JULY 10/03: Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Today's "Winds of War" is brought to you by Venomous Kate of Electric Venom.
MUST-READS
* A Chicago man was arrested Wednesday and charged with spying for Saddam Hussein. The information leading to the arrest of 60-year-old Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi - code-named Sirhan - comes from a dossier discovered in a safe in Baghdad during the fall of Saddam's regime.
* Phil Carter looks at guerilla war in Iraq. What are the trends, what are we seeing, analysis, and "if I were a planner again, I'd..."
* Michele has assembled a sobering series of links on the Saudis guaranteed to make you re-think whether the House of Saud is really an American ally or an enemy we've simply not recognized yet.
Other Topics Today Include: new tactics in Iraq; post-war issues of costs; sickness and those elusive WMDs; 100,000 soldier barracks being built; renewed Israeli-Palestinian tensions; North Korea's nuclear threat; Liberia; that 'missing' 727; and impending revolution in Iran.
IRAQ BRIEFING
* Due to a scheduling mix-up, Dan Darling also sent a briefing in. I've posted that on the Command Post: Iraq Briefing.
* Phil Carter beat me to the punch in blogging about Rolling Stone's excellent story from their embed with Marine Recon, as he recounts his experiences.
* For a sharp contrast, Chief Wiggles' reports from the sandbox in Iraq are also first-rate. It's nice to know that there are people like this serving in-theater. You can just start here and scoll down.
* Increased attacks on U.S. forces over the past week have led to a shift in strategies. Troops have begun offering rewards up to $2,500 for those responsible for the attacks. In addition, decoy convoys are being used to draw fire and locate the attackers.
* How much is the continued U.S. presence in Iraq costing? According to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld the average is a staggering $3.9 billion per month. The figures, which are significantly greater than previous Congressional estimates, are part of the reason why Rumsfeld is encouraging more involvement by NATO in the region, although Tommy Franks does not believe it is likely that U.S. troops will withdraw in the foreseeable future. (In comparison, Rumsfeld says that the average monthly cost of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is $900-$950 million per month.)
* This puts some things in perspective: Army contracts for 100,000 soldier barracks in Iraq. It's needed in the short term, but it's also a good indication that the USA is digging in for a longer stay.
* Iraqi citizens are continuing to show signs of radioactive poisoning, prompting the country's Ministry of Health to survey for signs of the illness. The poisoning stems from barrels,looted from Iraq's nuclear facility after the onset of the war, which Iraqis used to hold drinking and bathing water once the country's infrastructure began to collapse. To reduce the number of poisoning incidents, the U.S. has begun a buy-back program to give citizens an incentive to return the lethal containers.
* President Bush is standing by the rationale for declaring war on Iraq despite the furor surrounding now-discredited information concerning an attempted Iraqi purchase of uranium from Nigeria has led to a host of allegations concerning faulty intelligence. As I pointed out yesterday, the misperception of a deal between Iraq and Nigeria appears to have been the intentional creation of Saddam. Why? Well, it had to do with the oiilllllll.... Meanwhile, Rumsfeld is patiently explaining that the information leading to the war did not involve startling new discoveries but, rather, old information seen in a new light following the attacks of 9/11.
* Looks like the 3rd Infantry Division is coming home.
* In England, Tony Blair continues to fight the onslaught of the BBC which has called pre-war decision-making intelligence "sexed up." Although the BBC's allegations were dismissed by a parliamentary committee, the Beeb has launched a new attack by claiming that senior officials no longer expect to find WMDs in Iraq but, rather, believe that Saddam destroyed them shortly before the war. Blair's government strongly denies such claims, and meanwhile the rift between the two deepens.
* Which "cards" have we captured so far? The CENTCOM list. And the visual version of "Ba'ath Poker."
* The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops. American, British and Australian. Anyone out there with more information, incl. the Poles and Czechs? [updated April 1, 2003]
IRAN REPORTS
* All U.S.-based satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed by an unknown group or individual, possibly Iranian agents operating out of Latin America.
* Fortunately, there's the blogosphere. This Day by Day cartoon is funny as always, and neatly explains why our efforts matter.
* To succeeed, we need to build bridges - on both sides. Will we? Read "Seeing The Other: Iranians, Jews & the West".
* This cartoon is great, too! (Hat Tip: Pejman)
* Iran is still holding several al-Qaeda members but refuses to identify them or indicate how many individuals are being held, despite numerous requests. Western governments believe that those being held are some of the most sought-after terrorists in the world. Iranian officials say they are attempting to negotiate with "friendly countries" to deliver the individuals, but will not name those countries, either.
THE WIDER WAR
* Due to a scheduling mix-up, Dan Darling also sent a briefing in. I've posted that on the Command Post: The Wider War. See esp. his link to the TIME Magazine's article on al-Qaeda's recruitment efforts among Canadian Muslims.
* Hamas is threatening to end the Middle East peace process unless Israel releases thousands of militant Islamic prisoners. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority is seconding the threat saying that Israel's release of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners will help strengthen the PA government.
* A trial in Indonesia is shining a light on the links between Islamist organizations in SE Asia.
* Meanwhile, President Bush continues to ponder what to do about Liberia. Perhaps he should visit Feces Flinging Monkey, where he'll find some excellent Liberia-related analysis drawing on the lessons of Somalia.
