Italian prosecutors have launched an official investigation targeting a U.S. Marine for the shooting death of Nicola Calipari which it considers a “murder":

ANSA—A United States marine has formally been placed under investigation here for the murder of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq last March .

The Rome prosecutorÂ’s office identified the marine as Mario Lozano .

Intelligence officer Nicola Calipari was killed on March 4 when US troops manning a temporary roadblock opened fire on a car carrying him, another agent and a released hostage to Baghdad airport. . . .

State Department spokesman Sean McCormick today said that the Calipari case is considered “closed” but he referred questions about legal actions to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Nicola Calipari was the Italian intelligence officer that negotiated Giuliana SgrenaÂ’s release from Iraqi terrorists back in March 2005. He was killed when the car transporting Giuliana Sgrena and himself failed to stop at a U.S. Military checkpoint and was fired upon. At the time, Italy had decided not to share its rescue plan with the United States and I believe that is what led to CalipariÂ’s tragic death, not a young Marine doing his job.

Cross-posted at OpinionBug.com

Posted by: OpinionBug at 11:19 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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WTF?

BAGHDAD, Iraq — About 24 top former officials in Saddam Hussein's regime, including a biological weapons expert known as "Dr. Germ," have been released from jail...

Got me, I don't understand it either.

As far as deeming some of these people as no longer a security threat, you mean to tell me that "Dr. Germ" wouldn't be welcome to ply her trade in any number of Middle East Jew-hating dictatorships?

Posted by: Vinnie at 06:11 AM | Comments (37) | Add Comment
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Tony Cordesman, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies has a new report on the Iraq War (h/t: Dan, at WoC). Some key excerpts:

The insurgency so far lacks any major foreign support other than limited amounts of money, weapons, and foreign supporters. It does not have the support of most Shi'ites and Kurds, who make up some 70-80% of the population. If Iraqi forces become effective in large numbers, if the Iraqi government demonstrates that its success means the phase out of Coalition forces, and if the Iraqi government remains inclusive in dealing with Sunnis willing to come over to its side, the insurgency should be defeated over time -- although some cadres could then operate as diehards at the terrorist level for a decade or more.

Apparently he didn't get the memo about the conflict being unwinnable, but he does genuflect in that general direction:

To succeed, the US must plan for failure as well as success. It must see the development or escalation of insurgency as a serious risk in any contingency were (sic) it is possible, and take preventive and ongoing steps to prevent or limit it. This is an essential aspect of war planning and no Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, service chief, or unified and specified commander can be excused for failing to plan and act in this area. Responsibility begins directly at the top, and failures at any other level pale to insignificance by comparison.

Well I don't have the endowments of Cordesman, but let me offer a few observations. First, one must assume that he's not suggesting we "plan to fail," although some will probably accuse him of that. Rather, what he suggests is that our war planning is too infused with "happy talk," and is therefore not realistic about the capabilities of this enemy. Although I have a great deal of confidence in our military, it's possible that Cordesman is right and we aren't taking the threat of "failure" seriously enough. Which raises the next issue.

There's a lot of difference between "planning for failure" in the sense of having contingencies should Iraq, or the Ummah, descend into civil war, and addressing the specific set of conditions that could lead to civil war. Conflating the two is like saying that knowing what you intend to do after the divorce is the same as dealing with the marital difficulties that could lead to divorce. Cordesman seems to imply the second meaning, but the first is also important. After all, Victor Davis Hanson doesn't think a civil war in the Middle East necessarily the worst that could happen. And if Hanson is right then what we ought to consider is what role we might play in such a war, since the consequences are probably not something we could just afford to ignore. Whether or not we "fail" in that sense isn't entirely up to us. The onus rests partly on the Iraqis.

But finally, the phrase "planning for failure" just doesn't strike this reader as appropriate to war strategy or tactics. I'm fairly certain that Eisenhower considering Project Overlord, and Grant when he made the right turn to steal a march on Lee, were both fully cognizant of the risks and contingencies involved. But I'm also pretty sure they never used the phrase "planning for failure" to describe how they dealt with those contingencies. The words don't seem to emerge from the lexicon of military planning, but from the world of diplomacy. And if we're in a war then diplomacy has already failed in the first instance. So what we're really talking about is not "failure" but cascading failures, and whether the cascade can ultimately be halted before reaching the third conjecture.

And that's the whole point behind going into Iraq in the first place. The next plateau in the cascade would be a civil war, but even that's not as bad as it gets.

