1700 GMT September 17, 2004 [2nd Update] * DPRK BLAST AFP says that diplomats from 8 nations have left to visit the scene of the DPRK blast. The original plan for a day trip was, at the time of AFP's report, in jeopardy because of torrential rains, but that is scarcely germane to the story. The important thing is that DPRK has allowed foreign diplomats to visit, and the Germans, at least, are under the impression that DPRK imposed no conditions on what equipment the mission could take, though the Germans are not taking anything with them. DPRK says the explosion was an excavation operation for a new dam; analysts say DPRK does not start building a major dam without prior propaganda. * In any case, we feel it's clear there is no dam construction underway: these things are picked up by satellites the minute construction starts. While ROK imaging satellites took photographs, the quality is not good so no conclusions can be drawn. But - its not the photo image or lack of it that is at issue; its radioactivity that was not contained that matters. US, ROK, PRC, Japanese, and Taiwan aircraft would have picked up radioactivity by now if a nuclear explosion took place. * Reader Richard Butler adds that US satellite systems designed to warn of enemy missile launches should also have recorded an anomaly; and the US has several other systems in place to test for an N-explosion. We are not aware of most of these systems; one we know of for a fact are specially equipped US Navy attack submarines that can sample air and other contaminated material. * The consensus among aerospace persons is that a missile launch mishap caused is the cause of the blast.

0630 GMT September 16, 2004 * RAMADI The Marines continue to clash with insurgents in Ramadi. AFP reports US forces saying that after they came under fire they retaliated, including the use of artillery. * With reference to Fallujah, the closest we can get to an explanation for the constant skirmishing that is taken place is the official Marine line that I MEF is heavily retaliating because of the IED that killed 7 Marines last week. We don't like this explanation because it means the US is letting the enemy set the terms of engagement, and US doctrine specifically requires the initiative be in its hands at all times. We keep thinking the Marines are building up to something at Fallujah and Ramadi; frankly, however, we see no evidence to support our hunch. * PAKISTAN NWFP Jang of Pakistan reports continuing fighting between rebel tribesmen and Pakistan forces in the Wana area. For the first time we see a reference to the Dir Scouts in action. Previously we have seen only the South Waziristan militia and the Mahsud Scouts as engaged. Its been 15 years since your editor was last in the sub-continent, and he no longer has access to experts on inter- and intra- tribal politics of Pakistan's western frontier or issues related to Pakistan's Frontier Corps. If any reader could enlighten us about the situation vis-à-vis Wana and individual Frontier Corps groups, please write us. * RUSSIAN SUICIDE BOMB AIRLINER ATTACKS Jang of Pakistan, we think using AFP as the feed, reports that Russian officials have learned that a bribed Russian police captain allowed one of the bombers on to an aircraft after violating all security policies. There is no inkling from the story as to if the Russians have the police officer in custody. If they do, we can safely predict he is not - shall we say - having fun as a guest of the Russian security system. * MISSING MARINE CORPORAL Readers may recall that in June/July a US Marine in Anbar Province went missing. First he was assumed captured, then evidence surfaced he might have deserted; insurgents claimed they had tricked him into their trap using an Arab girl as the bait. The Marine turned up in Lebanon, his country of origin, and was taken back to Camp Lejune for investigations. Earlier this week, AP reports, he resumed full duties with his unit, though the investigation continues. * We wonder when we're going to learn the truth about this most peculiar episode. We should tell non-US readers that the Marine Corps is notorious for covering up desertions to the enemy. A Marine who deserts does not fit the image the Corps strives constantly to project. We're not saying this is the case in this situation: we do not know anything more than has been revealed about the episode. * ANOTHER BUCKINGHAM PALACE SECURITY BREACH Gareth Bowman writes from England: "Only the day after protesters breached security at Buckingham Palace, five pro-foxhunting protestors managed to evade security at the House of Commons, located in the Palace of Westminster and confront MPs debating a bill to ban fox hunting. Outside clashes between protesters and riot police left several injured. Whilst the security breaches didn't result in any deaths, it could have easily been the case that in two days the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet could have been killed. This after a couple of months ago what could easily have been anthrax was hurled into the Commons." * Orbat.com comment Readers could justifiably ask why are we carrying news about security at Buckingham Palace. What does this have to do with the Terror War or even world affairs? * Truthfully, nothing. We carry it to lighten the grimness of so much of our news. The news item made us smile, as did the previous report on the Batman incident. Both remind us that in one corner of the world, at least, some innocence still prevails. Of course, to the British, what appears to us lighthearted is deadly serious. Their idea of civilized behavior is set to a much higher standard than that of most countries, certainly than that of the US. If anyone breached the inner lines of White House or Congressional security, so many bullets would fly that the intruder/intruders would have double the weight going out as they did coming in. * By the way, we hate to disillusion the sensation-seeking British press, but really the above incidents are no big deal. Had British security seen any real threat, for example if the five fox-hunters had been armed, or had they acted in a threatening manner, we are very confident they would not have reached the Commons debating chamber alive. We are willing to wager what security saw was five English gentlemen - which they were - strolling around as if they owned the place. No doubt they were mistaken for staff or visitors. Real intruders could never duplicate that unique British gentleman class act. The British are very quick to spot phonies masquerading as gentlemen!

