Meanwhile in Iraq

Dahr Jamail reports.

During my last trip I interviewed several IP’s [Ed.: Iraqi Police] who complained of lack of weapons, radios and vehicles from the occupation forces. Their complaints were centered on the fact that the resistance had better weapons than the police.

Later in my room we watched a press conference on the television with the so-called interim prime minister Iyad Allawi. A journalist asked him if it was true that the cell phone service would be cut on the 15th of this month because of the upcoming “elections.”

He dodged the question…deferring it to the ministry of defense.

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Of course the gas crisis continues to worsen. Most of the stations in Baghdad are closed. Rather than cars filling their tanks, strands of razor wire and empty fuel tanker trucks sit in many of them.

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Iraqis are reminded daily of the 70% unemployment with the gas shortage driving the costs of everything through the roof. Even petrol is 1000 Iraq Dinars (ID) per liter on the black market, which unless you are willing to endure 12-24 hours waiting in a line, is the only way to get your tank filled.

When I was in Iraq one month ago it was 300 ID per liter. Imagine what you would do if in your country you had 70% unemployment, were without a job, and the cost of fuel rose 333% in one month, thus driving the costs of everything from food to heating oil up?

Speaking of the gas crisis, this morning a pipeline between Kirkuk and the Beji refinery was exploded, and several lines southwest of Kirkuk were also destroyed.

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Keep in mind that Yusufiyah, just south of Baghdad and in the “triangle of death” was recently the scene of large scale US/UK military operations to rid the area of resistance fighters. Looks like those operations were about as successful as Fallujah, where fighting also continues on a near daily basis.

Full post.