REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• U.S. troop losses are soaring as house-to-house fighting in Baghdad exacts a heavy toll on the forces attempting to secure that city and reduce the increasing levels of violence that have racked the capital over the past few months.

• Although most of the focus has been on rebuilding the Iraqi Army and Police, the Iraqi Air Force is slowly beginning to stand on its own.

• The U.S. military and Iraqi government denied reports that al Qaeda's leader in Iraq had been killed in a raid but said DNA tests would be conducted on bodies recovered after the attack to make sure.

• IED and car bomb attacks have reached an all-time high in Iraq according to the U.S. military. There has been a significant upsurge in attacks on American forces over the past few weeks, with the U.S. suffering its greatest losses in a short period since the start of the war.

• Iraqi authorities pulled a brigade of 700 police out of Baghdad in an attempt to uproot Iraqi troops linked to death squads haunting the capital.

• Shia milita groups are threatening the lives of Palestinians living in Iraq, giving them only a few days to leave the country or face execution.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• Iraq will supply oil to Jordan with a preferential price of $10 per barrel, based on an agreement signed by both countries.

• The American University of Iraq is being built in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah.

• Citigroup, in cooperation with US Overseas Private Investment Corporation ('OPIC'), today announced the launching of a $70 million structured credit facility for the benefit of the Trade Bank of Iraq.

• The Executive Director of Iraqi Stock Exchange, Taha Ahmed Abdulsalam revealed that a committee completed the draft of securities law in Iraq.

• Iraq's education system is in danger of collapse due to students and teachers fleeing the country to avoid the growing violence.

• Iraq opened a new oil refinery in the southern city of Najaf on Saturday, designed to fill the needs of the city and surrounding area.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Political parties must either get rid of their militias or get out of politics, Iraq's prime minister said last Thursday.

• Iraqi Sunni and Shiite religious leaders are in Saudi Arabia planning to sign a declaration that forbids inter-Islamic fighting.

• Iraq's Minister of Industry survived a dual bomb attack in Baghdad on Wednesday that killed at least nine and wounded 51 or more.

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

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• James Baker, head of an American panel charged with reevaluating U.S. policy in Iraq, says there are alternatives to the two options generally bandied about the media: stay-the-course and cut-and-run. Baker says that leaving within the next year would be disastrous, however.

• U.S. Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice made a surprise visit to Iraq during which she warned Iraq's leadership that they had a limited amount of time to resolve the sectarian issues that separate them.

ETCETERA

• The United States Congress has apparently set aside $20 million to pay for a victory party once victory is won in Afghanistan and Iraq.

• 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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