Iraq

I don't want to get to far into "who shot the Saddam video," but Josh Marshall has been digging in deep. The Maliki government is trying to pin it on a guard.

(TimesOnline) "a Sunni group that had been negotiating with the Government immediately called off further talks. "The death of Saddam means the death of reconciliation," the Islamist National Liberation Movement, a Baathist faction, declared. "There are no further secret negotiations with the criminal Government."

(USAToday) A story on the impact on the family of the death of Pfc. Salas. (Start at "Routine Mission" 1/3 down.)

(LATimes) A telling story on the collapse of security in Baquba/Diyala. "The defiant show of force was similar to another insurgent parade caught on video by a U.S. aerial drone in November. Insurgents were seen hauling Shiite families out of their homes and executing them in the streets, U.S. military officials who reviewed the footage said."

(Iraqslogger) "Session no. 59 of Iraqi parliament has failed to convene for the fifth time since early December as a result of failure to reach quorum." Iraqi government officials blame the Hajj, but the real problem is the massive number of officials now living abroad.