Iraq

(AFP) Petraeus says there's "no military solution" to Iraq. (This is just a less subtle rehash of the "breathing space" talking point.)

(FT) Fadhila pulls out of the ruling UIA Shia alliance.

(As Juan Cole points out, this Basra based group has never been fully committed to the Shia alliance because of disputes over oil. (I would point back to the Basra oil disputes in May as evidence.))

(AFP) Iraqi forces have recaptured 42 of the 140 prisoners who escaped in the Mosul jailbreak yesterday. (Earlier reports had them recapturing 100.)

(Slate) Read the last two paragraphs of this.

(ThinkProgress/CAP) 72% of Army brigades have served multiple tours.

(PressTV?) "Shmoel Avivi, an Israeli retired officer, had established a firm in Iraq 2 years ago, which secretly sold arms to terrorist groups in Iraq, Ma'ariv reported."

(FT) Does anyone find an irony that after all the "freemarket" BS that Paul Bremer chased instead of building a country, the US is now attempting to "revive Saddam's state industry?"

Two rough stories on the children of Iraq,

(Reuters) Dreams of bombs, bad guys haunt Baghdad's children

(NBCblog) Allawi's Story

Also: Here comes that train.

Iraq's Parliament is to be asked to strip immunity from several of its members to allow them to be investigated for various alleged crimes, senior lawmaker Abbas al-Bayyati said Wednesday.

This is going to be a really big deal. If Maliki begins arresting top officials and parliamentarians of other political factions, it will exacerbate the already impossible politics of Iraq.