Iraqi Special Forces to the Rescue

Mary Katharine Ham | February 06, 2008 11:50 AM

From John at Op-For, this video of elite Iraqi forces rescuing an 11-year-old boy from al-Qaeda and returning him to his parents, near Kirkuk.

The kidnappers demanded $100,000 from the boy's father, a mechanic. They told him if he didn't pay, they would behead the child.

With security, breathing room and help from American forces, Iraqi forces are continuing to stand up. Wonder what's happening with the all-important political progress in Iraq? The press won't tell you much about it except, "Wahhhh, everything's still a mess!" while expecting 10 times the legislative results from the fledgling government than they do from Nancy Pelosi.

At the Long War Journal, Bill Ardolino's starting a four-part look at all the moving pieces of the Iraqi government. The story is complex, but worth taking some time to understand. This is what the executive branch looks like, for instance:

Applied to American politics, such a scenario might look like a Republican president’s cabinet divided among Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Libertarians, roughly proportional to their prevalence in Congress. For instance, Iraq’s Minister of Municipalities and Public Works is a Shia affiliated with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the Trade Minister is a Shia with Maliki’s Dawa Party, the Defense Minister is an independent Sunni, the Foreign Minister is with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Minister of the Interior is an independent Shia.