JUNE 16/03: Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused. Today's "Winds of War" is brought to you by Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted.com.
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS
Still trying to settle things down, Special Forces, 101st Airborne & 4th Infantry troops launched Operation Desert Scorpion in an attempt to round up or wipe out pockets of resistance N & NW of Baghdad. 8 suspected resistance leaders were taken into custody, but the raid also raised tensions among Iraqis.
Speaking of Special Forces, here's the full Winds of Change.NET SOF briefing with lots of links, plus an analysis of their growing influence in the Pentagon.
Other Topics Today Include: pacification in Iraq, the return(?) of the body count, Venomous Kate's update, Iran's slide towards chaos, Ireland heating up, and the threat of American troops engaging Palestinian terrorists...
IRAQ BRIEFING
And the question of reconstruction remains, as the United States struggles to develop a plan for limited self-rule that will pass muster with the Iraqi people while still being capable of accomplishing the mission.
Iraqi civilians are reporting that U.S. troops killed 5 civilians during a search of the village of Balad. This report will undoubtedly get big play with the foreign press, but perhaps of even more interest are the conflicting reports on Iraqi casualties; while Centcom reports 27 Iraqi insurgents killed, officers at the scene reported only five to seven. Does this mark a return to body counts, a la Vietnam?
On the negative side of body counts, the BBC is reporting a U.S. convoy was ambushed north of Baghdad. No reports on casualties as yet. (Hat tip: The Command Post).
Japan and India debate sending troops to Iraq to support the reconstruction. Were Japan to send Self-Defense Forces overseas, it would mark the first deployment of Japanese troops outside the country since World War II. Interesting that there's been little discussion about whether or not this is a good thing.
Iraq's role in the War on Terror? We're still not certain, but the search for al Qaeda members in Iraq continues.
Is he still alive? Saddam Hussein's daughter says yes, she believes her father is still out there somewhere, although she has no evidence to prove it.
Which "cards" have we captured so far? The CENTCOM list, the visual version of "Ba'ath Poker," and our best poker hands to date.
Sgt. Stryker: "I'm compiling statements made by Administration officials prior to the war to remind everyone what the Bush Administration itself said were its reasons for prosecuting a war against Iraq." In the process, he says he's discovering some interesrting things. We begin with October 2002 statements. Reader clue also has a good set of links to Billmon's work, a similar effort from a liberal perspective.
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]
THE WIDER WAR
Winds of War host Venomous Kate has a fine roundup of her own today. She'll be hosting Winds of War again on Monday, June 23rd.
A good roundup of links about the tensions between Islam and democracy over at Oxblog, including the issue of Islam and democracy in America.
Will Iran be the next Islamic domino? The protests are heating up, and the mullahs appear to be getting nervous... (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
LGF has a good selection of letters from Iranians to the BBC that's worth your time.
Meanwhile, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were denied access to some of Iran's nuclear facilities the other day. Those inspectors have now left the country entirely.
Ireland may be heating up again, with the discovery of a massive bomb in Londonderry Sunday morning. (Hat tip: The Command Post.)
Some U.S. Marines heading are stopping by Liberia in strife-riven west Africa on their way home from Iraq. The USS Kearsarge, carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) 1,800 marines, 1,200 sailors and attack helicopters, was diverted on its homeward voyage to prepare for the possible evacuation of civilians from Liberia where rebel fighters have reached the edge of the capital, Monrovia. (Hat Tip: WoC comments, The Agonists)
America troops hunting Hamas? It could happen, according to Senator Dick Lugar. (Hat tip: The Command Post.)
Meanwhile, Sylv at the Agonist links a report about former counter-terrorism adviser Rand Beers that's worth your time. How unhappy was he? Not only did he quit, he joined John Kerry's campaign staff.
Saudi Arabia may be moving into the front lines of the War on Terror, as five suspected al Qaeda militants were killed by Saudi police before a possible attack on Mecca.
Gary Farber calls for a concerted effort to address the slaughter in the Congo, before 'Never Again' once again falls by the wayside.
We try to close on a lighter note if possible. Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs, who clinched their second NBA title with an 88-77 victory over the New Jersey Nets.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". Thanks for reading!
Billmon received his 15 minutes of fame for starting a great list of administration quotes about WMD in Iraq, dating from August 2002. There's a link off Billmon's homepage that has a more updated list (with sources, I believe) but it's broken right now.
Regardless of where you come down on the issue, we should all keep in mind that there's a hell of a difference between with the administration did claim were reasons for war, and what now, with benefit of hindsight, it claims would have been good reasons. In other words, watching Humanitarian Concern bubble up to the top of the list from at least third (as Sgt. Stryker points out, it was after WMD and Terrorism) should be an exercise to disturb both hawks and doves alike.
Billmon's searchable WMD quote database is back online. Among my favorites:
"One thing is for certain: Saddam Hussein no longer threatens America with weapons of mass destruction." President Bush, 5/25/2003, in a statement as logically true as "I no longer beat my wife".
"How the United States should react if Iraq acquired WMD. 'The first line of defense...should be a clear and classical statement of deterrence—if they do acquire WMD, their weapons will be unusable because any attempt to use them will bring national obliteration.'" Condoleeza Rice,
January/February 2000 issue of Foreign Affairs 2/1/2000
"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." Donald Rumsfeld, ABC Interview 3/30/2003
"We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country." Donald Rumsfield, Fox News, 5/4/2003
And don't miss the related Democracy In Iraq quotes database
Actually, sending the GSDF to Iraq would not be the first deployment of Japanese troops overseas since 1945. That happened almost 10 years ago when the Japanese sent peacekeeping troops to Cambodia. They have gone beyond that since then, as a JMSDF taskforce has been in the Indian Ocean since October 2001 providing fuel for ships engaged in martime interdiction operations.