Today in Iraq

War News for July 20, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Basra provincial governor assassinated. Bring ‘em on: Pipeline sabotaged near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed, two wounded by roadside bomb near Baquba. One British airman killed, two injured in helicopter crash near Basra. Eighteen months. “It could take another 18 months to bring the insurgency in Iraq under control, United States Secretary of State Colin Powell said, raising fresh doubts about how long Australian troops will have to remain there.” State governors unhappy with Bush’s War. “With tens of thousands of their citizen soldiers now deployed in Iraq, many of the nation's governors complained on Sunday to senior Pentagon officials that they were facing severe manpower shortages in guarding prisoners, fighting wildfires, preparing for hurricanes and floods and policing the streets.” I’m sure Halliburton would be delighted to provide those services. Vultures. “About six weeks into his training - six weeks of combat drills and drummed-in lessons in Army ways - he tasted one of the less-honorable traditions of military life: a compulsory classroom briefing on personal finance that was a life insurance sales pitch in disguise. As he remembers the class and as base investigative records show, two insurance agents quick-stepped him and his classmates through a stack of paperwork, pointing out where they should sign their names, where they should scribble their initials. They were given no time to read the documents and no copies to keep.” Long article about the vultures who prey on young soldiers and the fat cat lobbyists who support their practices. Includes this little gem: “But barring sales agents from bases is not the solution, said Frank Keating, the former governor of Oklahoma, who is president of the American Council of Life Insurers, a lobbying group. ‘Anything that is unethical or inappropriate should not exist, period,’ Mr. Keating said. But ‘someone who is mature enough to fight and quite possibly die for their country,’ he added, "should be freely able to decide how much and what kind of life insurance they should have.’” You’re a real fucking patriot, Frankie. This is how the US media is spinning the Allawi murder story. “To Iraqis hurting from months of violence and chaos, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has developed the aura of a tough, perhaps brutal, leader. Surprisingly, that image has endeared him to many Iraqis, accustomed to strongman rule. ‘I heard that he goes to jails to kill criminals,’ said Salma Abbas, a 50-year-old government employee. ‘This is good. We want someone as strong as Saddam.’… One persistent rumor has him killing as many as six blindfolded and handcuffed terror suspects held at a Baghdad police station just days before taking power.” So the Heathers have decided that another Saddam Hussein is the best thing for Iraq. Crooks. “Right now, Mr Waxman has a question on Iraq. In fact, he has several - and in typically robust fashion, he is demanding answers. What he wants to know is whether the Bush administration has been fiddling with Iraq's oil revenues.” Lieutenant AWOL proclaims Captive Nations Week. I ain’t making this shit up, folks. Support the troops! “Ninety-five percent of soldiers at eight Army Reserve units sent to Iraq and other Middle East bases experienced significant problems getting paid, creating stress and concern about the financial well-being of their families back home.” Commentary Analysis: “Kirkuk is an explosion waiting to happen. A violent move by any group -- Kurds, Turkmen or Sunni Arabs -- could detonate the mix. It's the political version of that car bomb roaming the streets. ‘I tell my soldiers one of their most important responsibilities is buying time,’ says Col. Milo Miles, who commands the Army brigade based here. And in that, he sums up a basic truth about Iraq.” Opinion: “The war party also omits an important fact: Assessing the performance of the intelligence community is only half of the Intelligence Committee's task. The other half is evaluating how the administration used the intelligence data it got. Republicans insisted on putting that report off until later - almost certainly after the November election. Why do they want to wait? Not because they expect it to be a ringing vindication of President Bush.” Opinion: “As former CEO of the oil-services company whose employees cheated U.S. taxpayers during the Bush administration - and cheated U.S. troops in wartime - you'd think Cheney could get rattled about wrongdoing. Instead, he's more upset about legitimate questions raised about why a defense contractor that rips off the taxpayers keeps getting government contracts. True to form, this bad cop to President Bush's good cop has flipped off the public for daring to be curious.” Casualty Reports Local story: Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Oregon Marine killed in Iraq. 86-43-04. Pass it on.