BAGHDAD - The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman says the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested in the northern city of Mosul.
Spokesman Mohammed al-Askari says the arrest of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.
There was no immediate confirmation from U.S. forces on the arrest.
This would indeed be good news if it's true, we'll have to wait and see.
In the 'why didn't we kill him earlier' department:
BASRA, Iraq, March 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces battled the Mehdi Army militia in Basra on Tuesday in a drive to win control of the southern oil city, but violence and unrest spread to Baghdad and other cities.
Police and health workers said at least 12 people were killed in the fighting in districts of central and northern Basra where Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army has a strong presence.
In a statement read out by a senior aide on Tuesday, Sadr called on Iraqis to stage sit-ins all over Iraq and said he would declare a "civil revolt" if attacks by U.S. and Iraqi security forces continued. He also threatened a "third step", but said it was too early to announce what it would be.
Reuters The sorry unwashed lout that runs the Mehdi 'Army' in Baghdad is feeling left out once again and making life hard for the people he claims to be trying to help. Sadr should have been removed (permanently) back when we had the chance. Until he leaves public life, the Iraqis will be the ones to suffer.
It never fails, the Iraq situation is finally turning around and another problem asserts itself:
Iraq pledges to tackle Kurdish rebels
Haroon Siddique and agencies Tuesday October 23, 2007 Guardian Unlimited
The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, called the PKK a 'terrorist organisation'. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Iraq today pledged to shut down the operations of Kurdish rebels operating in the country amid frantic efforts to head off a Turkish attack.
The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, called the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) a "terrorist organisation" and announced that he would "shut down their offices".
The move came as the US and Iraq attempt to avert a threatened invasion by Turkish troops looking to crush PKK fighters operating on the Iraqi border.
"The PKK is a terrorist organisation and we have taken a decision to shut down their offices and not allow them to operate on Iraqi soil," Mr Maliki said.
"We will also work on limiting their terrorist activities, which are threatening Iraq and Turkey."
He gave no details of how the rebels could be prevented from launching attacks from their remote mountain bases in northern Iraq. [link]
Un-needed drama at the border. The last thing that country needs is for Turkey to come in and take on the Kurds; but, unless Iraq (and the U.S.) can control the PKK then Turkey will have to do something. Turkey can't continue to be targeted on cross-border raids without defending its people.
I hope Maliki can contain the PKK (and shut them down) for the sake of Iraq and his people. If Turkey has to come after them, the diplomatic situation will be a mess.
Last Updated:October 07. 2007 11:11PM Published: October 08. 2007 3:30AM
Major Eric Burrage recalls the question someone asked upon his return from a tour in Iraq as commander of the 115th Signal Battalion's Company A.
"Someone asked me once, 'How did your soldiers handle it over there?' " Burrage said during a ceremony Sunday afternoon where the company received the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Burrage said that question brought many thoughts to mind.
Those thoughts included what he refers to as the company's "first-class service," despite the practically daily mortar and rocket attacks and searing Iraqi desert heat they endured.
He thought about Staff Sgt. Phillip Gunter's ability to listen to a damaged generator run over the phone and diagnose the problem. That helped reduce the amount of dangerous convoys that would have been needed to go to the generator and diagnose the problem.
Burrage mentioned numerous electrical, plumbing and building support projects that remain to this day in Iraq.
He recalled when 1st Lt. Bill Smith was hit by mortar fire and knocked to the ground. Smith's first thoughts at that moment were concern about others' safety and whether the shelling had knocked out the signal service.
Finally, Burrage came up with the best description he could think of, to answer the question of how his solders handled their tour of war in Iraq. [link]
A very good write up in the local paper, read it all. No matter how you personally feel about the conflict in the ME, it is imperative to not take it out on the brave men and women that are doing there duty there.
H/T Killgore Trout, who graciously also points out the slowed down version, in the event the above detonation happened too quickly. Now you can savor it a bit more.
