Iraq Roundup: Frist advises GOP candidates to stop talking about war

On the same day as more violence erupted all across Iraq, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist gave Tennessee Senate candidate Bob Corker and the rest of his party some campaign advice:

"The challenge is to get Americans to focus onpocketbook issues, and not on the Iraq and terror issue," Frist said inan interview with the Concord Monitor on Tuesday.

Tennessee state term limits are forcing the U.S. Senator to retire.  His Senate seat will be replaced by the winner of the race between Republican Bob Corker and Democrat Harold Ford.

Meanwhile, over at the White House, the President wasn't paying attention to Frist's strategy advice.  He told reporters that the violence is "a serious concern to me," and said it is time to change tactics.  However, he did not way whether or not his Administration would enact the strategy advice from the Baker Commission, which reports its findings conveniently after the election.  Many retired military analysts favor a change in policy.

There were a number of security incidents all across Iraq today.  Here they are:

 

TAL AFAR - A bombkilled three Iraqi soldiers and wounded three others as they entered ahouse in the northern town of Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest ofBaghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded twopolicemen in the Christian neighborhood of Camp Sara of Baghdad, anInterior Ministry source said.

DIWANIYA - A grenade thrown at ahouse wounded four people in the southern city of Diwaniya, 180 km (112miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

DIWANIYA - Gunmen wounded a policeman in Diwaniya, police said.

MAHMUDIYA- The bodies of four people, bound and gagged, were found in the townof Mahmudiya, in an area dubbed the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad,police said.

YUSUFIYA - A mortar round killed a man and wounded three others in Yusufiya, 15 km (9 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD- A raid backed by U.S. air strikes killed four people and wounded 20in Shi'ite Sadr City district of Baghdad, the government said, in anoperation the U.S. military said was targeted at a death squadcommander.

Lastly, an audit released today by the inspector general reveals that half of all US taxpayer money given to contractors has gone to pay for administrative costs, not actual building work.

Comments

[George]

"...half of all US taxpayer money given to contractors has gone to pay for administrative costs, not actual building work."

You mean RE-building work. Don't forget that we tore down the country 3 years ago. We are not building hospitals and power plants. We are Re-building them. And I guess we're not even doing that.

Gosh, the Iraqis civilian population must love us.

[Administrator: Todd]

Yeah, you're right about that. Even more specifically, all those historical museums that we destroyed! Some of the artifacts dated back to ancient Sumeria when the first advanced civilization was formed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Other artifacts were from the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Many people might not care. But for anyone that loves ancient history, it hurt to watch those museums be destroyed.

In a way, there was irony in the destruction of those museums. In the planning of the war, we failed to acknowledge the history of that era, and how tribes in Iraq dating back a thousand years to the Buyid Empire rejected intervention from foreign superpowers. So as the historical museums fell when we invaded, that only underscored how we cared little about the lessons of history. Now we are paying the price -- and we're paying that price with lives.