Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. This briefing is brought to you by Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.
TOP TOPICS
- Someone claiming to represent the Ansar al-Sunna Army, the group holding Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun hostage, claimed they had beheaded him and would release a videotape showing his execution. One day later, another representative of the group said that they had not killed the Corporal, leaving his status in limbo. While Corporal Hassoun will almost certainly end up dead sooner or later, the confusion over his current status has his family on tenterhooks waiting for some resolution.
- How much of the U.S.A's funds for Iraqi reconstruction have been spent? The answer may surprise you.
- JK: Iraq veterans often say they are confused by American news coverage, because their experience differs so greatly from what journalists report. Part of the explanation is Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post. Now that he's back from Baghdad, writer and reservist Eric M. Johnson pens a devastating expose, full of specifics. Read this before you ask: "what media bias?"
Other Topics Today Include: U.S. reconstruction funds for Iraq not being used; Iraqis stop a car bombing; Charges filed in January drowning incident; Oil pipeline hit; Saddam on trial; al-Sadr gets belligerent (again); Jordan offers to send troops to Iraq; WMD report; Support the Troops.
REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
- Iraqi forces stopped an attempted car bombing of a regional headquarters in Baquba, killing the bomber and two bystanders.
- The Army has charged three soldiers with manslaughter, assault, and making false statements in the drowning death of an Iraqi in January. Several other soldiers, including the battalion commander, have been named as unindicted co-conspirators for their help in attempting to cover up the incident. This trial marks another black mark on the U.S. military stemming from the Iraq occupation, in some ways a more unpleasant side effect of the war than the casualties.
- The Army celebrated the Fourth of July in Iraq with fun runs, basketball tournaments, and continued combat operations, as our soldiers mixed work and play on what was otherwise one more day in the desert.
- They've played the enemy for decades. Now the Army's Opposing Forces are preparing to go to war.
RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY
- Militants set an Iraqi oil pipeline ablaze in the first big sabotage attack since the turnover of authority to the interim Iraqi government. The attack reduced Iraqi oil exports by more than half.
IRAQI POLITICS
- Moqtada al-Sadr called the interim Iraqi government illegitimate on Sunday and vowed to resist the American occupation, although it's unclear if he actually intends to start fighting again, or if this is just a negotiation ploy with the new government to give him a place at the bargaining table.
- Iraq's interim government is expected to offer amnesty for Iraqis who fought against American forces prior to the handover. While such a move will doubtless anger some, if it provides an out for fighters who would otherwise take on the Iraqi government it may be a wise move.
- Phillip Carter notes that, even if Saddam's trial doesn't end with the desired result, his use of traditional Western legal defense measures may help to entrench those traditions in Iraqi society, a desirable goal in its own right.
THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
- Jordan has offered to send troops to Iraq if the interim Iraqi government requests the assistance. It's too early to tell if this is a sincere attempt to help, or an underhanded attempt to slip the new government a dagger under the table.
WMD HUNT
- Citizen Smash notes the discovery of chemical weapons in Iraq.
ETCETERA
- Arthur Chrenkoff has a roundup of world press reactions to Saddam Hussein's arrival in the dock.
- The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops: American, Australian, British, Canadian & Polish. Anyone out there with more information, contact us!
- Don't forget Chief Wiggles' Toys for Iraq drive!
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The Lebanese have confirmed the death of Corporal Hassoun: