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Kahl: Iran Tamed Mahdi Army; Al-Maliki May attack Sunni Awakening Councils
Informed Comment — Colin Kahl, just back from Iraq, gave a briefing that Gareth Porter attended. He reports that: 1. US officials in Baghdad are genuinely worried that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has become "over-confident" about his military capabilities and has therefore become unreasonably difficult to deal with over the proposed status of forces agreement on the rules governing US troops in Iraq. (Al-Maliki appears to have won some internal battles in the Iraqi government in the past six months, so that he now firmly controls the intelligence apparatus and has military ...

Kahl: Iran Tamed Mahdi Army; Al-Maliki May attack Sunni Awakening Councils
Informed Comment — Colin Kahl, just back from Iraq, gave a briefing that Gareth Porter attended. He reports that: 1. US officials in Baghdad are genuinely worried that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has become "over-confident" about his military capabilities and has therefore become unreasonably difficult to deal with over the proposed status of forces agreement on the rules governing US troops in Iraq. (Al-Maliki appears to have won some internal battles in the Iraqi government in the past six months, so that he now firmly controls the intelligence apparatus and has military ...

"Nothing Is Good Here"
Main and Central — Some memorable quotes from that clip: "We have juveniles from 14 to 18. ... They're IED makers. They are dangerous people."[...] "How old are you?" he is asked. "Nine years old."[...] "These juveniles are treated very well," insists the soldier. "We invite their parents to come and visit with them. They actually have movie nights. ... We have looked through every one of these files. These juveniles are dangerous." Another memorable quip from the Iraqi Doctor that led the procession: "What do you expect? We're an ...

"Nothing Is Good Here"
Main and Central — Some memorable quotes from that clip: "We have juveniles from 14 to 18. ... They're IED makers. They are dangerous people."[...] "How old are you?" he is asked. "Nine years old."[...] "These juveniles are treated very well," insists the soldier. "We invite their parents to come and visit with them. They actually have movie nights. ... We have looked through every one of these files. These juveniles are dangerous." Another memorable quip from the Iraqi Doctor that led the procession: "What do you expect? We're an ...

Hegemon Hijinks
At-Largely — ... Journalist and historian Gareth Porter relays an anecdote that says Bush told Maliki "If the negotiations for a force presence agreement] crash and burn, I will be forced to pull out all U.S. troops by Jan. 1." ...

Maliki's Aproach to Sunni Militias -- Politics as War By Other Means
The Washington Note — ... for us as possible. He wants us to choose him," said Stephen Biddle, a Council on Foreign Relations defense expert who has served as an advisor on strategy to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq. "What it looks like we are getting is a Maliki government that won't behave itself and wants to crush the Sons of Iraq." This is confirmed by a series of other reports filed on the ground including experts like Colin Kahl of CNAS who is also reconsidering his former optimism on the subject. "There's even some evidence ...