0300 GMT September 15, 2004 * TELL AFAR Agencies say US forces rapidly withdrew from Tell Afar after a provisional official was appointed to head the city and Iraq police began to move in. * CARNAGE The brave anti-American and anti-imperialist terrorists continue to fight the Americans - by killing Iraqis. The killing is justified because, for example, if you are looking to enlist in the police, you are an American agent, and it's okay to bomb your line waiting for forms, as happens all the time in Iraq and happened again in Baghdad: 47 American agents killed and 100+ wounded. * Orbat.com comment Ooooh! The terrorists are so brave! They don't have the courage to go up against the Americans except to plant IEDs or take a few shots and run like rabbits, so they prove their courage by killing Iraqis. Give these men the Cornflakes Medal for Supreme Valor. * Orbat.com thinks that actually the terrorists are American agents. Think for a minute: a free, peaceful Iraq gets built and what is the first thing Iraqis tell the Americans? Thanks, Sam; its been real. As long as there is serious trouble in Iraq, the government - and the majority of Iraqis - are going to want the US to stay. Who gains from the violence? Washington and it's evil minions, the CIA, whose every plot we will defeat and have defeated, but it is so powerful it's even responsible for the toilet paper shortage in Ramadi. We have our ideas on why the CIA would conduct this heinous operation, but we have to keep Orbat.com clean. * By the way, Super Terrorist Zaraqawi is again invoking the Angel of Death and so on in rather dramatic terms. Read the Bible, kid. We all know what happened to the Angel of Death. None of it was good. * Having spent many years in India, inevitably your editor was forced to learn something of mysticism, the occult, and so on. Indians live and breathe this stuff so if you want to know what India is about, you have to get serious about it. Your editor's impression re. the Angel of Death is that s/he is one hard-to-control person. Invoke her/him and she usually goes for the closest meal. That would be you, the invoker. So be careful, Zaraqawi old boy: the CIA has spent a lot of money on you [see above] and since that is taxpayers money, I own a 0.0000000001 share of you. Please stay out of trouble, will you? Go on creating mayhem and leave the Angel of Death alone.

