FUNNY SORT OF FAILURE:

Baghdad presses hum with sound of freedom (Zaid Sabah, 4/20/2006, USA TODAY)

In a back room at al-Shams printing house in Baghdad sits a clamoring German-built printing press, reverberating with the sound of a newfound independence.

"What has changed in the business is the freedom," says Ameer Marouki, 50, who has operated the printing house since 1979. "Under Saddam, we were not able to print religious books, cleric's posters and newspapers. Now we can print anything we want," he says.

If anyone is capitalizing on freedom, it's Iraq's printers. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, there were nine government-sponsored newspapers and four magazines in Iraq. Since then, at least 294 independent newspapers and magazines have been established in Iraq, according to the Pentagon.

But Sean Wilentz doesn't take a Baghdad paper...

MORE:
Iraq Leader Cedes His Nomination As Premier (Nelson Hernandez, Bassam Sebti and K.I. Ibrahim, April 21, 2006, Washington Post)

Iraq's prime minister on Thursday relinquished his nomination to a new term after weeks of intense pressure, capping a day of surprises that left many politicians here hopeful that a months-long stalemate over formation of a new government would finally end.

Pakistan Forces Kill Suspected Senior al-Qaida Militant (VOA News, 21 April 2006)

Pakistan security officials say they believe the militant killed in a clash with soldiers in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Thursday was a wanted al-Qaida terrorist.

Officials say the man is believed to be Abu Marwan al-Suri, a Saudi Arabian national. They say he was killed at a checkpoint near Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal district, when he opened fire on security personnel, killing one of them. [...]

The man is believed to have been one of several senior al-Qaida members targeted in a U.S. bombing attack in January, in the town of Damadola, that killed at least 18 civilians and several al-Qaida operatives.

If they do it we don't have to.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 21, 2006 8:14 AM