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THE "LOST" TEN TRIBES In a recent discussion of the subject, by P. Asmussim, in a German periodical, the writer shows that the ten tribes never were "lost." Both in the Books of Kings and in the Assyrian inscriptions we have records of the deportations of the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom, and in leading particulars the accounts agree. In 734 Tiglath-Pileser led into captivity the people of Gilead and of Galilee, and the districts of Issachar, Zebulon, Asher, Naphtali, Northern Dan, Eastern Manasseh and Gad were incorporated into the Assyrian monarchy. The last king of Israel accordingly ruled over...

Pakistani tribes reach for guns after U.S. attack GHALANAI, Pakistan, June 13 (Reuters) - Fiercely independent tribesmen, angered by a U.S. air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers earlier in the week, vowed to raise a militia to help Pakistan's army defend the border with Afghanistan. Elders from ethnic Pashtun tribes in Mohmand, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, issued a statement late on Thursday condemning the attack as “naked aggression” and said they were ready to raise a “lashkar”, or tribal army. “It's the duty of the government to protect and defend the frontiers and we are ready to...

Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away. Behind the two men stands another figure, possibly a woman, her stance also seemingly defiant. Her skin painted dark, nearly black. The apparent aggression shown by these people is quite understandable. For they are members of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes, who live in the Envira region in the thick rainforest along the Brazilian-Peruvian frontier. Thought never to have had any contact with the outside world, everything about these people is, and...

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Traveling though Montana on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., made his first stop as a presidential candidate to an Indian reservation - and got a little more than expected. Obama was adopted as an honorary member into the family within the Crow tribe that inhabited the reservation - who gave the presidential candidate a new name and new parents. "Awe Kooda bilaxpak Kuuxshish" was the honorary name given to Obama meaning, "one who helps people throughout the land." Obama was escorted out to the stage in Crow Agency, Montana arm-in-arm between his adopted parents: Sunny...

Nearly 17 years after riots tore Crown Heights apart, the recent beating of a black college student by Jewish assailants has exposed rising tensions between blacks and Jews in my neighborhood. Cops and city officials have quietly gone on high alert, worried that another riot could be in the works. The troubles began on April 14, when Andrew Charles, a 20-year-old sophomore at Kingsborough Community College, says he and a friend encountered a pair of young Jewish men while walking down Albany Ave. about 6 p.m. "One was on bike, one was on foot. They were staring at us, staring...

Pakistan's new government is close to signing a peace accord with pro-Taliban militants as part of a softer counterterrorism policy from Islamabad that deemphasizes military strikes and calls for U.S. forces to show more restraint in the area. Britain has expressed reservations about the strategy, and Washington has said it wants Pakistani forces to continue fighting insurgents in the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan. Reports from Pakistan said a top leader of pro-Taliban militants has directed his fighters to "immediately cease their activities" in connection with the deal. The reports come as the new Pakistani government of Prime...

Several of California's largest gaming tribes have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a little-known body to successfully speed up their land applications - a necessary step for casino expansion, Capitol Weekly has learned. The California Fee to Trust Consortium was established under the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Pacific Regional office in 2000 in order to expedite land claims, many of which have languished for years. The consortium arrangement allows tribes to pay into a fund that pays the salaries of the BIA employees who evaluate these claims. Documents about the little-known governmental organization came to light following...

Sheikh Ahmed Albu-Risha caresses his prayer beads during a meeting where he announced to many of the local Iraqi leaders that his organization, Sahwah Al-Iraq, or the 'Awakening Councils in Iraq' is going to become a political organization, laying down its arms, and sending his men to become a reserve unit in the Iraqi army. The meeting was attended by many Anbari sheikhs, Iraqi army and police commanders, as well as Col. Robert F. Castellvi, the commanding officer of the 1st Iraqi Army Division Military Transition Team. Photo by Cpl. Sean Mcginty. AR RAMADI — In a beautiful compound here...

