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Sunday, July 11, 2004 |
 Economist. Bazaar detail: Mr Karim, Mr Allawi's admiral-turned-analyst, counts some 36 different Sunni insurgent groups, inspired by the beliefs of puritanical Salafis, Sufi mystics and Muslim Brothers. Others owe allegiance to tribal sheikhs. There is a powerful crew of jihadi Kurds. A further half-dozen Shia rebel groups, the largest led by an angry young cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, operate in Baghdad and the south, says Mr Karim. Not mentioned: the numerous nationalist and fedayeen/military networks, some of whom Allawi hopes to co-opt.
11:10:10 AM 
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Wired. XPrize contestant will use an untrained pilot in their attempt at a space launch. Unlike Melvill (on Rutan's team), a veteran test pilot with 7,000 hours' flight time in 138 different aircraft, Feeney's a relative novice to flying. He said he's put in about 25 hours flying light planes. Good luck buddy! You will need it.
8:55:58 AM
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The NYTimes points to a rift between traditional guerrillas and the global guerrillas operating in Iraq. It is likely that Allawi, a hard-core operator, will co-opt some of the traditional guerrillas to act as death squads (ala Columbia, El Salvador, etc.) for the government. These groups will get funding (and protection) from the substantial financial interests behind the government (in addition to private militias and PMCs currently funded). A new trend in the bazaar.
8:43:19 AM
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I am pleased to announce a new virtual conference called Intelligent Defense. I will host one hour conversations, with the help of call-ins from the audience, with smart and talented individuals in order to provide a deeper understanding of next generation terrorism and how we can defend ourselves against it. Doug Kaye is graciously providing the technical and operational support for the conference. The first guest is Valdis Krebs on "Analyzing Terrorist Networks."
8:11:29 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John Robb.
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