Today in Iraq

War News for February 25, 2004 draft Bring ‘em on: US contractor killed in Baghdad ambush. Bring ‘em on: Three Iraqi contractors killed, two wounded in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi policemen killed in drive-by shooting in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: KDP offices in Mosul attacked, three DPK members killed in seperate attack. Bring ‘em on: Car bomb kills 10, wounds 45 in Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline sabotaged near Karbala. Bring ‘em on: US soldier wounded by roadside bomb in Kuwait. Bring ‘em on: Deputy police chief assassinated in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: RPG fired into Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Four US soldiers wounded by roadside bomb near Baquba. (Incident buried deep in this elections story.) US helicopter crashes nearBaghdad . Demonstrations reported in Karbala and Hilla. CPA reports during the past week an average of 20 attacks against coalition military and four attacks daily against Iraq security forces. Report from Sadr City. “But for many, the welcome given to American troops has turned to distrust. Most residents say they have now put their faith in clerics and religious groups to keep the peace and serve the community. They talk of mosque volunteers handling chaotic traffic, schools run by clerics and street cleaning campaigns organized by religious groups, all taking the place of official public services.” Anser al-Islam expanding operations in northern Iraq. “According to interviews with captured Ansar members, the group is branching out from its former mountain strongholds to cities across Iraq. Its mission, too, has expanded, they say, from terrorizing local villagers to planning suicide bombings against the American-led occupation.” Fiasco to farce: “The deployment of 43 Filipino replacement personnel for the humanitarian mission in Iraq was deferred after US officials failed to release funds for the augmentation force…The government had earlier shouldered the expenses and allowance for the deployment of the first batch of the Philippine contingent to Iraq in August last year. ‘They are still here in the country because we don’t have the money needed for their stay in Iraq. From what I’ve heard, the US has yet to find a window in their budget to fund the deployment,’ Ramboanga said.” Commentary Editorial: “Battered by accusations focusing mostly on its contracts in Iraq -- worth $8 billion and climbing -- the politically connected Halliburton company has gone on a charm offensive. Television ads are running in Houston and Washington, and the company's chief executive, Dave Lesar, is telling journalists, as he told the Globe editorial board in a phone interview yesterday, that Halliburton gets a lot of this kind of work ‘because we're really good at it.’ But Halliburton's core business is oil field services, and much of its work in Iraq is nation building.” Analysis: “In varying degrees, several influential American conservatives close to (and in) the Bush administration apparently agree and see in Sistani and the majority Shi'ites (some 60 percent of the Iraqi population) the last best hope for a democratic Iraq, a democratizing Middle East, and a successful outcome for American intervention. I am afraid such hopes and expectations are ill-founded and not supported by the historical record or present-day realities.” Opinion: ‘The balance sheet has different elements. There has been the loss of many lives and much property, and the losses continue. The economic costs of the war are huge. The states which we would have expected to support and strengthen some basic principles of the UN order, in my view, set a precedent of ignoring or undermining this order by acting too impatiently and without the support of the Security Council. As a result, their own credibility has suffered and the authority of the UN Security Council has been damaged.” Casualty Reports Local story: North Carolina soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Two Alabama soldiers wounded in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin soldier wounded in Iraq. Awards and Decorations Local story: Two US Navy corpsmen decorated for valor. 86-43-04. Pass it on.