0330 GMT September 14, 2004 * PUTIN'S PROPOSED REFORMS Gareth Bowman write to us from the UK: "President Putin of Russia has proposed new measures after the Beslan incident, which if enacted would dramatically change the balance of power of Russia. He wants to appoint regional governors, rather than have them directly elected (akin to the US President appointing State governors) and restrict the right of Independents (generally anti-government) to be elected to the Duma. These are only provisional proposals, and there is no timescale for implementation." * It has long been evident that President Putin is working toward rebuilding the Soviet Union, in different shape from what is was before the Berlin Wall fell. The above is the boldest and most direct step taken toward this goal by Mr. Putin. Only recently he has essentially shut down independent media in Russia. In Orbat.com's opinion, though President Putin has used mild words in making his proposal, he will brook no opposition. Though this is a complex matter on which we are no experts, but its seems to us that the majority of Russians, at least, will back his return to authoritarianism. If the Shias of Iraq are to be allowed to vote in a religious government and we must respect their wishes, we suggest people follow the same standard with regard to Russia and her peoples. * BATMAN AND ROBIN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE Gareth Bowman also sends us lighter news: "A man dressed as Batman and representing pressure group Fathers 4 Justice embarrassed the UK Home Secretary by yet again breaching security at Buckingham Palace. He used a ladder to climb over the razor wire at the side of the building to get access to a building annex, walk along a ledge and stand by the main balcony for 5 hours to protest against lack of paternal rights to access children after divorces. His partner (Robin) was prevented from joining him by armed police. The Police say had the man not been dressed as Batman, he probably would have been shot, and the CCTV and alarm system worked. The protest was timed to highlight a court case also involving Fathers 4 Justice where a man was able to throw purple flour at the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, another embarrassing breach of security. * TURKEY: AN ASTONISHING ARROGANCE Turkey has told the US it will stop cooperating with Washington on Iraq operations unless the US Army breaks its siege of Tell Afar. A Turkish official says that if 300,000 people in Tell Afar do not get to vote [because of the insurgents], in a country of 25 million this hardly matters. * First we thought the Turkish government had gone mad. Who is Turkey to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs? The comment about the votes of Tell Afar not mattering are truly astonishing coming from a democratic country. Your editor thought only his government was capable of comparable stupid statements. In a way your editor is glad that Turkey has joined in the hall of diplomatic shame. Your editor has to think better of his government now. * Then we did a bit of snooping and found the outlines of what has motivated Turkey to put both feet, as well as the feet of a dozen other people, in its mouth. The issue is, of course, the growing independence of Kurdistan in Iraq. The US has no intention of getting into a war with the Kurds to keep Baghdad happy, nor can it permit Baghdad to take over Kurdistan again. From Turkey's view, the situation is bad and deteriorating rapidly: it is just a matter of time before Turkey's Kurds seek union with their Iraqi brethren. Again, we emphasize this is just us looking in: there is a great deal about the situation we do not know. * In any event, the US Army has made the issue of Tell Afar moot. US troops rolled into Tell Afar facing minimal resistance, there is not going to be a bloody siege. US Army officers are happy, but puzzled. One theory is that more militants were killed in the past days of fighting than believed. Another is that many militants abandoned ship before the US assault. But the Army remains wary of declaring victory; Iraqi insurgents have spring many a surprise before.

0215 GMT September 13, 2004 * DPRK EXPLOSION Joseph Stefula brings our attention to the huge blast in DPRK, adjacent to the PRC border. The media and experts have been busy speculating if it might be a nuclear test, but Orbat.com ruled that out straightaway. Other possibilities discussed were an accident in the underground SSM facility said to be in the area, a missile test gone wrong, or a conventional test of warhead design. * We believe the US Secretary of State has said the mushroom cloud etc. was the result a big forest fire. * KABUL President Hamid Karzai has cut another warlord down to size, the fabled Ismael Khan of Herat, who ran a reasonably efficient country within a country. His once invincible position was recently seriously weakened when a faction opposed to him took much territory from him and also attacked Herat. The Afghan National Army has been reinforcing Herat for some time now, initially to stop the inter-faction fighting, now to keep the