Today in Iraq

War News for July 16 and 17, 2004  Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, one wounded by roadside bomb near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: One US Marine wounded by mortar fire near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Five Iraqis killed in attempted assassination of Iraqi Justice Minister in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed, 25 wounded by car bomb at ICDC headquarters in Mahmudiyah. Bring ‘em on: Powerful explosion reported in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier, four Iraqi civilians wounded in Baghdad convoy ambush. Bring ‘em on: Ten Iraqis killed, 27 wounded by car bomb at Haditha police station. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi child killed, seven Iraqis wounded in firefight near Abu Ghraib. Bring ‘em on: Thirteen Iraqis wounded in fighting near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline mortared near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline sabotaged near Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two oil pipelines sabotaged near Basra. Bring ‘em on: Ninevah provincial governor assassinated in ambush near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Pipeline sabotaged near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi civilians killed in mortar attack near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Second Bulgarian hostage reported executed. Bring ‘em on: Six killed in rocket attack on refugee camp near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Jordanian truck driver killed by insurgents near Ramadi. The lapdog US media reports tripe like this and expects me to believe it. “Iraq's new prime minister, Ayad Allawi, calls it his program of ‘outreach.’ Over the past several weeks, he says, he has been meeting secretly with supporters of the Iraqi resistance to offer them amnesty and a chance to participate in the political process of the new Iraq. The risky clandestine meetings are the most intriguing of a series of stability efforts Allawi outlined in an interview here Tuesday. The conversation was his clearest public explanation yet of how he hopes to work with the internal opposition, and with neighboring governments such as Syria and Iran, to reduce the chaos plaguing his country.” This story really frosts my ass. Does anybody really believe Allawi is running around Iraq meeting secretly with insurgents who want to cut him up into tiny pieces? Allawi feeds you media whores a bowl of crap like this and you lap it up like it's chocolate pudding. Give me a fucking break, you toadies. Meanwhile, the Australian press reports a different version of Allawi's outreach program. "Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad major crimes unit just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim Government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the executions. They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard next to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amriyah security centre, in the city's north-western suburbs. They say Dr Allawi told onlookers that the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they ‘deserved worse than death.’” The summer isn’t even halfway over yet. “Meanwhile in Ramadi, another Sunni cleric called on his followers to take arms against US forces in Iraq and threatened to turn the city into a ‘graveyard’ for American troops.” Fuck up and move up. “Fast, 50, one of the few female Army officers to reach the rank of two-star general, is currently Fort Huachuca's deputy commander. She is due to take control of the Army post in Sierra Vista by late summer or early fall.” MG Fast was previously the senior intelligence officer in Iraq and directly supervised the officers responsible for intelligence collection at Abu Ghraib. Thailand will withdraw from Iraq in September. Commentary Opinion: “Such is also the case with the other architects of Iraq war policy. 'Tis true, if Bush loses in November, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Vice President Cheney will be out of a job. But who thinks they won't land comfortably on their feet, making more money and living higher on the hog than they do now? They will be the toast of the lecture and talk show circuit, in great demand in the academy and in policy circles, when not attending corporate board meetings on private jets. No red jump suits or unemployment lines for them. And yet, consider the consequences of their collective actions: nearly 900 Americans killed, thousands maimed, billions spent, and 140, 000 U.S. troops still on the ground and in harm's way. That's not even counting the daily Iraqi casualties caused by insurgents opposed to the U.S. occupation.” Casualty Reports Local story: Florida soldier dies of wounds received in Iraq. Local story: Minnesota soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Colorado soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Illinois soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: California soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Oklahoma soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Maine soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Alabama soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Arkansas soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier wounded in Iraq. Rant of the Day As a public service, I'm offering free journalism classes for the US media. Today's lesson: Shit: Shinola: Any questions? 86-43-04. Pass it on.