Middle East

Another one bites the dust. World politics is littered with the political corpses of rightwing leaders who bucked their own public to join in George W. Bush’s wars and misadventures. Spain, Italy, Poland, and in a way the UK are all object lessons in this regard. Now John Howard of Australia has joined their number […]

The USG Open Source Center rounds up Friday prayers sermons shown on Iraqi television this week: ‘Round-up of Iraqi Friday Sermons 23 NovIraq — OSC SummarySaturday, November 24, 2007 Major Iraqi television channels – Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah, Baghdad Baghdad Satellite Channel, Baghdad Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad Al-Furat, Cairo Al-Baghdadiyah, and Baghdad Al-Diyar – are observed on 23 November […]

Whoever is responsible for this disgusting travesty is an automatic candidate for Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Person in the World.” My guess is that the trail will lead back to Donald “its not a guerrilla war” Rumsfeld and Richard Bruce “most prominent traitor in American history” Cheney. Gregg Zoroya of USA Today reports that 20,000 US […]

The USG Open Source Center translates an article from the Iraqi newspaper “Ilaf,” on planned housekeeping inside the Sadr Movement, in which leaders plan to purge hundreds of alleged rogue elements from the paramilitary Mahdi Army. Sadrist leader Baha’ al-A’raji also called for electoral reform and rejected an Iranian plan to have Iranian troops replace […]

Guerrillas detonated a bomb in a Baghdad pet market on Friday morning at 9 am, killing at least 13 persons and wounding others. Two important gunbattles were fought in Iraq on Thursday, one southwest of Baghdad and one in the volatile Diyala Province east of Baghdad. CNN alleges that Salafi Jihadis of the “Islamic State […]

Pink – Dear Mr. President Dear Mr. PresidentCome take a walk with meLet’s pretend we’re just two people andYou’re not better than meI’d like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the streetWho do you pray for at night before you […]

AP reports that US generals in Iraq are talking about the move to northern Iraq of the most violent Sunni religious guerrillas (the US calls them al-Qaeda and some of them style themselves that way, though it is misleading). The article says that Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said from a base outside Tikrit […]

The USG Open Source Center reports on wrangling between two Sunni groups, the more urban and small-town Sunni fundamentalists of the Iraqi Accord Front [al-Tawafuq] and the more rural, tribal Anbar Salvation Counci [ASC]. The two groups, both of whom oppose the very violent extremists among the Salafi Jihadis [whom the US insists on calling […]

Top British Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt says that British troops are overstretched by their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are suffering from “Iraq fatigue.” He warned that the covenant of trust between the enlisted men and the officers was in danger of being broken. Dannatt insisted that troops need recuperation time between missions but […]