murder continue to make regular appearences in Palestinian media accompanied by the requisite rife anti-Americanism. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority continues to promote martyrdom in its state-produced children’s television programs.

• Wafa al-Biss strapped on 25 pounds of explosives and was on her way to blow up an Israeli hospital when she was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint. Aside from getting little or no coverage in the media, this incident highlights three important points that the media usually ignore: the motivation of suicide terrorists is aspiration and not desperation, Israeli checkpoints save lives, and the Palestinian Authority is encouraging terrorism, not stopping it.

Idiotarian Seethings:

• There ought to be a most-convoluted-thought-of-the-month award: an Egyptian historian on Saudi television said that the Vatican has been on a mission to "christianize" the world. Since they didn't succeed in this "christianization" by the year 2000 (as was supposedly planned by the Second Vatican Council), in January 2001 the World Council of Churches delegated this mission to the US who in turn fabricated 9/11 as an excuse to eradicate Islam and Muslims. Also, according to this guy, 150 U.S. Congressmen are demanding an inquiry about "the 4,000 Jews who didn't go to work that day."

• Moishe Friedman, chief rabbi for hundreds of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews in Vienna, doesn't think Israel has a right to exist and he says Zionist Jews share the blame for the Holocaust. He wants formal state recognition of his religious community and to achieve that goal, he has enlisted the help of neo-Nazis.

• Zakariya Zubeidi is an Al-Aksa Brigades terrorist who's on Israel’s most-wanted list for coordinating attacks on Israelis. He just joined the PA police force and announced that he has no intention of arresting Palestinian "activists." He will be joined in this wave of non-arrests by another few hundred terrorists who have been recruited by the PA to form the new security force.

• The Palestinian Minister of Environment accused Israel of deliberately spreading cancer to Palestinians by manufacturing and distributing biscuits and sodas containing saccharine. He also claimed that two Israeli truckloads of radioactive toys were confiscated, en route to Palestinian children.

• Authorities at the Venice Biennale have banned a sculpture by a German artist from being displayed on St Mark's Square because it might be offensive to Muslims. The sculpture was a cube covered in fabric modelled after the Ka’ba in Mecca. A spokesman for the Venetian arts authority said there was a danger that Muslims would feel provoked by the art, "heightening the risk of the city being vulnerable to terrorist attacks".

Race and Culture:

• An anti-semitic letter sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow had called for a ban on Jewish groups in Russia claiming their values were offensive to Orthodox Christians. Prosecutors have declined to press charges against the authors of the letter, saying it didn't contain any calls for action against "any faith, ethnic group or race, and therefore its authors could not be prosecuted for a hate crime." Moscow prosecutors close file.

• And in the Ukraine, a number of politicians and public figures took part in a one day conference in Kiev, titled "Zionism as the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization" and presided over by David Duke. Participants called for the deportation of Jews from the Ukraine.

• National Socialism and Anti-Semitism in the Arab World

  Anti-Semitism based on the notion of a Jewish world conspiracy is not rooted in Islamic tradition but, rather, in European ideological models. The decisive transfer of this ideology to the Muslim world took place between 1937 and 1945 under the impact of Nazi propaganda. Important to this process were the Arabic-language service broadcast by the German shortwave transmitter in Zeesen between 1939 and 1945, and the role of Haj Amin el-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, who was the first to translate European anti-Semitism into an Islamic context. Although Islamism is an independent, anti-Semitic, antimodern mass movement, its main early promoters - the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Mufti and the Qassamites in Palestine - were supported financially and ideologically by agencies of the German National Socialist government.

• Turkish media often attack the local small Jewish community, accusing Jews of disloyalty and treason and of destroying the Ottoman Empire. They also blame Jews for the Armenian genocide, I guess not aware of the dissonance since Turkey will not even recognise an Armenian genocide occurred. Antisemitism in the Turkish Media (Part III): Targeting Turkey's Jewish Citizens.

• Last week, 130 tombstones were knocked down and broken at the Jewish cemetery in Budapest and another 86 graves were desecrated at the Jewish cemetery in London. This latest attack is the third desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Britain this year. There were 532 anti-Semitic incidents in Britain last year, the highest figure in 20 years.

