Kidnapped:
From the AP via the Boston Herald: U.S. behind kidnapping of diplomat, Iran claims
BAGHDAD – Iran is blaming the United States for the abduction Sunday of an Iranian diplomat by men wearing Iraqi Army uniforms.
The kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi threatens to escalate the tense standoff between Iran and the United States – and could become a major diplomatic crisis for Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government.
U.S. authorities deny any role in the disappearance of Sharafi, a second secretary at the Iranian embassy. The United States has accused Iran of supporting both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias that run abduction operations.
The kidnapping occurred when uniformed gunmen blocked Sharafi’s car, forced him into a vehicle and sped away. Iraqi police then opened fire, disabling a second vehicle, arresting the four gunmen inside and taking them to a police station.
The next day, Iraqis in uniform appeared at the station, showed government badges and demanded the four suspects.
The authorities complied and the men disappeared. Spokesmen for both the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, which together control Iraqi security forces, said they had no idea where the suspects went.
Shiite lawmakers said they believed Sharafi was detained in an operation carried out by the Iraqi Special Operations Command, an elite unit under the direct supervision of the U.S. military…
Just ticking up the tensions until someone snaps – then BOOM!!! (sound of a low yield nuclear weapon exploding)
More bodies:
From the NY Times: Military Wants More Civilians to Help in Iraq
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 —” Senior military officers, including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have told President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the new Iraq strategy could fail unless more civilian agencies step forward quickly to carry out plans for reconstruction and political development.
The complaints reflect fresh tensions between the Pentagon and the State Department over personnel demands that have fallen most heavily on the military. But they also draw on a deeper reservoir of concerns among officers who have warned that a military buildup alone cannot solve Iraq’s problems, and who now fear that the military will bear a disproportionate burden if Mr. Bush’s strategy falls short.
Among particular complaints, the officers cited a request from the office of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that military personnel temporarily fill more than one-third of 350 new State Department jobs in Iraq that are to be created under the new strategy…
Hey, sign me up, I have a death wish (Dear Government watchdogs – note that this is sarcasm. I have no desire to die in a place no U.S. soldier or civilian should be in in the first place.)
Let’s see all the neo-con and Evangelical supporters of Bush’s war head over to represent and evangelize.
NEXT!
From All Headline News: Pentagon Decides To Establish African Command
Washington, D.C. (AHN) – After a thorough review, the U.S. Department of Defense will establish an African Command, to oversee American military operations on the continent.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates spoke on Capitol Hill, saying, “The President has decided to stand-up a new unified, combatant command, Africa Command, to oversee security cooperation, building partnership capability, defense support to non-military missions, and, if directed, military operations on the African continent.”
We gotta send our war weary troops somewhere to let off steam once they’re done (done for, done in) in Iraq.
Useless resolutions:
From VOA: US Senate Divided on Approach to Iraq War Debate
A day after Senate Republicans blocked a nonbinding resolution expressing disagreement over President Bush’s decision to send more troops to Iraq, the Democratic-led Senate Tuesday remained deadlocked over the best way to move the bipartisan measure to the Senate floor for a vote. VOA’s Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.
Although Senate Democrats and Republicans say they want to be able to vote on nonbinding resolutions on the Iraq war, an issue that will likely influence the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, they have not been able to agree on how best to do it.
Democrats still hope to reach agreement with Republicans on allowing a Senate vote on a resolution sponsored by Senator John Warner of Virginia, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, which expresses disagreement with President Bush’s decision to increase troop strength in Iraq.
But Republicans, who blocked the measure from coming to a vote Monday, are demanding that at least one other Republican-sponsored resolution be allowed to go to the floor for a Senate vote along with the Warner measure. That other resolution, sponsored by Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, includes language saying Congress should not take any action that will endanger United States military forces in the field, including the elimination or reduction of funds…
We’re going to fight and haggle over meaningless resolutions, like Pilate washing his hands. If you’ve been elected to do something, doing something would be good; something in the traditional sense of something as in the concrete and real.