Today in Iraq

War News for December 16, 2003 Bring 'em on: Three US soldiers wounded by roadside bomb near Tikrit. Bring 'em on: US soldier wounded in ambush near Fallujah. Bring 'em on: US soldier wounded, two Iraqis killed during riots in Ramadi. Bring 'em on: Eleven Iraqis killed during ambush of US troops in Samarra. CENTCOM report of this incident. Bring 'em on: US patrol ambushed near Ramadi. (Last paragraph.) CENTCOM reports one US soldier died in a vehicle accident near al Asad. But this news report, which quotes a US military sopkeswoman, makes it clear this was more than an "accident." CENTCOM reports one US soldier died from a "non-hostile gunshot wound." Revenge of the exiles. Analysis: Insurgent leadership remains at large. US troops expected to remain in Iraq for “a couple of more years.” Halliburton gets another no-bid contract. "To avoid having to put the work out to tender, the contract is being funded from the Development Fund for Iraq." Analysis: A Bush family feud. Kinda like Freddo settling old family business. Lieutenant AWOL abandons “no-gloat” policy. Down at the VFW, some veterans aren’t joining the Bush gloat-fest. “One Vietnam War veteran from Brattleboro, whose 37-year-old son is currently serving in Iraq, called President Bush a ‘coward’ and a ‘playboy.’ ‘He was AWOL during Vietnam but he has no problem sending our sons and daughters into war,’ said the man, who asked to remain anonymous. ‘He's not a good leader.’” The view in Iraq. "We've just been up the street to film some television, the queues are still there at the petrol stations, people are still queuing for gas, the American soldiers are still patrolling the streets, the resentment about the occupation is obvious from people you talk to on the streets. Saddam is captured but really nothing has changed." I guess they don't get FOX News in Baghdad. Violating our own trade agreements. "The contrast between the Bush administration's free-trade rhetoric and its Iraq bid policy is fueling perceptions that the U.S. is an unreliable partner willing to undermine its international obligations. And the mushrooming ill will could lead to retaliation against U.S. firms abroad and make it tougher to resolve thorny trade disputes." Does anybody in the Bush administration know what they're doing? Commentary Opinion: Saddam Hussein is not Osama bin Laden. “Despite an overwhelming paucity of evidence to support himself, President Bush has been disturbingly successful at hoodwinking the American public into believing that Saddam Hussein was somehow connected with the murderous assault on Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.” Casualty Reports Local story: Pennsylvania soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: South Carolina soldier died in Iraq. Local story: Missouri soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier wounded in Iraq. Army changes status of Ohio soldier listed as "missing" after vehicle accident to "killed."