No Surprise Assad Claims Support For New Constitution As Crackdown Continues

Bashar al-Assad's busy claiming that people who turned out to vote for a new constitution did so overwhelmingly to support the new one. Mind you that Assad's security forces were busy murdering opposition protesters and shelling cities and communities that strongly oppose the regime. Western countries consider the referendum to be nothing more than window dressing to allow the regime time and space to continue their crackdown.

Interior minister Mohammed al-Shaar said the turnout was 57.4 percent of eligible voters with nearly 8.4 million ballots cast,

The new document will create a multi-party system in Syria, which has been governed solely by the Baath Party since 1963, and set presidential term limits. But even if it passes, President Assad will still be very powerful.

Opposition factions say the only acceptable solution to Syria's crisis is for President Assad to step down. Western governments rejected the referendum as a farce, but both China and Russia welcomed it Monday.

Russia and China recently blocked the U.N. Security Council from tougher actions against Mr. Assad's government.

Also Monday, European Union foreign ministers imposed new sanctions on Syria's central bank and froze the assets of several Syrian government officials. The bloc already has blacklisted nearly 150 other Syrian entities and people.

The U.N. Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold an urgent meeting on the crisis in Syria on Tuesday.

The regime says that the new constitution was approved by 89% of those voting. Considering that the opposition boycotted the referendum, the numbers aren't all that surprising. Assad wont be forced to step down, and the Ba'athist continue controlling all the elements of government. They "rewrote" the constitution but aren't going to relinquish power to opposition groups that are under constant harassment, military assaults, and human rights are not respected.

This is a regime that is murdering its own citizens all to allow Assad to continue his reign of terror. It's not surprising that Iran is doing what it can to block action in the UN's Human Right's Council, even as other Arab countries are lining up in opposition to the crackdown.

Iraq, however, is backing the Syrian people and isn't going to stand behind the regime. Qatar's foreign minister has called for arming the opposition, which is further than the US is willing to go at this point.

The Red Cross has managed to get into Hama for the first time in weeks to distribute aid, but it's a paltry amount compared to what's needed.

UPDATE:
Opposition groups claim that 144 civilians were killed across Syria today, including dozens murdered when attacked at a checkpoint in Homs:

At least 144 people were killed Monday across Syria, including 64 who died in a "horrifying massacre" at a checkpoint in Homs province, opposition activists said.

Those killed at a checkpoint in the Abel area were attempting to flee shelling in the Baba Amr neighborhood in the city of Homs, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.

"Reports said security members and thugs kidnapped the women among them," the network said in a statement. Residents found 47 corpses in one area and 17 in a second one, it said.

A total of 68 corpses were found in the area, in farmland in western Homs province, said the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, apparently referencing the same incident. The bodies were found after an injured survivor reported the attack, the group said. All the bodies had been either shot or stabbed.

A Glimpse Into the Workings Of Saddam Hussein's Iraq

Following the invasion and collapse of Saddam Huseein's government in 2003 in Iraq, US forces collected a treasure trove of documents that have been stashed away. Now, researchers are beginning to pore through the collection, and hint at just how Hussein continually misread US intentions in the region. There are also repeated boasting about Iraqi military and chemical weapons capabilities, and how Iraq would come to threaten Israel:

In the case of Mr. Hussein, the transcripts depict a leader who was inclined to see enemies everywhere, who often displayed a shallow understanding of diplomacy outside the Middle East, and who harbored grand ambitions for his country but was prone to epic miscalculations.

Mr. Hussein so grievously underestimated Iran’s military that he wrongly assumed that Iran’s initial air strikes in the war had actually been carried out by Israeli warplanes. He personally selected which rockets to use on one attack against an Iranian city, and he boasted that Iraq had a chemical weapons arsenal that “exterminates by the thousands.” He felt threatened enough by the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and other fundamentalist groups that he discussed his desire to “trick” them into thinking that his government, too, endorsed Islamic values. From a historical perspective, Mr. Hussein’s decision to confront Iran and his reaction to the Iran-contra affair are two of the most intriguing areas in the documents.

Mr. Hussein set the stage for war by repudiating a 1975 agreement with Iran and seizing the entire Shatt al Arab, the strategic waterway along their border. According to Amatzia Baram, an Israeli expert on Iraq who has studied the archive, the pivotal decision appears to come in a meeting on Sept. 16, 1980, when Mr. Hussein took the optimistic view that the Iranians, fearing the Iraqi forces massed near the border, would give in without much of a fight.

A top secret report from the Iraqi General Military Intelligence Directorate supported Mr. Hussein’s upbeat assessment. “It is clear that, at present, Iran has no power to launch wide offensive operations against Iraq or to defend on a large scale,” the report noted. It also predicted “more deterioration of the general situation of Iran’s fighting capability.” But the war, which ultimately lasted eight years and produced hundreds of thousands of casualties, turned out to be far more difficult than Mr. Hussein expected. Soon after it began, Iranian aircraft bombed a series of targets, including Iraqi oil refineries and Iraq’s Osirak nuclear plant south of Baghdad. The feat so surprised the Iraqis that they assumed that the attack could not have emanated from Iran.

