Headline of the day

From the New York Times: Remnants of Iraq Air Force Are Found.

The Defense Ministry revealed Sunday that it had recently learned that Iraq owns 19 MIG-21 and MIG-23 jet fighters, which are in storage in Serbia. Ministry officials are negotiating with the Serbs to restore and return the aircraft.

You can imagine the scene at Iraqi air force headquarters when this was discovered. Hey guys! We have planes, after all!

Apparently Saddam Hussein sent the jets to Serbia for repairs at the end of the Iran-Iraq war, but economic sanctions prevented the Serbs from returning the jets. You wonder what sort of condition they're in after two decades in a Serbian hangar.

No Comments

Post a Comment

The Saddam interviews

Over the course of two months in 2004, after we found Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole in the ground, American personnel interviewed him 20 times and had five "casual conversations." Then, as you probably recall, we hung him live on camera.

Provoking the Sunnis

The Iraqi government has banned all organized trips to Saddam Hussein's grave in northern Iraq.

Latest Iraqi election results: Karbala province

ADL, AIPAC continue march towards irrelevance

Yemeni airstrike targets alleged AQAP members, kills two

Al-Akhbar: Our weekly brief

Peace Processing

Fallout from Biden's visit: West Bank sealed off; proximity talks appear stalled

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas greets U.S. vice president Joe Biden in Ramallah. (Photo: AFP)
As Joe Biden wraps up his Middle East tour, Palestinian officials say they're unwilling to move forward with proximity talks unless Israel cancels its new construction in East Jerusalem; and the Israeli Defense Forces have sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, reportedly for security concerns. Several people were injured and arrested in fighting at the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning.

Peace Processing

Biden arrives in Israel amid serious Palestinian doubts

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife arrived in Israel on Monday.
As Joe Biden lands in Israel, the Israeli government -- obviously keen to demonstrate that it's serious about restarting peace talks -- announced Monday that it will violate its West Bank settlement freeze and build 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, a settlement west of Bethlehem.

Iraqi Elections

Polls close in Iraq; media reports suggest strong turnout, relative calm

An Iraqi man on a bicycle displays his ink-stained finger after voting in Baghdad on March 7, 2010. (Photo: AP)
A handful of insurgent attacks around the country killed two dozen people, but Iraqi security forces seemed generally confident; the vehicle ban in Baghdad, scheduled to last all day, was lifted before noon. Anecdotal reports suggest a strong turnout across the country.