peace after Ismael Khan's removal. * Aside from being a big obstacle to a centralized Afghanistan, Ismael Khan also was siphoning off a large fraction of Afghan taxes, which he levied on the lucrative Iran-Herat trade. * Earlier, Karzai had removed Mohammed Fahim, the major warlord in North Afghanistan. Both Fahim and Khan have gone out without a peep, in great part because they know if they had continued to cause trouble for Kabul, the USAF would deliver a PGM with their name on it through their bedroom window. * IRAQ General encounters all over Iraq have been taking place. We use the word encounter rather than fighting because we've come to the conclusion "fighting", "sharp fighting", "heavy fighting", "intense fighting" etc. are misleading. Most incidents involve insurgents numbering between 10-30, and the US forces usually get off with a few wounded and occasionally a soldier killed. * In India, in Kashmir and the North East, the Indian Army engages in dozens of such encounters, the daily toll in Kashmir alone is 6, 10, 15, 20 killed including civilians. No one calls this heavy fighting, nor should they. * Among the encounters of interest, two suicide bombers were killed in separate incidents when security forces fired on their vehicles; no other casualties were reported. This is significant because the trend shows that the Iraqis are becoming smarter at handling suicide bombers. * There was a 2 1/2 hour firefight on Haifa Street in Baghdad, which we think is in the Green Zone, between Iraq security forces backed by the US and insurgents. A Bradley Fighting Vehicle caught fire when a car bomb exploded next to it; most of the casualties apparently took place when a US helicopter fired a missile at the BFV to destroy it. * CNN HAS NO BRAINS We are sick and tired of media reports such as CNN produced on the incident. The US said it destroyed the BFV to prevent looting of the vehicle and in response to insurgents firing at US forces from the site. CNN says: "Several witnesses disputed the U.S. military's account, saying the crowd gathered around the burning vehicle, chanting "God is great," throwing stones at the vehicle and hitting it with metal pipes, but were not firing toward the U.S. forces or looting the vehicle." The implication is that the crowd may have been composed of innocent civilians. * CNN adding that to its story is a case of pure pseudo-journalism, gratuitously pointless, and an affront both to the American people and the military. * Yes, no one was looting the BFV because it was destroyed before it could be looted. Does CNN want to guarantee us the vehicle would NOT have been looted if it had been left alone? CNN would be foolish to do so, because the Iraqis loot everything they can. * Oh, we understand: the crowd was not firing AT US security forces, it was firing AWAY from US forces. So: in the middle of an action the US Army is supposed to make videotapes, take evidence from witnesses, hold a court of inquiry, and then decide if it should open fire? What complete and utter nonsense. And if the insurgents were NOT firing at the US forces, what were they firing at? Iraqi security forces? The US had to take action. At random? The US had to take action. Whatever it was, there was firing. * We'd like to take CNN by the neck and rub its nose in horse manure until it understands a simple fact: in combat, if you even suspect you may be fired at, you fire first, because if you hold fire till the hostiles' intent is known, you're dead. The price of making a wrong judgment on a battlefield is like, so very not cool. * Next, this is a combat zone. Iraqis do not have the right to gather around a US vehicle and shout "Allah is Great!". There is no 1st Amendment right to do that, especially when even the crowd does not dispute that men with weapons were firing. * By putting in the crowd's viewpoint, ostensibly as a neutral observation, CNN is taking sides - it is not neutral. We are constantly being told how US forces killed civilians? Have we had a story where CNN has investigated, and found that civilians were indeed killed, but that is because the insurgents were fighting from among the civilians? * We also don't see the US media painstakingly recording what criminals say when they are arrested. Almost without exception, only the police side is reported. And with good reason, because where is the criminal who commits a crime and then faces the cameras to say "I did it"? The crowd around the BFV was NOT neutral: it was anti-American. The journalist on the scene needed to do a lot more than say "but witnesses disputed" before they put that in. The journalist needed to investigate the incident before saying anything about the other side's story. * Of course, the chances of a journalist - especially a CNN one - actually investigating anything are three orders of magnitude than the likelihood of your editor winning the Miss Universe contest. * The 4th Estate...what a laugh. A more accurate label for today's media would be: The 1st Garbage Bin that Generates its own Garbage. And then takes credit for saving the environment because its keeping the garbage contained.

