Saturday, December 05, 2009

Are they targeting US collaborators?

AFP reports that the Iraqi Parliament adjourned today because they did not have a quorum despite the session being called by President Jalal Talabani. The Parliament 'hopes' to meet tomorrow and address the elections. Of course, they've been 'hoping' that for some time. In fact, remember November 27th when we were being told a compromise had been agreed to? Only it hadn't been agreed to, had it? No.

But the violence continues . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing which wounded five Iraqi service members.

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack on Kurdish politician Sardar Abdulqadir in Sulaimaniyah -- he was wounded by gunfire and 1 man shot dead in Mosul. DPA adds that 1 police officer and 2 guards were shot dead in Mosul and, in a separate incident, 1 woman was shot dead and her daughter injured.

Kidnappings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 person kidnapped in Baghdad

In addition Issa reports another attack on the US military base in Basra, this time with rockets. This would be the base whose barrier walls collapsed last Saturday and the US military continues to insist the collapse was due to rain.

Dropping back to Thursday's snapshot, we'll note this:

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing which claimed 1 life and left six people injured, a Baghdad sticky bombing which claimed 1 life and left two people injured, a Mosul bombing which left a child injured and 1 Tirkrit suicide bomber who took his own life and claimed the lives of 1 "commander of the anti-riot force in Tikrit" and 3 of his bodyguards with fifteen other people injured. Sabah al-Bzee, Michael Christie and Angus MacSwan (Reuters) report that the commander in Tikrit was Lt Col Ahmed Subhi al-Fahal who had been shopping when he was attacked. Ernesto Londono and Muhanad Saif (Washington Post) explain, "The bomber ran toward Lt. Col. Ahmed al-Fahal, who heads the city's anti-terrorism and anti-riot force, as he was walking in a crowded market, according to Lt. Ibrahim al-Duir, a police spokesman in Tikrit."

Jason Ditz (Antiwar) explains:

The death of Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Subhi al-Fahal, one of the top anti-terror chiefs in central Iraq, is being celebrated by insurgents across Iraq, and crowed about on Iraqi al-Qaeda affiliated web sites.
Fahal was an outspoken terror opponent, and rejected government efforts to reform militants, suggesting that only killing them en masse could pacify the region.

al-Fahal may have been targeted for collaborating with the US. The same may have happened to the US-backed Sardar Abdulqadir today. There's no proof that it did and I'm not saying that was the case for either. But it's something to watch to see if a pattern is emerging.

In London, an Iraq Inquiry is ongoing. Friday, they heard testimony from three witnesses. Matthew Taylor (Guardian) emphasizes the testimony of Lt Gen Anthony Pigott:

Britain committed a large land force to the invasion of Iraq in an attempt to buy influence with the United States, the official inquiry into the war has been told.
Lieutenant General Sir Anthony Pigott, who was deputy chief of the defence staff responsible for commitments, said that by taking on a major military role the UK was able to show the Americans that it was a "serious player". After Tony Blair's meeting with George Bush at the president's Texas ranch in April 2002, Pigott said he set up a small team to look at the options for military action against Iraq.

Alex Barker (Financial Times of London) emphasizes the testimony of Dominic Asquith which included the assertion that then-Chancellor Gordon Brown (now England's Prime Minister) "refused to increase" the reconstruction funds in Basra.

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