28 Dead, over 50 Wounded in Bombings, Assassinations
Shiites Keep Interior?
At least 28 persons were killed in the Iraqi civil war on Thursday. Another big car bomb killed 10 and wounded 50, 15 critically, at a court building in the Shiite slum of Sadr City.
In another Very Bad Sign,
' In other attacks, Brigadier-General Mohammed Raza Abdellatiff, who was in charge of logistics for the Iraqi Army in Baghdad, was shot dead as he was driving to work.
When the general in charge of logistics in the capital can be shot down at will, it is not a good situation.
Guerrillas killed 2 GIs, as well.
AFP is reporting that the Shiite United Iraq Alliance has succeeded in retaining control of the Ministry of the Interior (domestic security). The Sunni religious coalition, the Iraqi Accord Front (IAF), wants the following portfolios: defence, finance, education, services and civil affairs. What is amazing is that the IAF is no different from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas. But in Iraq it is all right if they get cabinet posts. If an analogous thing happened in Egypt it would be a political earthquake, and not one welcomed by Washington.
The Turks have massed 40,000 troops in their east near Iraq over the threat of terrorism from Iraq-based Marxist Kurdish guerrillas of the PKK. There have been reports of Turkish shelling of PKK positions. Ironically, it is Uncle Sam who emboldens the Communist Kurds who have taken refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan, since they know the US will not allow Turkey to engage in hot cross-border pursuit of them. A similar conflict has emerged on the Iranian side of the border.
Now it is Congress that may block attempts to secure permanent US bases in Iraq.
"Corporate Freedom Abroad, No Dissent at Home-- it is almost like a reverse Maoist slogan. Can it really be the Bush administration policy behind the slogans about spreading "freedom?"
posted by Juan Cole @ 5/05/2006 12:30:00 AM
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10 Comments:
Dear Professor Cole
The turks have actually sent ANOTHER two divisions to the frontier to reinforce the 220,000 already there.
That is rather a lot of firepower sitting around in the sunshine.
Not relevant to the current post, but a while ago you linked to a Military Review article by (British) Brigadier Aylwin-Foster. MR now has a reply on-line from one of the US Army planners responsible for OIF Phase IV.
Primary interest is, I think, how openly senior Army figures (the author is a full Colonel) are now trying to pass blame on to the policymakers and CPA.
Don't March, Organize
It's probably a good thing that the occasional large anti-war march is not publicized. Nixon used the image of anti-war hippies to great advantage to discredit the anti-war movement with ordinary folks.
This time around, W. & Co.'s record of failure and incompetence, underlined by his own personal disbobbulancy have got 2/3's of Americans very concerned. It's been nearly 5 years since 9/11 and Osama and his host Omar have not been "brought to justice." For over 3 years, the situation in Iraq has continued to deteriorate. Now the Big Fool says to "push on" into Iran.
Energies and time that might go into
organizing big protests are probably better spent on the local and regional scenes, bringing in speakers, pressuring politicians at local and state and Congressional levels, recruiting good candidates, and generally keeping one's eye on the ball on a continuing basis.
One doesn't really need to have a coherent detailed alternative to obvious failure. "Kick the bums out" will do nicely for most people. That's one reason it's important to establish early and continued contact with both Republicans and Democrats about the reasons for your unhappiness with the current crowd, and what you expect to see in the future from any victorious candidate.
Eisenhower said he would bring peace to Korea, and did, even though it involved difficult negotiations with the North Koreans at a time when they were actively killing and being killed.
All really successful empires are founded on positive aspects that attract people, not military coercion and violence, though that may be an important concomitant. W. & Co. don't seem to realize that. Real statemen do.
Holy cow. 40,000 Turks on the border? Oh man. This is going to get bad soon.
Professor Wade writes:
Professor Cole: Today, in the LA Times, Borzou Daragahi reports that the US military "revealed" parts of a "planning memo" by al-Qaida "seized" last month in a raid. The memo "ordered" the mujaheddin, among other things, to "expel those black market sellers of gas, bread or meat...suspected of spying against us." A BLACK MARKET IN BREAD! What is the official price of bread in Iraq? Another pathetic hoax. Psyops has become truly absurd. Thank you for your great commentary.
Larry Wade, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, Davis
"PKK" has not been Marxist/Stalinist/communist since the 5th Congress in January, 1995. That fact was reiterated in 2002 and again in 2003.
Al Zarqawi is a Buffoon, Ha Ha!
(But Iraqis Are Still Dying)
Got to hand it to the U.S. military brass - they sure know how to humour their audience back home... The newest funny released by the military, reported in both The New York Times and the Washington Post today, is outtakes of a propaganda video shot by Al Zarqawi where he is:
1. Befuddled by his LMG (Light Machine Gun), which is stuck on single shot, then befuddled by why it jams and then requires an aide to clear the chamber...
2. After the obligatory "Tatbir-Allahu Akbar!" he trots off in his white New Balance sneakers to his white pickup truck, while his aides grab the LMG by the barrel and promptly drop it (Any gun barrel is piping hot after having fired numerous rounds).
Here's my analysis of the outtakes:
1. Zarqawi is clueless on how to operate an LMG - this indicates the man has little military training and even less actual face time in combat... Well, no one ever accused him of being a streetsmart guerilla warrior - He IS, after all, a TERRORIST, not an infantry soldier.
2. Zarqawi's aides are clueless on how to handle a HOT weapon - they too are not street savvy infantry types but stay-at-home terrorists.
3. Underneath his fashionable black salwaar-kameez and OG web-belts Zarqawi wears sneakers, not combat boots - well see he IS a stay-at-home terrorist.
4. Zarqawi travels in a White pickup truck... So does every militiaman and policeman in Iraq... Guys, its time to switch to more recognizable 'friendly' versus 'dead meat' vehicles... Even I have a White Pickup...
5. Zarqawi's video and plans have been seized by the U.S. military - This is THE MOST significant development here... It is a sign that the Iraqi Sunni insurgents might have started sharing intel with the U.S. to put a stop to Zarqawi's activities...
6. The military seems to be getting closer to Zarqawi BUT the suicide bombings have not stopped - you can follow details of bombings from translations of arabic press on this blog, but the fact is that Iraq is still suffering an average of at least one suicide bombing every day...
This implies that Zarqawi is not the snake's head in Iraq - and the bad news here is that even if he is captured or killed the recruitment, training, funding and arming of suicide bombers will probably continue.
But, wait?! The US is fighting to free others abroad?!
"Corporate Freedom Abroad, No Dissent at Home"
Get out the organ and sing along!
My Country 'tis of thee.
Sweet land of revolving debt.
90 days same as cash.
His father's Rolex watch,
pawned for his In---come tax,
don't fret (trill note), this will not last.
Your freedom's past.
of course it is. it isn't the words but the actions that describe the bushco agenda.
Professor Wade's remarks are irresponsible.
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