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Voice of America Imperilled Alan Heil, author of an important history of the Voice of America, sends along dire news about the service. For Arabic broadcasting, this development is rather as if the government abolished National Public Radio and replaced it with Mr. Pattiz’s Westwood One pablum and top 40 list. Americans should please communicate […]

Iraqi Economy: Setser Replies Reader and economist Brad Setser responded to my comment on the Financial Times article on the Iraqi economy last weekend. I . . . have tried to follow Iraq closely (both the debt restructuring forgiveness debate, the use of oil revenues, the loans v. grants debate and more generally the pace […]

3 US Troops Killed, 4 Wounded Guerrillas near Samarra detonated a roadside bomb as a US convoy passed on Sunday, killing two US soldiers and wounding 3 others. In Mosul, guerrillas set off another roadside bomb, killing one US soldier and injuring another, along with an Iraqi civilian. US troops killed one guerrilla in response. […]

Demonstrations over Saddam in Baqubah, Baghdad Al-Hayat reports that hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated in the eastern city of Baqubah on Sunday in favor of Saddam Hussein. They carried placards ridiculing his trial as “staged.” Some in the crowd were masked gunmen. They chanted, according to the BBC, “We will never give up on Iraq or […]

Shiites and the US Army in Karbala and Sadr City Ken Dilanian of Knight Ridder has a piece on how the 37th Armored Regiment’s 1st Battalion fought an ideal battle in the Shiite holy city of Karbala against the Mahdi Army, defeating them without damaging the shrines of Imam Husayn and Abu’l-Fadil Abbas. The article […]

Al-Haeri Breaks with Sadr An informed reader writes from London: Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr has now been officially renounced by Ayatullah Kadhim Al-Haeri. He has been stripped of his “wukala”(representation) and also denied the right of accepting and using any religious dues on behalf of his father as well as Ayatullah Haeri. This is a big […]

4 Marines, 5 Iraqis Killed Guerrillas operating near Fallujah killed four Marines on Saturday. AFP reports other incidents: US Marines in Ramadi engaged in a firefight with 7 black-costumed guerrillas, killing two of them. Five Iraqis were wounded in the incident. The US military spokesman explained, “Those seven fired on the marines from the taxi […]

Iraqi Economy Limping Along Because of Poor Security The Financial Times has a suggestive story on the Iraqi economy and its continued woes. One conclusion I draw from it is that a lot of the new money in people’s hands is going right out of the country for the purchase of electronics and automobiles from […]

Anti-Occupation Forces Reject National Congress A National Congress of 1,000 notables will be held for 3 days later in July. It will elect an advisory body of 100, which will have a veto power over some decisions of Prime Minister Allawi. This weak, Duma-like council was proposed by UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi as a means […]