11 Electricity Workers Killed at Checkpoint
Democrats threaten to take On Bush on Iraq Funding
Police discovered 14 bodies in Baghad, 7 in Baqubah and 3 in Mosul on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Guerrillas detonated two roadside bombs in south Baghdad. Early on Wednesday, gunmen killed 11 electricity workers near Hawija southwest of Kirkuk, after setting up a phony checkpoint.
Congress and the president are locked in a series of battles, over funding for the Iraq War, setting a timetable for withdrawal, and talking to leaders of states that the White House does not like, such as Syria. Senator Harry Reid appears set to play chicken with George W. Bush over funding for the troops, seeing who will blink first.
According to one Iraqi newspaper, the Dems are getting an unexpected ally. Saudi King Abdullah is said to prefer cooperating with the Democrats than with the White House on resolution of the Iraq crisis (see below).
More, this time from Sudarsan Raghavan of WaPo, on why Senator John McCain's sunny pronouncements at the Shurja Market in Baghdad don't hold water.
The Gulf Times Reporst [scroll down] that "Iraq has issued invitations for 15 Arab, Asian and American firms to drill 100 oil wells in the country’s south as part of efforts to boost production, the oil ministry spokesman said yesterday."
The American public admits that their country is too quick to go to war in a new poll. And, 84 percent say that they think the US should not again go to war without the support of its allies. (Apparently the public, unlike the Neocons, still considers France an ally.)
MENA in Cairo is reporting that Harith al-Dhari, a leader of the Sunni fundamentalist Association of Muslim Scholars, is denying reports that the US has reached out to Sunni Arab insurgents in Iraq. "America might have spoken with ineffective parties that have no say whatsoever in the Iraqi resistance," al-Dhari is quoted as saying. He also maintained that the US presence in Iraq fuels the violence, and that plans for federalism are aimed at breaking up the country.
Al-Dhari's allegation is given some credence by the denial being issued by Salah Umar al-Ali, an ex-Baathist dissident, that he had been contacted by the Iraqi government in an attempt to reach out to the ex-Baath leadership. The claim that the Iraqi government was talking to him was carried by al-Hayat recently. If Iraqi officials are lying to al-Hayat about al-Ali, they are probably lying about the whole range of alleged contacts. So far, both Bush and al-Maliki seem still determined to crush their enemies rather than trying to bring them in from the cold.
William Tucker, recently embedded with US troops in Iraq, compares the US colonial occupation of that country with its experience in the Philippines and concludes that Iraq is unlikely to be a succcess.
The USG Open Source Center paraphrases the Iraqi press for 3 April:
"Al-Bayyinah al-Jadidah carries on the front page a 370-word report citing a senior Iraqi official source saying that the Saudi King has rejected an offer from President Bush to visit Saudi Arabia because the king wants to cooperate with US democrats. . . Al-Muwatin on 2 April publishes on the front page and on page 2 a 1,500-word report entitled "Terrorist Groups Impose Fatwas Banning Drinking Cold Water, Smoking, Shaving, Using Computers, Satellites on Diyala Residents; In Tall Afar, Curfew Imposed, Schools, State Offices Closed, Prime Minister's Visit Anticipated." Al-Muwatin on 2 April carries on the front page a 260-word report citing President Talabani confirming that the Al-Mahdi Army has stopped its operations since the inauguration of the Law Enforcement Plan. The report cites Vice President urging Sunni insurgents to stop their attacks on Shiites. Al-Muwatin on 2 April runs on the front page a 200-word report citing Baha al-A'raji, parliament member from the Al-Sadr Bloc, criticizing the government for not investing in the initial success of the Law Enforcement Plan to attack terrorist strongholds in Baghdad. . . Dar al-Salam carries on page 5 a 140-word report entitled "Shiite Turkomans Council Holds Kurds Responsible for Tall Afar Bombings." . . Al-Zaman runs on the front page a 300-word report citing former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi criticizing the deployment of additional US forces in Iraq and doubting the success of the Law Enforcement Plan. . . Al-Zaman carries on the front page a 400-word report entitled "Al-Sadr trend Calls for Public Conference To End Deteriorations in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate." . . Al-Mashriq runs on page 3 a 650-word report citing a member at Kirkuk Governorate Council calling for Kirkuk to be a special region with joint administration including, Arab, Turkoman, and Kurds. . . Al-Muwatin on 2 April publishes on page 4 a 220-word report on the demonstration organized by Basra University students on 1 April to protest against British forces for raiding the university campus. Al-Muwatin on 2 April carries on page 4 a 130-word report entitled "Anti-Tank Mines Seized in Maysan Governorate." Al-Muwatin on 2 runs on page 4 a 200-word report citing a security source confirming that the Maysan criminal Court has sentenced two drug dealers to 15 years. Al-Bayyinah runs on page 2 a 750-word report citing Sunnis in Diyala warning against the attempts by the "Islamic State of Iraq" to seize their mosques and kill them like Shiites in the governorate. Al-Bayyinah carries on page 4 a 330-word report citing a security source in Ninawah saying that unidentified gunmen have managed to control the Abu Tammam Telephone Exchange in Mosul. Al-Bayyinah carries on page 4 a 700-word report saying that security agencies in Al-Diwaniyah held a security conference to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the governorate. Al-Mashriq runs on page 5 a 560-word report on the increasing oil smuggling operations in Basra. Al-Adala carries on the last page an 80-word report citing the Trade Ministry erected technical and electronic equipment on its food-rationed trucks to protect them robbery. Al-Zaman carries on page 2 a 400-word report entitled "Al-Nasiriyah Textile Factory Workers Organize Demonstration Demanding Salary Increase." Al-Zaman publishes on page 5 a 700-word report entitled "Mosul's Humble Hotels Accommodate Displaced, Poor Families; Services Absent, Tourism Stars Appear in Daylight." . . Al-Mashriq runs on page 4 a 1,300-word report on the begging phenomenon that has increased on Iraqi streets due to the poor security conditions. . . Al-Sabah carries on page 14 a 1,000-word report citing citizens complaining about the increase of prices in Iraqi markets. Al-Sabah carries on page 14 a 130-word report citing an official source in the Kurdistan Region saying that the region will sign oil investment contracts with 15 oil companies. . . |
Labels: Iraq War
posted by Juan Cole @ 4/04/2007 12:29:00 AM
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A spokesman of Maliki's Dawa parti has also praised the Democrat's plan. Sabah newspaper has stressed that the Iraqi government made it very clear to McCain that there is no purely military solution.
The signs are that the American people will next year side with the "Hadjis" and reject the Zionist's total war/global war/ long war ..etc.
QuickDraws
Even Younger George "Tex" Bush should understand the implications of being the big gun on Main Street, knowing that every time there's a new fast gun, there will always be someone who thinks they're better -- and will want to prove it. There's something in the genetic make-up of some who just want to show how 'good' they are. Unfortunately, "Tex" is a wan one, preferring to NOT fight on his own, opting to outsource his guns, thereby proving he is not only NOT a skilled gunslinger but famous nonethemore (or -less) -- even for insulating himself from the very fights he starts.
That the Congress is also eager to support -- but not participate in -- gunslingers' competitions is also telling. Most of the members are of the ilk that favours being removed from the action, unless -- of course -- they are part of a 100+ person entourage with gunships overhead, their military experiences notwithstanding, having been actively out of the action themselves for one reason or another. Even as more prominently placed politicians, they risk very little themselves.
Supporters of any conflicts should be required, should be willing to sacrifice everything important to them -- offices, compensation, investments, material belongings, whathaveyou -- when authorising the use of the military, men and women who usually come back less than whole from the battle fronts. At such a time as the enablers of wars -- extended beyond just the politicians to the 'Daddy War Bucks' types -- agree to give up everything important to them should their sporting lives' gambles not meet expectations, then the games can be begun.