“This is Israel,” Mr. Hussein exclaimed in an Oct. 1, 1980, meeting. He then complained that Iraqi officials had not followed his suggestion to bury the nuclear facility under the Hamrin Mountains north of Baghdad, before approving a plan to fortify the complex with millions of sandbags. But those sandbags proved to be of little use when Israeli warplanes actually did strike the site the following June.

Later, Mr. Hussein said he was not surprised that Israel felt threatened by Iraq, which he asserted would emerge from a triumph over Iran with a military that was stronger than ever. “Once Iraq walks out victorious, there will not be any Israel,” he said in a 1982 conversation. “Technically, they are right in all of their attempts to harm Iraq.”

As Iraq’s war with Iran proceeded, Mr. Hussein did not hesitate to give battlefield advice, despite his shaky knowledge of weapons and tactics. “Do you have cannons that shell air bursts to fall on them while they are in the streets?” he said in a meeting on Oct. 1, 1980, to discuss the bombardment of Abadan, a city in southern Iran. “We want their casualties to be high.” He was often cordial to his largely sycophantic inner circle, but was capable of coldhearted calculations about the forces he had sent to war. Early in the conflict, Mr. Hussein was frustrated with Iraqi bomber pilots who, hobbled by poor intelligence, had returned from missions over Iran after failing to strike their targets. Deciding that he needed to make an example of the airmen, Mr. Hussein demanded that the pilots be executed, a practice that former Iraqi commanders say was common during the war.

Hussein completely misunderstood the nature of Iran-Contra, and how this was seen as a way to free Americans held hostage in Iran while funding covert operations in Latin America and not as a direct threat against Iraq. Then again, Hussein thought that the US rebuff of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was bluster and not to be backed up by force. That was a monumental miscalculation that has had consequences still felt 20 years later.

President Obama Commits To Carrying Out Bush Plan To Leave Iraq By End of Year

There's quite a bit of Internet angst among certain folks complaining that President Obama is somehow engaging in a change of course about the continued presence of US troops in Iraq when he announced today that but for a contingent of troops to guard the US embassy in Baghdad, all the troops will be returning to their primary bases by the end of the year.

President Obama isn't changing US policy. He's carrying it out.

This is a US policy enacted by President Bush and enacted pursuant to a Status of Forces Agreement. Pursuant to that agreement, Iraq and the US agree that all American forces would be withdrawn no later than December 31, 2011. That was an agreement entered into on November 17, 2008, and also called for US combat forces to be withdrawn from Iraqi cities no later than June 30, 2009. These are timetables put in place by President Bush, and President Obama is carrying them out (and incidentally belatedly keeps a campaign pledge from 2008.)

That isn't to say that the agreement couldn't be amended. The US and Iraqi government were trying to negotiate a plan to continue basing troops in Iraq, but the Iraqis didn't want to grant immunity to US troops operating there and the US wasn't going to keep troops in Iraq should they be subject to prosecution locally.

Now, does this adversely affect Iraq's security? Absolutely. It means that they have to stand up against an ongoing threat from neighboring Iran (some things never change) without a US countervailing presence. Are they nearly as capable as they should be (or were when the US was backing them up)? No, but by bringing the troops home, the Army can begin the process of reducing its costs, reduce manpower and assets deployed, replace used and worn out equipment, and most importantly, allow troops to return to their home bases to rejoin their families. On the whole, this benefits the US and reduces a major source of government expenditures for the long term.

I would have liked to see an ongoing military deployment of troops there - invited to remain by the Iraqi government precisely as a means to stabilize the region and to thwart potential moves by Iran, but that wont be the case - at least for now. We're still in places like Bahrain, and their sociopolitical situation is a mess - so shifting certain assets to Iraq could make sense from that perspective as well.

So Much For Peace and Joy on Earth

While Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas, terror attacks were carried out in Nigeria and Pakistan that killed dozens, a terror plot was thwarted in he Netherlands, and Hamas is again threatening Israel's destruction.

43 were killed in Pakistan when a female suicide bomber struck in Peshawar food market:



Dutch authorities arrested 12 Somalis on terrorism related charges, noting that while no weapons or explosives were found, the attacks were said to be imminent.

Yet, there was some hope, as Iraqi Christians packed a church in Baghdad that was the scene of a massacre of priests and parishioners.

Two Top Al Qaeda Terrorists In Iraqi Safehouse Find Out It Isn't So Safe

Good news from Iraq as the US confirms that two top al Qaeda terror masters in Iraq were killed when security forces raided their safehouse near Tikrit.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri earlier Monday at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses.

