Andrew's Winds of War: 2003-10-27

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 Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.

TOP TOPICS

• The death toll from a series of suicide bombings in Baghdad has risen above 30 as of 8:30 this morning (EST), the first day of Ramadan. The dead include two American soldiers, an Iraqi policeman, and many members of the Red Cross.

• JK: Phil Carter has some great stuff on global terrorist financing from the United States to the Middle East.

Other Topic Include: Iraq's missing nuclear program; Report from the 82nd Airborne; Congresswoman's Iraq blog; How the $87 billion may be used; Iraqi crime, thank goodness; Iran in Britain; More nuke stalling; 9/11 inquiry; Rumsfeld's memo; 'Antiwar' mask slips again; Canadian jihadis; Israel's crippled Left; Arrests in Pakistan; Algeria; Looking away in North Korea; Sudan's disappearing penises.

IRAQ BRIEFING

• Al Qaeda scored a big propaganda victory over the weekend with a rocket attack on the Al Rasheed hotel that succeeded in killing an American Colonel and wounding at least 18, while driving U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary out of the hotel. The attack marked a new facet in terrorism, using a cart loaded with RPGs (and modern, post-embargo French rockets) to launch a barrage against the hotel. Although minimally effective in terms of damage inflicted, the success in striking such a high-profile target and escaping unharmed will probably help the anti-U.S. groups to recruit additional terrorists to their side.

• The Command Post is reporting on the work 82d Airborne Division paratroopers are doing to try and eliminate extremists in Baghdad.

• JK: Who's contributing in Iraq? Kesher Talk has the full list of countries who are helping out, and their contributions.

• The BBC is reporting that Iraq may never have tried to restart its nuclear weapons program following the 1991 Gulf War. If true, this raises yet more questions about the state of U.S. intelligence services and their inability to detect the true state of Iraq's programs. Alternately, if the intelligence agencies were correct...where did all the WMDs go? Neither question is likely to have a good answer, but we'd better find them anyhow.

• JK: Where will President Bush's $87 billion go? Newsweek attempts to answer the question. Meanwhile, Team Agonist links to an article describing life for Bechtel's workers in Iraq (PWD: laexaminer/laexaminer).

• JK: An update on USAID Reconstruction Activities in Iraq, from Andrew S. Natsios, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator... "I've been involved in more than ten reconstruction efforts in the last 14 years. This is the fastest and most massive that's occurred anywhere in the world during that time period."

• JK: Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has published a web diary of her trip to Iraq that's worth a look (Hat Tip: Instapundit).

• JK: Some of Iraq's crime surge is a good thing. IraqPress says there are no exact statistics on how many loyalists of the former regime have been killed since its downfall more than six months ago. But residents in Tikrit say no day passes without at least one murder taking place (Hat Tip: The Agonist).

• 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

• The Agonist has discovered reports of Iranian spies in Britain searching for possible terrorist targets. Disturbing news, if true.

• In what sounds like a stalling tactic, Iran now says it will study the suspension of enriched uranium production. Something tells me this study will take a very long time.

• Meanwhile, Iran continues to try and avoid pariah status, this time offering up the names of 225 suspected al Qaeda detainees to the UN Security Council.

U.S.A. HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING

• Both parties are accusing the White House of stonewalling the 9-11 Inquiry. While any such inquiry will doubtless uncover some items that paint the Bush Administration in a bad light, it is also likely to identify areas where the U.S. could be doing a far better job of protecting its citizens. Stonewalling the inquiry seems an unwise move on the part of the Administration. More here from Amygdala.

THE WIDER WAR

• JK: Former infantry officer Patrick Walsh chastizes Lileks for a recent Pentagon-bashing Bleat, and offers some very useful background that will help readers understand the decision process within the Pentagon and put the Rumsfeld Memo into context. Meanwhile, Geitner Simmons offers some historical perspective.

• JK: "The Destruction of the U.S.A. is a necessary condition for Peace," & other charming slogans. Once again, the mask slips from the "antiwar" movement at a Washington DC demonstration. Then there's this sign....

• Pakistan arrested 230 al Qaeda suspects in northwestern Pakistan this month. Local residents claim the prisoners were not terrorists, however, but are scapegoats in an operation intended to appease the United States.

• JK: The threats against El Al flights to Toronto were apparently not false alarms, as Canadian police have discovered a rocket launcher smuggled into Canada that was to be used in the attack.

• JK: Then again, none of this should surprise. Canadian jihadis are starting to become something of a problem, and Canada's notoriously lax enforcement is an open joke.

• JK: As usual, The Guardian has no clue whenever it looks at the Right side of politics. It's history of Israel's Left is pretty good, though, and its diagnosis of the Israeli Left's sorry situation can be summed up in one word: Arafat (Hat Tip: Amydala).

• JK: To fully grasp the current plight of Israel's left, however, you also have to understand the origins of zionism among the socialist pioneers who founded the Labour party. Sean LaFreniere explains.

• It would appear Israel is doing some damage to Hamas, as the terrorist organization is now proclaiming its desire for more talks. This is a marvelous stalling tactic for them, as it provides them time to rebuild their forces before launching new attacks on Israel.

• JK: Anyone who cares to look can discover just how bad the situation is in North Korea. But as Gary Farber sadly points out, no one wants to know.

• JK: Algeria is the latest official ally in the War on Terror, and they will receive an additional $700,000 in aid to help them fight terrorism. Don't spend it all in one place, guys.

• We always try to end on a lighter note. How about Mark Steyn on the Sudanese superstitions that Zionist sorcery is making their penises disappear?

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