PALM SPRINGS – A state senator has introduced legislation that would enable a large group of Indian tribes to expand existing casinos or build large new ones without further negotiations with the state. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said his proposal would allow all 61 tribes that negotiated gambling agreements, or compacts, with former Gov. Gray Davis in 1999 to have up to 2,000 slots each, the number many tribes believe were promised by the deals. But the California Gambling Control Commission had voted to limit all tribes in the state to roughly 60,000 slots, based on the commission's interpretation...

The California Republican Party is struggling to get out of debt, creating a potential drag on voter registration and other party-building efforts in the midst of a heated campaign season, records showed Thursday. As of last week, the state GOP's main account had a balance of $3.2 million but $3.4 million in unpaid obligations. The party's federal account - used to finance activities that support congressional candidates - listed a balance of $34,000 but nearly $460,000 in debts, according to records filed last month. The shaky finances are due in large part to sluggish fundraising. The party collected $5.6 million...

The Middle East's Tribal Affliction   By Daniel PipesFrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Why is the Middle East so at odds with modern life, laggard in everything from literacy to standard of living, from military prowess to political development? A profound new book by Philip Carl Salzman, professor at McGill University, with the deceptively plain title Culture and Conflict in the Middle East (Prometheus), offers a bold and original interpretation of Middle Eastern problems. An anthropologist, Salzman begins by sketching out the two patterns of rule that historically have dominated the Middle East: tribal autonomy and tyrannical centralism....

THe Rumor Was A Wild One, and it seized Marcelo dos Santos with the power of a primary myth. There's an Indian living in the woods around here, some local ranch hands were saying in 1996. He wears no clothes. Get near him, and he vanishes. He is utterly alone. Marcelo knew a lot about elusive Indians -- more than just about anyone. He was a sertanista, a uniquely Brazilian profession that is part jungle explorer, part ethnologist and part bureaucrat. As a member of Funai -- the Brazilian government agency charged with protecting indigenous interests and cultures -- Marcelo's...

Tribal leaders from the northern Diyala River Valley swear on a reconciliation agreement following a meeting at Forward Operating Base Fallock, an Iraqi Army base, Oct. 8. Approximately 70 leaders from Muqdadiya and the surrounding areas gathered to discuss uniting in the fight against terrorism and the way ahead. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Serena Hayden 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — The Tamimi and Jibouri tribes, the two largest tribes in Iraq’s Diyala province, met Oct. 24 to discuss the importance of reconciliation and signed a fellowship agreement stressing cooperation and friendship between the...

Dennis Champlain's grandfather helped win federal recognition for the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Champlain himself has danced in tribal powwows and teaches his children that they are Narragansetts. Yet the Narragansetts say he is no longer a member of the tribe. Champlain and his extended family are among thousands of people removed from American Indian tribes in recent years, often amid tribal squabbles or when a casino comes to town. In Rhode Island, the Narragansetts' removal of about 140 of roughly 2,400 members has become an issue in Saturday's election for the tribe's chief sachem, or leader. Tribal officials say they...

US officials return ancient remains to indigenous Tlingit tribes after scientific testing The Associated PressPublished: October 19, 2007 ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Human remains estimated to be more than 10,000 years old will be returned to southeast Alaska Tlingit tribes 11 years after they were found in a cave in the Tongass National Forest. It is the first time a federal agency has conveyed custody of such ancient remains to indigenous groups under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, U.S. Forest Service officials said Friday. "It's a pretty substantial find," said Tongass spokesman Phil Sammon. Vertebrae, ribs, teeth, a...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – Local tribes siding with coalition forces to repel al Qaeda must be incorporated into Iraq’s central government and its security forces, a senior Defense Department official said. The official spoke to reporters on background while traveling to Iraq with Defense Department Secretary Robert M. Gates. Gates joined President Bush and other top U.S. officials in a surprise meeting here today. It is likely the president’s last meeting with all key leaders before deciding the course of U.S. involvement in Iraq. The official told reporters in flight than an “awakening” of tribal...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2007 – Tribal leaders in Iraq’s Diyala province are banding together to secure peace and protect their people, the commander of coalition forces in the province told reporters yesterday. “They (tribal leaders) signed a peace agreement and swore to protect the land and their people from al Qaeda and to bridge the gap between tribes and to have a provincial-wide reconciliation movement,” Army Col. David W. Sutherland said as he sat alongside the Iraqi security forces commander in Diyala, Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem, during a joint news conference in Baqubah, Iraq. Referring to Kareem as his “friend”...

