“Since Operation Iron Hammer, we have seen a drop-off in attacks against us, and we continue to see a decrease in crime (especially as we put more Iraqi Police and ICDC [Iraqi Civil Defense Corps] on the streets). We are seeing [an] upswing in the perception of U.S. forces’ action in the Arab media . . . and a significant increase in tips from the locals of Baghdad, and an extremely significant increase in the turn-in of unlawful weapons…
All these things may be due to the enemy lying low to see what we’re doing; it might be due to us having significantly hurt the enemy during the operations; it could be that the thugs and criminals being paid to conduct the attacks are not up for fighting anymore. And, it might also mean that the average citizen of Baghdad is getting sick of fighting, and that same average citizen is better supporting the coalition (which we believe, from our data). Or, it might mean the enemy is gearing up for another offensive.” – Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, assistant commander, 1st Armored Division. Encouraging, no?
PROHIBITION RETURNS? Seventy years after prohibition was repealed, there are some in Britain who’d like to bring it back. Against tobacco, that is.
BUCKETHEAD EMAILS OF THE DAY: “I saw your Poseur Alert post regarding Viggo Mortensen musical work with a guitarist named Buckethead. I’ve met Buckethead before and the guy is most certainly not Japanese, though he does have many CD releases available in Japan. I believe Buckethead picked up his guitar chops from instruction provided by Joe Satriani. I think the author is the Poseur for not getting this simple information straight regarding Buckethead’s origins.”
“I have seen Buckethead perform and he is a SCREAM. I saw him down at the 9:30 Club back in 1999. He opened for Primus.
He is about 6′ 4″, wears a yellow raincoat that is too small for him, a porcelain mask, a weird-al yankovic wig and a KFC chicken bucket on his head … yeah he looks like a freak but the man can play some serious guitar. He ranges from weird techno instruments to soft acoustic pieces.
During his performance, he would play to a backing track (no band), stop in mid song and “robot dance”, then pull out Nun-Chucks and put on a martial arts display … then return to playing a song … The funniest thing I had ever seen onstage … During Primus’ set, he came out and did some more robot dancing and martial arts … the guy is a riot!” Do the readers of this site know everything?
HINDSIGHT CHECK: Amid all the gloom-mongering about Iraq, here’s a reminder of what an anti-war group of scentists, public health officials and peace activists predicted in November 2002:
Credible estimates of the total possible deaths on all sides during the conflict and the following three months range from 48,000 to over 260,000. Civil war within Iraq could add another 20,000 deaths. Additional later deaths from post-war adverse health effects could reach 200,000. If nuclear weapons were used the death toll could reach 3,900,000. In all scenarios the majority of casualties will be civilians.
The aftermath of a ‘conventional’ war could include civil war, famine and epidemics, millions of refugees and displaced people, catastrophic effects on children’s health and development, economic collapse including failure of agriculture and manufacturing, and a requirement for long-term peacekeeping.
Notice how the peace activists assumed the possibility that Iraq had active nuclear weapons. But what they were right about, to some extent, was the financial cost. The good news is that that money is being spent to advance Iraqi society, not just to rebuild it.
The Dish 