WTF Is It Now?!?

'It's a lot better than you probably think'*

Iraq's economy declines by half:
Iraq's economy will shrink 22% this year, having fallen 21% in 2002 and 12% in 2001, the United Nations and the World Bank have estimated.

The figures, which have been published ahead of a major meeting of donor nations, suggest that reconstruction work in Iraq will be slower to take effect than originally hoped.

Attack kills 2 GIs, angers Shiites:
A clash that killed two U.S. soldiers and at least one Iraqi raised tensions Friday between the American occupation force and the country's religious majority.

The Americans said their troops were lured into an ambush, but the Shiites maintained that U.S. soldiers opened fire first when they approached radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's headquarters in the Sadr City slum.

The clash which wounded at least seven Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers, and drew an angry reaction from Iraq's Shiites. That could mean trouble for coalition forces, because the Shiite population in Iraq has shown patience with the American occupation so far.

Massive call-up of reservists to Iraq taking toll on their hometowns:
Members of the Guard and reserves like John Nanof used to be known as "weekend warriors," but their part-time commitment has become a 24-7 job since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The days when reserve duty meant one weekend a month and two weeks a year in uniform are long gone.

And if Bush fails in his effort to recruit more foreign troops to help stabilize Iraq, thousands more will be called up soon. Pentagon officials have said they intend to begin the notification process late this month.

"This is a decapitated society with no real national leaders":
Aid workers report a steady stream of corpses being delivered to mortuaries after shoot-outs between the armed gangs who seem to rule Basra’s streets at night. The crime wave has forced all but a handful of aid agencies to pull out, and those that remain employ heavily armed guards.

Oil pipeline on fire again:
The U.S. military reported a fire on a pipeline in the Kirkuk oil fields in northeastern Iraq Saturday and said a fire control team was battling the blaze.

A military spokesman said the fire 21 miles northwest of Kirkuk was discovered at 1:20 a.m. Iraq's second largest oil fields are in the region. The military said the cause of the fire was unknown.

Lawlessness under US occupation :
The US occupation has ushered in an explosive rise in crime which has wreaked havoc on once genteel areas, and driven women indoors.

Amid the ordinary lawlessness of a city of 5 million with a barely functioning police force, there are particular horrors for women. The last few months have seen the emergence of organised crime, trafficking in drugs and stolen cars - and, the evidence suggests, in women as well.

At the same time, Baghdad remains a city consumed by thoughts of revenge, against Ba'athists at first and now increasingly against rival gangs. Many scores are settled by kidnapping and rape.

*Unspeakable fraud Squinty McFlightsuit, war deserter and fundraiser.