Iraq News (27 May)

The Good

• Muqtada al-Sadr might be trying to brush up on his studies and boost his theological credentials according to WaPo, but the LA Times reports that the Mahdi Army is losing popular support in the Shi'ite district of Sadr City due to its racketeering and thug-like tactics.
• The U.S. Presidential hopefuls may address the women in combat issue. Haha, silly politicians, military women are already in combat roles, get with the times!
• Reuters reports that major heads of the state-run oil industry have been replaced, which is most likely an attempt to curb the corruption that has plagued the Iraqi oil industry.
• Six young boys, who were being trained to be utilized as suicide bombers by a Saudi foreign fighter, have been rescued by Iraqi security forces in Mosul.
• The Long War Journal reports that a Special Groups commander has been detained in the Shula neighborhood.

The Bad

• The law to allow Provincial elections later this year has been met with some serious foot-dragging in Iraqi parliament. Some of the Kurdish lawmakers stormed out of Parliament yesterday when the issue of Kirkuk came up.
• A suicide bomber killed 6 Sahwa members yesterday north of Baghdad.

The Ugly

• Many countries (including the U.S. and Iran) are set to meet at the upcoming Stockholm conference on Thursday to discuss Iraq's security. Not sure if it's going to be productive or not, and it sounds like more of a boondoggle. Condi is already ramping up the anti-Iranian rhetoric, and this thing might degenerate into a shouting match.
• As far as I can tell, Iraqis are nuts about soccer. The recent announcement that Iraq could be suspended from FIFA, thereby preventing Iraq from a shot at the World Cup, will result in some pissed off Iraqis. This shit needs to get resolved in a expeditious manner.

Iraqi Soccer Might Be in Trouble