News from the Malabar Front – 3/22/07

"Vast strategic manoeuvre -- perfect co-ordination -- utter rout -- ... complete demoralization ... bring the war within measurable distance of its end victory -- greatest victory in human history -- victory, victory, victory!"

George Orwell


Shi'ite Militia Breaking Into Small Groups

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_al_sadr_defectors

"BAGHDAD - The violent Shiite militia known as the Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, adding a potentially even more deadly element to Iraq's violent mix."


Iraqi Govt Says Close to Dealt With Militant Groups

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6475407.stm

"Talks are taking place between the Iraqi government and some insurgent groups, a senior Iraqi official says."


Explosion Rattles UN Chief's Iraq News Conference

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070322/wl_mideast_afp/uniraqbandiplomacy

"BAGHDAD (AFP) - A mortar blast rocked Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on Thursday as Ban Ki-moon held a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, causing the UN chief to flinch."


Iraq PM Orders Sadr Aide Released by US Forces

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070321/ts_nm/iraq_sadr_aide_dc

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have released a senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Maliki's office said on Wednesday."


US Enlarges No-Fly Zones in Iraq

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-03-20-tactics-chopper_N.htm

"CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq — The U.S. military is countering a recent wave of Iraqi insurgent attacks on helicopters by limiting the airspace where U.S. pilots can fly."


Thursday: 3 GIs, 21 Iraqis Killed; 30 Iraqis Wounded

http://antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=10709

"At least 21 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and 30 were wounded during light violence. Three American servicemen were killed in separate incidents as well. Also, a mortar rocked a building where UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were giving a press conference."

Democrats in Disarray Over Iraq Bill

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032000840_pf.html

"One of the Democrats' chief designated vote counters, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is actively working against the Iraq war spending bill. The leadership's senior chief deputy whip, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), spoke passionately against it on the House floor. And one of the whip organization's regional representatives, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), is implacably opposed."


House Democrats in Last-Minute Budget Haggling Over Iraq

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070321/pl_afp/usiraqpolitics

"WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats in the US House of Representatives engaged in last-minute haggling Wednesday on the eve of an expected debate over a controversial 124 billion dollar budget supplemental to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan"


Antiwar Dems Near Defeat on Spending Bill

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3223.html

"The most outspoken critics of the $124 billion wartime spending bill in the House are facing withering support in their fight"


Senators Set Iraq Deadline in War Bill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

"WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats on Wednesday revived legislation urging President Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq in a year, attaching the plan to a $122 billion measure needed to fund the war."


US Defense Spending Highest Since WWII
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16935815.htm

"WASHINGTON - As the Iraq war enters a fifth year, the conflict that President Bush's aides once said would all but pay for itself with oil revenues is fueling the highest level of defense spending since World War II."


No One Blinks, Yet, on US Attorney Firings

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0322/p01s02-uspo.html

"WASHINGTON - As they trade threats and bluster over whether top White House aides will publicly testify about the firings of federal prosecutors, Congress and the Bush administration seem headed for a constitutional confrontation."


FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032000921_pf.html

"The Justice Department's inspector general told a committee of angry House members yesterday that the FBI may have violated the law or government policies as many as 3,000 times since 2003 as agents secretly collected the telephone, bank and credit card records of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals residing here."

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