Middle East

Iran EFP Story a New “Yellowcake” Scandal? An informed reader writes: Your reference to the Drew Brown McClatchy wire service report carried by the Mercury News about possible Sunni involvement in the IEDs and EFPs that have allegedly killed upwards of 170 Americans could be the tendrils of the new “Yellowcake” scandal of the Administration’s […]

OSC: Regional Press Reaction to US in Baghdad Parley The US government Open Source Center surveys and paraphrases the Middle Eastern press reaction to the news that the US will attend the conference of foreign ministers to be held in Baghdad, which will include Iran and Syria: “OSC Analysis 01 Mar: Middle East on US […]

Public Works Minister Seriously Wounded Vice President Abdul Mahdi narrowly Escapes Assassination New Oil Law Passes Cabinet Sunni Arab guerrillas attempted on Monday to assassinate Iraq’s Shiite vice president, Adil Abdul Mahdi, 59, as he visited a the offices of the ministry of public works and municipalities in the upscale Mansour district of the capital. […]

Al-Hakim Targeted with Car Bomb; Thousands of Shiites Protest US in Najaf; Enormous Bomb Hits Habaniya Mosque Late Saturday, the US Air Force launched a series of bombing raids on southeast Baghdad. This is absolutely shameful, that the US is bombing from the air a civilian city that it militarily occupies. You can’t possibly do […]

Blair to Draw Down British Troops Tony Blair is taking 1600 troops out of Basra in the next few months and will aim to be down to only 3,000 or so (from 7,100 now) by the end of the year. Denmark is also going home. This is a rout, there should be no mistake. The […]

Security Plan Mocked by Massive Explosions Al-Hashimi Seeks “Terrorist” Status for Sadr Movement Reuters reports that 2 US soldiers were killed by guerrillas on Saturday. In addition to the massive bombings at a Shiite market in East Baghdad that killed 70 and wounded 150 (- al-Hayat) on Sunday, another bomb, detonated in a restaurant in […]

53% of Americans Want US Out of Iraq Car bombs, 20 Bodies in Baghdad Despite Crackdown The percentage of Americans in a Pew Research Center poll who want US troops out of Iraq surged by 5 percent in the past month to 53 percent. Sunni Arab guerrillas killed a US GI in al-Anbar Province on […]

5 US Troops Killed in Sunni Arab Areas US Raids Office of SCIRI Leader Saghir The US military is reporting the deaths of 6 US troops in Iraq. Four were killed by a roadside bomb in Sunni-majority Diyala Province where the US has been fighting Sunni Arab guerrillas. Another was killed “north of Baghdad” (i.e. […]

On the Mystery of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Disappearance US government sources are saying that nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fled to neighboring Iran three weeks ago. Sadrist aides denied the report. This on a day when two major bombings left 66 persons wounded or dead in the capital, and 20 bodies were found in the streets […]