With actual good news on the Iraqi war slipping through the MSM lockjaw, the Democrats in Congress are tabling legislation they think will allow Republicans to vote against the President but also against a surrenderretreatwithdrawal from MesepotamiaIraq:
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democratic leaders are intent on sidetracking bipartisan attempts to change course in Iraq at least until fall, officials said Tuesday, rather than allow nervous Republicans to vote for legislation that lacks a troop withdrawal deadline. Several lawmakers and aides said the goal was to deny members of the GOP rank and file a chance to proclaim their independence from President Bush by voting for a limited measure - after months of backing his policy in an increasingly unpopular war. Polls have long shown the war to be unpopular, and a survey released during the day by the Democracy Corps, which advises Democrats, reported that 61 percent of those polled want their lawmaker to begin requiring a reduction of troops. (link)
Legisltation by poll. It's a remarkable conceitconcept. Maybe one day we'll get some politcians that will legislate for the good of the people and not for the votes of the people (D or R). Maybe I'm being a little cynical, but you'd think that one day someone in Washington would stand up against poll-watching and get to actually doing their job.
We really need a true conservative party in this country. Something the Republicans used to know a little about.
House OK's Plan to Withdraw US Troops(retreat) WASHINGTON - The Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the Bush administration conceded Thursday in an assessment that war critics quickly seized on as confirmation of their dire warnings. Within hours, the House voted to withdraw U.S. troops by spring.
The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.
"The security situation in Iraq remains complex and extremely challenging," the administration report concluded. The economic picture is uneven, it added, and the government has not yet enacted vital political reconciliation legislation.
As many as 80 suicide bombers per month cross into the country from Syria, said the interim assessment, which is to be followed by a fuller accounting in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the region.(link)
What was it the little engine kept saying? "I think I can, I think I can." Sounds like the Democratic approach to the war and losing it.
WASHINGTON - The co-chairs of the Iraq Study Group said Monday they were unsure whether the panel's goal of pulling combat troops out of Iraq by March 2008 remains valid.
The blue-ribbon panel's five Republican and five Democratic members concluded six months ago that most combat troops could be out of Iraq by the 2008 date if certain steps were taken. They said a smaller contingent could be left behind to train Iraqi security forces and conduct other narrowly defined missions.
The report received a tepid response by the White House and Congress until recently, as administration officials contemplate their next step in Iraq and congressional Republicans look for a solution to end the politically unpopular war.
Addressing a National Press Club luncheon, James Baker and Lee Hamilton said they believed the group's findings were still meaningful.
But the 2008 date "would, of course, be something different, in my view at least, because we were talking that date when we came with the report in December of 2006. This is now June of 2007," said Baker, secretary of state during the first Bush administration and Republican co-chairman of the group.(link)
Pretty much a non-story here, the ISG admit that times have changed, bla bla bla. Interesting quote though
"One thing I do know and believe very affirmatively, and that is if Iraq was not the center of the war on terror before we went in there, it certainly is now," Baker said.
Makes you wonder why the ISG and the left would be wanting to leave so fast if they truly believe this? (yes I realize Baker is a Republican in name, but not in action).
Bush immigration bill push tests clout
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 22 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - President Bush is putting his influence within his own party to the test Tuesday as he pleads personally with skeptical Senate Republicans to resurrect his immigration bill. Despite his confident tone Monday about the measure's fate, Bush is facing a hostile audience that has shown little appetite for following his lead on the contentious issue.
[snip]
Still, weakened by his sagging poll numbers and a sense within GOP ranks that the president has lost touch with his core supporters on immigration, Bush may well lack the clout he would need to persuade Republicans to back the measure, say lawmakers and strategists.(link)
Read that last paragraph well, seems that the A(w/t)P thinks the immigration bill is having problems because W has low poll numbers. Instead of looking at the fact the bill is having problems because NO ONE wants that bill, telling. __________ Reason amongst the dhimmikrauts
Rise above the political pressures of the moment to do what is right for America. (link)
You'll never guess who is doing the speaking if you didn't read the first part. Great thanks go out to Senator Lieberman for his speech. This speech is something that should have been said long ago by ANYONE in Washington, luckily it looks like someone at least is still paying attention to the world and our part in it.