U.S. forces commander Gen. Raymond Odierno says the deaths are potentially the most significant blow to the terrorist organization since the beginning of the insurgency.

The U.S. military said they were killed in a nighttime raid on their safehouse Sunday near Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Tikrit was not only the home to Saddam Hussein, but was the nexus for insurgent and al Qaeda activity since Saddam's regime fell. Getting both al-Baghadadi and al-Masri in a single raid is most impressive given that terrorists generally don't congregate in groups precisely because it frequently leads to attacks that can do serious damage to the terror infrastructure.

There have been several previous reports that al-Masri was killed, but this time we have confirmation of his demise. Someone must have gotten real good intel to get both of them in the same raid.

At the same time, the US confirms that they're on pace to reduce the number of troops in Iraq on schedule even as raids against al Qaeda and insurgents continue.

Obama Administration To Take Credit For Iraq "Achievements"

Just what kind of credit does President Obama and Vice President Biden want to take for Iraq? They opposed the war, and had done everything imaginable to shut it down while President Bush was in office. So, what exactly is the achievement that Vice President is talking to Larry King about here:

Now, the Obama-Biden pair that opposed the Iraq war and its tactics and predicted their failure is prepared to accept credit for its success.

It seems that Biden, who's from Delaware when he's in Delaware and Pennsylvania when in Pennsylvania, is certain now that Iraq will turn out to be one of the Obama-Biden administration's greatest achievements.

No, really.

Here's how Biden put it to Lar:

I am very optimistic about -- about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.

I spent -- I've been there 17 times now. I go about every two months -- three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society. It's impressed me. I've been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences.

Biden did not elaborate on what all the administration's other "great achievements" were so far.

No doubt, Iraqis too are very thankful for that 2008 U.S. election. (Full King transcript here.)

Biden is most likely talking about the achievement of bringing home thousands of combat troops.  Never mind that the US will continue stationing troops in Iraq as a backstop and to maintain a presence in Iraq as a bulwark against Iranian aggression, but this is the fulfillment (or perceived fulfillment) of one of Obama's campaign promises - to bring the troops home.

It is not about victory. It's about political promises and appearances. 

The achievements of the Obama Administration in Iraq are largely to let the Bush Administration policies continue to bear fruit and draw down the troops in Iraq. The Obama Administration had little to nothing to do with beating the insurgency and the establishment of a stable consensual government in Baghdad that doesn't need the US military to constantly provide security; that was done on the Bush Administration's watch.


Mind you also that the Iraq achievement will be felt most during the Obama term, and they'll try to glom on to the credit, but the heavy lifting was done by a Bush Administration that made quite a few mistakes before getting the surge right and settling things down.

Islamic Terror Barbarism Again On Display

Al Qaeda and its many splinter groups continue targeting Muslims in its latest attacks in Pakistan and Iraq. First, there was a pair of bombings in Karachi, Pakistan. The first bomb blew up a bus carrying Shi'ite women and children for an Arbaeen procession. The second bomb targeting the hospital where the victims from the first blast were treated.

The first blast targeted a bus carrying worshippers, most of them women and children, killing 12 and wounding 49, officials said. The bomb was attached to a motorcycle and detonated as the bus drove to an Arbaeen procession, witnesses said. One witness said it may have been a suicide bombing, but that could not be confirmed.

The second bomb exploded outside the entrance to the emergency ward at Jinnah Hospital, which was packed with victims and relatives of those killed and wounded in the earlier attack. It was either hidden on a motorbike or in or close to an ambulance, a witness and a government official said.

Meanwhile, a bombing outside Baghdad killed Shi'ites attending Arbaeen commemorations:

A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb alongside a crowd of Shiite pilgrims walking to a holy city south of Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding 70. It was the third deadly bombing this week against Shiites converging on the holy city of Karbala, where Imam Hussein was killed in battle in 632.

Female Suicide Bomber Kills 46, Wounds 100 In Baghdad

A female suicide bomber, who was dressed in a head to toe abaya, blew herself up among the faithful Shi'ites who were attending the ritual in Karbala. 46 were murdered, and more than 100 were injured in the attack.

According to the Associated Press, 46 people were killed in the blast, another 122 wounded.

The explosion took place near the Shiite neighborhood of Shaab.

The woman was reportedly disguised as one of the pilgrims, hiding the deadly device beneath an abaya, a dark cloak covering her from head to toe, according to Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's top military spokesman.

The female had cleared a security check shortly before detonating her bomb, al-Moussawi said.

How could she have been cleared by security with a bomb large enough to do that kind of damage? Well, considering that the privacy afforded by wearing an abaya and a reluctance to stringently check women, it is possible that the terrorists have figured out a way to circumvent security measures (a problem that exists for more than just the Iraqis).

This attack is just the latest in a string of attacks against Shi'ites, who have a centuries-long conflict with Sunni Muslims for supremacy. It is likely that this was hoped to spark sectarian conflict leading to more upheaval and anarchy in Iraq.