[Update: The link to Three Conjectures has been corrected. Apparently the old links I had to that series have been degraded as a result of some sort of Blogger glitch.]

Posted by: Demosophist at 11:34 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Q: How does a Jew respond to seeing his people murdered routinely by Arab Muslims?

A: Click to find out.

That boy's not naive. He knows that in order for Israel to be at peace, first the surrounding nations need to be at peace with themselves.

Getting Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomen, Assyrians, et.al. to find common cause is a first step to getting them to realize that Israel is not the enemy.

Getting them to realize that "we are endowed by our Creator, with certain inalienable rights...that all men are created equal" would do wonders for the Middle East.

Call me an optimist, but I see the day when Iraqi diplomats stand up in the U.N. to denounce the constant criticism of Israel in that body.

After today, it could happen.

[personal note: I'm sick of off-topic comments by everyone showing up in my email. Stick to the subject or STFU]

Posted by: Vinnie at 11:59 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Our soldiers have sacrificed life and limb. Our citizens have traveled thousands of miles away from family to pitch in. You, me, and every other tax-paying American have spent our hard-earned money.

The polls are open in Iraq.

Don't let us down.

The Sandcrawler's own Dread Pundit Popeye's Nemesis is on it.

I thought I saw something else on this site that said someone in Iraq might be covering it, but that might just be my imagination.

My fellow 'droid hustlers are free to update and bump this post throughout the day as election news comes out, if they wish.

Updated by Howie:

Surprise Surprise Surprise!!!!!

Iraqi’s are voting their asses off. Wait a minute could this be “success”? Nah nyay nya nya nya!!!!

Iowahawk has another of his "Live with the Zarkman" interviews direct from Iraq.

A few other links below the break for those of us basking in the glow of success.

more...

Posted by: Vinnie at 01:20 PM | Comments (22) | Add Comment
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A great day, with all this election business in Iraq. Historical, some would say. Yea, nearly all headlines talk about the historic-ness (yes, I just made that a word). But a few news outlets have a curious phrasing in their stories...

"...the first full-term parliament since Saddam HusseinÂ’s ouster..."

Um, can we, like, not count anything during the Hussein era as democratic? Hell, Nazi Germany had a full-term parliament throughout the war. Doesn't mean it was comparable to a truly elected body. Only Fox News seemed to have the right idea to include this clarification (though they also include the stock phrase from before):

"Some Iraqis said Thursday's vote was a symbolic gesture of democracy that had been suppressed for years under the brutal rule of Saddam Hussein."

Because, no matter what some in the media think, this does NOT count as democracy. Then again, this might explain a lot of why the media cannot see any progress in Iraq -- once again, they have no idea what to look for.

Posted by: wineaholic at 09:24 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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From a CENTCOM press release:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two members of the PeopleÂ’s Mojahedin of Iran, Hossein Pouyan and Mohammad-Ali Zahedi from the City of Ashraf, were reported to authorities as abducted on Aug. 4 in eastern Baghdad while on a routine logistics trip. The residents of Camp Ashraf have been considered protected persons under the fourth Geneva Convention since June 2004.

Upon receiving reports of the abduction, Multi-National Force - Iraq requested that the Iraqi Police investigate the incident and is assisting in attempts to locate the missing individuals.

MNF-I requests that anyone in possession of information on the whereabouts of these two individuals to contact the Iraqi Police or MNF-I at the email address below.

No reason has been given for the long delay in reporting the abductions.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

Posted by: Bluto at 01:32 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Karim Salam.

You can debate all you want as to whether this hostage or that deserved their fate, we don't think any of them deserve it, unless it can be conclusively proven that it was staged.

But I dare anyone to defend this.

Do it. I dare you to justify the kidnapping of an 8 year old boy.

Go ahead, try it. Those of you who think the CPT people are getting their just due, tell me how this boy is getting his. Those of you who scream Bush lied people died, you tell me how someone who would kidnap an 8 year old boy is a "freedom fighter" or a "minuteman."

Go ahead, I f'ing dare you.

Posted by: Vinnie at 08:15 PM | Comments (38) | Add Comment
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Another victory in the war on terror. Another one bites the dust.

Centcom:

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq —The number three terrorist on the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (28th Infantry Division) High Value Individual list was detained Dec. 9 in the provincial capital of ar Ramadi.

Amir Khalaf Fanus, an al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist in the Ramadi area, was wanted for criminal activities including murder and kidnapping. Today, local Iraqi citizens brought him to an Iraqi and U.S. Forces military base in Ramadi.