Number 2 comes from the (anti) Climate Porn sector:
Climate change will be considered a joke in five years time, meteorologist Augie Auer told the annual meeting of Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers in Ashburton this week.(link)
Read the whole thing. They don't give a location to the data they use, so I can't claim it is 'proven', but the article is just as much proven as Al Gore's movie and book. __________ Reason(s) to think Filed: Joe Lieberman, reason, war on terror, Climate Porn, Augie Auer, BlogPower, LordNazh
In a surprise move (/sarc) the new Democrat(ic) majority touted their new plan for surrender. Taking an Emergency spending bill and adding enough pork to buy votes of more reluctant members.
Democrats tout plan to bring troops home
1 hour, 19 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The Democrats' plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq next year responds to voters' demand for change, New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes (news, bio, voting record) said Saturday.
Hodes and other House Democrats on Friday pushed through a rebuke of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Bush promised a veto of the spending bill, which demands combat operations end before September 2008 — and perhaps earlier.
"With our vote this week, we're helping our troops, protecting our veterans, and fighting to end the waste, fraud and abuse," said Hodes, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address. "After four years of a failed policy, Democrats are insisting on a new direction in Iraq and a real plan that holds the Iraqi people accountable for their own country." (link) {emph. mine-LN}
I love the irony in a bill with 21 million in pork touting to end waste, fraud and abuse. The democrats have no spine, if they really want to respond to the voters' 'mandate' then they should pull funding now and end the war (a power they have); instead they think that might be a bad political move (how could they think that if they think the voters told them too?). Instead of focusing on non-binding resolutions and pork-filled funding resolutions, they should just do what the voters told them to.
Of course, the polls tell them what to do, every day. If the polls tell them to a non-binding resolution will be good, that's what they will do. If the polls said the war was a good thing, Pelosi would have a statement about the success of the surge. Hopefully before '08 these wind-blown politicians will be caught up in a tornado. __________ Feckle thy name is Democrat
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Death Squad Leaders Seized in Baghdad
(AP Photo/Mahmoud al-Badri) A man passes by cars destroyed in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007. A parked car bomb went off in central Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood, killing at least two people and injuring another four, police said.
Printer Friendly | PDF | Email | digg By BRIAN MURPHY, The Associated Press Feb 27, 2007 4:00 PM (39 mins ago) Current rank: # 296 of 15,729 articles
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S.-led strike forces seized suspected Shiite death squad bosses Tuesday in raids that tested the fragile bonds between the government and a powerful militia faction allowing the Baghdad security crackdown to move ahead.
The sweeps through the Sadr City slum were part of highly sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has ridiculed the 2-week-old campaign for failing to halt bombings by suspected Sunni insurgents against Shiite civilians.
Al-Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the security push go forward. But the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also worries that al-Sadr could pull his support if he feels his militiamen are being squeezed in Baghdad. (link)
Of course you have to look at in context... it's bad news for the retreat crowd. Just another day in the life I guess. __________ Reason to surge
Since we fought this 'war for oil', it's good to finally see the Iraqis doing something about the vast oil wealth that they do possess.
It would be easy for the Shiites and Kurds to exclude the Sunnis in this area and it would even be somewhat justified for what happened in recent history in their country. But the oil draft will protect ALL Iraqis and we'll have to see if it will really work as intended.
Iraqi Cabinet approves draft oil law
35 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi Cabinet approved a long-awaited draft oil law on Monday, sending it to parliament for consideration, the prime minister said, calling the agreement "another founding stone in state-building."
