Iraq Report, Feb 28/05

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

• The Six of Diamonds is in custody. Saddam Hussein's half-brother will have a chance to say hi in jail after apparently being captured by the Syrian government. Sabawi Ibrahim al-Tikriti marks the first capture of a major Baathist in more than a year, some good news for the nascent Iraqi government.

• The Iraqi government captured another of Zarqawi's top aides, Jordanian Abu Qutaybah. Al Qaeda in Iraq dismisses the capture as mere propaganda, but it's hard to see how the fall of numerous senior members of the organization isn't a bad thing for our enemies.

Other Topics Today Include: REFORME; water treatment in Kirkuk; oil fire in northern Iraq; coalitions jockey for advantage in the new government; 450 Aussies head to Iraq; British investigations; the Nazis and the Baathists.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Murdoc comments on what he calls <a
  href="http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/002035.html">REFORME - Return of Forces to the Middle East - as The 18th Airborne Corps HQ, the 42nd Infantry Division, the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Marine MEU have replaced the 3rd Corps headquarters, the 1st Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st Marine MEU. Murdoc also brings us hand signals for the tactically challenged. I can guarantee these signals have different meanings, when used by troops in Iraq.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• In the late 1990's, the water treatment plant in Kirkuk was down to producing about 22 million gallons per day due to maintenance problems. USAID has recently completed a reengineering and training project which allows for the production of 95 million gallons per day and employs 100 Iraqis on a permanent basis.

• A major fire is burning in northern Iraq after insurgents blew it up, putting yet another crimp in Iraq's ability to export it's primary resource.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Iyad Allawi is <a
  href="http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=national&story_id=022405b1_iraq">forming a new coalition to challenge the Shia candidates for PM - an effort to retain his current post. Allawi, a Sunni, states the new constitution should be based upon Islamic law, yet there are other sources to consider and he believes in a more liberal application of government than will be put forth by the Shia.

• The United Iraqi Alliance has chosen Interim Iraqi vice-president and Dawa party leader Ibrahim al-Jafari as the party’s candidate for prime minister - Ahmad Chalabi withdrew his bid for the post under pressure from his party.

• The latest Carnival of the Liberated is up at Dean's World.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Australia will send 450 more soldiers, relieving a Dutch detachment, to al-Muthana province of southern Iraq in order to provide protection for Japanese engineers involved in reconstruction projects. The deployment includes a cavalry squadron, infantry company and a team to train Iraqi security forces.

• The British government is investigating some 50 British soldiers for various crimes in Iraq. The question that has yet to be answered is how many of these investigations are politically generated and how many relate to real misconduct.

ETCETERA

• Phillip Carter examines the American treatment of Nazi war criminals and has some advice for the Iraqi government as it prepares to try some foul creatures of its own.

• Can you help Erik Castillo? Erik was severely wounded last July in Iraq and he is still hospitalized. The Silvestre Herrera Veterans Council - named after a MOH recipient - has been working to help Erik's family, as he is now hospitalized in Phoenix, Arizona and they live in the border town of Nogales. Even being as close as Phoenix is a recent development - the family had been travelling to Palo Alto, California to be with him.

• There are, reportedly, 'negotiations' occurring between leaders of anti-US forces in Iraq and US officials regarding a timetable of US presence in Iraq in exchange for less violence.

• 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!

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