Fanus, also known in Ramadi by his Iraqi moniker, “the Butcher,” was well-known for his crimes against the local populace. He is the highest ranking al Qaeda in Iraq member to be turned into Iraqi and U.S. officials by local citizens.

His capture is another indication that the local citizens tire of the terroristsÂ’ presence within their community. Iraqi and U.S. Forces have witnessed increasing signs of citizens fighting the terrorists within Ramadi as the Dec. 15 National Elections draw nearer.

ITB also on the case.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:59 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 Every day brings worse news for the traitorcrats here lately.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 09, 2005 02:04 PM (0yYS2)

2 IM is right on. I knew times would be tough early in the year. Pendulem you know. It's swung just about as far down as it can go I feel things will get better. The successes while you have to dig for em are there. All this call for withdrawl goes right along with what Bush said we would do. So they feel comfortable and confident enough that it will happen anyway might as well take advantage and make it seem as if it was the calls for withdrawl that made it happen. Not the fact that we win. Look at Afghanistan the same was said in the beggining you know the "it will never work stuff". Now it's so obvious Afghanistan is working now you never hear it any more. The cool part is Afghanistan is still Afghanistan not and Americanized version of Afghanistan. I think we will get some boys (& girls) home next year not because the left is pushing but because that was the plan all along, no? But I really should not say that. Troops coming home should be announced about 30 minutes after they are home. In today's world as opposed to the WWII era or even the Vietnam era it's hard to discuss such things just amongst ourselves. One look at our site meter shows you (go by world map) what is said in America is world wide. So you have to be careful what you say the enemy can hear you. Just let em shoot themselves in the foot and keep plugging and stick to our word and we can't loose.

Posted by: Howie at December 09, 2005 02:59 PM (D3+20)

3 i think the th pakistan is ideat one man is i know him and they just need to think about others and they know what they had done

Posted by: ? at December 09, 2005 03:03 PM (GX04p)

4 Damn it, Howie, "swang" is not a word.

Posted by: youngbourbonprofessional at December 09, 2005 03:07 PM (tdhAh)

5 I really wish it had been.

Posted by: Howie at December 09, 2005 03:19 PM (D3+20)

6 By the way good to see you YBP and thanks teach.

Posted by: Howie at December 09, 2005 03:35 PM (D3+20)

7 Bon jour, YBP! Been missing you, glad to have you back.

Posted by: jesusland joe at December 09, 2005 03:47 PM (rUyw4)

8 Wait...Al Qaeda? In Iraq? Naww...

Posted by: See-Dubya at December 09, 2005 04:27 PM (7skRf)

9 LOL You're killing me with the movie quotes. I'm glad the Iraqi citizens are now taking matters into their own hands. Hopefully, they will empower themselves even more and make a gov't that is friendly w/the USA. I'm sure the lefties believe they've all been 'coerced', no doubt.

Posted by: RepJ at December 09, 2005 05:53 PM (6mUkl)

10 Agent Brown says that when Americans leave, the insurgents will kill all the terrorists on your behalf.

Posted by: Agent Smith at December 09, 2005 05:55 PM (6LOUW)

11 See the Iraqis really hate the Americans. Uh huh, that's why they're handing over the bad guys! (/sarcasm)

Posted by: Anna at December 09, 2005 07:56 PM (UG2Dj)

12 Agent Smith says that the terrorists are in big trouble.

Posted by: Agent Smith at December 09, 2005 09:02 PM (6LOUW)

13 Can someone ban these agent morons? They're not even as smart as greg used to be, and he was so stupid as to register a negative IQ.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 10, 2005 11:12 AM (0yYS2)

14 What this really means is that the Iraqis are taking more control of their lives and WANT what we are doing over there. It's the kind of thing that scares Dean, and Pelosi white with fear.

Posted by: Danny at December 10, 2005 05:14 PM (VJ8Tp)

15 True Danny, very true.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 11, 2005 09:49 AM (0yYS2)

16 Iraqi nationalists hate all foreign intervention that is aimed at Iraqi, including Al-Qaeda and US, to Iraqi nationalists, especially the Shiites, Al-Qaeda or US is the same bite in the dust, to speak in desert terms. Do not mistake this for a 'we love America' unless you're really dumb, then be my guest.

Posted by: rc at December 17, 2005 03:26 PM (B2W80)

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UPDATE: The video has been debunked and is NOT the Fallujah attack but some other attack. See this post.

