YA DON'T SAY!

The OGA bar has a dance floor with a revolving mirrored disco ball and a game room. It is open to outsiders by invitation only. Disgruntled CPA employees who haven't wangled invites complain that the CIA favors women guests.

Fun article about the Green Zone's nightlife.

GEEZ, ITS LIKE WE'RE LETTING THE IRAQIS RUN THEIR OWN COUNTRY...

Just like we said we would...

Iraq's new leadership will take control of a rehabilitated Baghdad International Airport in the next few weeks. The hand-over is expected to open the door for the first normal commercial service since the U.S. invasion 15 months ago.

For the past year, American experts and Iraqi technicians have been working to repair and update the former Saddam International Airport...

Now one of three main terminals has been restored, improvements to the main runway and the radars are underway and Iraqi air traffic controllers returned to the tower two weeks ago. They are handling most of the roughly 50 cargo charter flights a day. There also is a daily charter passenger flight from Jordan.

In advance of the June 30 turnover of sovereignty to the Iraqi government, the U.S. military is handing back the airport's 40 service buildings and 35 acres of land.

By July 15, with the departure of the Army's 1st Armored Division, the commercial side of the airport will be Iraqi-run.

EVENTUALLY A FULL STOMACH WEIGHS MORE THAN FEAR OR HATRED

Yes...it is slow going...but make no mistake about it...it is going...and going in the right direction.

Now, he said, the U.S. military is trying to enable Iraqis to do the work for themselves. U.S. and Iraqi elements are choosing projects, such as locations for Iraqi military camps, and Seabees are rough-drafting the projects, putting them out to bid and managing their progress.

“This is to give the Iraqi businesses a chance to develop,” Kubic said.

“It’s going to be slow, but over the long term having a bottom-up strategy will be the key to the future of a successful Iraq. As long as the people in Baghdad can set the political and economic condition, and we can mesh our military strategy with that — allowing [progress] to come from the bottom up — we’ll be very successful.”...

But business is picking up in spite of the danger that sometimes comes with doing business with the U.S. forces.

Kubic said that projects such as building schools, courthouses and police stations used to attract from only two or three Iraqi contractors. That eventually grew to seven or eight bids.

“Now we routinely get 20 to 30 bids for a job,” Kubic said. “For one road project we just ordered, we had 104 bids.”

THURSDAY, JUNE 17th.

The 403d day of CPT Patti's deployment.

One year, one month, nine days.

GOOD POINT OF THE DAY AWARD

To Deborah Orin at the New York Post. Go read it all.

But part of the issue is simply that Saddam's tortures, like al Qaedas tactics, are so awful that they're unbearable to watch.

If I couldn't watch them myself, I'm hardly arguing that others should have to. Yet it raises a very complex problem in the War on Terror. It's worse than creating moral equivalence between Saddam's tortures and prisoner abuse by U.S. troops. It's that we do far more to highlight our own wrongdoings precisely because they are less appalling.

In this era, a photo is everything. We highlight U.S. prisoner abuse because the photos aren't too offensive to show. We downplay Saddam's abuse precisely because it's far worse — so we can't use the photos. And that sets the stage for remarks like Sen. Ted Kennedy's claim that Saddam's torture chambers have reopened under "U.S. management."

Terrorism is sometimes called asymmetric warfare — America had to adjust to new tactics to deal with small bands of terrorists who were able to turn our airplanes into weapons against us. Now it turns out that we also face asymmetric propaganda — where the terrorists gain a p.r. advantage precisely because what they do is so horrific that our media aren't able to deal with it.

The U.S. military hasn't figured out a strategic way to deal with this problem.

But neither has the press.

I WON'T COMMENT

Read this piece and come to your own conclusions.

At the heart of the tale is the role of the militias, called janjaweed -- "the men on horses." Across Darfur, they have unleashed their fury on black African tribes linked with rebels.

According to survivors, hundreds of janjaweed arrived in the Kailek in February. They galloped from village to village, slaughtering hundreds of black Africans, all Muslims like themselves. Truckloads of government soldiers helped them.

They razed houses, crushed mosques and tore up hundreds of copies of the Quran, Islam's holy book. They whipped women and children, surrounded Kailek and took everyone hostage.

"It was a concentration camp," said a U.N. official who visited the area in late April. "They were eating, sleeping and dying in their own feces because they weren't allowed to go out."

There was a method to the violence. Arabs were left alone, survivors said. Some joined the janjaweed to prey on their neighbors.

Sumia Rahman, 16, and her brother Anwar, 10, fled toward the mountains after they saw their younger brothers die. But their stepmother, Fatima, 30, was caught. She was taken, with dozens of others, to the woods and beaten. Then she was raped.

"If I was an Arab, they would not have raped me," said Fatima.

Meanwhile, her husband, Hamid, and several hundred men had fled into the mountains. As he climbed, he heard explosions in the distance. Planes, he realized, were dropping bombs.

Ten days later, the janjaweed sent representatives to urge them to return to Kailek. They brought along an elder to vouch for their sincerity.

