Iraq News (17 March)

The Good: An LA Times article that's worth your time discusses the motives behind foreign jihadists coming to Iraq to blow themselves up (note: the majority of suicide attacks in Iraq are carried out by foreigners). The US military states that many come with ideals of attacking US forces, but instead usually end up ordered to kill fellow Muslims by their Al-Qaeda & Co. superiors. Can public messaging of this crisis dissuade easily misled men (and occasionally women) from committing acts of atrocity on their fellow brethren? Let's hope so.

The Bad: The Red Cross releases some disturbing data on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Medical professionals are frequently targeted by the enemy to sow the seeds of despair and discontent. A grim reminder is the fact that 2,200 nurses and doctors have been killed since '03 and 20,000 doctors have fled the country. Troubling indeed.

The Ugly: Protests marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion took place (predictably). Ron Kovic, the man who inspired the excellent movie "Born on the Fourth of July", was involved in the protest in Los Angeles. Perennial nuisance of a Senator, Diane Feinstein of California, is in a tiff about oil fraud and smuggling in Iraq. It's sad that it takes a NY Times article to get her attention, since this has been a problem for years, but hey you gotta pander to those perpetually outraged constituents. Oh yeah, Cheney's in Iraq! Speculation that his landing at BIAP was like the scene of the emperor walking on the death star in Star Wars remains ongoing.