Michael Ware
-
Baghdad
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commentary that appears
on this site is my own.
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The companion blog
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AC: Did we lose Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
Anderson again in Bakuba,
Michael in Baghdad. Michael discusses the report that Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi had been in US custody but released.
Zarqawi’s insurgent groups have been, in Michael’s terms,
“Iraqified” from the lower ranks up, so that local
insurgents are now having far more say in how the
insurgency fights.
Length: 3:49
NPR: Reports From Iraq - Election Day
AC: Election day in Iraq
Anderson hosts from Bakuba,
Michael’s in Baghdad. Although there were fewer acts of
violence than was the case for earlier elections in Iraq,
the polls opened while AC was on the air and explosions
occurred immediately.
Michael explains the long-term plans of the insurgents
and what election results would bode well for the US
mission in Iraq. (Hint: we’re in trouble.)
Length: 4:31
CBS: Bullets and ballots
Lara Logan interviews Michael
on the CBS Evening News about the election and the
"bullets and ballots" strategy employed by the
insurgents.
Length: 3:20
AC: How will the Iraqi elections go?
Anderson spends election week
in Iraq. On day one, he interviews Michael in Baghdad
regarding the “bullets and ballots” dual tracks of the
war.
(Anderson also tries to claim Michael from corporate
sister Time Magazine, again introducing him as “CNN’s
Michael Ware.” Michael’s response? “Insha’allah.” I’m all
for it!)
Length: 3:50
TIME: The New Rules of Engagement
By MICHAEL WARE / BAGHDAD
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AC: Who are the insurgents?
Anderson interviews Michael
in Baghdad regarding the makeup of the insurgency.
Michael also responds to Donald Rumsfeld’s diss on the
media.
Length: 6:11
TIME: The View from the Front Lines
By MICHAEL WARE / RAMADI
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AC: What really happened at Tal Afar?
Anderson speaks to Michael in
Baghdad via telephone regarding the battle at Tal Afar.
Michael was there, embedded with the US military, and
witnessed the battle from beginning to end, so he is
uniquely qualified to challenge White House reports that
Iraqi forces led the attack.
Length: 3:59
Air America: Randi Rhodes Show -- 16:37
Michael speaks by phone from
Baghdad.
Randi Rhodes Show -- 16:37
AC: How are things going in Iraq?
Anderson speaks to Michael in
Baghdad via telephone.
The quote that caused this site to be created:
COOPER: We are starting to
hear from this White House talk that the Iraqis maybe are
doing better than we had previously thought...
WARE: Whoever from the White
House is saying that is one of two things. Clearly, they
have never been in Iraq and clearly, they have never been
in a firefight with an Iraqi unit. Secondly, they're
clearly lying, whether they know it or not.
Length:
4:22
TIME: Chasing the Ghosts
By MICHAEL WARE
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TIME: Inside Iran's Secret War for Iraq
By MICHAEL WARE / BAGHDAD
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TIME: Inside an Insurgent Camp
How sophisticated is the insurgency in Iraq? While U.S. commanders believe the insurgents are growing desperate, a recent wave of coordinated large-scale attacks--such as the series of bombings that killed at least 30 Iraqis in Baghdad in one day last week--suggests that some rebel groups have become more organized. Videotapes obtained by TIME from sources close to the insurgency appear to confirm the existence of makeshift training camps inside Iraq to teach recruits guerrilla warfare. The camps are tucked inside villages and conduct weapons-handling drills in remote fields. One tape shows four men in uniforms gathered in a dilapidated barracks facility in western Iraq and receiving instruction on how to fire a modified missile launcher. "We ask God to make this weak weapon strong by his strength," the instructor says. "God save Iraq from the Jews and the infidel." The second tape shows a group of 15 uniformed men practicing advancing under fire in a lush grove of trees and tall grass. In another scene, recruits navigate an obstacle course that requires them to climb stairs, crawl under barbed wire and dive through a flaming hoop.
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TIME: Change in Command -- The Iraqis Learn the Ropes
By MICHAEL WARE / BAGHDAD
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TIME: Talking with the Enemy
By MICHAEL WARE
A TIME EXCLUSIVE
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TIME: Hunt for the Bomb Factories
By MICHAEL WARE
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NPR: Sunni, Kurdish Voters Report Few Election Problems
TIME: Terrorists Home In On Australians
When Sabah Aziz trudged past the police officers at the checkpoint outside Baghdad's al-Hamra hotel just before 7 a.m. on Jan. 19, he brushed off their invitation to stop for breakfast. Everyone in the neighborhood knew Aziz. People said he'd gone insane when his only son was executed for deserting Saddam Hussein's army. He walked out on his wife and daughter, roaming their suburb but never returning home. Locals cared for him, leaving out food and blankets. On this Wednesday morning, making his way between the blast barriers and "dragon's teeth" road spikes at the checkpoint, Aziz told the police officers, "I want to walk." Turning left on the four-lane road cutting through the capital's Jadriyah district, he headed east in the direction of the Australian embassy. In front of him a garbage truck stopped, and its driver hopped out to collect the rubbish bags left out on the pavement. This early, the Jadriyah road was quiet. Shops were still shuttered; a few pedestrians and the odd car went by. The Australian soldiers in their nine-story barracks - set up in the shell of a partly built apartment block in front of the Australian embassy - peered out as they do around the clock, scanning for potential threats.
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