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government had promised a new oil law by the end of 2006 but missed the deadline due to objections from the Kurds, and it faced pressure from the Bush administration to come through. Many of Iraq's vast oil reserves can be found in the Kurdish north and the Shiite south, and the Kurds wanted a greater role in awarding contracts and administering the revenues.
Al-Maliki said Monday's agreement was an important step toward encouraging investment in the country's battered oil industry.(link)
This is a major step in the setting up a real government for Iraq and maybe a vital step into returning the U.S. military home (without the 'honor' of a Democrat retreat). __________ Reason to hope
The U.S. issued a rapid apology for the detention of Al-Hakim's son on a return trip from Iran, but should they be that sorry?
Shiites decry detention of leader's son
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Thousands of Shiites rallied in the holy city of Najaf on Saturday to protest the nearly 12-hour detention of the eldest son of Iraq's most influential Shiite politician as he crossed back from Iran.
Amar al-Hakim, who was taken into custody on Friday, complained Saturday that U.S. soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him before his release and "strongly abused" his bodyguards.
"Is this the way to deal with a national figure? This does not conform with Iraq's sovereignty," he said.
He said cell phones, licensed weapons and two-way radios were among items confiscated. (link)
Sounds like a case of a needed apology and maybe a change in the procedures doesn't it? But if you read on down the article, you'll see some more relevant details emerge:
The U.S. military said Saturday that al-Hakim was stopped in an area where smuggling between Iraq and Iran is common and detained after members of the convoy "did not cooperate with coalition forces and displayed suspicious activities." He was released to Iraqi authorities and his possessions were returned after further investigation, the military said.
Now it sounds more like simply the U.S. forces doing their job. I understand people in positions of power (in all countries) act and think they are above the law, but they shouldn't be. If you or your company will not cooperate with authorities when stopped in a suspicious area, then you will be detained and questioned. Seems like a simple concept.
I don't know what the surge is going to do, but since it's inception, there's been alot of good news from the war front. The latest:
AP Photo: Sgt. Marcus Gibbs, 26, from Pensacola, Fla., stands guard with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry...
5 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The clash occurred near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.
Khalaf said al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded and his aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, was killed.
Khalaf declined to say how Iraqi forces knew al-Masri had been injured, and there was no report on the incident from U.S. authorities.
Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said he had no information about such a clash or that al-Masri had been involved. (link)
Of course if you take out the leader, there will be another one to take over, but sooner or later it will be harder to fill that position if you keep targeting them. __________ Reason to fight
"We don't have a plan, but we don't want you to have one either." That seems to be the word from the Dems (and some 'republicans') in the Senate. Not only are they going to attempt to pass their non-binding resolution, they've taken out the part about it 'not being in the interest of the U.S.' on the surge.
Since the nbr was specifically against the surge, now exactly what is it for? Oh yeah, votes. That's what drives most politicians. They legislate with polls and voter sentiment. The democrats I can (sorta) understand, Bush's numbers are low and support for the war is low. But for the 'republicans' it's really hard to figure. Three out of four Republicans support the war, the President and the Surge; so what's the thinking behind alienating your voters? Who knows, but hopefully these politicians will pay the ultimate price for their shenanigans: ie. loss of job.
US marines patrol west of Baghdad. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images.
George Bush was today facing further political isolation over his policy on Iraq after top Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed on a provisional resolution opposing a troop increase.
The White House has been lobbying fiercely to head off such a resolution and its failure to do so underlines the unpopularity of Mr Bush's plan to send an extra 21,500 troops to Iraq.
Several proposals had been circulating in the Senate, but the Democratic chairman of the senate armed services committee, Carl Levin, and his predecessor, the Republican senator John Warner, have managed to craft a resolution designed to attract maximum support from both parties.(link)
The article didn't give a specific list of 'republicans' who support this measure (and the one that will go around the House), but I'm sure it's the same thugs who were signing on earlier (represented in the Pledge). If you haven't signed up for the pledge, do so now. Let these politicians (and the NRSC) know that we do not support these people. __________ Reason to care
Yes everyone else has already posted this, but I had a physical today and rough day at work, so I didn't get to do it earlier (heh).
