News – Post War Preparations Starting
The rush in did not signal a sudden end of hostilities. I didn’t really think it would, but there was always the potential that the last fighters might have given up the ghost. Oh well, we’ll see how long this long haul is.
Bush and Blair continue to purport a vital role for the UN in the rebuilding of Iraq, but when pressed for details, Bush only says things about humanitarian aid and suggesting people for the interim authority. I still hold that he intends to marginalize any participation, simply wanting it for an air of legitimacy which he’ll sabotage by this act of marginalizing. Blair at least continues to state that Iraq will be run by Iraqis, not British, US or UN people. I hope he can have some influence on our blundering president and his lack of political savvy.
A team will be sent to Iraq soon to start planning an interim authority of Iraqi exiles and current residents. Personally, I don’t see any reason these exiles should have any positions of power. Who are they? A US led civil administration, The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, has also started work in Iraq.
In Brasa the Britons are picking a local to form leadership of the province. There has been lawlessness and looting in the area as of late and order needs to be reestablished.
I fear for the sanity of some of our troops. They are forced to make hard calls in a place where one mistake could get you killed. That’s a lot of strain on the mind.
Journalists continue to stick it out in Baghdad unembedded, despite the dangers. Reuters lost a good man when a US tank fired a shell at a hotel, supposedly after being fired upon, but despite likely knowledge that the hotel was a base for almost all the foreign journalists in Baghdad. Al Jazeera also took a loss when their Baghdad office was hit , it set near the Information Ministry.
Another US strike against a possible location of Saddam Hussein leads to more pointless speculation on his whereabouts and well being. There is far too much of that for someone who is supposedly irrelevant. Give it a rest. There is no way to be certain if you nail Saddam or one of his body doubles. Which is the real one? Who knows.
Further questions about the power structure of Baghdad are brought up by Fred Kaplan, who posits that the unhindered flight of drones might show that the command structure of fighters in Baghdad is broken. I don’t know.. I’d think that leaving those things be, while awaiting in ambush, would only be common sense. There is no pilot to kill in those vehicles and they don’t drop bombs, so they’re no threat and not worth breaking cover for.
A new tape, purported to be from Bin Laden, calls for Muslims to rise up against Arab governments that aid US action on Iraq, in particular Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I’m sure Bin Laden is just loving this whole turn of events.
I find it amusing to see that some people think the French might attack us over Iraq. It is just one illustration of how the common man and woman really doesn’t understand a thing about the world outside of US borders. It’s sad, really.
A snapshot of the British Casualty Notification Officer and a look at the changing face of how a military handles such delicate matters in more compassionate times.
Things are starting to look bad for Syria. But it would be their fault(in part) for aiding Iraq at a time when that will likely draw the ire of the US. It doesn’t help that, in many ways, their government is on par with Iraq’s in general ‘badness’. The international papers hint at the potential for action to extend to Syria. Where will it end?
Today’s Papers cover some of the above as well as a note of some respect from a US Army spokesman on those Iraqis remaining to fight. That they put up resistance that is “worthy of respect”. Another interesting tidbit is a note that the US might have deiced against tribunals for war criminals and would instead press a new Iraqi government to prosecute past criminals.
Police opened fire on Protestors outside the Port of Oklahoma with non-lethal wooden bullets. As far as I can tell, they did so simply because the protestors refused to move. Some Longshoremen standing nearby were caught in the field of fire and injured as well.
On the SARS front, health workers are trying to pin down exactly how its transmitted with a few possible ways in the article.
Explainer has a pair of tidbits for you today. First is a question of if SARS is stopped by surgical masks as many in infected areas are now wearing them. Explainer believes they don’t. The actual size of a virus is too small to be stopped by so porous a barrier. The CDC has advised that SARS infected people wear them, which makes sense to try and contain emission from coughing for example. Outside where virus particles can easily disperse is of questionable value. Second is an explanation of the Fertile Crescent, which is within Iraq and why it might not seem very fertile from video and stills of the area.