REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Iraqis in Samarra are turning on the insurgency in the wake of the murder of a local tribal chief.

• MG Rick Lynch takes some time to explain the two-track strategy of the Iraq war: killing foreign fighters while trying to draw the Sunnis into the political process, separating the two main prongs of the insurgency.

• The first female European Muslim convert to commit a suicide bombing in Iraq was a former bakery worker from a middle-class Belgian family who joined her husband in an extremist network that sent them to fight and die, authorities said Thursday.

• President Bush is concerned about the U.S. practice of paying Iraqi newspapers to publish positive reports and may shut the program down.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• An Army Reserve lieutenant colonel was charged with laundering money, conspiring to take bribes and violating firearms laws while on active duty, the Justice Department announced Thursday, as part of a criminal corruption case connected to the reconstruction of Iraq.

• Three suspects have been arrested in Iraq after aid shipments stolen by an unidentified group in Iraq in September were found and retrieved from a store in Baghdad.

• The Air Force committed a "gross error" last year when it rushed to sign a contract for New York-based REEP Inc., a private translation company also known as Operational Support Services, to help plan and implement Iraq's January 2005 elections. There should have been a competetive bid process involving two other interested companies, the Government Accountability Office has ruled.

• Take a look at this week's reconstruction highlights: Nine Iraqi academics are currently studying and conducting research at U.S. universities with the support of USAID’s Higher Education and Development (HEAD) program. Iraq’s leading business association, with assistance from the Izdihar project, develop and distribute a Code of Ethics. Circulated to over 1,500 member business and leaders, the new Code of Ethics outlines expected guidelines and business practices, committing organizations and their members to the highest ethical and professional conduct. Economic Governance II completes a financial sector assessment of state-owned banks. Izdihar recently held a seminar for 165 business leaders on the inner workings of Iraq’s capital markets. Over 50 engineers from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) completed training to operate and maintain highly efficient irrigation equipment. Repairs for dilapidated Iraqi tractors began this week at four workshops in Baghdad, Wasit, Ninawa, and Arbil. Iraqi civic coalitions, supported by USAID and the International Republican Institute (IRI), have begun election preparations.The Iraqi Election Information Network (EIN) has announced plans to deploy up to 15,000 election monitors for the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. An Iraqi non-governmental organization (NGO) sponsored by ITI hosted Iraq’s first international film festival. In central Iraq, village members voiced a pressing need; their water system had suffered years of neglect and was no longer providing quality water to village residents. ITI responded to the community’s request for help by providing a grant to renovate the water station. Residents had previously depended on untreated river water despite health risks. Now, more than 1,500 people in the village have direct access to clean water.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Former Prime Minister Allawi had to flee a hostile crowd in Najaf when he tried to visit the Imam Ali shrine. Allawi called the attack an assassination attempt, but given the numbers of the crowd, it seems more likely the crowd simply wanted to express their disapproval of Allawi's policies.

• Iraqis are getting a chance to do something unprecedented in Iraq's history: weigh the performance of their government while deciding whether or not to keep it.

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

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari will visit Japan next week. Tokyo is considering whether or not Japan should extend troop deployments to help rebuild Iraq.

• Israel's leading daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, has reported the involvement of Israeli companies and former special services personnel in infrastructural work and defense training in semi-autonomous Kurdish northern Iraq.

ETCETERA

• The US military on Thursday defended its policy of feeding articles to the Iraqi press as part of a campaign to counter what it said were lies spread by Al-Qaeda militants.

• Theater is returning to Baghdad - in baby steps perhaps - but with great hope for the future.

• 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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