Iraq Update
A fascinating story in the Washington Post about the five families with close ties to Saddam Hussein that are believed to be directing and funding the ongoing terrorist attacks against the U.S. forces that liberated Iraq from Saddam's murderous regime.

Now, U.S. officers said they suspect the resistance may be running low on funds because Hussein partisans have recently been selling off some of their properties, even hawking household items. At the same time, some local guerrillas are demanding higher pay, military officers said.

Hickey said the ambush last month of two U.S. convoys bringing new Iraqi currency to Samarra was carried out by insurgents badly in need of cash. The subsequent firefight left 54 guerrillas dead, according to U.S. military officials.

I remain amazed that the media, in reporting on that Samarra firefight last month, paid little attention to the fact that the convoy was carrying currency to banks. I first read that fact in the British news media, and could only conclude one thing: the terrorists launched a massive attack on the convoy because they needed to steal the cash, ergo, they must be running low on funds. Today's WaPo story confirms as much.

The WaPo story, as noted above, also says some of the guerillas are demanding higher pay for the attacks. This suggests that, while on the one hand the financiers of the terror attacks are running low on money, the risk to those who carry out the attacks is growing, and the guerillas are seeking a pay raise to reflect that growign risk.

Read the whole Washington Post story and you'll realize that Iraq indeed is becoming a quagmire. For the "insurgents."

UPDATE: Here's another story about Saddam's life on the run.