• New Jersey is seeing an extraordinary increase in hate groups as anti-Semitic incidents in the state have shot to an all-time high. The Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked 31 hate groups in New Jersey last year, up from five in 1999.

• In Rotterdam, a mosque was marked with racist graffiti and gutted in an arson attack. It was the latest in a string of such attacks in the Netherlands since the murder of Theo Van Gogh. Dutch mosque damaged in arson attack. (Hat tip: liberalhawk)

A Hopeful Note:

• A Saudi journalist who hosts a popular interview program on Al-Arabiyya television wrote an article for the UAE daily Al-Itihad, describing his experience in the U.S. shortly after 9/11: Allah Treated Us Mercifully When He Did Not Stop the Blood in the Veins of the Jews and Christians So They Protected Us after 9/11

  "A few months later came the catastrophic events of 9/11. I met with a group of students from the Gulf states in the [U.S.] city where we were studying, and we discussed what we could do regarding our apprehensions about American reactions… We agreed that we would not go anywhere alone and would wait [to go together to the mosque] until the coming Friday – the first after the events.
  
  "[That Friday], when the young Arabs reached the street where the mosque was, their hearts were beating like that of a sprinter. Their pulses quickened when they saw groups of Americans surrounding the mosque. They drew closer in dread – to discover that the groups were Christian organizations and 'hippies' who wanted to protect the Arab and Muslim worshipers from any attack that might occur as a reaction by Americans to [the Al-Qa'ida] raid on Manhattan.
  
  "The sight was melodramatic. Those same people whom our imam customarily cursed every Friday and whom he asked Allah to exterminate, orphan their children, and widow their wives – and, when he was really fired up, whose blood he would also ask Allah to dry up in their veins – these same people came to serve as a human shield for our prayers.

• The Muslim community in Philadelphia has adopted a tough policy of public shunning of Muslims who abuse their spouses or abandon their families.

  The male leadership of the Muslim community of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley is adopting an initiative towards deterring and punishing, in the community, wife-beaters and men who abandon their families. Not only will they be banned from future marriages among the Muslim communities involved, their businesses will be targetted for boycotting as well. This is Amish-style shunning, and it will have a huge impact on tribally-oriented men, the kind most likely to abuse. If the tribe says it will kick you off the island for behaving a certain way, you probably won't behave that way—especially if you see other men getting the boot.

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Liberal Third Party Groups Urged Restraint, Blamed America

Immediately After 9/11, MoveOn.Org Petition Urged "Moderation And Restraint" And Use Of "International Judicial Institutions":

• "We, The Undersigned, Citizens And Residents Of The United States Of America ... Appeal To The President Of The United States, George W. Bush ... And To All Leaders Internationally To Use Moderation And Restraint In Responding To The Recent Terrorist Attacks Against The United States." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace," Posted 9/13/01, Accessed 6/23/05)

• "We Implore The Powers That Be To Use, Wherever Possible, International Judicial Institutions And International Human Rights Law To Bring To Justice Those Responsible For The Attacks, Rather Than The Instruments Of War, Violence Or Destruction." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace," Posted 9/13/01, Accessed 6/23/05)

• "[W]e Demand That There Be No Recourse To Nuclear, Chemical Or Biological Weapons, Or Any Weapons Of Indiscriminate Destruction, And Feel That It Is Our Inalienable Human Right To Live In A World Free Of Such Arms." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace," http://web.archive.org/web/20021127190638/peace.moveon.org/petition.php3, Posted 9/13/01, Accessed 6/23/05)

Just After 9/11, Liberal Filmmaker Michael Moore Derided "Terror And Bloodshed" Committed By Americans. (David Brooks, Op-Ed, "All Hail Moore," The New York Times, 6/26/04)

• Just After 9/11, Moore Blamed America's "Taxpayer-Funded Terrorism" And Bush Administration For Terrorist Attacks. "We abhor terrorism – unless we're the ones doing the terrorizing. We paid and trained and armed a group of terrorists in Nicaragua in the 1980s who killed over 30,000 civilians. That was OUR work. You and me....Let's mourn, let's grieve, and when it's appropriate let's examine our contribution to the unsafe world we live in." (Michael Moore Website Archive, "Death, Downtown," Posted 9/12/01, Accessed 7/27/04)

