IRAQ BRIEFING * As has been previously noted on Winds of Change, Udai and Qusai Hussein are both dead in Mosul. Photos of the bodies have now been released (see also the Raid Timeline link in this story). While I suspect that the Hussein boys require no introduction, I thought it might be prudent to blog a brief history of both men, as well as a look at Udai's sick habits during the days of the Baathist regime. * Here's a summary of world reaction to the death of Udai and Qusai Hussein. As for the blogosphere... John Hawkins' Snoopy Dance graphic says it all. * Meanwhile, satirist Scrappleface says: "If early reports of Uday Hussein's suicide prove true, he may face charges before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for assassinating a state official." * The US is interested in what the Mukhabarat, the old Iraqi intelligence agency, knew about its archenemy Iran before the fall of Saddam Hussein with help from Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. * Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who favors a Khomeinist form of government in Iraq, has formed his own private army shortly after his return from Tehran (scroll down to the bottom of the article). Coincidence? I think not. Sadr also appears to have a grudge against Kuwaitis, women, and everyone else that the Iranians don't like. * The Washington Post has more on the informant who sold out the Hussein brothers and I think it's safe to say that if Saddam's former sycophants are selling out his own blood, the days of the Iraqi Baathist Party as a viable organization in Iraq are numbered. * Hell hath frozen over, as Bill Clinton has defended George Bush on both "uraniumgate" and the subject of Iraqi WMDs. I have long since ceased trying to figure out why Clinton does what he does, so I leave analysis of such matters to people far smarter than I. * Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf ("Baghdad Bob") says that Udai and Qusai had nothing to do with the attacks on US forces. Well, if he says it, it must be true ... IRAN REPORTS * As is noted above, the one point of the debate over Iran's relationship with al-Qaeda is that the nation has within it certain members of the organization. There is now confirmation from the Kuwaiti Interior Minister that Suleiman Abu Ghaith is in Iran. I am still suspicious as to why Kuwait refused to extradict Abu Ghaith, but I also share US concerns over just how "imprisoned" the group's leadership in Iran are, as Abu Ghaith is evidently free enough to make threats in a message broadcast over Dubai Radio, a courtesy not being extended to many Iranian students and bloggers. * The CS Monitor lays out "The nonviolent script for Iran." (Hat Tip: uber-reader M. Simon) * On a related note, Pedram urges expat Iranians to get involved in Western democracy: "If not for involvement in the political life of your new home, at least as a learning experience for the future of Iran." (Hat Tip: Jeff Jarvis) * Jen Martinez notes that Students at Universities in Iran were arrested for blogging. It seems the Iranian government has formed a new secret Internet Police to monitor Internet activity and stem the growing number of Iranian bloggers. * As my colleague Venomous Kate noted on Tuesday, Iran has officially outfitted its military with the Shahab-3 missile, which is capable of reaching Israel. However, it is worth noting that the Shahab-3 were not given to the regular army, but rather to the Revolutionary Guards. The IRGC have a rather infamous history and are believed to be harboring members of al-Qaeda's leadership at one of the shah's old hunting lodges that now serves as a military base, though this information may be out of date given recent developments. * Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi has delivered a nasty rant against the U.S. for Bush's blunt statement that Iran and Syria harbor terrorists, which sure looks like the case from here, no matter how either nation tries to spin it. THE WIDER WAR * In this Special Analysis features, I offer my conclusions re: a couple of recent "Bin Laden" audiotapes, and discuss who is Omar al-Bayyoumi and what is his connection to 9/11. * MuslimPundit returns with a hilarious story about an investigator who may have tricked Britain's resident jihadi fanatic right into jail. Ha! * ICT notes that recently a fatwa was recently issued by Sheikh Nasser bin Hamd al-Fahad, one of three Wahhabi clerics from which al-Qaeda derives theological authority, on the subject of using weapons of mass destruction against American targets. * Black Fatima, the leader of Chechen rebels terrorists' female suicide bombers, has been identified by a thwarted suicide bomber. Her method of, um, 'indoctrinating' recruits bears some resemblance to that employed by the medieval Assassins. * The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which suffered heavy losses during Operation Enduring Freedom, is now apparently back in action after nearly a year of rebuilding itself with assistance from al-Qaeda. The IMU also apparently had a role in planning last October's hostage seige in Moscow. * The Kashmiri Islamist groups, all of which are linked in some form or another to al-Qaeda, claim to have used the war in Iraq to recruit 7,000 new cannon fodder to fight in Indian Kashmir and in Afghanistan. Even if that figure is only half-way true, these groups and their backers in the ISI still bear close watching. * U.S. forces in Afghanistan have killed 24 Taliban fighters led by a former government minister. * Remember that coup in Mauritania? It was formented by a mixture of Mauritanian Baathists and Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaeda (seems they didn't get the memo that they were supposed to hate one another) who tried to establish a military dictatorship. The coup plotters are now on the run and at least one of them, Lieutenant M'hamed Ould Didi, is now being extradicted from Senegal to face charges. * Robert Mugabe is now threatening to kill all US and UK nationals and their descendants if either nation takes any action against his dictatorship. Sounds like a genocide threat to me, but what do I know ... * Australia is sending an intervention force to the Solomon Islands to fight Harold Keke, a local warlord who looks like he would fit in just right with Attila the Hun. In addition, the Australians may also square off against the feared albino Satan and his hosts, who have been causing a dozen families to flee to the Islands' capital. * We try to close on a lighter note if possible and Greece appears to be having more than a few problems over the issue of brothel permits in Athens prior to the 2004 Olympics. 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.