It would be interesting to see how many new homeless people join the veterans on the streets when certain domestic benchmarks are not met, forcing them to cash in their valuables, sign over their assets, forego everything to foreclosure. I maintain that the decisions to initiate conflicts or supporting failing strategies and tactics would be made with much greater deliberation and much less of a cavalier attitude should those who are keen for conflict have to lose it all.
Those on the wrong side of the American Revolutionary War had to bug out for Canada. The ones not prevailing in the American Civil War lost quite a bit beyond their and their sons' lives, much of their lifestyles, livestock, and livelihoods 'gone with the wind.' Even those who avoided the draft in them olden dayze by hiring replacements were not guaranteed safety should their 'employees' be from a vindictive stock. Conflicts have consequences, much of which should be shared and borne, especially by those who have the greatest itches for martial glory scratches.
There have been recent reports about the Army lowering its standards in order to fulfill its recruiting quotas. Why is this? Because the lily-spleened lick-spittles who have been such avid advocates of assaults and attacks chose to keep themselves and their loved ones and closest friends closeted, afraid to 'come out' in such a way as to reveal their true cowardly natures? (And they rail about, against 'gays,' even the Arabists?) Voicing vehemence is one thing; veritable valiance is another. The Army has an ample pool of potential recruits among the war-mongering politicians' and the business peoples' human stocks who have derived financial and monetary benefits from red-lining the war machine into tachycardia. There should be a TIGHTening of standards, given all of the DoD-grade prime flesh hiding behind their fathers' barbeque aprons, the cock-eyed cooker-uppers of conquest-upheaval not willing to put their own to the taste-tests. It's always, 'Let the hired help endure the culs and culinary culture,' never making their meals or their cakes and eating them, too ... first. Someone else gets to get the bellyaches from indigestion or internment.
When the fans of the contests or conflicts are obliged to be drafted into their games of choice, there will be a little less enthusiasm for reckless play or feckless hooraies. The promoters, themselves, will pay a little more attention to the odds should their enterprises begin to go the wrong way. As any businessperson knows, sound investments take a great deal of research and commitment to understanding, enduring, and accepting the downs as well as the ups. Cutting one's losses is also something that is prudent at the appropriate points.
'Enron'-ising the situation in Iraq is almost expected, like some joke that has been told and heard too many times, with everyone waiting for the punch line just to see how many people still laugh this time around. Like Enron, the Buscists are expecting their company to be funded and supported by the lesser known and least knowing, taking the country all the way into default and bankruptcy. Will we see Laura selling off knick-knacks at some upscale boutique once the bottom really falls out? Will we see her dressed in black, attending one of her kid's memorial services, the first one in who knows how many hundreds of demises? Doubtful, but the question remains, 'Why not?' Are the outlooks for the outcomes that outlandish?
(Recommended reading: *The Millionaire's Unit;* Wortman, Public Affairs, 2006. Subtitled: 'The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power.' The book chronicles those of the Great War who came mostly from Yale (like "Tex," one of the BBQ dads) but found themselves putting their lives on the line for that in which they believed. My position is, therefore, with great precedent, populated with real heroes, dead or alive.)
Of course McCain's sunny pronouncements don't hold water. The real question is: why has McCain narrowed his campaign focus to Bush's delusional base. Can he really think that would win an election?
The Tucker article at the Spectator is interesting as an example of a mainstream US reporter seemingly exercising a bit of critical remembrance regarding the Phillippines and ending up with a soggy mess of a whitewash. To his credit, he does refer to casualty level estimates, but there's nothing about the US concentration camps and scorched earth policies that lay behind the famine, and the concern about Filipino deaths is only passing, he concentrates on US dead. Plus, his handling of the overall context is ludicrous: no mention of an imperialist competition with other First World countries as a motivator, or the fact that the concept of imperialism was at the center of the debate in the US.
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