0230 GMT September 12, 2004 * IRAQ Agencies say a US fighter attacked targets in Fallujah; and attack was also conducted in Baghdad, against a machine-gun position in Sadr City. The siege of Tell Afar continues, with the US now saying it will maintain a blockade for as long as needed to root out terrorists. Turkey condemns the use of "disproportionate force" by the US in Tell Afar, which has a sizeable Turkish-origin population. A Muslim cleric says US attacks on Fallujah and Tell afar constitute genocide, and asks "Where is the UN Security Council". * Luckily for the cleric, Orbat.com can answer his question. The UN Security Council is, as usual, in mid-town Manhattan and is going about its business. If this cleric thinks the deaths of perhaps 100 people over several days in the two cities is genocide, we suggest he return to school and learn the meaning of the word. Moreover, the deaths have occurred because insurgents have repeatedly pushed out Iraq government forces from the two cities, and Baghdad has simply asked the US for help in regaining control. * As for the Turkish comment, your editor thinks it is contemptible. Turkey not just didn't help the US in Iraq, it actively hindered US forces, and much of the bad situation in Northern Iraq is thanks to Turkey's refusal to allow a northern prong for Gulf II, with the result insurgents had time to get organized before the US Army arrived. It is none of Turkey's business that Baghdad seeks to regain control of Tell Afar. Is Turkey in league with the smugglers of Tell Afar that it objects to US efforts to clean them out? * If Turkey wants to talk disproportionate force, lets talk about the Kurds. Periodically the government has gone on massive campaigns against the Kurd insurgents, with use of tanks, helicopters, and fighters, with 20,000-40,000 troops. We happen to believe that Turkey has every right to maintain control over its territory. We do not believe Turkey has any right to criticize another government for seeking to regain control of one of its own cities. It is past time for Turkey to stop this nonsense. * WAZIRISTAN Fighting continues between Pakistan security forces and South Waziri insurgents; nothing of informative news has emerged. Local sources say tribals have cut the road to North Waziristan, an area that has not been involved in the conflict which is now several months old, and Pakistan security forces are preparing to reopen the road. * ZIMBABWE Simon Mann, the former SAS officer accused of seeking to buy weapons in Zimbabwe to arm a plane-load of mercenaries and fly them to Equatorial Guinea to stage a coup, has been sentenced to 7 years in a maximum security prison in the country. * Orbat.com holds no brief for Simon Mann and it is not engulfed with sorrow at his heavy sentence. At the same time, there is a lot that is not right about this story. Unless he is a very stupid man - and we, at least, have no reason to think so, why would he put down with a plane-load of mercenaries in Zimbabwe to buy arms from the government weapons factories? Enroute to his coup destination, at that. Is there a shortage of company level small arms in the world? We think not. Is there no way to fly from South Africa directly to Equatorial Guinea? We think not. We have no explanation or guess as to what was really happening. All we know is the official story makes no sense.

0400 GMT September 11, 2004 * YEMEN AFP reports the radical cleric Huthi has been killed by the Yemen Army, for practical purpose ending his 90-day rebellion. He is fundamentalist and anti-American, whereas the Yemen government is moderate and pro-American. Huthi alleged Sanna cracked down on him to please Washington. Some of his followers have survived recent anti-insurgent operations and are on the run. * WAZIRISTAN The situation in this area of Pakistan's NWFP grows ever murkier. Jang of Pakistan's reports are near useless because journalists are barred from the area of operations. Casualties continue to mount on both sides; in the latest fighting it is said at least six, and perhaps 11, security forces personnel were killed. It is said the army is bringing yet more reinforcements. The insurgents say they have captured 43 men from the Sindh Regiment; the government says they haven't, the insurgents say "let the government allow the news media in and we will show the media the men we have captured." * President Musharraf says 90% of the foreign terrorists in NWFP have been killed; with no disrespect to the Pakistan leader, his and his government's statements are of no use even as toilet paper. Some months ago the Pakistan government was saying no foreign terrorists were in Pakistan, now we have 90% of the non-existent terrorists dead. * Meanwhile, a Waziri leader has been in Kabul, telling the Afghan/US the insurgency has no involvement with foreign terrorists, it is a homegrown conflict caused by the Pakistan Army when it moved in to eliminate the non-existent foreign terrorists. So now the people supposed to be harboring the foreign terrorists and working with them say there are no foreign terrorists. * So now not only has the Pakistan President changed positions, so have the insurgents. * Orbat.com advice to readers There is something akin to a low-level insurgency underway in the NWFP region. It's best to stop there and not to claim any insight or facts regarding the situation. The Pakistan government has done an excellent job of controlling the news, and