IRAQ THE MODEL: "Yesterday operation lightning began and we noticed an excessive presence of the Iraqi army and police forces on the streets and main squares in Baghdad with an obvious readiness for confronting the terrorists."

Suicide car bomb kills 7 Iraqi policemen in Tikrit :: Iraq Net :: Iraq's Online News Resource: "A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle beside a minibus taking policemen to work in Iraq's northern town of Tikrit on Friday, killing seven policemen and wounding several, local police said. "

Iraq calling: 04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005: "This morning at church we sent off our Pastor's daughter, who will soon be going to Iraq with the Air Force.

Some of the Doctors that I deployed with in January of last year are now back in Iraq. The Docs go for 90 days, but some look like they may do that 90 days as a kind of annual thing. "

Iraqi Bloggers Central: Hope in the Middle East?: "The hard and unavoidable truth is that the Middle East is still dominated by the values of both its tribal past and its despotic present. The history of the Middle East is, in a thumbnail sketch, a series of bloody conflicts between tribes and men who have seized power with the thrust of a sword. Violence is normative. "

Informed Comment: "Ahmad Seif of Reuters reports that An Oil Ministry official, 'Ali Hameed, was shot outside his home as he left for work, police said.'

He adds that guerrillas in Mosul attacked the home of Fawwaz al-Jarba, killing 8 persons before US troops backed by helicopters came to his rescue. "

Baghdad Burning: "Remember Muhsin Abdul Hameed? He?s the head of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Iraq- a Sunni political party that was basically the only blatantly Sunni party taking part in post-occupation politics in Iraq. For those who have forgotten, Abdul Hameed was chosen as one of the rotating presidents back in 2003. Mohsin was actually, er, Mr. February 2004, if you will.
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We woke up this morning to the interesting news that Muhsin Abdul Hameed had also been detained! A member of the former Iraqi Governing Council, a rotating puppet president, and *The Sunni*. He is The Sunni they hold up to all Sunnis as an example of cooperation and collaboration."