Yearly Archives: 2006

Did the media fall for yet another insurgent information operation in Ramadi?

Dozens murdered while attending a prayer session in a public park

Sistani, Talabani and Sunni parties call for an end to the political deadlock for the selection of the Iraqi Prime Minister

Fighting and counterinsurgency operations continue in the restive city

al Qaeda steps up its campaign to destroy the political process and incite a civil war by attacking Shiite mosques; the wider situation in Iraq is virtually being ignored

Reflections on the Joint Urban Warrior ’06 Conference

Coalition and Iraqi forces arrest Abu Ayman, the commander of the Secret Islamic Army

Pakistan reacts to Taliban attacks in North Waziristan after a week of fighting on the Afghan/Pakistan border; Taliban active in Tank, Khyber and Peshawar Agencies

Reports of Zarqawi’s demotion is old news, but provides further insight on al Qaeda’s view of the state of jihad in Iraq

Pressure on Jaafari to step down mounts, Mahdi calls for Jaafari to “step aside”; Jaafari’s nomination may go to full parliamentary vote

A senior representative of SCIRI and confidant of Ayatollah Sistani calls for Jaafari to step down Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Click to enlarge. As the political deadlock to form the Iraqi government continues, support for Jaafari within the United Iraqi Alliance continues to wane. Another influential member of the UIA has stepped forward and called for […]

Support for Jaafari within the UIA appears to be crumbling; The Battle for Baghdad is in full swing The support for Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the current Prime Minister and candidate to lead the newly elected Iraqi government, is waning. Reuters reports a large majority of the United Iraqi Alliance no longer backs his candidacy, and a […]

As the political situation evolves, the insurgency is focused on Baghdad

The Taliban’s Spring Offensive has been sprung; in Pakistan, the Taliban squashes a local festival, “miscreants” abound and an ally of Osama is kidnapped and beaten

A response to Belmont Club on the political situation in Iraq, and SCIRI the Kingmaker

The Iraqi Army conducts an independent another independent operation in Zarqawi’s former “Islamic Republic of Qaim”; AQIZ conducts multiple suicide operations

More reports of possible divisions between SCIRI and Jaafari’s Dawa party, and the greater game with Iran

Jaafari’s allies denounce the Hayy Ur raid while MNF-I disputes the allegations of an unjustified assault

Multinational Forces – Iraq reports Iraqi Special Forces led the fight against the Madhi militia in Baghdad.

U.S. and Iraqi forces mix it up with Sadr’s Mahdi Army at a Baghdad Mosque, around 20 Madhi fighters killed

More fighting in Talibanistan, and Helmand province, Afghanistan

Iraqi Army conducts independent operations in and around Kirkuk; Seventh multi-battalion operation in ten days

A cordon & search operation in Abu Ghraib includes an air assault by elements of the 10th Mountain Division; sweeps around Baghdad likely part of Scales of Justice

A status update on developments in Afghanistan & Talibanistan

Fifteen Taliban may have been killed outside Spin Boldak; Further news on North & South Talibanistan

In Babil province, another strike on a police station & Operation Iron Strike

Independent Iraqi operation in the Haditha Triad, U.S. operation in Ramadi and an update on Swarmer & north-central Iraq

How It’s Looking: Iraq, three years in. I was invited to join a symposium of experts at National Review Online concerning the three year anniversary of the liberation of Iraq. The question was “What do you consider the most important points to keep in mind when considering Iraq three years after the Coalition invasion?”

The meaning of civil war, and political and military developments in Iraq

Notes, Video & Transcripts from CNN Appearance