The Islamic Army in Iraq has released a video of an IED attack against Marines in Fallujah. The attack killed 10 Marines. Images from the video are posted below. They are not graphic, but may be disturbing.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has also released a video of its Ramadi offensive. Images posteed below and right. For links to video, please e-mail author.

The video shows a Marine patrol and a Hummer rolling down an alley or a narrow road, on which civilians are present. The Hummer passes the Marines as it approaches the terrorist's position. The IED explosion is large and does damage to the Humvee, but the driver inside appears to be able to continue to drive the vehicle. Civilians can be seen panicking and fleeing. The video then becomes shaky as the terrorist flees the scene.

The video reveals why the IED attack was so devestating. Presumably, like most incidents of this nature, the IED was planted with the expectation that it would be exploded as a vehicle or convey passed. The terrorists, it would seem, just got 'lucky' in that on this particular day a foot patrol decided to walk down the wrong alley.

Despite media reports of 'mounting casualties', attacks are down in Iraq. The IED attack reveals that the so-called insurgents cannot mount even an effective attack against U.S. positions.

Yesterday, propagandists for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq posted a message claiming they had taken 'control of Ramadi'. This despite the fact that the terrorists were only able to fire a single mortar shell at a U.S. position and less than 300 U.S. troops and 200 Iraqis were used in the counteroffensive. The counteroffensive turned out to be nothing more than the troops entering Ramadi unnoposed and turned into a routine search and sweep operation.

The only evidence that al Qaeda offered that they 'controlled' Ramadi was a short video by their IMC media arm showing a group of masked young men in cheap warm-up pants and tee shirts slowly going down a narrow alley. There are no more than seven or eight terrorists in the group. That's right, 7-8 terrorists with AK-47's and a single RPG! An image from that video is posted above and a few more are posted below.

Oddly enough, the IMC (Islamic Media Center) cameraman hides from the terrorists while he takes the video. The IMC has recently pledge its loyalty to Osama bin Laden and urged others to do the same. It appears that even the jihadi supporters are afraid of the brave and noble mujahidin!

So, if the 'insurgency' cannot hold any territory, is not very popular in the eyes of even Sunnis these days, and must resort to remotely detonated bombs and hostage taking, in what lies their hope of victory?

The media and spineless politicians in Washington D.C.

The spinmeisters at al Jazeera, Jihad Unspun, and Uruknet report the communique as fact and then, trying to turn this into some grand irony, announce that the Ramadi 'victory' comes only days after Bush announced his strategy for victory. As if a single IED and a handful of sweat-pants clad 'insurgents' are a threat to U.S. victory in Iraq!

It would all be very laughable if the U.S. media wasn't so busy hand-wringing and having LSD induced flashbacks of Vietnam. The media spin then leads the American public to think that this insurgency poses an actual threat and that somehow we cannot win in Iraq. All of this is not helped by the extreme Left wing of the Democratic party which is all to eager to see America lose in Iraq.

Folks, the only threat to our long-term victory in Iraq comes not form the terrorists, but from spineless politicians in the U.S.

Images below. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 02:40 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment
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After reading this story about potential pill-popping by "insurgents," I just had to wonder a few things.

Isn't the call to religious jihad enough to inspire true fanaticism? Is the promise of 72 virgins and/or the Divine Protection of the Almighty not enough to inspire courage in all?

And speaking of courage, I know a thing or two about "liquid courage." Being a part of a people who pride themselves on drink, drink, and more drink, I would expect this sort of pill-popping crap from my brothers. But the "insurgents" are far more noble, being Holy Warriors of God, right? They follow strict rules in order to better themselves and obtain the favor of Allah. If these reports are true, I guess there must be a miscommunication between themselves and their Holy Book (and what would the odds be of that hypocracy ever happening in the Religion of Peace?):

"O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed." Quran 5:90

Now I see! The reason we are kicking their asses is because the "insurgents" have gone astray! If only they avoided being meth-heads, they would succeed. If only they had faith, they could truly stand against American and British tanks and destroy them with fireballs from their eyes and bolts of lightning from their arses.

But since intoxicants are the work of the devil, and the United States is the Great Satan, then it follows that OUR government interjected the drugs into these peaceful societies. First the CIA introduces crack into urban communities and now this. Oh, it has all the markings of a KKKarl Rove operation. You magnificent bastard!

Posted by: wineaholic at 12:24 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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