Also, this is yet another attack by Islamic terrorists whose victims are fellow Muslims (albeit Sunni v. Shia violence).

Iraqis Execute Chemical Ali For Crimes Against Humanity

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Ali Hassan al-Majid, who is much better known as Chemical Ali, was one of Saddam Hussein's top henchmen and was convicted of using chemical weapons and crimes against humanity during the Anfal campaign. The Anfal campaign involved the systematic attack against dozens of Kurdish villages and resulted in the murder of thousands of Kurds in Halabja. In fact, the total number killed in Chemical Ali's campaign ranges from a low of 100,000 to 150,000 with a similar number of widows and orphans.

In fact, Chemical Ali was executed after a fifth death sentence was handed down. His barbarism has been well documented, but it bears repeating:

Ali Hassan received five death sentences for genocide, crimes against humanity (specifically willful killing, forced disappearances and extermination), and war crimes (intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population). He was also sentenced to multiple prison terms ranging from seven years to life for other inhumane acts.[18] As his sentences have been upheld, under Iraqi law, sentence is to be carried out by hanging, subject to the convictions being upheld following an automatic appeal, and he was to be executed in the following 30 days along with two others - Sultan Hashem Ahmed, military commander of the Anfal campaign; and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, deputy general commander of the Iraqi armed force, assistant chief of staff for military operations, and former Republican Guard commander. The executions, however, were postponed to 16 October, because of the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.[19] He was supposed to be executed 16 October 2007, but was delayed when Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expressed opposition to the sentences and refused to sign the execution orders.[20] He then entered into a legal row with Nouri al-Maliki, and as a result the Americans refused to hand any of the condemned prisoners over until the issue was resolved.

In the same year his sister-in-law and her daughter were killed by unknown men in Tikrit. In February 2008 an anonymous informant has stated that Ali Hassan al-Majid's execution has finally been approved by President Talabani and the two Vice-Presidents: this was the final hurdle in the way of the execution.[21]

On 2 December 2008, Chemical Ali was once again sentenced to death, but this time for playing a role in killing between 20,000 and 100,000 Shi'ite Muslims during the revolt in southern Iraq that followed the 1991 Persian Gulf War.[22]

On 2 March 2009, al-Majid was sentenced to death for the third time, this for the assassination of Grand-Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sadr in 1999.[23]

The Iraqi Cabinet put pressure on the Presidential council on 17 March 2009 for Al-Majid's "execution".[24]

The situation was similar on Sunday 17th January 2010 prior to 9am (GMT); a fourth death penalty was issued against him in response to his acts of genocide against Kurds in the 1980s. Additionally he was also convicted of killing Shia Muslims in 1991 and 1999. Along -side him in the trial was former defence minister Sultan Hashem, also found guilty by The Iraqi High Tribunal for the Halabja attack sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. The execution was carried out on 25 January 2010.[2]

Where the Threats Are

Where is the threat of jihad greatest and where does it pose the greatest concern for the US?

Pakistan? Yemen? Saudi Arabia? Iran? Somalia? The insurgency remaining in Iraq?

All of the above? None of the above?

Tunku Varadarajan says that the Obama Administration shouldn't take its eyes off the ball in Pakistan to deal with the mess in Yemen.

It's hard to disagree with Varadarajan in that Pakistan is teetering on the brink with al Qaeda and Taliban threatening the government in Islamabad; a government that has nuclear weapons at its disposal.

A nuclear-armed Muslim country with a fragile democratic government, Pakistan is our ostensible ally in the Afghan war against the Taliban and al Qaeda. The problem is, however, that the Pakistani military—which is not under civilian control, and which chafes continually against the democratically elected president, Asif Ali Zardari—wishes for nothing more fervently than the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. The Obama administration cannot continue to ignore this obscene dance, in which the army of an allied state gives succor to the very enemy that young American soldiers fight daily in bloody battle.

This has to be the year in which the dance ends: The U.S. must demand that that the Pakistan Army sever its links with Mullah Omar and the Taliban military leadership. A case in point is the Taliban's Quetta shura, or council, which operates with impunity in the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province. The country's generals must also be told that they can no longer protect groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which—in addition to butchering scores of Indians—sought out and killed American and Israeli nationals in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

The problem is that the threats have piled up since the 1980s because the US has been distracted from the dirty business of dealing with failed states around the world. Somalia remains a consistent threat against shipping and provides safe haven for jihadis. Yemen has been home to some of the most notable terror attacks, including the attack on the USS Cole, and al Qaeda is all too comfortable there.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are each exporting jihad to maintain control on their countries.

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan form a ring along South Asia of Islamic extremists and all too fertile ground for al Qaeda and other terror groups. Iran's mullahs are busy trying to crack down against the Iranian people who have grown weary of the regime's machinations to maintain control.