the government has a long record of twisting facts to suit the position du jour. * SEOUL NUCLEAR We were wrong in saying ROK disclosed its uranium and plutonium experiments without pressure from IAEA. Apparently the IAEA has for some years been on ROK's track in this respect; it could be ROK has admit a little bit to throw off the IAEA hounds. ROK says the man who set up the experiments is now dead and no one saw anythying, heard anything, or said anything. * Laugh of the Week DPRK says ROK experiments represented a dangerous escalation of the nuclear arms race in the peninsula. No mention of its own extensive N-weapons program, nor of its maintenance, over the last 40 years, of overwhelming conventional forces smack on the DMZ, raising the possibility of a unstoppable zero-warning conventional war that would devastate the south even if the Americans stood staunch. * US ARMY 1965 DESERTER SURRENDERS A US Army NCO who walked across the DMZ while on duty in Korea and spent the last 39 years in the North, has surrendered to US Military Police in Japan. He had married a Japanese woman who was among the 15 Japanese kidnapped by the DPRK, allegedly to teach the top echelons Japanese - a very peculiar story, but lets not get off the track. The US Army deserter has two daughters with the woman. When the Japanese government managed to persuade DPRK to return the kidnapped persons - no information on how much this cost Japan, the wife and daughters were expatriated to Japan. The former NCO did not follow as Japan has an extradition treaty with US, and Washington had asked for his arrest. But now he has decided to face the consequences of his act. * Advice That The US Government Did Not Ask Us For Let this man go free. No one in his right mind defects from the US to DPRK. Whatever demons drove him to this insanity in 1965, he surely has suffered enough - a 39-year jail sentence in DPRK is no joke. The man is 65 years old, said not to be in good health, and probably wants only the possibility of a better life for his family and to spend his last years in his own country. The US Government pardoned tens of thousands of Vietnam draft evaders. As they had not been drafted, they did not technically deserters. Still, this man went into the Army and made a career out of it - he was 25 and a sergeant when he deserted. Its not as if he's been having a jolly good time for 39 years. If US can let draft evaders go, it can let this old, misguided soldier go. Any punitive action against him will be mean spirited and vindictive, and while the US government has plenty of that bile, it has no moral case for punishing him. Particularly since the both the former and present President and their VPs were draft evaders.

0230 GMT September 10, 2004 * IRAQ US and Iraq forces entered Samarra, an insurgent stronghold north of Baghdad, after a negotiated agreement with the insurgents. We have no clue if the statements by the commander 1st Inf Div threatening force later this year if negotiations did not succeed played any role in this development. * US forces have cordoned off Tell Afar and will not permit anyone to enter of leave for five days while clearing operations are conducted. * So after Najaf, the US/Iraq have reasserted Iraq government control over three more cities: Latifiya, south of Baghdad, where elements of 1/2 and 2/2 Marines backing 350 Iraq police and 80 Iraq National Guard troops have been going from house to house to search for weapons; Tell Afar, and now Samarra. * BESLAN So far no evidence has been shown by the Russians that Arab nationals were involved in the school siege. * WAZIRISTAN, NWFP Jang of Pakistan reports Pakistan Air Force aircraft attacked an Al-Qaeda training camp in the area, killing up to 75 people, mostly Al Qaeda fighters. * DAFUR, SUDAN US Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared before a Congressional committee and said, based on State Department interviews of 1800 refugees, that genocide was being committed in the Dafur area. The US has imposed new conditions on Sudan: Sudan government flights over Dafur must cease; international monitoring over flights have to be permitted; the African Union force of 300 troops protecting observers must be expanded; and Sudan will face sanctions on its 350,000-bbl/day of oil exports. * BBC reports that critics say Khartoum has failed to comply with the earlier UN deadline of July, yet the US is now proposing to give Sudan another 30 days. * Orbat.com comment The talk in Washington is the Mr. Powell is unlikely to serve in a possible second George Bush administration. Since Mr. Powell has made Dafur his crusade, if he leaves State in January 2005, there is a real chance that no movement will take place on the Dafur issue. The Africans are keen to act, but lack money and logistics to maintain a force in Dafur. Old Europe has no will to provide troops or money. America is thinly stretched over the world. Unless there is progress in the next few weeks, the Sudan government may well dally till Mr. Powell goes, leaving Dafur without a powerful advocate. * NEWS OF THE ABSURD Dr. Al-Zawahiri, Osama's second in command, appeared on Al-Jazeera to say the Taliban controls most of Afghanistan, and that the defeat of the US in Afghanistan and Iran is just a matter of time. * Orbat.com blasted Dr. Zawahiri's statement, saying that the good doctor should be the one worrying, because his death due to old age is just a matter of time.

