20 Arrested in Spain
Spanish police broke up three recruiting cells for Iraq volunteer fighters in Spain, arresting 20 persons. The cells had connections to groups in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Iraq. AP is saying that one of the Spanish cells may have been behind the attack on Italian troops at Nasiriyah in November, 2003, which killed 19. (That item needs some more explanation.) Nationalities of the detainees are as follows: Moroccans: 15, Spaniards: 3, Turkish: 1, Algerian: 1.
Knight Ridder reviews the increasing use of air power by US forces in Iraq. The question is raised of whether air power is useful in fighting an insurgency. Cole says: No.
Michael Schwartz at Tomodispatch.com writes at greater length about the little-covered US air war in Iraq, and its civilian and political costs.
Iraq’s Christians annoyed by Kurdish semi-autonomy may seek an autonomous region of their own.