Today in Iraq

War News for April 16 - 17, 2004 Bring ‘em on: US troops ambushed in Baghdad, one Iraqi civilian wounded. Bring ‘em on: Three US soldiers wounded in five-hour battle near Kufa. Bring ‘em on: US troops under heavy mortar attack near al-Qaim. Bring ‘em on: Car bomb in Baquba wounds one US soldier. Bring ‘em on: Two Jordanians killed by US helicopter rocket fire near Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi policemen killed in Karbala. Bring ‘em on: Eight Iraqis killed by mortar fire near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: US Army convoy attacked near Kufa. Bring ‘em on: One insurgent killed, one wounded planting roadside bomb near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Fifteen Iraqis killed, 20 wounded in continued fighting near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Mortar attacks and explosions reported in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed in fighting near Najaf. Bring ‘em on: Insurgent attacks force US to close highways near Baghdad. CENTCOM reports one US soldier died of a heart attack near Mosul. Al-Sistani warns US not to attack Najaf. Portugal considers withdrawing troops from Iraq. More US-trained Iraqi security forces defect to insurgency. “In Ramadi, U.S. troops gave two-way radios to Iraqi forces, not for communications, as they claimed, but so they'd know when their allies were phoning Marine positions to the enemy…Some in Iraq have done much more than refuse to fight alongside Americans. Nowhere has this been as evident as for the Marines in Ramadi and Fallujah. Among those killed by Marines in Fallujah were many wearing police equipment. In Ramadi, a Knight Ridder photographer with U.S. troops witnessed Iraqi police and soldiers among those who twice ambushed a Marine company, which killed 14 Marines in one week.” New Iraqi Air Force will not include combat aircraft. Well, that’s a relief. Private security companies want more firepower, coalition protection. Iraqi nuclear facilities remain unguarded, looting continues. Dickhead gets court-martialed. Captured US soldier shown on video. Bulgaria can’t find enough volunteers for Iraq troop rotation. Time to extend those bastards! CPA hasn’t issued a Weekly Reconstruction Status Report for the last two weeks. Gee, I wonder why? Commentary Analysis: “Foreign policy in the Bush administration reflects a lack of experience in the real world away from a Washington overrun with armchair polemicists and think-tank ideologues. Too many inhabitants of this world have no experience in the military, where one learns to expect the unexpected, or in international finance, where America's vulnerability also resides. This White House is well known for its hostility to curiosity and intellectual debate. After all, terrorism is not a phenomenon of recent origin. Gavrilo Princip, the Serb nationalist who assassinated Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, did not expect his gunshot to bring about the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He expected only a reaction — and the empire's reaction led to World War I and its own downfall. The United States government's reaction to the attacks of 9/11 could end up inflicting great damage on America. The Bush administration demonstrates the point. One pre-emptive war against the dictator of a desert quasi-state crippled by international sanctions has stretched the American military thin. The United States is widely perceived to be waging war against Islam in the Middle East, a perception reinforced by the president's decision this week to support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and his settlement plan.” Editorial cartoon by Jeff Danziger. Casualty Reports Local story: Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: North Dakota Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Michigan Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: North Carolina soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Kansas Marine wounded in Iraq. Note to Readers I took the day off yesterday. When I start looking at this blog like Sisyphus looks at his rock I know it's time for a break. 86-43-04. Bring it on.