1115 GMT September 9, 2004 * IRAN NUCLEAR AFP reports the UK, France and Germany have agreed to give Iran till November, 2004 to end all nuclear weapon related activity. Otherwise the matter will be referred to the UN Security Council for sanctions. * A British official says that negotiations cannot continue for ever. The reference is to Iran's offer last week to reopen negotiations. * IRAQ Agencies report a third day of air strikes against terrorist targets in Fallujah, and a second day of air strikes and ground action in Tell Afar. The latter lies to the west of Mosul and is a focal point for smugglers. The government has begun a push ahead of the January elections to regain control of various cities. * Meanwhile, the commander of US 1st Infantry Division says he plans for Samarra, north of Baghdad, to be returned to government control before elections. He says Iraq/US are using a combination of force and diplomacy to get 500 insurgents in Samarra to clear the city, but if this does not work, US will go in to clear the city. * FALLUJAH We commend AP for a lengthy report from Fallujah, even though we'd like to know more about the correspondent. At last we have media confirmation of what we have been hearing for months. * AP says insurgent control of Fallujah is expanding. The Iraqi Fallujah Brigade are no where to be seen, and the Iraq National Guard battalion assigned to the city has fled after its commander was captured and executed by insurgents. The insurgents run their own courts and dispense "justice" as they please. Insurgents move around at will, the only precaution they take is to cover their faces. Insurgents have 16 brand new American trucks, which they hijacked on the Jordan-Baghdad road. * Meanwhile, US commanders say it could be months before cities such as Fallujah are returned to Iraqi control.

0300 GMT September 9, 2004 * ROK NUCLEAR Recently ROK voluntarily revealed four years ago it had conducted 4 experiments to enrich milligrams of U238. It said it had immediately destroyed the equipment. CNN says today ROK also revealed experiments with plutonium 20 years ago. * Orbat.com Comment We are shocked, shocked [NOT] at this news. We advise readers to yawn, and to assume that ROK has the ability to go nuclear in a short time frame. Seoul was under no pressure to make these disclosures. They are directed not so much at DPRK, but at Washington. We are told Seoul is angry with Washington's failure to bring DPRK to heel, and by admitting to a few tiny experiments, is warning the US it is hiding more significant work, and can go nuclear in short order. * BESLAN Agencies report Russian government gives following additional details: * 32 terrorists were involved. They assembled and hid in a nearby forest, headed to the school in two cars and a truck, and managed to evade normal checkpoints. [Readers, please keep in mind other sources have said the terrorists bribed checkpoints to get through.] * When some of the terrorists expressed qualms about taking children hostage after the siege began, their leader "the colonel" executed one terrorist to - as the British used to say a long time ago "encourage the others". * Two female suicide bombers with explosive belts were part of the team. Earlier reports said they had apparently blown themselves up, and no details were available of why and under what circumstances. Now it emerges that "the colonel" triggered their explosive belts, killing them. * No explanation is still forthcoming regarding why. Possibly the two women also grew doubtful about the seizure of children, and the jolly colonel decided to get them out of the way. Your editor has struck "the colonel" off his "must invite" list, probably a sensible decision considering "the colonel" is likely wandering around in the downstairs place, wondering why he didn't make it to heaven, and is probably unable to accept invitations for dinner. * The Russians say the terrorists were rearranging the explosives in the gym when the ceiling bomb accidentally detonated.