Dan's Iraq Briefing: 2003-11-13

Welcome! Our goal 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. Our "Winds of War" coverage of the global War on Terror is a separate briefing today, and both are brought to you by Dan Darling of Regnum Crucis.

Top Topics:

• At least 26 are dead in a suicide bombing directed against an Italian police base in the Iraqi city of Nassiriyah. Al-Qaeda's UK-based political wing al-Muhajiroun has issued what appears to be a veiled claim of responsibility for the attack, citing bin Laden's previous singling out of Italy (as well as numerous other European countries) as potential targets for al-Qaeda. This attack represents the worst single loss of Italian military personnel since World War 2.

• Iraqi blogger Alaa over at the Messopotamian has his own Nov. 11 thoughts on those who are dying over in Iraq as well as an outstanding rebuttal to the "Iraqi resistance" and its cheerleaders in the Muslim world [Nov. 10, 8:55am]. Definitely worth a read.

• JK: The Voodoo Lounge has amassed an impressive collection of positive news stories about Iraq - 43 of 'em! (Hat Tip: Kesher Talk)

Other Topics Today Include: Hospital attack in Fallujah; Operation Iron Hammer; al-Jazeera admits its offices were used by anti-coalition forces; at least 20 al-Qaeda apprehended in Iraq; Sadr City governing council chairman dead; Abizaid says he'll get tough; Governing Council orders Baathist assets seized; success, traced in cement; PKK to disband after clash with the US; 43 good things that are happening in Iraq; Berlusconi promises that Italy will stay the course; King Abdullah implies that Iraq may be better off with a constitutional monarchy; and post-WW2 press negativism.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• JK: Gweilo Diaries "Fear and Loathing in Tikrit" links to an article on the reports from the CIA Station Chief in Baghdad, who is apparently becoming concerned. Conrad also has some advice for the U.S.A... appropriately enough, it's from a famous Italian.

• U.S. forces in Iraq have launched Operation Iron Hammer in an effort to bring the battle back to the Baathists.

• The US has successfully defended a Jordanian government hospital in Fallujah, killing 6 attackers and wounding 4.

• MEMRI's news ticker (via Rantburg) is reporting that the al-Jazeera news office in the Mahmoudiyyah Babil province of Iraq has been used by two Syrian nationals to coordinate anti-coalition attacks in Iraq.

• The US is holding at least 20 confirmed al-Qaeda members in Iraq according to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.

• A bizarre confrontation with US troops has led to the death of Sadr City governing council chairman Mohannad (Mohammed?) Ghazi al-Kaabi in Baghdad.

• JK: MSNBC's Bob Arnot has his own report from the front, including a some good interviews et. al. with elements of the 101st Airborne. (Hat Tip: Bill Hobbs)

RECONSTRUCTION AND THE ECONOMY

• US general John Abizaid has delivered a firm warning to Iraqi community leaders from the Sunni Triangle that he will have to "get tough" if they are unable to rein in the insurgent forces. Rich Lowry seems to agree over at NRO.

• The Iraqi Governing Council has seized all assets belonging to Saddam Hussein, his family, and other members of the former Iraqi regime.

• The Washington Post has a nice article up on how a simple thing like building a cement factory deals with the complexities involved in the Iraqi reconstruction.

• The Kurdish terrorist group PKK, also known as KADEK, is pledging to go out of the terrorism business and become a political party. I suspect that their clash with US forces may have hastened the group's politburo to make this decision, whether it's genuine or not.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to stay the course in Iraq, saying that "No intimidation will budge us from our willingness to help that country rise up again and rebuild itself with self-government, security, and freedom."

• King Abdullah of Jordan says that he fears for Iraqi stability under the current system of government, a not-so-subtle way of implying that perhaps Iraq would be better off with his relative Sharif Ali bin Hussein on the thrown in some kind of a constitutional monarchy.

• Bill Hobbs has an excellent post about the real problem with the media's one-sided portrayal of events in Iraq, and he uses an inrteresting example: imagine that reporting about The Battle of Midway had focused mostly on the loss of the carrier Yorktown...

• Negativism in the press didn't start with Iraq, though. As the CounterRevolutionary demonstrates, this happened after World War 2 during the occupation of Germany as well.

ETCETERA

• Which "cards" have we captured so far? The CENTCOM list. And the visual version of "Ba'ath Poker."

• 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 November 2, 2003]

• Support the Toys for Iraq drive!