REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Terrorist Abdallah Mohammed al-Juhaari - known as Abu Azzam - was killed by coalition forces. al-Juhaari was a significant leader in AQ in Iraq terrorist operations in Anbar province.

• There is strife in Basra between the Iraqi local government and British forces prompting all meetings between the two parties to be halted. British forces destroyed a local jail to free two of their own, who were being held by local police for an incident described as an operation by undercover British soldiers involving a shooting. The Danish government reports that their soldiers played a peripheral role in the Basra operation, as the Danish battalion is under British command.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• Take a look at this week's reconstruction highlights: USAID’s Izdihar Project Trains 22 Iraqi Bankers in Credit Analysis. The Izdihar project recently conducted managerial accounting and credit analysis training in Amman, Jordan, for 22 Iraqi bank lending officers. The training program tripled the number of Iraqi private banks that are now participating in Izdihar’s lending program, which encourages a new business loan to be based on an analysis of a firm’s cash flow rather than the value of collateral the business pledges. The collection of data on weather and climate factors that affect agricultural production is important in order to inform agricultural planning decisions such as scheduling irrigation, determining crop water requirements, and increasing overall water management efficiency. Attention shifts to analysis of the constitution following its submission. The main focus of these analyses regards the numerous legal implications of its application within Iraq’s existing legal framework. Wheat flour mills receive 164 metric tons of iron and folic acid supplements as well as 215 feeders. Managers of the Iraqi National AIDS Program (NAP) met with the Jordanian Ministry of Health as part of a regional study tour. Coordinated by the Iraqi MOH and UNICEF, the six-day tour allowed host officials to share their best practices, lessons learned, and experiences in HIV/AIDS programming. A month-long cash-for-work program helped clean and renovate a village while creating 690 working days for local laborers.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Iraq's Kurdish President called for the country's Shiite Prime Minister to step down, illustrating the inherent tension between Iraq's three major ethnic/religious groups.

• Robert of Publius Pundit describes the reporting of the drafting of the Iraqi Constitution and provides his view on what is actually occuring.

• The brother of Iraq's interior minister, kidnapped on Saturday, was released Sunday following the intervention of firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

• The latest Carnival of the Liberated is up at Dean's World.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Iraq is vigorously denying Saudi Arabian claims of Iranian domination of Iraqi politics. Saudi Arabia and Jordan have particular interest in how much influence Iran has over Iraq, as the balance of power in the region will hinge on how independent Iraq remains.

ETCETERA

• Human Rights Watch gets a great deal of flack when they release reports attacking western nations for inhumane treatment of terrorists. They therefore deserve credit for their report accusing the Iraqi insurgency of committing war crimes as part of their campaign in that country.

• In an Iraqi show of benevolence, 1000 detainees were released from Abu Ghraib to mark Ramadan. While the amnesty does not include people detained for bomb attacks, torture, kidnapping, or murder, it does include those who may have been planning such things. As many soldiers know, it is often those who were caught acting suspiciously and detained who end up perpetrating terrorist attacks later.

• Do you have your GI Bracelet? Many military families fall into financial hardship when the breadwinner is injured or killed. The entire purchase price of the GI Bracelet is donated to support our troops and their families! Please join us to give back to these brave people in their time of need.

• 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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