Somalia and Yemen both pose threats to sea traffic through the Red Sea and have repeatedly harbored al Qaeda terrorists that are able to evade the feeble government attempts to dispatch them.

Afghanistan was a terror safe haven prior to 9/11 and Iraq formerly sponsored international terrorism to pursue its agenda. Iran still does.

The world, and the US in particular, must reevaluate its approach to failed states, because the failure to do so will have repercussions long into the future.

So, to push a strategy for dealing with Pakistan while diminishing the need to deal with Yemen is one that will result in problems down the road; the threat has to be dealt with all across the globe; not just in the fashionable locales (Islamabad, Tehran, etc.).

Mass Carnage In Baghdad As Terrorists Murder 120+ In Coordinated Bombings

Terrorists struck throughout Baghdad today, killing at least 120 people. It is nothing less than an attempt to undermine the faith in the Iraqi government to secure the country against the insurgent threat that remains active.

Five bombs in all, including at least three suicide attacks, struck near a college, a court complex in western Baghdad, a mosque and a market and a neighborhood near the Interior Ministry in what appeared to be a coordinated assault on the capital.

The blasts began shortly after 10 a.m. and reverberated through the city for the next 50 minutes, sending enormous plumes of black smoke into the air.

The attacks came as Iraq’s Presidency Council announced a date — March 6 — for the country’s long-delayed parliamentary elections. And furor over Tuesday’s bombings immediately became political, with prospective candidates blaming the security forces and the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for failing, once again, to secure the heart of Baghdad.

Many victims linked the attacks to the protracted political jockeying over holding the election, which was originally scheduled for January. “Are we cursed?” yelled a young woman near the mosque that was struck in Qahira, in northeast Baghdad. She had burns over her arms and legs. “When will we be finished with this election issue?”

The attacks were the worst in Iraq since twin suicide bombings destroyed three ministries on Oct. 25, killing at least 155 people. They fit a pattern of spectacular attacks in the capital, followed by weeks of relative calm. In August, two suicide car bombs exploded near the country’s Finance and Foreign Ministries, killing at least 122.

The insurgents have taken to a strategy of carrying out coordinated mass casualty attacks, rather than piecemeal attacks that aren't nearly as deadly.

It's a way for the insurgents to maximize their limited resources, and coordinated attacks have the hallmark of al Qaeda written all over them.

Among the targets were an appeals court, and several of its judges were killed.

These attacks go to the heart of the Iraqi government's capabilities to provide security and operation; it was carried out with an eye to the political ramifications in the hope that others would not support the government.

Despite pledges by Iraqis and Americans to withdraw US forces, the Iraqis are hoping to secure a new agreement for the US to establish a long-term training relationship with the Iraqi army (HT: Small Wars Journal).

On My Nightstand: The Good Soldiers

My latest read is The Good Soldiers by David Finkel. It's a gripping tale of the soldiers of the 2-16 Batallion, who deployed from Fort Riley, Kansas to participate in the surge.

It is told in chronological fashion, and recounts the mission and the disillusionment that some of those soldiers faced when seeing their efforts undone and unmatched by the Iraqis that they were there to help.

Finkel also recounts the encounters with those soldiers who were seriously injured while facing combat, or more often succumbing to the effects of IEDs and EFPs, which ripped apart man and vehicle with the greatest of ease.

What is astonishing is that so many of these most horribly injured were saved by the heroic measures of the medical staff and their fellow soldiers, but the visible effects of those injuries are just a part of the tale. The mental anguish by those injured, and those who had to live knowing that they were lucky enough not to have been injured is one of the lesser told stories.

Picasso's Naked Woman Found In Iraq

Saddam Hussein looted Kuwait after he invaded that country in 1990. His army took as much as they could possibly carry back to Iraq, including numerous priceless treasures, such as Picasso's Naked Woman.

It was found:

Special forces have recovered a stolen Picasso and arrested a man planning to sell the painting during a raid of his house in southern Iraq, Iraqi police said Wednesday.

The painting, "The Naked Woman," apparently had been among the artwork looted from Kuwait during Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion, said police spokesman Maj. Muthana Khalid.

It was seized Tuesday during a raid on the house belonging to the suspect near the mainly Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

It was looted from the Museum of Kuwait, and bore markings from the museum. Based on the photo, it looks like the painting was damaged by those taking and storing it; particularly by folding the painting, which caused serious creasing of the painting.

I can only hope that art restorers can bring this painting back to its former glory.

Note too that this painting is quite unlike many of Picasso's other works in that it doesn't portray his signature Cubist view of the world.

The painting is believed to be worth $10 million. The guy nabbed with the painting was trying to get $450,000.

Suicide Bombers Cause Mass Carnage In Baghdad

This isn't a good sign for the Iraqi government, which is hoping to transition the US out of its cities and which the Obama Administration hopes to complete in order to significantly reduce the number of US troops stationed in Iraq.

