Mosul Police Chief Killed; Karbala'i Escapes Assassination

The police chief of Mosul and two other officers were killed by a suicide bomber when they came to the site of the recent powerful explosion. The death toll from that bomb rose to 40.

A bomb lightly wounded Abdul Mahdi Karbala'i, the representative in the holy Shiite city of Karbala of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and killed two of his body guards on Thursday. He was leaving the shrine of Imam Husayn (the martyred grandson of the Prophet). This is a season of passionate mourning for Husayn among Shiites, and if Karbala'i had been killed, I think there was substantial danger of a mass outbreak of violence and rioting in the city.

The Bush administration wants a wide-ranging set of commitments from the Iraqi government that will exempt not only the US military but also civilian contractors from Iraqi law. In the colonial period such treaties were common, and exemptions were called 'capitulations.' The immunity of US troops from Iranian law was one of the grievances Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini highlighted when he made the revolution against Iran's monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Hiring Paul Wolfowitz to advise the State Department on arms control is like hiring Lindsay Lohan as a driving instructor.

Besides, when someone is consistently wrong and always vastly exaggerating the threat from abroad, it isn't normal. Here's a trip down memory lane:

'With Ford’s approval, Bush also granted a team of hard-line Cold Warriors, including neoconservative academic Paul Wolfowitz, access to the CIA’s raw intelligence on the Soviet Union capabilities, enabling this so-called “Team B” to challenge the CIA’s nuanced assessment of Soviet strength. Though the intelligence pointed to serious – and worsening – Soviet deficiencies, “Team B” emerged with an alarmist vision of Soviet power and intentions. In late 1976, Bush largely adopted this dire assessment, which restricted the maneuvering room of Ford’s successor, Democrat Jimmy Carter.'

And we need him to vastly exaggerate the threat from Iran, why? Maybe because no one reputable would take it on?

McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Thursday:

' Baghdad

Two policemen were killed and 3 others were injured including a policeman in an IED explosion in al Andulos square downtown Baghdad around 8,00 am.

Two civilians were injured in an IED explosion in Ghadeer neighborhood east Baghdad around 4,00 pm.

A civilian was injured in an IED explosion in Zafaraniyah district southeast Baghdad around 4,30 am.

Police found three anonymous bodies in Baghdad today. Two bodies were found in Doura neighborhood in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad while the third body was found in Ma’amil neighborhood in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad.

Nineveh

Mosul police chief Brigadier General Salih Mohammed Hasan al Jobori and one of his guards were killed and 10 other people including al Jobori guards were injured when a suicide bomber detonated himself among them while al Jobori was visiting al Zinjili area west Mosul city where the explosion happened yesterday. Police said that the suicide bomber was wearing a police uniform confirming that al Jobori was injured seriously and he died after moving him to the hospital.

The toll of the explosion of Zinjili explosion which took place yesterday rose to 40 killed people and 220 others injured.'