Shootings of three US soldiers mark escalation of resistance

Three American soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq in the last 24 hours amid signs that many Iraqis approve of the killing of the occupying soldiers.
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U.S. falling into bin Laden's trap
Bogged down in a guerrilla war, Iraq may be George Bush's Little Big Horn

Here in Canada's "make love, not war" capital, I am reminded of a French reader who asked me last week, "Why was Bill Clinton impeached for making love, while George Bush goes unpunished for making a war over fake weapons?"

Excellent question, monsieur.

Asked on TV this week about steadily mounting attacks on U.S. occupation forces in Iraq, President Bush narrowed his eyes, and hunched forward aggressively - thrilling his ardent fans from Biloxi to Paducah - and growled, "Bring 'em on!" - a call to battle worthy of the famously dimwitted American general, George Armstrong Custer who, like Bush, knew what he knew and didn't need advice.

Listening to such adolescent boasting from a man who never heard a shot fired in anger outside of downtown Washington, D.C. made me gag. Bush, let's recall, dodged real military service during the Vietnam war by making occasional appearances at the Texas Air National Guard. Watching him play John Wayne at Iwo Jima for the benefit of his adoring core voters, some of whom believe Elvis is still alive, made me realize how much American politics has been debased by the double whammy of catch-me-if-you can Bill Clinton and truth-deprived George Bush.
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Why the US is losing a man a day

What goes unsaid in the wider media, but is clearly apparent, is that the follow on force we so desperately need in Iraq is nothing like the force that is there now. It's pretty obvious that no one is talking about the reason US troops are vunerable to daily attacks.

We are fighting an enemy which fights in small groups and merges in and out of the background of the population.

A 2003 US Armored division is perhaps the most powerful fighting force on earth. There are few enemies which can withstand it's combined arms force for long. Against a conventional force, the US is likely to dominate. But with our current force in Iraq, we cannot win and we cannot control the country.
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"That is what you get for working with the Americans"

The resistance is sending a message: we will kill collaborators and leave their American masters alone.

A scary, effective message when combined with daytime assassinations at close range.

The US Army and Marines spends millions to train and develop snipers, because killing someone at arm's length is intensely bold and extremely dangerous. You either have to be young, stupid or very brave to do such a thing. It is much better and safer to shoot them from far away, at least for the shooter.

Viceroy Jerry calls them "desperate men", but I'd call them fearless. Which is a bad, bad thing.

What we're watching is the begining of a war resembling the Algerian War
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It's worse than it seems

The look on Donald Rumsfeld's face lately has not been a happy one. As the Bush Administration and its defenders try to pretend that the war in Iraq is not going badly, the reality is that things are getting worse with little hope for a solution in the near future.

Viceroy Jerry has asked for 50,000 troops to maintain his rule. There's one small problem with that. There aren't 50K to give. The US military is nearly at the end of it's deployable strength and needs to withdraw the 3ID as soon as possible.
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The Rat in the Grain
Dan Amstutz and the Looting of Iraqi Agriculture

Anger Rises for Families of Troops in Iraq

Iraq: the human toll
As news reporters tracked troops on the road to Baghdad, much of the suffering and loss of ordinary Iraqi civilians was left untold. Until now. Here, in a compelling dispatch, award-winning foreign correspondent Ed Vulliamy goes in search of their stories

Grounding Planes the Wrong Way
Coalition troops looted and vandalized the Iraqi airport that now must be rebuilt

TRUE PRICE OF WAR: SCANDAL OF 'LOST' PoWs

Poland seeks Iraqi oil stake
Poland, which has sent troops to support the US-led forces in Iraq, has acknowledged its "ultimate objective" is to acquire supplies of Iraqi oil.