A German perspective...

Peace is boring
The soldiers of the Second Brigade, based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, were the heroes of the battle for Baghdad. Now they want to return home, but instead they must remain in Iraq and teach yesterday's enemies about democracy and capitalism - as quickly as possible.

Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp was stationed in Germany for nine years, and is able to make rather wise statements about the war in German. "If you're on your feet," he says, "war isn't a lot of fun. It's a lot more fun in a tank."

Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp is certainly qualified to make this assessment. He spent the war in an M1A1 Abrams tank that costs $4.3 million, consumes 56 gallons of gasoline per hour, and comes equipped with a 120 mm artillery gun, a 12.7 mm machine gun, and two 7.62 mm MGs. This monster is protected from above by the air force and from behind by artillery.

How many Iraqis did you hit, Sir? "I don't care," says soldier Philip de Camp.
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Iraqi guerillas fire opening salvo

It's about as official as these things get: Iraq's opposition forces, formerly in disarray following the dominant US victory, are now fighting back.
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The Senator Votes Nay
Robert Byrd Opposed the Iraq War, and He's Not About to Yield

"What is happening?" Robert C. Byrd asks. "What is happening to us?"
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UN chief warns of anti-American backlash in Iraq

The UN's most senior humanitarian official in Iraq warned yesterday that US attempts to rebuild the country were overly dominated by "ideology" and risked triggering a violent backlash.

Ramiro Lopes da Silva said the sudden decision last week to demobilise 400,000 Iraqi soldiers without any re-employment programme could generate a "low-intensity conflict" in the countryside.

"The reconstruction of minds is as important. We cannot force through an ideological process too much," said Mr Lopes da Silva, 54, a Portuguese UN official who served in Angola and Afghanistan before becoming the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq last year.
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Baghdad Is Asking, Where Are the Police?
Iraqis say there's no law to protect them as ill-equipped cops struggle against crime.

There is an Iraqi IndyMedia...

Iraq IndyMedia