• In 2003, Moore Downplayed Threat Posed By Death Of 3,000 Americans On 9/11. MOORE: "Three thousand Americans were killed. There's 290 million Americans, all right? The chance of – of any of us dying in a terrorist incident is very, very, very small." (CBS' "60 Minutes," 7/27/03)

• Michael Moore Said U.S. Should Not Have Removed Taliban After 9/11. MOORE: "Likewise, to bomb Afghanistan – I mean, I've never understood this, Tim." (CNBC's "Tim Russert," 10/19/02)

• In 2003, Michael Moore Downplayed Threat Posed By Death Of 3,000 Americans On 9/11. MOORE: "Three thousand Americans were killed. There's 290 million Americans, all right? The chance of--of any of us dying in a terrorist incident is very, very, very small." (CBS' "60 Minutes," 7/27/03)

Liberal Donor George Soros Claimed America Should Have Treated 9/11 Attacks As Crime, Responded With Police Work. "War is a false and misleading metaphor in the context of combating terrorism. Treating the attacks of September 11 as crimes against humanity would have been more appropriate. Crimes require police work, not military action. To protect against terrorism, you need precautionary measures, awareness, and intelligence gathering – all of which ultimately depend on the support of the populations among which terrorists operate. Imagine for a moment that September 11 had been treated as a crime. We would have pursued Bin Laden in Afghanistan, but we would not have invaded Iraq. Nor would we have our military struggling to perform police work in full combat gear and getting killed in the process." (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 18)

• Soros Said The Execution Of 9/11 Attacks "Could Not Have Been More Spectacular." "Admittedly, the terrorist attack was a historic event in its own right. Hijacking fully loaded airplanes and using them as suicide bombs was an audacious idea, and the execution could not have been more spectacular." (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 2)

• Soros Said War On Terror Had Claimed More Innocent Victims Than 9/11 Attack Itself. "This is a very tough thing to say, but the fact is, that the war on terror as conducted by this administration, has claimed more innocent victims that the original attack itself." (George Soros, Remarks At Take Back America Conference, Washington, DC, 6/3/04)

• SOROS: "Far From Reducing The Terrorist Threat, The War On Terrorism Has Actually Increased It." (George Soros' book The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 186-187)

Liberal Democrat Officials Urged Restraint, Blamed America

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH): "'The Time For Peace Is Now,' [Kucinich] Declared Optimistically July 11, Two Months To The Day Before Terrorists Hit The Pentagon And The World Trade Center. ... Sitting In His Capitol Hill Office Last Week, Near A Window Where He Could See The Smoke Rising From The Pentagon On Sept. 11, Kucinich Insisted He Is More Optimistic Than Ever That People Worldwide Are Ready To Embrace The Cause Of Nonviolence." (Elizabeth Auster, "Offer The Hand Of Peace," [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer, 9/30/01)

• Kucinich: "Afghanistan May Be An Incubator Of Terrorism But It Doesn't Follow That We Bomb Afghanistan ..." (Elizabeth Auster, "Offer The Hand Of Peace," [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer, 9/30/01)

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI): "Only Now Are We Trying To Figure Out What Is Islam. Maybe If There Was A Department Of Peace, They Would Be Able To Say, 'Uh-Oh, We've Got Some Problems With These People,' ... I Truly Believe That If We Had A Department Of Peace, We Would Have Seen [9/11] Coming." (Ethan Wallison, "War A Challenge For Peace Caucus," Roll Call, 10/1/01)

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA): "I Am Convinced That Military Action Will Not Prevent Further Acts Of International Terrorism Against The United States." (Eddy Ramirez, "Calif. Congresswoman Alone In Vote Against War Powers Resolution," [University Of California-Berkeley] Daily Californian, 9/17/01)