A series of suicide bombers struck across Baghdad, murdering at least 95 people.

The six explosions marked the country's deadliest day since the United States pulled its combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns nearly two months ago.

In one attack, a truck bomb exploded outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, damaging the building. Another truck bomb went off outside the Ministry of Finance building.

Near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iraqi security forces stood with shocked expressions as ambulances screamed past.

In central Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded on Kifa Street, and another bomb exploded in the Salhiya neighborhood, where on Tuesday security forces had avoided injuries by successfully defusing a truck bomb. Wednesday's other two bombs exploded in eastern Baghdad's Beirut Square, officials said.

If the Iraqi government looks helpless to prevent terror attacks such as this, it will increase pressure on the Iraqi government to extend the US commitment in the country, and it will delay President Obama's promise to reduce US troops there.

Security improved significantly in Iraq as the US surged troops to deal with the insurgency fueled by al Qaeda affiliated terror groups. Those groups are showing signs of resurgence as the US has stood down in Iraqi cities. Iraqi security needs to step up, and if the Iraqi government can't get the security situation under control, the government under Maliki may find itself out of a job come the next elections.

Pakistani Awakening?

Are we beginning to see the fruit of years of Taliban violence, which has intensified in recent months coming to a head with Pakistani locals rising up to fight the Taliban on their own turf? It is a distinct possibility, and I'd say it is cautiously good news.

Just as there was the Anbar Awakening in Iraq - locals getting tired of Iraqi insurgents and their al Qaeda coreligionists attempting to impose their Islamist worldview on a group of people who were initially open to the idea but who rejected the idea after all the violence against those who didn't conform to the Islamist ideals, Pakistan may be setting up for a similar showdown.

The Pakistani military is supporting the militia, or "lashkar," in Upper Dir district on the request of local officials and tribal elders, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN.

Outraged over a suicide attack on a local mosque during Friday prayers, about 400 residents formed the militia early Saturday and began battling Taliban militants. The attack on the anti-Taliban mosque killed at least 40 people and wounded 80 others.

The militia has surrounded Taliban fighters in Shat Kas, a village where the Taliban have local support, according to officials in the Upper Dir district. The Taliban have dug into bunkers and are putting up a strong resistance, he said.

The fighting marks the first major battle between the residents of northwest Pakistan and Taliban militants.

At least 14 Taliban had been killed and four villagers had been wounded as of Sunday evening, according to local administrator Atif-ur-Rehman.

The militia has burned houses thought to be sheltering the militants, and both the militia and Taliban fighters are using heavy weapons, including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft weapons, Rehman said.

Pakistani military helicopters were called in Monday and Tuesday to strike Taliban positions from the air, local officials said. Abbas confirmed that the gunships were used to shell specific militant targets in Upper Dir, on the request of local officials.

There is a long history of Taliban presence in the area, including foreign fighters in leadership roles, local officials said.

Faster please.

Are Terrorists Increasing Attacks Knowing US Withdrawal From Iraq Imminent

There has been a rash of deadly terrorist attacks in Iraq, targeting tribal leaders and causing mayhem. The most recent attack today killed dozens, including key tribal leaders.

A suicide bomber struck tribal leaders touring a market in a Sunni area west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing as many as 33 people in the second major attack in the capital area in two days.

The bombing was part of a spike of violence that comes as the U.S. military begins drawing down its forces.

The bomber detonated an explosives belt as the tribal leaders were walking through the market in the town of Abu Ghraib, accompanied by security officials and journalists, according to the Iraqi military.

Two Iraqi television journalists were among those killed in the attack and one was wounded, according to their stations.

On Sunday, a suicide attacker killed about 30 people near a police academy in east Baghdad.

They seem to coincide with President Obama's telegraphing of American intent to severely draw down the number of combat troops in Iraq. Are the terrorists taking advantage of this situation, or is this a mere statistical anomaly and the terrorists attacks are unrelated to Obama's pronouncements?

I don't believe in mere coincidences, and I've warned in the past that setting deadlines and telegraphing such intent will only foster more attacks as the terrorists believe that they simply have to outlast American willpower to claim victory. Obama's announcements might play well to his base of support in the US, but it sends the wrong messages to our allies and the Iraqi people.

Pardon Me?

The thug who decided to throw his shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad is now asking the Iraqi President for a pardon. I refuse to call this man a journalist because of his actions.

In a letter delivered to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the journalist described his behavior as "an ugly act" and asked to be pardoned, spokesman Yassin Majid told The Associated Press.

Majid confirmed to Fox News that Muntadhar al-Zeidi has asked the Iraqi president for a pardon, and expressed "regret and sorrow" for his behavior.

"It is too late to now to regret the big and ugly act that I perpetrated," al-Zeidi wrote, according to Majid.

Majid told the AP that al-Zeidi went on in the letter to recall an interview he conducted with the prime minister in 2005 when al-Maliki invited him into his home, saying: "Come in, it is your home too."

