Iraq News (8 March)

The Good: With security improvements in the once troubled Anbar province, political progress is taking shape. The Awakening councils are vying for political power and the Washington Institute has an interesting policy paper on it. The tribal sheikhs of Anbar will definitely have a huge impact in the upcoming provincial elections. Iraqi President Talabani is visiting Turkey. Turkey is by far the most secular and most economically prosperous of Iraq's neighbors so playing nice with them is key. The big quandary is the terrorist group PKK bunkering down in the mountains of northern Iraq. Despite the EU, US, and Iraq labeling the PKK a terrorist group, WaPo glorifies them in this lengthy piece. Make sure you read tommorow's edition, where they laud the heroic terrorism of the FARC in Columbia to further muddy international diplomatic relations.

The Bad: Yesterday's massacre in the Karradah neighborhood of Baghdad has been blamed on Al-Qaeda in Iraq. A police station in Mosul was attacked with car bomb yesterday killing 4 policemen. Mosul has been declared by many to be the "last bastion for Al-Qaeda in Iraq". The clearing opeartions will take months according to Brig Gen. Thomas.

The Ugly: War is damn expensive. This Washington Post Op-Ed says it is on the order of $3 Trillion big ones. The editorial ties in the economy being in the shits with the Iraq war. No arguments there (thanks neo-cons). But I'm wondering if this is going to start some sort of backlash against the military. I can picture an investment banker on Wall Street throwing his morning Starbucks on me in a fit of frustration. I guess it's better than getting dog shit thrown at you by some hippie.

War takes the economy into the shits