Al Sharpton (D-NY) Said That The Attacks On The World Trade Center Are Evidence That "America Is Beginning To Reap What It Has Sown." (Adam Nagourney, "Say It Loud," The New York Times, 12/1/02)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) Claimed Osama Bin Laden Could Be Compared To "Revolutionaries That Helped To Cast Off The British Crown." "'One could say that Osama bin Laden and these non-nation-state fighters with religious purpose are very similar to those kind of atypical revolutionaries that helped to cast off the British crown,' Kaptur told an Ohio newspaper, The (Toledo) Blade." (Malie Rulon, "Lawmaker Compares Osama, U.S. Patriots," The Associated Press, 3/6/03)

John Kerry: War On Terror Is A Law Enforcement Operation

Kerry: "[W]ar On Terror Is Far Less Of A Military Operation And Far More Of An Intelligence-Gathering, Law-Enforcement Operation." (The Iowa Brown & Black Coalition Presidential Forum, Des Moines, IA, 1/11/04)

Kerry Told College Students America Needs President Who Understands War On Terror Is Primarily Law Enforcement. "Kerry used the speech to amp up his rhetoric against President Bush ... 'The war on terrorism is primarily an intelligence-gathering and law enforcement operation and we need a president who understands that,' he said. 'This president doesn't have the experience to be commander in chief.'" (Steve LeBlanc, "Kerry Invokes Vietnam In Rallying College Students To Campaign," The Associated Press, 12/2/03)

Liberal Democrats Floated 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Gov. Howard Dean (D-VT) Suggested "Interesting Theory" That President Knew 9/11 Attacks Were Coming And Didn't Stop It. CALLER: "[O]nce we get you in the White House, would you please make sure that there is a thorough investigation of 9/11, and not stonewall it?" DEAN: "Yes. There is a report, which the president is suppressing evidence for, which is a thorough investigation of 9/11." NPR'S DIANE REHM: "Why do you think he's suppressing that report?" DEAN: "I don't know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far--which is nothing more than a theory, I can't think – it can't be proved – is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now who knows what the real situation is? But the trouble is, by suppressing that kind of information, you lead to those kinds of theories, whether they have any truth to them or not. And eventually they get repeated as fact. So I think the president is taking a great risk by suppressing the clear – the key information that needs to go to the Kean commission." (NPR's "The Diane Rehm Show," 12/1/03)

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) Suggested Bush Administration Had Prior Knowledge Of Attacks, But Wanted Defense Contractor Friends To Profit From Ensuing War. "Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is calling for an investigation into whether President Bush and other government officials had advance notice of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 but did nothing to prevent them. She added that 'persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits off America's new war.' In a recent interview with a Berkeley, Calif., radio station, McKinney said: 'We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September 11th. ... What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11th? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? ... What do they have to hide?'" (Juliet Eilperin, "Democrat Implies Sept. 11 Administration Plot," The Washington Post, 4/12/02)

Additions

"The Associated Press reports that a new Pew poll, conducted for the Council on Foreign Relations, finds that "concern about national security is dominating public attention in the final months of the presidential campaign"--as well it should in a time of war. But there's a troubling finding on page 7 of the poll results (link in PDF): Asked, "Might U.S. wrongdoing have motivated [the] 9/11 attacks?" more than half of Democrats, 51%, said yes. (So did 17% of Republicans and 45% of independents.)" (James Taranto, "Best of the Web Today," Wall St. Journal OpinionJournal, 8/19/04)

Our Response

And what should our response be all this? As I said today in "Victory." following an analysis of the 2-front war against the West:

"It's the hate, stupid!" It needs to be confronted, strongly. It needs to end.... and we will end it. We will end it by relentlessly pressing onward, to victory:

• Victory in Iraq as the next step in the war, for there is no alternative.

• Victory in the war abroad as a whole. Victory on the war's unpredictable battlefields, while liberty, women's rights, democracy and western culture all aid that victory and sow the Islamists' fields with salt. Victory in order to destroy the ideology that is the source of the threat, and make our triumph a lasting one.

• And victory at home that extends beyond the political sphere, and brings key American institutions back into balance with and accountability to America's public. For the same reason.

The price for these things will be high. The price of losing, on any of these fronts, is everything. Choose."

Choose victory.

