Ex Defence Minsiter To Hang

Ex Iraqi Defence Minister, Sultan Hashim Ahmed al-Tai, is to be hanged in Iraq in the next few days for war crimes. However, Rick Francona an Air Force lieutenant colonel during the Iraq war believes that the sentence should be commuted.

Turkey Ups The Ante

Turkey has stirred up the quagmire of Iraq, by threatening a cross border raid. A council of Turkey's top political and military leaders issued a statement yesterday allowing troops to cross the border, in order to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the border area of Northern Iraq.

This idea, needless to say, is not welcome. The United States strongly opposes the idea, not least because this is one of the few areas in Iraq that is actually stable.

The office of Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a statement saying that the offices and institutions of the Turkish government have been ordered "to take all economic and political measures, including cross-border operations when necessary, in order to end the existence of the terror organization in a neighboring country."

Ironically an agreement between Turkey and Iraq, during Saddam Hussein's rule, did allow Turkey to make cross-border raids without prior approval.

PKK rebels currently carry out attacks on Turkey, then disappear across the border to mountain hideouts in the predominantly Kurdish region of Northern Iraq.

Brown Announces Pullout

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in an attempt to shore up his poll ratings, has announced that Britain will cut its forces in Iraq by half in the spring.

This will reduce the British presence in Iraq to around 2,500 troops. It is expected that there will be a total pullout before the next British general election (now expected to be in 2009).

Quite how well this announcement went down in Washington is unclear. However, some wise heads in the media (LA Times) note that the US Administration should follow suit:

"So the British will not leave behind a peaceful Basra, but they are nonetheless right to leave it. The United States should take note and recognize that it is a delusion to believe that any foreign occupier can stop Iraqi factions hellbent on fighting for power. We owe the Iraqis our best efforts at mediation, but to insist on stability as a prerequisite for withdrawal is to commit to indefinite and fruitless military occupation."

Aziz Ill

It is reported that the health of former Iraqi deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, is deteriorating as a result of his hunger strike.

Aziz went on strike last month, as a protest against his transfer to the custody of Iraqi authorities.

His lawyers have requested an independent medical examination.