"So I ask for your pardon," al-Zeidi wrote, Majid said.

Majid told Fox al-Maliki, who tried to shelter Bush from the incoming shoes with his arm, is inclined to let Iraqi law run its course.

al Malaki is right to let the justice system run its course - and al Zeidi should feel the weight of the law come down on him. He actively engaged in a premeditated assault on the President of the United States. That's not some heroic act, although anti-American leftists and Bush haters will certainly do their part to make him out to be a hero and/or now play the role of victim.

It was completely unprofessional, and I really doubt he would have ever attempted to do such a thing if Saddam Hussein were in power.

Saddam routinely murdered people for much less, and Saddam never tolerated any dissent. This man's ability to express himself was granted by the US and its overthrow of Saddam's regime. The irony of that fact is lost on all too many people.

In fact, when someone displeased Saddam, he would often not only kill that person's family, but he'd kill all their relatives, his thugs would rape the women in front of the men, and then feed the hapless victims into plastic shredders feet first. Saddam's regime was barbaric by all standards, and engaged in multiple confirmed acts of genocide, including the use of chemical weapons. He was a menace and the world is a better place without him in power.

Al-Zeidi simply couldn't see that through the haze of his Che Guevara and Sadr coated worldview. His heroes are thugs of the Left.



Meanwhile, President Bush handled the situation with aplomb and managed to maintain his composure despite the clear breach of his personal security. This isn't the first time his Secret Service detail hasn't had shining moments either. A 2005 incident in Tbilisi, Georgia involved someone who managed to toss a live hand grenade into the crowd near President Bush.

The device did not go off and no one was hurt. However, the grenade was live and the FBI said today it could have caused considerable harm to Bush and the tens of thousands of people who had gathered May 10 to hear him speak in Freedom Square, a main plaza in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

"We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of both the president of the United States and the president of Georgia as well as the multitude of Georgian people that had turned out at this event," said Bryan Paarmann, FBI attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi.

The Soviet-era RGD-5 grenade, which was wrapped in a red handkerchief, fell just 61 feet from where the president was speaking, sources told ABC News.

The grenade's pin had been pulled, but it malfunctioned and did not go off. It was snatched up and removed by a Georgian security officer. Georgian authorities did not tell the Secret Service about the incident until after the president had left the country.

Report Alleges US Raid In Syria Had Syrian Backing

The Times of London claims that the Syrian government, despite some protests, may actually have backed the US raid on al Qaeda thugs operating just inside the Syrian border with Iraq.

The Americans’ target was an Al-Qaeda commander identified as Badran Turki Hashim al-Mazidih, also known as Abu Ghadiya, an Iraqi-born terrorist in his late twenties. It is believed that he died in the firefight and his body was removed.

The Syrian regime immediately denounced the raid for violating its sovereignty, froze high-level diplomatic relations with Washington and protested at the United Nations in a ritualised show of anger.

However, sources in Washington last week revealed to The Sunday Times an intriguingly different background to the events in Sukariyeh.

According to one source, the special forces operation had taken place with the full cooperation of the Syrian intelligence services.

“Immediately after 9/11, Syrian intelligence cooperation was remarkable,” said the Washington source. “Then ties were broken off, but they have resumed recently.”

Abu Ghadiya was feared by the Syrians as an agent of Islamic fundamentalism who was hostile to the secular regime in Damascus. It would be expedient for Syria if America would eliminate him.

The threat to the Syrian government has made the regime of President Bashar al-Assad jittery. In September a car bomb exploded in Damascus near its intelligence headquarters. Many of the 17 victims were Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims at a nearby shrine.

The Washington source said the Americans regularly communicate with the Syrians through a back channel that runs through Syria’s air force intelligence, the Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya.

In the time-honoured tradition of covert US operations in the Middle East, this one seems to have gone spectacularly wrong. The Syrians, who had agreed to turn a blind eye to a supposedly quiet “snatch and grab” raid, could not keep the lid on a firefight in which so many people had died.

It's further claimed that the Syrians commanders refused an intercept of the incoming US raid, but the terrorists spotted the helicopters on their final approach and began attacking. That's why the raid was anything but bloodless.

It's also why the raid and its targets couldn't remain secret for long and the Syrians had to offer up an official response.

US Carried Out Snatch and Grab Raid Into Syria? UPDATE: Dead al Qaeda Bigwig

Over the weekend, reports surfaced from Syrian media and other outlets that the US carried out a raid just inside the Syrian border, including inserting a small team of soldiers. That is highly suggestive that the US was intent upon capturing a high level terrorist or some high level thug from the Saddam Hussein regime that remains at large.

The names floated included al-Masri, the leader of AQI, and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, both of whom are heavily involved in the Iraq insurgency and efforts to undermine the new Iraqi government.

Bill Roggio believes that the raid was aimed to capture al Qaeda's top coordinator inside Iraq.

