CIA reports that a Jordanian insurgent captured last week in Iraq is reporting that the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq – under heavy pressure by U.S. forces in Iraq – has relocated to Syria and is now coordinating attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces from the Syrian side of the Syria – Iraq border. Separately, 8 members of Al Qaeda captured infiltrating across the Syrian border into Iraq by U.S. Army units.
Through most of the interview, Mr. Obama spoke without referring to notes. At one point near the end of the session, he leaned forward in his chair and looked at a yellow legal pad on the table in front of him, which listed points where he believed he and Mrs. Clinton differ on how to go forward in Iraq.
“You don’t want to look backwards, but obviously our general view about this mission as a whole has been very different,� Mr. Obama said. “She missed the strategic interests that should have dictated whether we went to Iraq in the first place or not.�
[From Obama Envisions New Iran Approach - New York Times]
Sources: U.S. spy planes watching Iraqi-Turkish border - CNN.com
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed Wednesday that U.S. military and intelligence communities are sharing information with Turkey to help them fight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who have made cross-border attacks.
TheStar.com | comment | Sun sets early on the American Century
The disastrous outcome of the invasion and occupation of Iraq has caused a crisis in the power elite of the United States deeper than that resulting from defeat in Vietnam 30 years ago. Ironically, it is the very coalition of ultranationalists and neo-conservatives that coalesced in the 1970s, seeking to reverse the Vietnam syndrome, restore U.S. power and revive "the will to victory" that has caused the present crisis.
[From Does Blackwater Play By Its Own Rules in Iraq? - Newsweek: World News - MSNBC.com]
Whatever else Blackwater is or isn't guilty of—a topic of intense interest in Washington—it has a well-earned reputation in Iraq for arrogance and high-handedness. Iraqis naturally have the most serious complaints; dozens have been killed by Blackwater operatives since the beginning of the war. But many American civilian and military officials in Iraq also have little sympathy for the private security company and its highly paid employees. With an uproar growing in Congress over Blackwater's alleged excesses, the North Carolina-based company is finding few supporters.
Talking Points Memo | Turkey shells rebels in northern Iraq
A cross-border operation could hurt Turkey's relationship with the United States, which opposes Turkish intervention in northern Iraq, a region that has escaped the violence afflicting much of the rest of the country.
YouTube - WH Press Briefing, October 9 2007
Dana Perino: "I think it's a hypothetical right now, we are focused on cooperating with the Turks and the Iraqis to make sure the PKK can be stopped."
Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police - washingtonpost.com
Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to provide the materiel and is too slow to deliver arms shipments, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said yesterday.