For all the problens we face there, and I certainly don’t deny there are many, facing down the enemies within is the biggest obstacle.

Baghdad Institute for Public Policy Research

The Iraqi’s have a western style (and inspired, no doubt) think tank? And I thought the Iraqi War was a failure! Who knew?

Two weeks with American units that patrolled with Iraqi forces in west and east Baghdad found that Iraqi officers sold new uniforms meant for their troops, and that their soldiers wore plastic shower sandals while manning checkpoints, abused prisoners and solicited bribes to free suspects they’d captured

That last part sounds a lot like BJ Clinton and Marc Rich.

Actually, that whole darn news service seems mired in a quagmire of sweet, sweet depression.

The next flashpoint: Kirkuk, with Kurds battling Arabs as the Turks watch nervously from the sidelines.

Flashpoint? More like final domino.

Money is money in any country, in any language and 98% of the people will take it, demand it or steal it. Nothing new here.

But, I’ll wait for Michael Yon before I let the concrete set.

Plus: Jihadis want peace!

Of course they do. Problem is thier definition of a peaceful resolution is a lot different than ours.

I’m going to e-mail Michael Yon and ask, first, whether he’s getting the same sense of endemic corruption from the IA where he is and, if not, what his opinion is of Lasseter.

I WILL be waiting for this response.