Seems that the Iraqis are trying to step up. Granted they had to get help, but in a fight this size thats not necessarily a bad thing right now. (of course, the key is how will they handle it when we leave)
Iraqi army kills leader of Shiite cult
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago
Iraq's army announced Monday it killed the leader of a heavily armed cult of messianic Shiites called "the Soldiers of Heaven" in a fierce gunbattle aimed at foiling a plot to attack leading Shiite clerics and pilgrims in the southern city of Najaf on the holiest day of the Shiite calendar.
Senior Iraqi security officers said that as part of the plot, three gunmen were captured in Najaf after renting a hotel room in front of the office of Iraq's most senior Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, with plans to attack it.
The fierce 24-hour battle was ultimately won by Iraqi troops supported by U.S. and British jets and American ground forces, but the ability of a splinter group little known in Iraq to rally hundreds of heavily armed fighters was a reminder of the potential for chaos and havoc emerging seemingly out of nowhere. Members of the group, which included women and children, planned to disguise themselves as pilgrims and kill as many leading clerics as possible, said Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi, the Iraqi commander in charge of the Najaf region. (link)
Also, I would like to point out to any of the 'cut-and-run' or redeploy or whatever you call it crowd the easiest way and fastest to end the U.S. intervention in Iraq is to get the Iraqi Government to ask us to leave. All the protesters and feckless Senators need to simply convince Maliki to ask Bush to pull the troops out and per our agreement and the U.N. mandate, we will simply leave. That would be much easier than Hillary Clinton claiming that it is irresponsible to not pull the troops out before the next President (wonder who she's voting for?) is sworn in. __________ Reason to fight
This has also been verified by Snopes. Not that they’re the be-all/end-all, but to me if it’s made it to Snopes, at least some verification has been done on the subject.
Folks, this is a call to arms, so to speak, on this matter. Boycott doesn’t even cut it. We need to make sure this business has NO business, no customers who want to buy from them anymore, and all the negative publicity they can get. Are you ready to get busy on this one? It’s already starting. (link)
Want to know what's got the kitty so mad? Read the link. It is indeed an outrage, but typical of left-affiliated businesses.
Reuters Photo: A policeman stands guard in front of a burning minibus shortly after a bomb attack...
By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer 59 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's prime minister has dropped his protection of an anti-American cleric's Shiite militia after U.S. intelligence convinced him the group was infiltrated by death squads, two officials said Sunday.
In a desperate bid to fend off an all-out American offensive, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr last Friday ordered the 30 lawmakers and six Cabinet ministers under his control to end their nearly
two-month boycott of the government. They were back at their jobs Sunday.
Al-Sadr had already ordered his militia fighters not to display their weapons. They have not, however, ceded control of the formerly mixed neighborhoods they have captured, killing Sunnis or forcing them to abandon their homes and businesses. (link)
This is bad news for the democrats militias and good news for the people that actually want to see the Iraqi government work. There is no doubt that the U.S. forces can defeat any militia that you put against it, provided that they can actually fight it.
I'll expect outrage from the left sometime soon for this latest development in the civil war secretarian violence. __________ Reason to shoot
Democrats and other anti-war 'activists' need to take note. You guys are talking/protesting the wrong government. You guys need to direct your actions toward the Iraqi government, as soon as they say go, we go.
Kurdish General Training Troops for Baghdad Mission; Iraq's P.M. Says He Backs Bush Plan
KIRKUK, Iraq — An Iraqi army brigade based in the northern Kurdish region is undergoing intensive training in urban combat and will be dispatched to Baghdad as part of a new joint U.S.-Iraqi security drive in the sprawling and violence-ridden city, the commander said Saturday.
