] The Iraq invasion is the first major war on the Web. Now
] that the tanks have started rolling, millions of
] Americans are crowding the Internet to catch up on the
] latest news, see pictures, and send e-mail to loved ones
] in danger. After you've checked out Slate -- it was your
] first stop, right? -- here's where you should you go for
] updates, speculation, on-the-ground blogging, official
] statements, and even war comedy.

Excellent resource with lots of links.

The War on the Web - Sites to see on the road to Baghdad. By Avi Zenilman

] PARIS, March 20 (UPI) -- French police have seized two
] vials of the deadly plant-derived toxin ricin, stashed in
] the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, the Interior
] Ministry announced Thursday.
]
] The small liquid-filled vials were stashed in the
] left-luggage department of the train station, in a case
] that also had a bottle containing liquid and two other
] vials with powder, the ministry said in a statement.

Hmm. In some ways, this makes it look like one of the reasons that France was protecting Iraq, was that they were being blackmailed with the threat of a ricin attack. Not that there's any clear tie between Ricin and an Iraqi operative, but still . . .

United Press International: Police find deadly ricin at Paris station

] This weekend 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel
] Corrie was crushed to death by a bulldozer as she tried
] to prevent the Israeli army destroying homes in the Gaza
] Strip. In a remarkable series of emails to her family,
] she explained why she was risking her life.

Prepare to be angry and sad.

Agreed.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Rachel's war

quote from msnbc weblog central:

"Ostensibly based in Baghdad, Where is Raed? is written by a person blogging under the pseudonym of Salam Pax, a tech-savvy Iraqi whose mastery of English provides for vivid descriptions, cutting wit, and thoughtful commentary. In the past there has been some discussion of the veracity of the writer’s claims, but those appear to have been resolved, with several bloggers offering testimony to Salam’s authenticity —and frankly, the more you read, the less doubt there seems to be."

I read a statistic the other day about how out of Iraq's population of 20 million people, only 12,000 have internet access.

Where is Raed ? - Baghdad Web Log

] In recent weeks, US military forces and special CIA teams
] are believed to have stepped up search operations in
] south-eastern Afghanistan, as more leads come in from
] intercepted radio and satellite telephone communications
] and from material seized with al-Qaeda leaders recently
] arrested in Pakistan.

Though this article doesn't mention their names, two of those leaders would almost certainly be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (Al Qaeda Operations Director) and Yassir al-Jazeeri, the US-educated "computer whiz" Al Qaeda Communications Director, along with several other key Al Qaeda personnel. Not to mention the multiple laptop computers and other files that we got with them.

I've been scouring the news for information on whether we've cracked the encryption on al-Jazeeri's two laptops, but haven't been able to find anything yet. Since he was reputedly one of the key links in routing communications from bin Laden though, then I'd say that the news that we've sent several hundred troops to a very specific location in Afghanistan is a very promising sign.

It's hard to get Al Qaeda / Afghanistan news at the moment under all the Iraq chatter, but this is a big story. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Helicopters swoop on hide-out in Afghanistan

] Uday, the elder son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein,
] struck by brain hemorrhage following conflict with a
] member of Saddam's Fedayeen on Thursday.
]
] The Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted sources in northern
] Iraq as saying that tough and indecent orders, issued by
] Uday, who heads Saddam's Fedayeen, had provoked the
] conflict as the young man attacked Uday.
]
] Uday's bodyguards then beat the man to injury, the
] unconfirmed report said.

albawaba.com: (unconfirmed) Saddam son suffers from brain hemorrhage

A good encyclopedic summary of Iraq's history, from Mesopotamia in 4000 BC to modern times, including all the messy power struggles along the way.

History of Iraq - Wikipedia

] The BBC's unrivalled team of correspondents is bringing
] you news from the Gulf and reaction from around the
] world. On this page BBC News Online logs their
] impressions and personal experiences as they watch events
] unfold.

This page contains the most current updates from BBC reporters.

Neat link! In times like this, I like being able to get a steady stream of raw data, rather than having to wait until the formal "analyses" are written up.

BBC NEWS | In Depth | Reporters' Log: At war in Iraq

Covers the timeline of the Iraq situation, starting August 2, 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and going up until President Bush's "Saddam must leave within 48 hours" ultimatum on March 17, 2003.

Timeline: The road to war in Iraq

] On one extreme is the title of an editorial in the Syrian
] government daily "Teshreen," which characterizes the
] tripartite meeting in the Azores on Sunday as "The Summit
] of the Bloodthirsty." On the other extreme is an
] editorial in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan which calls on
] Saddam Hussein to "Leave or You Will be Dragged," a
] reference to a known event in Iraq's modern history when
] its leader's (Nuri Sa'id) corpse was dragged behind a car
] in the streets of Baghdad amongst the enthusiastic cheers
] of the crowds.

Translated excerpts of editorials about the war, pro and con, from daily newspapers in Kuwait, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt.

MEMRI: '[Saddam] Leave or You Will Be Dragged' - Editorials in the Arab Press