Today in Iraq

War News for November 8, 2003 Bring ‘em on: Police station mortared in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers killed, one wounded in bomb ambush between Ramadi and Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: CENTCOM reports one US soldier killed, two wounded in bomb ambush near Mosul on November 6th. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline bombed near Kirkuk. Kurdish – Turkmen hostility escalates in Kirkuk. Red Cross closes Baghdad and Basra offices due to deteriorating security. Rummy’s poor planning and Feith-based post-war force structure at root of current problems. Study concludes that Iraqi Army excelled at tactical intelligence, a skill carried into current conflict. US Marine reservists return to Iraq five months after re-deployment. Here’s how thin Rummy has stretched the Army: A company of the Old Guard, the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington, will deploy to Djibouti. “It is the first time that a unit from the Old Guard will be deployed abroad since the Vietnam War, and it underscores the lengths that the Pentagon has had to go to find fresh troops.” Bosnia offers troops for Iraq. I wonder what Lieutenant AWOL promised in exchange for troop support. Actually, the whole notion is actually pretty stupid since there are currently 12,000 NATO peacekeepers in Bosnia. Lieutenant AWOL ducks mentioning casualties, brags about “economy.” You know the war is going badly when it can make Bush's shitty economic policy look good. Coalition of the Willing: Despite the positive spin, it remains a miserable failure. “An administration official described the effort to bring in the troops as "a very sophisticated diplomatic campaign," matching American needs in Iraq with the capabilities of large and small nations…This official insisted that the rising death toll in Iraq was not discouraging potential contributors. But at the United Nations, an official said the impression of rising danger to foreign forces in Iraq can't be dismissed: ‘You can't underestimate the impact of these bombings.’” Bush bones Polish and Bulgarian allies on Iraq contracts. “In an editorial in the Washington Post, Radek Sikorski, former deputy minister for defense and foreign affairs, said dissatisfaction is welling in Central European nations over a variety of issues, including obtaining U.S. visas, modernizing their militaries and getting a fairer share of reconstruction work in Iraq.” Time to call up some more US reservists! US again asks for South Korean combat troops. “The Pentagon is running into serious problems persuading countries to deploy forces to Iraq to relieve war-weary American troops. U.S. officials said the Pentagon has requested up to 10,000 troops from South Korea.” Fat chance. Blessing in disguise: Turks won’t send troops to Iraq. “Iraqis in general, and the Kurds in particular, have made it very clear that Turkish soldiers would not be welcome…If anybody should be embarrassed at the plan's failure, it is the Bush administration. It failed to win Iraqi agreement for the deployment in advance - a failure that contains a larger message about the need to heed Iraqi views. It has angered a key Muslim ally ahead of next May's Nato summit, to be held in Turkey. And it is still looking, largely in vain, for reinforcements for hard-pressed American (and British) forces. Meanwhile, Ankara is still to receive a supposedly unconnected $8.5bn US loan for its trouble.” Helicopter pilots told to “fly smarter.” Right. With about 1,000 SA-7 missing from unsecured weapons sites, I can hear Army pilots laughing their asses off at this piece of advice all the way over here. Kinda off-topic, but this really frosts my ass: “The Bush White House, irritated by pesky questions from congressional Democrats about how the administration is using taxpayer money, has developed an efficient solution: It will not entertain any more questions from opposition lawmakers.” This pisses me off, too. Sen. Frist helps Bush obstruct Congressional intelligence investigation. But that's what happens when you have a Republican one-party state - Party loyalty trumps constitutional safeguards. War on Terror British embassy in Bahrain warns of “high threat of terrorist attacks against Western targets.” US closes all diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia due to high terrorist threat. Homeland Security says AQ plans to use cargo planes in attack against “US facilities.” Commentary Editorial: Throw the bum out. “November, 2004, is the U.S. electorate's best chance to put a wiser, more far-sighted, less ideologically driven into the White House.” Casualty Reports Local story: Tennessee soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: South Dakota soldier wounded in Iraq. Home Front Cheney rakes in the cash from Texas fat cats at $1,000 per plate lunch.