The brigade is one of two coming from the Kurdish region and a third brigade will come from southern Iraq. The second Kurdish brigade will come from the northern city of Sulaimaniyah.
"We will head to Baghdad soon. We have 3,000 soldiers who are currently undergoing intensive training especially in urban combat and how the army should act inside a city," said Brig. Gen. Nazir Assem Korran, commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division of the Iraqi army that is based in the city of Irbil.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in his first comments on the new Bush administration plan for restoring security in Baghdad, said the proposal was "identical to our strategy and intentions."
Al-Maliki, however, continued to avoid naming the Mahdi Army Shiite militia of one of his key supporters as a target of the military operations to cleanse the capital of Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia gunmen and death squads.(link)
As long as the Iraqi government wants us there and W is in the whitehouse, we'll be there. Democrats on Capitol Hill won't pull funding and risk votes in '08 (just look at their promises vs their actions, they are looking ahead, not worrying about today). So you're only chance to end this war early is to get the Iraqi government to say it's over.
Sports: Anyone that watched the Ohio State - Tennessee game, tell me how the OSU guy walks out of bounds (at the end of the game) and there is no call? __________ Reason for ire
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as President Bush said he will commit an additional 21,500 American combat troops to the war.
Under pressure from the U.S., Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to crack down on fighters controlled by his most powerful political ally, Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric, according to officials. Previously, al-Maliki had resisted the move.
"Prime Minister al-Maliki has told everyone that there will be no escape from attack," a senior Shiite legislator and close al-Maliki adviser said. "The government has told the Sadrists: 'If we want to build a state we have no other choice but to attack armed groups.'"(link)
It seems that finally Al-Maliki is strong enough (or perceives he is) to tell Al-Sadr to go rot. For any 'nation-building' to have any chance of success, the government of Iraq must be totally involved and this looks like a promising step. Of course there have been other steps that didn't pan out, but I'll be optimistic on this one until I see the results.
If nothing else, the Iraqi government's intention to allow attacks against the militias may cut down on the violence that the everyday Iraqi faces, as the militias will become defensive. They cannot stand against the U.S. backed Iraqi forces if the latter is given the green light to go all out.
Interview in Der Spiegel with the Iraqi executioner of Saddam Hussein. It's a good read and refers specifically to the comments between Saddam and the people in the room. Focusing on the insults and such that were hurled at Hussein before his sentence was executed.
"The Execution Was Done Correctly"
Iraqi prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon, 53, discusses the execution of former dictator Saddam Hussein and the investigation into the execution video that is now circulating on the Internet.
AFP
Munqith al-Faroon: "It isn't unlike the hunt. First you hunt down the animal, but once you look your prey in the eyes, you ultimately feel pity. That was the way I felt."
SPIEGEL: Mr. Prosecutor, you were a witness to the execution of Saddam Hussein. What did you see and hear?
Faroon: I, together with 13 other official observers, was flown by helicopter from the Green Zone to the execution site. There were seven of us in each helicopter. We entered the execution chamber, where there were already four other people: the condemned man and three masked men. Two of these men prepared Saddam Hussein for the execution, and the third man later opened the trap door.
Faroon: Only the 14 official observers, Saddam and three masked men. However, the door between the execution chamber and another room was open, and a few men gathered at this door over time -- guards who had been assigned to protect this facility.
SPIEGEL: Who shouted the first insults at Saddam?
Faroon: It was one of those guards, who called out the name of Muqtada al-Sadr.
SPIEGEL: If this man can be identified -- did he commit a crime?
Faroon: No. And I attach importance to the conclusion that the execution was done correctly -- as required by the law. Otherwise I would have stopped the procedure at that point. (link)
Read all of it. Interesting piece, but then again, Der has had alot of good interviews lately. Democrats in Congress (the newly minted BMOC) are preparing to stop the President's plans involving Iraq.
This is the most recent version of this article. )
