August 2003

August 27, 2003

"Several Tens of Billions"

That's Paul Bremer channeling Carl Sagan in describing the amount of money it's going to take to rebuild Iraq.

If you read only one article today, read Peter Slevin and Vernon Loeb's summary of their interview with Paul Bremer. Not only have we gotten ourselves into a military and political mess in Iraq, we're in a financial mess, too. A sample:

Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds foreign aid, said the administration appears to be "essentially out of funds" for reconstruction and has appeared hesitant to give a swift accounting of what else is needed. "They erode their support when they don't have their act together or don't level with us," he said in a telephone interview.

August 25, 2003

And Another One Down

Over the weekend the AP reported that Analysts Doubt U.S. Claim on Iraqi Drones. These were the planes that were going to fly from Iraq to the US and kill us with chemical and biological weapons.

Huddled over a fleet of abandoned Iraqi drones, U.S. weapons experts in Baghdad came to one conclusion: Despite the Bush administration's public assertions, these unmanned aerial vehicles weren't designed to dispense biological or chemical weapons.

Is there even a single claim from Colin Powell's February 5th UN presentation that has turned out to be true?

August 22, 2003

Peter Bergen Unplugged

Talking Points Memo has a great interview with terrorism expert Peter Bergen, who disputes the latest line from the Pentagon that Ansar al Islam has set up shop in Baghdad, and completely destroys the persistent mythology that Saddam and Al Qaeda were in cahoots. Part II of the interview will be available later today.

Juan Cole is even more explicit about the new Ansar al Islam pitch:

Abizaid is also saying that terrorism is now replacing hit and run attacks as the most pressing security threat in Iraq, fingering Ansar al-Islam. I have to say I am a little suspicious of this rhetoric. The hit and run attacks have killed more than 60 US soldiers and wounded over 1200 since May 1, whereas the two major terrorist attacks targeted the Jordanian Embassy and the UN HQ. And, for all we know, the UN bombing was carried out by the same sort of people who do the hit and runs when they have access to fewer bombs. Bringing up terrorism seems to me a way to get the US public behind the Iraq endeavor again, since it evokes the threat of more September 11 style attacks. All this is ironic, since the US was not in danger from Iraq to begin with.

August 18, 2003

Dead End

We're told it's Baath party loyalists and "dead-enders" who are responsible for the guerrilla war in Iraq. But a picture is emerging that ordinary Iraqis are increasingly interested in killing Americans. And yesterday another resistance group vowing to battle the US-led occupation got some Al-Jazeera airtime, and used language many Americans would agree with if their country was the one being occupied:

This resistance is not a reaction to the American provocations against the Iraqi people or to the shortage of services, as some analysts believe ... but to kick out the occupiers as a matter of principle.

August 04, 2003

The Summer of Disconnect

This site is taking a break for a couple of weeks while the editor works on his tan ... and putting stroke. See you again on Monday, August 18th.

If you've been coming here for Iraq-related news, may I suggest these other superb sites:

Juan Cole
Iraq analysis from University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole, with focus on the Shiites.

Iraq Democracy Watch
Edited by Vivion Vinson, this is a must-read resource that follows the money (or lack of it), as well as the number of groups that want to kill Americans.

No More Mister Nice Blog
NMMNB covers a lot more than Iraq, but always finds an article or two that no one else does.

Cursor
Well, you just need to read this site every day. Simply the best damn site on the Web.