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The Taliban are making the same mistake as al Qaeda in Iraq - massing in formation and presuming to defeat American and Afghani forces in open combat. It appears the lessons of Abu Ghraib and Camp Gannon have not been properly disseminated to the Taliban via al Qaeda. At this rate, the Taliban will have little to offer by way of opposition come elections this fall.

It would be assumed entering the fourth year of combat with American forces, the Taliban would have figured out that direct confrontation with American forces would lead to disastrous results. They haven’t, and all the better to capture or kill them.

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A BBC interviewee, Jeremy Binnie of Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, put it thusly:

The war in Iraq has minimized the threat to Europe [emphasis added] because everyone who's Jihad-inclined wants to go fight over there. So even though some of these… the guys suspected of involvement in the train bombings have reportedly gone over to lodge themselves in Iraq. So there are these radicals sort of coming out of Europe and actually going to a different theater altogether.

The death of Abdullah Mohammed Rashid al-Roshoud in Qaim, number 24 out of 26 on Saudi Arabia’s list of most wanted terrorists provides backing to the Flypaper theory. So does the arrest in Spain of 11 al Qaeda fighters; the influx of terrorists from Africa; and Evan Kohlmann’s chart of known foreign fighters killed in Iraq (keep in mind this does not include captured foreign fighters, estimated at about 400).

The use of Iraq as a training ground for foreign terrorists has its pluses and minuses. No doubt those who survive the crucible will have a honed skill set. No doubt Iraq is being used as a recruiting campaign for aspiring jihadis. And Iraqi is “awash with weapons”, making it easy for the terrorists to access the materials used in their attacks, which are increasing in sophistication.

But the advantage does not favor al Qaeda alone. Iraq has given American intelligence an opportunity to study and penetrate al Qaeda’s operations. The CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Special Operations Forces operating against al Qaeda in Iraq are learning the tactics of al Qaeda, and are developing their skills and familiarity with the Middle Eastern culture. These servicemen, once returning to civilian life, will retain their skills which can be used in civil defense and in the defense and intelligence community. Iraq is a hot zone, and it gives the military the ability to actively hunt al Qaeda, which is impossible in countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other nations hostile to direct US intervention.

And hunt them we are. The latest deployment to Iraq is the 4,000 man force of the 28th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, from the Pennsylvania National Guard. Their destination is the Anbar province, and they will join the 3,000 plus Marines currently there, essentially doubling the combat power in the region. And the Iraqi Army has yet to enter the battle in the province.

Good hunting and best of luck to my neighbors in the 2/28 BCT.

Many Thanks:

Let me take the time to thank the readers who bring articles to my attention, including (but not limited to) Richard H., Fightin Texas Aggie, and particularly Marlin. Today’s post has a contribution from each reader. Your reading suggestions make writing posts very easy and greatly reduces my investigation/research time. I do not always properly or cite each of you as a source as by the time I have compiled a post, I often forget who sent what. I do want you to know how much I appreciate your help.

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IRAN

• On Iran's "election" day, British authorities swooped on a group of dissidents. They were released without charge 48 hours later. Officials said they were not linked to international terrorism or any al-Qaida group, but were detained on suspicion of inciting others to commit offences abroad.

• In direct contrast: Don't pin hopes for reform on Rafsanjani, Britain warns.

• Russia will deliver Iran nuclear fuel within months.

• Iran's web-censorship is some of the world's most stringent.

• Free Thoughts has a good round-up of this-and-that about the Iranian election. Worth your time.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• An American spy plane has crashed somewhere en route from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates. The pilot is said to have been killed. The U.S. is refusing to say where. This map should give you some idea of where it may have gone down.

• A palestinian woman with severe burns from a kitchen fire was caught carrying explosives from Gaza in to Israel. She was on her way to blow up the hospital where she had been offered medical care.

• After two deadly attacks and a series of near-misses, the Israeli government has allowed the IDF to crack down on Islamic Jihad. 52 have been arrested.

• Another vocal anti-Syrian has been killed by a bomb.

• Egypt and Israel will exchange intelligence about al-Qaeda.

• Iran and Lebanon are discussing bilateral ties. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri praised Iran's role in liberation of Lebanon's occupied lands, and said that Iran and Lebanon have mutual concerns.

• The IDF is preparing for a confrontation with Syria, Iran and Hezbollah.

