Today in Iraq

War News for November 17, 2003 Bring ‘em on: Bomb in Kirkuk wounds Iraqi civilian. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents mortar central Baghdad. Bring 'em on: US troops conduct counter-insurgency raids in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: US troops conduct counter-insurgency operations near Tikrit. Bring 'em on: US troops conduct counter-insurgency operations near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline bombed near Baiji. US raids antagonize Iraqi civilians. Power failures reported again in Baghdad. Time to take spaghetti off the White House menu! Italian official bolts Bremer's Mesopotamian satrapy. "The provisional authority simply doesn't work," the Italian daily Corriere della Sera quoted Calamai as saying. "It's neither fish nor fowl. Reconstruction projects that were promised and financed have had practically no results." Update: At Marine's Girl real Marines have landed and the situation is well in hand. Commentary Opinion: Insurgency is more than “dead-enders” and “hold-outs.” Opinion: This quagmire was predictable. “Had a peaceful resolution of these disputes been attempted, Bin Laden might now be in custody, Iraq might be a pliant and largely peaceful nation finding its own way to democracy, and the prevailing sentiment within the Muslim world might be sympathy for the United States, rather than anger and resentment.” Opinion: The empty suit. “Unlike Presidents Reagan, Bush I and Clinton, who all attended memorial ceremonies for troops killed in overseas terrorist attacks, Bush II declines to be present at services for soldiers who have died in Iraq. The pictures wouldn't be helpful.” Opinion: “I don't think the Bush administration lied to us about Iraq. It's worse than that. I think they fooled themselves. I think they were conned by Ahmad Chalabi. I think they indulged in wishful thinking to a point of near criminality. I think they decided anyone who didn't agree with them was an enemy, anti-American, disloyal. In other words, I think they are criminally stupid.” Casualty Reports Local story: Washington State soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: North Carolina soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New Jersey soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Three Wisconsin soldiers killed in Iraq. More here. Local story: New Jersey soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: North Dakota soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Oregon soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier wounded in Iraq. Operation Cut and Run Bush wants the chocolate makers to get him out of his quagmire. “There have been no specifics yet about how the international community would control the mainly American and British forces in Iraq. Nato remains the only strong possibility because it would provide international credibility while leaving control with a military organisation which Washington dominates.”