Nearly half of new Iraqi army has quit

About 300 of 700 members of the new Iraqi army have resigned, citing unhappiness with terms, conditions and pay and with instructions of commanding officers, a representative of the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday.

From the War in Iraq Today at CNN which also has -

Sharp international consternation greeted Washington's decision to bar opponents of the war from bidding on $18.6 billion worth of reconstruction projects. The move has sparked fierce reactions from countries that didn't back the U.S.-led coalition such as Russia, Germany and France.

In a written statement, European Union External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten called the Pentagon move "extremely unhelpful."

"It's not particularly constructive to dredge up these debates and divisions of the past," Patten said. "On the contrary, it's necessary to bring the willing together, not divide them."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was also critical of the decision.

"Since the war, we are all trying to bring people together. It is time to rebuild, to work together to stabilize Iraq," Annan said. "Whatever initiative or actions or decisions should be unifying rather than divisive. I would not characterize the decision taken yesterday as unifying."

The flap over the contracts erupted Wednesday as Bush was calling on many of the leaders of the excluded nations to forgive billions of dollars in Iraqi debts.

el - BushInc. is just so fucking incompetent.

The European Commission and World Trade Organization are investigating whether the exclusion violates international law.

More than 50 U.S.-led raids across Iraq have resulted in the capture of dozens of Fedayeen Saddam and other Iraqi insurgents.

A suspected suicide attack Thursday left casualties near the entrance to a U.S. Army base in the central Iraqi town of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that it is too dangerous for the United Nations to return to Iraq at this time.

A U.S. military investigator has recommended administrative action -- not a court-martial -- for a U.S. lieutenant colonel accused of using improper methods to force information out of an Iraqi detainee.