IRAQ AND THE GULF

• Enemy on enemy fire in Iraq. Bill has more: Red-on-Red.

• Trent on IEDs in Iraq.

• Saudi authorities have killed two men thought to have been behind the shooting of a police chief.

• The U.S. says that a key insurgency financier is being harboured by Syria.

• French authorities have demanded that a French journalist be expelled from Iraq - no reasons given in this article.

THE AMERICAS

• A 9/11 suspect has been arrested in Mexico.

• The FBI is warning of a possible threat to power plants around NYC.

• An Arab American FBI agent is going to sue the Bureau for not being promoted. Read the article; the problem - a lack of expertise amongst senior agents - is serious. Whether lawsuits are the cure...

• A Hezbollah drugs ring in Ecuador has been broken up.

EUROPE

• Al-Qaeda member Abdelghani Mzoudi, recently acquitted of involvement in 9/11, is going to leave Germany.

• Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar says he met with a 'senior adviser in the German administration', in direct contradiction of EU claims that their contacts are only low-level.

• British authorities have tracked down the home of the first British suicide bomber to attack Iraq.

• Spain has arrested five more suspects in connection with the 3/11 attacks.

• The Russians say they've picked up another Basayev aide in Chechnya.

• The Russian Interior Ministry says that Chechen jihadis have been kidnapping young girls to use as suicide bombers.

ASIA & AUSTRALASIA

• JK: Milblogger Col. Austin Bay reports from Afghanistan re: the New Afghan Army.

• President Karzai says that Pakistan is interfering in Afghan affairs.

• Afghan and U.S. forces have retaken a town that was overrun by the Taliban, killing 32 of them.

• This isn't sourced, but it certainly sounds feasible: ISI, LET use Kashmir bus service to bomb school.

• Two LeT jihadis were killed by police in a gunbattle in J&K. A police officer and a civilian were killed in the attack.

• Seven members of Abu Sayyaf have been given twelve death sentences each for involvement in a mass-kidnapping, and the beheading of ten men.

• A Muslim 'rebel' in southern Thailand entered a teashop, and shot a salesman twice. He then severed the man's head, and carried it away with him on his motorbike.

• Again in Thailand, a Muslim official ran a roadblock with a truck full of fertiliser.

AFRICA

• Dan: Al-Qaeda's African Arm Stirs.

• Al-Qaeda are mighty displeased with Sudan for giving the U.S. intelligence data.

• More fighting in Sudan, this time in the north-east.

• Two more Algerian soldiers have been killed by Salafi jihadis.

• Jihadis fighting in Iraq are leaving to join A-Q groups in North Africa.

On a nicer note: Lions rescue and guard kidnapper Ethiopian girl.

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In the spirit of Eason Jordan and Linda Foley, Aaron Glantz provides no evidence to support his beliefs, we are merely expected to accept his argument from authority without question. Just as Mr. Zipser clearly does.

Mr. Zipser laments the “right-wing attack-dog” assault on University of Colorado “Professor” Ward Churchill for arguing “that the money changers at the World Trade Center had suffered the consequences of U.S. military aggression and unjust foreign policies.” Money changers, an interesting turn of phrase which speaks volumes about his views on those slaughtered by terrorists on 9-11. Besides the "Money changers", also referred to by Churchill as "Little Eichmans", what about the maintenance staffs, the restaurant workers, the secretaries, the police and firemen who sacrificed their lives to save those trapped in the burning towers? Money changers? Is it too far fetched to be outraged by such ignorant comments from Ward Churchill? Shame on you, Andy Zipser, suggesting so.

Mr. Zipser then openly pours contempt on Guild member Hiawatha Bray for running in an election for as a write-in candidate in his local Guild’s election. How dare he question the anointed leadership of the Guild, the honorable Linda Foley who has, according to Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, “did no more than speak out, eloquently and strongly, about the fundamental rights of media staff who are the victims of violence. In doing so she does great credit to the IFJ and her union.”

The message of the Guild is clear. Do not question the authority of journalists, nor require them to back up their assertions with facts. Innuendo will do. It is perfectly acceptable, even encouraged, to make such scurrilous accusations against the US military. Let your feelings guide you, and not the facts. Anyone who question the authority of the media are “right-wing attack-dogs” worthy only of contempt.