* Is that Boeing 727 still missing or not? Little Green Footballs says it's not only missing, but it's a bomb looking for ground zero. Or is it in Beirut? Or found in Guinea? Enquiring minds want to know.
* We try to close on a lighter note if possible. So go visit Common Sense and Wonder for today's joke and see if you don't hurt yourself laughing, too!
Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know.
If the US government doesn't know by now that the Saudis are not our friends, then they are fools. The Atlantic Monthly had some excellent links on the topic of the House of Saud. I do think however that they support the current Saudi government because whatever else comes out of that country could be much worse. While I'm no "No Blood For Oil" protestor and was for the war, I do believe that a portion of the reason for the war was for the West to have access to the oil in Iraq, so we could eventually cut the Saudis off at a later date once Iraq is more settled.
You picked the right person for the job. I am continually amazed and impressed at the stories Kate finds.
When it comes to stories on the War on Terror, Kate is a wealth of information.
Subject: Missing Boeing 727 Plane from Angola on May 25 2003.
Yes,
I am Joseph B. Padilla, SR.
I live in Pensacola, Florida - U.S.A.
I am the Brother of Ben Charles Padilla Jr.
He is suspected to be the Pilot of the Missing Boeing 727 Plane that left the Airport in Angola on May 25 2003.
I am tring to reach news organizations to help me locate anyone that has seen or heard anything about this missing plane or my brother.
I appeared on ABC's , Good Morning Amercia alone with my Sister Benita Padilla-Kirkland on June 19 2003 in hopes to get the story out and to Locate my brother.
We both also appeared on CNN's Morning show, American Morning on June 24 2003.
Can you please help me by broadcasting a story or by your website news or newspaper?
I have alot of information about the dissapearance of the plane and my brother.
You can contact me at : 850-944-9688 or either by e-mail -
padilla1956@cox.net
I hope that you will give me your help in hopes that someone seeing the story will either know something about the dissappearance of the plane and my brother or know someone that does.
Here is what I have so far about the story.
As in the begining as I told ABC News on The Good Morning America Show that I appeared on in New York, I thought that the Boeing 727 Plane had been sitting there in Angola for 14 months unattended to and not maintained.
Now, I have found out that My Brother, Ben Charles Padilla, Jr. had been in Angola for 2 months overseeing a crew of aircraft mechanics re-working the plane from one end to the other.
A B-Check was done and it was found to be fine.
I talked to the owner of the plane, Mr. Maury Joseph, which is also the owner of Aerospace Sales And Leasing in South Florida.
I too live in florida, Pensacola, Fl. and my brother too was born and raised here.
Maury Joseph told me that he was there in Angola two weeks before the disappearance to see how things were going with the re-build of the 727 and also talked to my brother 2 days before the plane became missing and he had sent my brother $43,000.00 for him to pay the fees to the airport there in Angola. My brother paid the airport and faxed Maury Joseph the reciept, This is what Maury Joseph told me this past friday night during our two and a half hour phone conversation.
My brother was also incharge of the hiring of a pilot and co-pilot. He was to be the Flight Engineer for the flight out of Angola for the repossession of the Boeing 727 plane.
My brother is not licensed to fly a 727 and never has flown an aircraft this large.
He is a Licensed Aircraft Mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot of smaller airplanes.
I was told that he had took the plane out to the end of the runway and ran the engines up to check to see how they performed.
I feel that when my brother was checking the engines, someone was on the plane and hijacked him.
My brother isn't a criminal nor has never done any wrong doings.
Maury Joseph told me that he trusts my brother and doesn't believe the reports of my brother stealing the plane.
Maury Joseph also told me that he had talked to the Airport there in Angola and had found out that the control tower had radioed the 727 and told them as they were headed out to the runway to take off, that they didn't have clearance nor permission to take off and the tower never recieved a response from the 727.
I talked to my brother Ben Padilla, Jr. back in either Jan. or Feb. and we talked about the Sept. 11 2001 ordeal and he himself told me that if this sort of thing ever happend to him, that he would down the plane in a New York Second.
So, with that said I really believe my brother was hijacked and taken prisonier and held against his will and possibly was killed.
My mother had a heart attack on Mothers day and my brother was e-mailed about this and he responded to the e-mail he recieved from another brother of ours and told him that he would contact us as soon as he could and we haven't heard anything from him. So, that tells me that something isn't right since he would of contacted the family about our mother.
I have talked to the FBI and State Department in Washington, D.C. and all they are willing to tell me is that they have not found my brother nor the plane. So, I am tring to search for any information that I can get thru news organizations.
I find alot of stories on the internet and try to get any of the news organizations to run this story.
I also include a couple of pictures of my brother so incase anyone knows anything or has seen him before, to please contact me.
I am including in this e-mail 2 pictures of him incase you run this story inwhich I hope you do.
I would like to include my e-mail address and phone number incase some one reads or sees this that they can contact me.
My phone number is, 850-944-9688 and my e-mail address is, padilla1956@cox.net
Our family has already lost 2 siblings and can not bear to lose another one.
I would appreciate any help you can give me.
If you need any additional information, Please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you so much for your time.
Joseph B. Padilla, SR.