Iraq Report: August 30/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. This briefing is brought to you by Joel Gaines of No Pundit Intended and Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.

TOP TOPICS

• Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has decided to keep U.S. troops in Najaf until he decides it is safe to turn control of the city back to local forces. How this will play in Najaf and with al-Sadr remains to be seen, as Sadr will continue to look for opportunities to save face in the wake of his perceived retreat. (Hat tip: The Agonist.)

• While most of the world's attention remains in Najaf, that is not the only trouble spot in Iraq. As this report notes, Falluja and Ramadi remain significant thorns in the side of the Coalition, with no end to the problem in sight. (Hat tip: The Agonist.)

• Chrenkoff's bi-weekly Good News from Iraq post is up. This is volume #9.

Other Topics Today Include: Zeyad's account of the Najaf situation; Sistani's role in the deal; ex-BBC honcho sour grapes; France negotiates with terrorists; a bad time for former WMD scientists in Iraq; the Army's new Abu Ghraib report.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Zeyad, at Healing Iraq has an in-depth account of the situation in al-Najaf, including concerns regarding the holy treasury of the Imam Ali shrine. He also mentions that the son of one of the four senior clerics in Najaf has been kidnapped.

• Arthur Chrenkoff examines Imam al-Sistani's role in the Najaf situation and notes Sistani may be one of the big winners of the battle. Norm Geras concurs, chiming in with a detailed analysis from one of his own readers.

• Blackfive publishes a letter from a U/SMC reservist helicopter pilot in Fallujah. "This War is About Des Moines, Not Falluja"

• ...And here's a view from the other side of the war. The Command Post has a MEMRI translation of an interview with Iraqi Sheik Mahdi Saleh Al-Sumide’i, who fought in Fallujah. The interview was conducted by Syrian TV (which means Syrian Government TV in that Ba'athist regime).

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Former director of the BBC Greg Dyke has launched a vicious attack on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, accusing him of either incompetence or lying regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. As Mr. Dyke had to resign after it was revealed the BBC was 'sexing up' antigovernment reports, this might be construed as sour grapes, but it is also a reminder that the electoral fallout of Iraq is not yet over. (Hat tip: The Agonist.)

• France is sending a minister to negotiate for the release of two French journalists being held in Iraq.

WMD HUNT

• The Greatest Jeneration reveals the ISG is having a hard time getting information from Iraqi WMD scientists - because someone is killing them.

ETCETERA

• The Army released the Fay report on intelligence activities at Abu Ghraib. The report details where the chain of command, intelligence system and prisoner control procedures broke down and how to fix these issues going forward. (Hat tip: INTEL DUMP.)

• Iraq the Model's Omar discovers a perhaps un-anticipated
  benefit of Iraq's liberation. He wonders if Halliburton is in on this market too.

• The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops: American, Australian, British, Canadian & Polish. Anyone out there with more information, contact us!

• Don't forget Chief Wiggles' Toys for Iraq drive!

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.