Hiawatha Bray, in response to Mr. Zipser’s defense of Linda Foley, clearly outlines the troubled path the media establishment is taking by not honestly dealing with statements made by the president of the Guild.

For me, the most worrisome aspect of this entire affair is the realization that few of my colleagues are troubled by this in the least. They seem to believe there’s nothing at all to fret about when a prominent voice in American journalism feels free to slander American soldiers. Of course, there’s a great deal to fret over, if you care about the state of our profession and the good name of our fellow citizens. Or, for that matter, if you care about how journalists will be treated by soldiers in future conflicts. Will these guys ever trust us again? Why in heaven’s name should they, when we lie about them, without shame?

However, it is more than just the servicemen and women that are losing faith in the media. A large majority of Americans do not view the media as trustworthy (more people trust the presidency than the media, by about 44% to 30%). The military, unsurprisingly has a confidence rating of 74%. The media continues to slander our military and does not correct their own irresponsible behavior, while the American public’s confidence in the military remains high.

This is a poisonous concoction for the media. For as long as they refuse to address the very real problems within their ranks and foster the notion that outrage against remarks by Linda Foley and Eason Jordan are merely the thrashings of “right-wing attack-dogs”, they are doomed to be considered untrustworthy by the public. They fail to recognize many concerned citizens are disgusted by their slanderous remarks.

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We'll start with the apology itself, full of the usual psychobabble saying that he hopes the pain he has caused to various groups will go away, and capped by the Lincoln statement that lets him sit up there and smarmily claim to be right all along while he bows to political pressure.

Aside from Durbin's own "mea-want-y'all-off-my-back-now", may I point out:

• Bill Roggio explains, in detail, exactly what analogy Durbin was making and still makes to the gulags, since it was not retracted.

• Read this Winds post about Russian artist Nikolai Getman. Click on the picture of the artwork, and find out what that picture is showing you. Compare to Durbin's statements.

On the bright side, the pressure from all quarters finally forced Durbin to say something. Too bad he didn't read Salon.com's general advice re: sincere and insincere apologies, which explains:

I'm sorry I was rude" is good. "I'm sorry if I was rude" is not. It weasels. It implies that maybe you weren't rude. It implies that the person being apologized to has a twisted little worldview if they think "Oh, shut up, frog-lips" is rude.

An apology should give the sense that you actually feel some form of regret. "Sorry if" is a conditional apology. Conditional apologies make things worse, not better.

There are a LOT of "sorry ifs" in that transcript. Sincerity? Apology? Don't insult my intelligence. He apologizes re: the holocaust analogy, because the Democratic Party doesn't want to extend its growing reputation for anti-semitism. Telingly, there's no gulag apology even though that was more prominent in his analogy. After all, those prople vote Republican.

All this in an apology that took a week to arrive, under mounting political pressure that began to include prominent Democrats who still possess an ounce of common sense. The tears, especially under these circumstances, confirm every suspicion (to spell it out: if he was genuinely emotional on this subject, he would have apologized a week ago).

You'd think that with all those Hollywood moonbats to draw on, someone would have sprung for better coaching.

Durbin's "love" for the troops seems to be the same sort of abusive parent "love" Armed Liberal has discussed before. As Mike Rentner writes from Anbar Province:

"You may think it's all just political posturing, but I'm over here in Al Anbar Province, Iraq and every stupid statement like this from such a high level of our government is a direct threat to my life. Statements like this are used to recruit people to kill me. I take it very personally."

He isn't the only one.

"I call on those who question the motives of the president and his national security advisors to join with the rest of America in presenting a united front to our enemies abroad."
-- Senator Dick Durbin, in 1998

...As long as that President is a Democrat. Otherwise the Republic can go screw itself, of course, since foreign issues only matter insofar as they relate to domestic political advantage. He's a Democrat, all right....

UPDATE: The Wall St. Journal has some interesting polling results re: Guantanamo that suggest the issue is a loser with many Democratic voters. But the wild-eyed 30% is driving fundraising and policy these days, so...

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