More on the need to pressure Congress to close the US embassy in Baghdad (see below). First, here is some correspondence: ‘As a retired foreign service officer . . . at the State Department in Washington, I would like to add to your rationale for closing the US Embassy in Bagdad to save lives. In […]
Time to Close the US Embassy
I don’t try to start an internet campaign very often, because the blogosphere has its own priorities and logic that are democratic and should not be forced. But here is a plea for everyone in the blogging world to help force congress to save our diplomats. Bush is trying to Shanghai several hundred foreign service […]
Anti-Gay Church Fined by Court Can Robertson be far Behind?
A jury has found an independent “Baptist” church (which doesn’t actually appear to have anything to do with the Baptist Church) in Topeka, KS, guilty of inflicting emotional distress on the bereaved family of a Marine killed in Iraq. The “church” (i.e. cult) members had protested at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder […]
Letters to the Editor
In my absence, my readers are making what seem to me especially substantial, informed and incisive comments, and several of those posted today seemed to me worthy of being put on the “front page”. (Not everyone reads comments). So here they are: “1. On the Dam At 11:21 PM, Alex said… On the dam. There […]
US Gives Turkey Intel on Kurds Militia Rule in Basra
The US is giving Turkey intelligence on the Kurdish Workers Party, according to Reuters. It seems to me that there is a contradiction between US calls for Turkish restraint and this attempt to supply Ankara with “actionable” intelligence. Is it that the US wants Turkey to hit some parts of the PKK in some parts […]
Iraq Cabinet Proposes lifting Immunity for Private Security Guards
The Iraqi cabinet has reported out draft legislation that will remove immunity from prosecution for private security guards such as those of Blackwater. The immunity was put into law by US viceroy Paul Bremer in 2003-2004 when the US was running Iraq as a colony. Such ‘extra-territoriality’ is common in a colonial situation, since it […]
Iraq’s Katrina? 3 US Soldiers Killed in Bombing Diyala Roiled by 28 Police Killed, 20 Headless Bodies
Iraq’s Katrina? The Army Corps of Engineers is worried that a dam north of Mosul will collapse. CBS warns, ‘ A catastrophic failure, engineers believe, could unleash a 60-foot-high wall of water that would be inundate Mosul – and flood Baghdad to a depth of 15 feet. The casualty count would be in the hundreds […]
Breaking News: Turkish Gunships fire into Iraq
Indian NDTV is reporting Tuesday morning that Turkish Cobra helicopter gunships have fired into Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) positions inside northern Iraq. The action comes after following on an engagement in the border region on the Turkish side that began on Monday and went late into the night. AP does not mention the strikes inside […]
Reconciliation Sheikhs Kidnapped; Kirkuk, Karbala Bombings
LA Times says that 11 members of The Salam (Peace) tribal council of Baquba, were kidnapped at gunpoint as they were driving back from the Green Zone toward Baquba, where they are based. They had been conducting talks with the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Although the kidnapping occurred in a largely Shiite district […]
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