MAY 22/03: Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused. If you find 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". Welcome!
Today's "Winds of War" is brought to you by Guest Blogger Andrew Olmsted at Fort Carson. Andrew's regular blog is Andrew Olmsted.com.
IRAQ BRIEFING
The Command Post points to a report that up to 20% of the known radioactive material at Iraq's biggest nuclear facility is unaccounted for. These revelations may explain it.
Meanwhile, the search for WMDs continues, with a U.S. team concluding two trailers found earlier this month were designed to produce biological weapons. They don't know what was produced there, however.
JK: Ray discusses the varying effectiveness of post-war efforts in different parts of Iraq. He also links to an excellent piece on Special Forces and what they're up to now - suffice to say they're a very important part of the equation.
With the battlefield shifting to the corridors of the United Nations, Howard LaFranchi offers an assessment of the new environment in the United Nations in the wake of the United States' decision to attack without the UN imprimatur. It appears the U.S. bid to remove the UN sanctions will succeed handily in the coming vote.
JK: Speaking of the U.N., more on corruption in the U.N.'s oil-for-food program. France, Russia, now the U.N. All together now: it really was all about the oiiiillll. (Hat Tip: WSJ Best of the Web)
Which "cards" have we captured so far? The CENTCOM list. And the visual version of "Ba'ath Poker." Meanwhile, L.A. Dodgers fan Boomshock has an excellent question about the changing rankings.
Maybe Republicans aren't completely in thrall to the NRA; the Bush administration has announced they will begin confiscating Iraqi weapons in a bid to stabilize the county.
The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops. American, British and Australian. Anyone out there with more information, incl. the Poles and Czechs? [updated April 1, 2003]
U.S.A. HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING
The Command Post notes the DIA has raised its assessment of the threat level to U.S. military installations to the highest possible level. On a note, however, I've seen no obvious changes to the security regimen when I go to work.
Global opposition to missile defense may be fading after the 9/11 attacks. Today's announcement by the White House seems to have drawn relatively little attention either at home or abroad, perhaps indicating general acceptance, if not approval, or the U.S.'s missile defense plans.
JK: It isn't 9/11. Thrilled defense hawks can send thank-you cards to Kim "I've murdered every single hairdresser in my country" Jong-Il and his cronies in Pyongyang.
JK: Speaking of whom, "If something were to crop up in two or three months with North Korea, there is a good chance much of the (U.S.) Navy would be in the shipyards," GlobalSecurity.org's Patrick Garrett tells Copley News Service. Not good.
THE WIDER WAR
JK: Diana Moon notes an interesting factoid in a recent NYT article about the Riyadh bombings. The reason so many victims were locals is that Saudis are moving into the gated foreigner communities, where their wives can walk around unveiled and the religious police won't hassle them. All in all it's just another crack in the wall.
JK: Wish we'd stop seeing things like this and this, however (Hat Tip: ProTalion). Still baffled that Democrats aren't all over the whole Bush-Saudis issue. Meanwhile, here's my candidate for the U.S. Ambassador to Arabia.
The United States is claiming that an Iranian al Qaida cell directed last week's terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, and has protested the situation to the Iranian government.
JK: Which may help explain why Zogby Blog has a posting that the road to victory goes through Tehran. This has always been true, even more so now that the Iranian mullahocracy are fighting the USA in Iraq.
JK: Meanwhile, LGF has an article on "The Golden Chain" of Saudi funding for al-Qaeda's front organization Benevolence International. Documents seized by Bosnian police include details on The Golden Chain, which apparently includes the Bin Laden family.
Also from Rantburg comes a report of a Philippine success in the war on terror, with the arrests of seven members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Diana Moon: "Actually this ABC article (along with the Saudi thing) makes an important point: let's patiently chip away at the weak spots within [political Islam]. In this case, we take advantage of the fact that the Kurds are loyal Muslims but care not a whit about Arabism... Sort of like defrosting an old fashioned freezer. Bit by bit..."
Is North Korea's involvement in the drug trade growing? That's the conclusion of an article from the LA Times, while a Washington Times report asks the question: are heroin profits funding the North Korean nuclear program?
JK: Ask Trent too, who wrote about "North Korea's Tony Sopranos" a while ago.
Rantburg points to reports of another horror brewing in the Rwanda-Uganda-Congo region. Will the U.S. reaction be different this time in light of the many after-the-fact justifications of the Iraq War on humanitarian grounds?
We try to close on a lighter note if possible. And when you're looking for the lighter side, it's hard to resist Michael Jackson who visited California congressman Elton Gallegy's office wearing a Spiderman mask to complain about the paucity of local fast food options.
Heroin is not paying for NK nukes. Drug prohibition is paying for NK nukes.
What you have to ask yourself is if it is an acceptable price. Supporting criminals and terrorists and all.