The oncall pager has been brutal so far this week, as demonstrated by the limited posting. Well, let’s throw it around the horn.
Schroder has ‘No Chance’ in General Election
The poll shows Mr Schröder’s Social Democratic party (SPD) scoring 28 per cent of the votes against 49 per cent for Angela Merkel’s opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Should the neo-communist Party of Democratic Socialism fail to make it into parliament, as his figures suggest, the centre-right CDU would command an absolute majority in the house for the first time in 48 years.
“The CDU is in a state of euphoria right now, and its lead will soften, but not enough,” says Mr Güllner. “The SPD has no chance to win this election.”
No sympathy. Zero, babe.
Army Program Aims for Higher Alert for IEDs
(Hat tip to OtB)
American military officials have kicked off a new awareness campaign they hope will reduce deaths and injuries caused by the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq: homemade bombs.
Dubbed “5-and-25,” the program’s goal is, flatly, to “reduce the effectiveness of the mountain of makeshift bombs being produced by insurgents.”
Faces of the Fallen
PoliBlog‘s Dr. Steven Taylor visits D.C. and photoblogs an impressive tribute to those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Especially touching were the notes and tokens left by loved ones at the individual portraits.
I previously blogged more background on the display here. I’m glad to find it’s as honorable and moving as I’d hoped.
Insurgents said Wednesday in interviews and statements on the Internet that the leader of the group al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, was struggling with a gunshot wound to the lung. One of Zarqawi’s commanders said the Jordanian guerrilla was receiving oxygen, heightening suspicion that the groundwork was being laid for an announcement of his replacement or death.
Iraqi Forces Arrest Key Zarqawi Aide
Officials say Iraqi forces made the arrest of al-Aswadi as he tried to bribe his way through a checkpoint in the town of Balad. His vehicle was found to contain a global positioning system, multiple identification papers, a scope used to launch mortars, and U.S. currency.
Officials say al-Aswadi served as a key aide to Iraq’s al-Qaida front man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant. The statement says al-Aswadi was involved in the funding of terror cells, terrorist training, and the making of car and roadside bombs.
U.S. Forces Launch Operation in Another Western Iraqi City
More than 1,000 U.S. troops on Wednesday swept into this city on the road to Syria to root out insurgents — including those loyal to terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — after rebels damaged the hospital, knocked out the electricity and prevented police from entering.
Check out Hyscience and In the Bullpen for good commentary on this effort.