Today in Iraq

War News for January 12, 2004 Bring 'em on: One US soldier killed, two wounded in Baghdad bomb ambush. Bring 'em on: US convoy ambushed by roadside bomb near Ramadi. Two Iraqis killed. US troops kill seven Iraqis stealing oil from pipeline near Samarra. Iraqi Resistance Report for the period January 8 – 11, 2004. Al-Sistani renews call for direct elections. “Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani also demanded, in a statement issued by his office, that an elected assembly must ratify an interim constitution now being created by the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council as well as proposed security agreements governing the continued presence of U.S. and other coalition troops in Iraq beyond July 1.” No wonder Bremer wants to get out of Dodge before July. Civilian shooting have increased 300 per cent since occupation began. “As I told you, we used to receive about 16 cases a month, but this figure went up dramatically, up to 520 cases in August. I'm talking about just Baghdad area, not the whole country.” Army War College study calls Bush’s War a “distraction.” “The report, by visiting professor Jeffrey Record, who is on the faculty of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., warns that as a result of those mistakes, the Army is ‘near the breaking point.’ It recommends, among other things, scaling back the scope of the "global war on terrorism" and instead focusing on the narrower threat posed by the al-Qaida terrorist network.” Japanese defense minister says its contingent in Iraq won’t help coalition troops under fire. For a real hoot, be sure to read the comments from the outraged American right-wing nutjobs following the article. O’Neill says Lieutenant AWOL was looking for an excuse to fight Saddam Hussein in January 2001. More on convoy duty in Iraq. Pentagon says 504 US troops have been killed in Iraq. Wait, now they say it’s only 495. Looks like they’re having trouble keeping track of their own lies. Report from Dover. Lieutenant AWOL’s War on America keeps the casualties hidden. Read the comments from the Heritage Foundation goon. If you only read one article today, read this one. "For Nagl, Vietnam stands as an encyclopedia of what shouldn't be done. Foremost in the do-not-repeat category are the indiscriminate use of firepower, the resort to conventional tactics to fight an unconventional threat and the failure to implement an effective 'hearts and minds' campaign… The civic chores are supposed to be shouldered by the American-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority, led by L. Paul Bremer III, but the C.P.A. remains isolated and rather inept at implementation...One morning, during breakfast at the battalion canteen, I asked Nagl about the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has yet to see a C.P.A. official at the base, he said. He pointed to an empty plastic chair at the table and asked: 'Where's the guy from C.P.A.? He should be sitting right there.' Given the weakness of the C.P.A., Nagl and other soldiers are effectively in charge not only of the military aspects of the counterinsurgency but also of reconstruction work and political development." Commentary Opinion: To My Republican Friends: “The ball is very much in your court this evening, guys. I make myself brief: Do you plan to continue supporting the President after Paul O'Neill's comments on 60 Minutes tonight, comments which I suspect many of you all saw?” Don't worry. Next, the Republicans will try to justify Bush's War by telling us Saddam Hussein was betting on baseball. Casualty Reports Local story: Kansas soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Missouri soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania soldier wounded in Iraq.