News – Portents of a Lengthy Stay

This is going to be a bit of an interesting foray today, I’ve read a few interesting articles the previous night that I’ll be pointing at today. But first the nitty gritty.

Progress.. not as much right now. The latest bombings of Baghdad have left many dead. Apparently, according to this article, they were, again, seeking to hit Saddam and his Republican Guard. There have been some reported skirmishes as well, but the weather is getting worse which hampers progress more. The total US dead have risen to 22 with the three more confirmed. One article mentioned something of 300 confirmed Iraqi kills, but that likely doesn’t take into account the dead from bombings. 40,000 more reinforcements are on the way, including the 4th Infantry Division, with many supply ships on the way to supply them. That the ships will likely dock in five days tells a lot about potential expectations. Or it simply a backup plan should we be there that long. Marines are steadily headed north to Baghdad, with skirmishes along the way.

Slate’s breakdown of the morning papers is here. It’s interesting, including the possibility that an attack on the 3rd division was repulsed without casualties, but that two American M1A1 Abrams tanks were taken out. Apparently, that’s a big deal, as it hasn’t happened before.

Bases in Afghanistan were attacked for a second time with fired rockets. Who and why haven’t been discovered yet.

And now for something completely different, and to see if you’re paying attention, here’s Slate’s foray into the distortion of sodomy laws by US courts. Bet you weren’t expecting that in this entry, were ya! That’ll teach you to expect nothing. 😉

Apparently the aid situation is still unmet. Though I wonder why aid ships can’t dock where military ships have been if the place they want them to tock has been so thoroughly mined. Russian Foreign Minster Igor Ivanov has called to question, with strong language, US claims of liberation as well as noting that, when it comes to caches of banned weapons, only international inspectors can be trusted as the final word on just what is there. I tend to agree.

Sources note an other stray missile slipped into Iran with no reported damage. By response, it seems that Iran is being very tolerant on the matter. Iraqi authorities have accused US forces of kidnapping civilians and showing them as prisoners of war. Personally, I’m not convinced of that.

Moving away form the details of conflict, we have an article that explores possibilities of how flagging US economic stability could be a signal of decline. Despite what Mr. Bush might think, we may need the rest of the world. Fortunately we have Tony Blair trying to be leacemaker. Despite his war stance, I have some respect for him. He might just be able to do it.

This article muses the ‘fibs’ that have been told by the US of places secured, captured and fallen, begging the question of why Iraqi forces should consider surrender when they’ve been able to hold out this long against overwhelming force. In all subjective honesty, the Iraqi forces have been holding out very well. It’s almost admirable.

Almost.

This article, by respected wartime correspondent Joe Galloway, questions Rumsfeld’s blitz strategy. As can be expected, civilian deaths in Baghdad are fueling resentment. Shock and Awe simply isn’t working it seems. Thus far embedded reporters have worked well for the Pentagon and here is why. However, they could also backfire, if something.. undesirable is ever caught, as is also explained on the article.

With Brasa in crisis for water and the Food-For-Oil program suspended and the UN unsure how to resume it, the humanitarian issues in Iraq are becoming prickly. One might wonder if there was ever a backup plan for aid, if the war wasn’t a three day walk in the park full of surrendering soldiers. Fortunately food is not so much an issue as families should have enough for a while. Water is the most pressing concern.

A new and informative rehashing of the anti-war stance that is a must read for fence sitters so as to add to their collective information.

Lastly, the Kurds seem to be safe from sell out for now. But things still aren’t certain.