REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• U.S. troops are cracking down on Iraqi death squads, both Shiite and Sunni, in Baghdad as they work with the government to try and reduce the tensions in Iraq.

• The U.S. Army will delay the return home for the 172d Brigade Combat Team based out of Alaska. The 172d is part of 3,500 U.S. troops who will be staying in Iraq longer than planned.

• Citizens have welcomed peace initiatives which have been adopted by defense and interior ministries in some of Baghdad neighborhoods to stop violence and conflicts in the city.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• Today Iraq is facing the most difficult problems its economy has ever had to confront. Apart from the violence and terror, which seem endless, and the deterioration of the electric sector and fuel products market (the two main pillars of Iraq¹s economy) extra hardships are being added to an already embattled economy.

• The struggle over Iraq's oil continues to be a major problem for the new government as it tries to maintain oil exports to pay for infrastructure repairs while simultaneously dealing with the violence that erupts around the oil production.

• Iraqi is looking to sign deals with oil companies even before its parliament passes a bill to allow billions of dollars in foreign investment into Iraq's oil industries.

• Only 10 percent of Iraq has been explored for oil and 60 percent of proven reserves are in undeveloped fields, the International Energy Agency indicates in a report assessing the opportunities for development in the country.

• The Iraqi Central Bank confirmed the monetary inflation situation through which the Iraqi economy suffers, amounted to 52.5% at the end of May 2006 compared to the same month last year.

• A resurgence of Iraq's oil industry would do more than anything else to persuade the outside world than some degree of normalcy was returning to the embattled country. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani is keen to talk up the prospects for this.

• Raising the price of petrol has made a serious dent in the fuel smuggling that Iraqi auditors say helps fund the insurgency, according to Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraqi oil minister.

IRAQI POLITICS

• There is no civil war in Iraq. At least, so says Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki, speaking in London this week. He says that the tit-for-tat killings that are accounting for some 100 Iraqis a day are not evidence of a civil war.

• Mahmoud al-Nida was assassinated Monday in Tikrit. Al-Nida was the head of Saddam Hussein's tribe.

• This week's Carnival of the Liberated is up.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki called Iraq the central front in the war on terror while addressing Congress on Wednesday. He also warned the United States not to abandon Iraq until the government could handle security on its own, reminding lawmakers of what happened in 1991.

• Public support for the Iraq war may be waning quickly in the United States, making it more and more likely the U.S. will cut its losses and leave the Iraqis to their own devices.

• Iraq will release all Iranian prisoners it is currently holding on charges of illegal entry.

• The British government will have to defend the Iraq war in court as the families of four British soldiers killed in Iraq won the right to challenge the government's failure to hold hearings regarding the Iraq war.

• The Swedish government was aware of the bribery at the heart of the UN's oil-for-food scandal, but chose not to do or say anything about them on the assumption they could not fix the problem.

ETCETERA

• Some senior British government officials believe a breakup of Iraq along sectarian lines is now inevitable in the wake of the renewed killings.

• Despite financial troubles of their own, the Iraqi government voted to provide $35 million in aid to Lebanon to support that country as Israel continues to devastate parts of its infrastructure.

• Thomas Ricks, a Washington Post correspondent, has released his own book about the Iraq invasion. The title, Fiasco, pretty much says it all (link requires registration).

• 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!

• Many American troops have taken it upon themselves to reconstruct schools and gather learning tools for the children of Iraq. Their efforts have been met with immense gratitude from the local Iraqis and their children. You can help too! Visit Operation Iraqi Children and get involved.

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