US special operations hunter-killer teams entered Syria in an attempt to capture Abu Ghadiya, a senior al Qaeda leader who has been in charge of the Syrian network since 2005. US intelligence analysts identified Ghadiya as the leader of the Syrian network, The Washington Post reported in July. Ghadiya was identified as a “major target” by the US military in February 2008.

The raid to capture Ghadiya occurred in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, just five miles from the Iraqi border. Four US helicopters crossed the border and two of the helicopters landed to drop off special operations forces, who then proceeded to clear structures.

Nine people were reported killed and 14 were wounded. Syrian officials claimed innocent construction workers and women and children were killed in the raid.

US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment if Ghadiya was killed or captured during the raid.

Just as with the September 6 strike against the Syrian nuclear facility, don't expect the Syrians to make much ado about this incursion. It would only highlight the fact that the Syrians are busy breaking bread with terrorists and providing them safe havens from which they can plan and carry out terrorist operations inside Iraq and perhaps elsewhere.

The US has been trying to clamp down on the Syria-Iraq to thwart terrorist operations, and this attack may have been a direct shot across the bow of the Syrian regime that the US was serious about taking the fight to those who harbor al Qaeda.

Allahpundit wonders why the raid took place now as opposed to the day after the elections, to which I'd respond that the intel was actionable and current, and if the US waited, they might have lost the ability to strike at al Qaeda's operations.

UPDATE:
Via Dave in Texas at Ace of Spades, comes word that the US raid into Syria netted a big fish. A big stinking dead fish:

A U.S. strike on a network of foreign fighters in Syria killed its main target — an Al Qaeda coordinator who was wanted for sending foreign fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq, a U.S. official told FOX News.

Killed in Sunday's attack by Special Operations Forces was Abu Ghadiyain, Al Qaeda's senior coordinator operating in Syria who was closely associated with the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

That's why the Syrians are not going to want to press the issue too much, and the Russians can go pound sand on their complaints.

UPDATE:
A Syrian villager claims that the US grabbed two men in the course of its raid on a village near the Iraq border.

A resident of the village that was the scene of a U.S. raid says he saw at least two men taken into custody by American forces and whisked away by helicopter.

The villager spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his life.

Another villager at the site displayed amateur video footage he took with his mobile phone that shows four helicopters flying toward them as villagers point to the skies in alarm.

NYS Legislators Call For End Of National Guard Deployments

Two New York legislators have decided that they're going to burnish their anti-war credentials by proposing legislation that will require the state to bring home those National Guard troops deployed to Iraq and to prevent future deployments.

Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) and Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn) unveiled the measure yesterday at a news conference. They joined Military Families Speak Out, an anti-war organization, in front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square. "The governor has the power to decide if our National Guard troops are to be used on a federal level," Adams said. "Our resolution will call on him to do just that."

To be introduced in January, it also calls for all New York National Guardsmen to be withdrawn from Iraq and pending deployments to be canceled.

In an e-mail, Paterson's spokesman said the governor would "review the proposal if it's approved by both houses of the Legislature."

However, Perkins said, neither he nor Adams has found any Republican co-sponsors so far for the legislation - practically a requirement in a GOP-controlled Senate. Nor have they found a potential sponsor in the Democratic-led Assembly. Perkins said the legislation is still in its infancy. Both senators are facing re-election in November, along with the rest of the legislature.

In other words, this has no chance to actually move forward. It's a publicity stunt. Nothing more.

However, they are also attempting to engage in foreign policy and national security which is outside their purview as state legislators. They do not have the authority to engage in their own private foreign policy or military policy, which is what these two politicians are doing.

They talk about how they need the National Guard to be available for emergencies in New York City and how the mission in Iraq is no longer necessary for nationalization of the troops. Interesting. Right now, the 42nd Infantry Division has about 5,000 troops stationed in New York. The 52nd Troop Command stations another 4,000 soldiers. The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has another 3,500 soldiers. That includes 800 members of the 1st Battalion 69th Infantry whose mission is to provide trucks and Humvees in state emergencies in lower New York State. It had previously served in Iraq from 2004 through 2006. The 2d Battalion, 108th Infantry, also 800 members, provides trucks and Humvees in state emergencies for eastern upstate New York. The 2d Battalion, 258th Field Artillery has 350 members and provides trucks and Humvees in state emergencies, having served in Iraq in 2004. The 427th Support Battalion has 380 soldiers and also provides trucks and Humvees for state emergencies. Even though units have deployed to Iraq, that doesn't mean the entire unit goes at once, and there were more than sufficient units in state to handle state emergencies during that time.

Only a fraction of troops have been deployed to Iraq at any one time, and at a time when the US is considering further withdrawals and troop draw downs, these politicians are playing games with the National Guard and look to prevent future deployments overseas, in direct contravention of their stated mission and the makeup of the US Armed Forces.