Without food or medicines, they had no other option. Soldiers, he said, escorted them down the mountain. But in Kailek, they were placed under house arrest, along with an estimated 1,700 other villagers.

The janjaweed began to execute one or two of the strongest men every day, said survivors. Children died of hunger and thirst, while scores of women endured a living death.

"In the night, the janjaweed would go into houses and select ladies and take them away to be raped," village elder Adam Muhammed Adam recounted as villagers around him nodded their heads solemnly.

(Thanks, Beckie)

YOUR MOST EXCELLENT COWARDSHIP

Spain: more laughable by the minute.

Generals don't usually get medals for organizing a retreat.

But in Spain they do, or at least the defense minister did. Jose Bono was recently given a medal for the role he played in pulling Spanish troops (search) out of Iraq.

As you may remember, Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq shortly after Al Qaeda killed nearly 200 people in Madrid. The terrorist bombings were timed to affect Spanish elections and many say they did, throwing out the party that supported the coalition in Iraq and bringing in the Socialists, who called for immediate withdrawal.

The Cross of Military Merit, which Defense Minister Bono was to receive for organizing the retreat of Spanish forces, entitles the recipient to wear a white sash and be addressed as, "Your most excellent lordship."

But Mr. Bono apparently won't get his sash.

The ruckus over his award intensified after a newspaper reported that Mr. Bono had arranged for the medal ceremony himself and had pressured cabinet members who opposed the decoration.

Last week, Mr. Bono returned the medal and the prime minister praised his defense minister as a man of "much sensibility."

OTHER PROGRESS YOU AREN'T HEARING FROM CNN (OR THE DETROIT FREE PRESS)

So today I was taking our lawyer to do some business in companies registry office when he told me that nobody can imagine the number of private companies being established and registered these days, they are more than lawyers can register and more than private chartered accountants can do accounting...

After I got out of Tahreer Sq. and avoided traffic jam I passed the building of Baghdad Stock Exchange which we (my partners and I) spent a long time in as stock brokers (my basic profession) and I remembered what my partner said last Friday about it “its going to be opened this month and they practiced a test exchange last Saturday, and there was a great job done by the coalition helping the Iraqis old team to reopen as soon as possible”.

Laws was changed, a new board of directors without government representatives, a new place, a new techniques of exchange, and of course many more job opportunities for the market staff and for brokers companies and for the investors.

For us as a stock brokers firm, it’s a dream to reopen and establish stock exchange, especially when the American experts who helped to reopen the market are saying “we are trying to develop new, modern exchange facilities”.

Any way I will keep the site visitors informed about what’s new in ISX (and thats Iraq Stock eXchange)reopening and its all on http://www.isx-iq.net/

Go check out the Iraqi Stock Exchange website...and ask yourself why you didn't get this news from those "professionals" in the "news business".

SOME MORE OF THAT GOOD NEWS THE DETROIT FREE PRESS CAN'T FIND

With the completion of new transmission projects and the rehabilitation of a turbine unit at Haditha Dam in Haditha, Iraq last week, for the first time since 1990 all six turbines were in full operation and the clean hydropower plant operated at full capacity, generating 660 megawatts.

"The incredible progress at Haditha is just one example of the huge strides made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its partners to increase the overall capacity of the Iraqi power system," said Army Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson, commander of the corps' Gulf Region Division.

SCOUT'S HONOR

Impressive.

For the past month, Beth Frank has been gathering paperback books. "Mostly mysteries," the Courtland High School rising senior explains. "Some fantasies."

At the end of June, Beth will gather all the books, box them up and ship them overseas to her Marine uncle for distribution to the men and women in Iraq serving in the 2nd battalion, 2nd Marine regiment.

Tagging along with the books will be letters written by school children at Courtland Elementary School. Beth thought letters from the youngsters would let the soldiers know that "not only old people" are thinking about them.

The paperback book and letter-writing activities are part of Beth's project for the Girl Scout Gold Award. The Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. It is comparable to the Boy Scout Eagle Award.

The book collection has taken off. As of yesterday, Beth was processing nearly 1,800 books. Drop-off spots were at Borders book store in Central Park, Christ Episcopal Church, and Courtland High and Elementary schools. Boxes are still available at Borders and the church.

When it came time to choose a project, Beth knew she wanted to do something for the servicemen in Iraq.

"Mom knits and sends hats and stuff to the troops overseas during the winter," she said during a pause in processing her books. "I can't knit or crochet, and I wanted to do something."

AND THIS GUY SERVED DURING MUCH OF THE COLD WAR

Those who don't "get it"...that we are involved in a global war (albeit, a global war many are trying to ignore) might want to listen to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for a moment.

"Past wars have been like having pneumonia. It may leave a bunch of scars on your lungs, but you get cured of it," General Peter Schoomaker told reporters. "This [war] is a little bit like having cancer. You may get it in remission, but it's never going to go away in our lifetime."

The threat from Islamic extremism is particularly worrisome for its potential of an attack involving weapons of mass destruction, he said.

"I can't remember a time that, honestly, was more dangerous than what we're in today because of the nature of this threat," Schoomaker said in a wide-ranging interview with a group of reporters.

JUST WHAT WE'VE COME TO EXPECT FROM THE AMERICAN PRESS

There was some good news about Iraq Tuesday, which is unusual. Of course, there was bad news, too, which is not.

I've spent the better part of 13 months culling the good news from Iraq...and I'm just one guy with an internet connection. Too bad the Detroit Free Press doesn't have my endless resources so they can find the good news too.

IRAQ AS A 4-STAR COMMAND

This move denotes Iraq's signficance and the importance of our success there.

General George W. Casey Jr., the Army vice chief of staff, has been nominated for a newly created post that would make him the top US commander and only four-star general in Iraq.

ANOTHER GREAT AMERICAN EXPORT: OPTIMISM

Although Iraqis are divided on whether their country is currently better (42 percent) or worse (39 percent) off than before the invasion, “there is striking optimism regarding the country's long-term future” after June 30.

Nearly two-thirds of all Iraqis say they believe their country will be either somewhat or much better off five years from now than it is at present, “while just one Iraqi in 10 foresees the country being worse off five years hence.”

Also worth noting: “the fact that these positive expectations were expressed by Shiites and Sunnis alike.” Only 12 percent say they expected Iraq to be worse off five years from now.

A public opinion poll of Iraqis done by Oxford Analytica (and touted by the U.S. government) showed similar results: a majority of Iraqis feel that they are better off today than they were a year ago. And 70 percent said they think they'll be even better off in 2005.

Americans are a notoriously optimistic people. Are we exporting optimism with our fifths of Jack? As we prepare for this fall’s big vote, and amid otherwise gloomy current polling on Iraq, Americans at the least seem to share the Iraqis’ rosy view of the future.

A Washington Post poll in May found 62 percent hopeful about Iraq, but 67 percent worried. Over half say they’re optimistic about the situation in Iraq.

OUR LAST PERFECTLY GOOD AIR FORCE? BURIED.

The Iraqi Air Force purchased its first new aircraft this week, but the planes will be used for surveillance, not war-making, according to a U.S. official.

U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt announced Tuesday in Baghdad the purchased by Iraq of two of a planned force of 16 observation and surveillance aircraft from Jordan.

The planes are intended to help the country protect its electrical and oil assets from sabotage and help control its borders. An oil pipeline was apparently sabotaged Tuesday near Basra.

The planes will be delivered in mid-July.

Much of Iraq's old air force was found buried in the sand after the war, an apparent attempt to camouflage the planes and keep them from being bombed by U.S. aircraft.

MORE SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Headline:

BAGHDAD CITY GOVERNMENT NAMES FIRST INSPECTOR GENERAL

MORE SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Enforcing the traffic laws.

Traffic police are cracking down on the reckless driving that has thrived on the chaos and congestion that followed last year's U.S.-led invasion with new fines, car confiscations and a media campaign to restore a degree of order.

"We'll return the rule of law to the streets," traffic police Director-General Brigadier Jasim Tahir told Reuters.

"Only this morning I caught someone driving the wrong way down the road, and told my men to arrest him," said the police chief, who sports a pistol in a white leather holster.

"We confiscated his car for 10 days. Now he'll have to walk to work. Every time his legs ache he'll remember not to break the law," Tahir said, speaking at traffic police headquarters.

IMPROVING THE WORST AREAS

The 1st Cavalry's answer is to pour half a billion dollars into Baghdad over 90 days. The money will be distributed through 100 different projects to build sewers, ensure potable water and rebuild electricity infrastructure. Iraqis will be contracted to implement the projects.

"I really take issue ... with folks that say first you have to provide security and then we'll rebuild the infrastructure. Because I can't get there from here. ... I've got to do both of them at the same time," Chiarelli said.

In Sadr City, many power lines are thin, jerry-rigged cables strung so low across roads that U.S. Army vehicles have inadvertently ripped them down. The 1st Cavalry will replace many of them with strong, high-voltage cables, Chiarelli said.

"What we're trying to do is to pull some of these people that are our enemy ... and make them part of the process, and understand that whatever the insurgency is offering, we're offering them something better," Chiarelli said. "Every Iraqi that we can put to work is probably an Iraqi that we may not have to worry about fighting the coalition."

THANK YOU, AMERICA

Wow...someone said thanks.

In an upbeat and emotional speech before Congress, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan thanked Americans yesterday for confronting "a great evil" by removing terrorism and the Taliban, but also alluded to continuing instability and the need for increased foreign assistance.

"You have supported us with your resources, with your leadership in the world community, and most importantly, with the precious lives of your soldiers," he said, later adding: "Ladies and gentlemen, together we have a long road ahead, but we will move forward to make the world a better place."

At a time when instability in Iraq has dominated the attention of many in Congress, Karzai's message of relative stability in Afghanistan received a hearty welcome.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16th.

Day 402 of CPT Patti's deployment.

I spoke with her on the phone last night. She had worked extra late (by Brigade HQ's standards), working issues so they do not jump up later and delay the redeployment.

Good idea, Darlin'!