TIKRIT — Key tribal leaders from the Ubaidi and Anbakia tribes signed a peace agreement July 10 during a meeting at the Baqubah Government Center to end tribal conflicts that have been occurring for decades and stand together against al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. “The strength of the tribes comes from the sheiks’ courage,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Sheik Hamed Hazber Hasan Abdal al-Anbak, paramount sheik for the Anbakia tribe, and a key tribal leader from the Ubaidi tribe, have been meeting for the past several months to discuss and work...

Accords bring Assembly Democrats on board as unions cry 'betrayal.' Four of California's wealthiest Indian gambling tribes and Assembly Democrats broke a prolonged stalemate Wednesday, striking a controversial deal that could trigger thousands of new casino slot machines and billions of dollars for the state treasury.The tribes, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed off on side agreements that appear to provide political cover for the Legislature's approval of gambling compacts negotiated last year.Organized labor, which had lobbied Democrats to force union-friendly provisions on the tribes, criticized Wednesday's signing of separate "memorandum of understanding" accords as "an unbelievable betrayal." But the...

Local Iraq officials focus on recruiting police, creating peace. By Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory TIKRIT, Iraq, May 17, 2007 — As coalition and Iraqi security forces continue to provide security and stability throughout Diyala Province, Iraq, many tribal leaders are also united in their efforts to bring peace and stand up against al-Qaida in Iraq. After a peace agreement was signed between the paramount sheiks of the Karki and Shimouri tribes, April 30, other tribal leaders gathered throughout the region to do the same – provide peace and protection for their people and their lands....

Pakistan's tribal district of South Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, is in the throes of turmoil once again. The government says that the local tribesmen have started an armed campaign to expel foreign militants whom it blames for launching cross-border attacks on foreign and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. It says more than 250 people, mostly foreign militants, have been killed in these clashes since early March. Unofficial reports put the casualty figures much lower, and suggest that mixed groups of local and foreign militants are confronting each other in what also appears to be a power struggle within the...

Tirana, March 7, 2007 (AENews) – Protests against Greek soldiers' anti-Albanian song is rising in Albania while politicians have called for a contained and calm response. In Durres and Elbasan, protesters burned Greek flags while the entire population is bewildered by the level of hatred and violence in the text of Greek Soldiers' song. A private video showing Greek soldiers singing "We are gone a make shoe-strings with Albanian guts" was published last week on the Internet, then was commented by the Greek and Albanian media. Foreign Relations committee in the Albanian Parliament called Thursday on the population to stop...

House Democrats hope to raise between $650,000 and $1 million for each of the party's most endangered Democrats in hopes of keeping the party in control of Congress. The tactics are hardly new. Republicans aggressively used their committee chairmen -- and the promise of access to them -- to raise money from interest groups and lobbyists during the party's 12 years of congressional control. They tracked donations closely and pressed lobbying firms to hire GOP lobbyists through the "K Street Project," promising "intimate" issue briefings with the chairmen in return for big donations. And the GOP is hardly sitting on...

TEMECULA – Seeking to reverse recent setbacks and improve their long-range political position, California's gambling tribes moved yesterday to establish common ground with labor-backed Democrats who blocked five new gambling compacts last summer. The tribes not only invited Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to speak at a national gaming conference at Pechanga Resort and Casino, but also embraced him as someone who “could be one of our own,” and then gave him an extended standing ovation. Afterward, tribal leaders and others lined up to have pictures taken with the mayor. Just six years ago, some of the same tribes helped...

Iraq tribes 'taking on al-Qaeda' Pacifying Anbar is a tough challenge for the US and Iraqi forces A group of Sunni tribal chiefs in Iraq say they have caught more than 100 al-Qaeda members in recent months. The tribal chiefs in the Iraqi province of Anbar joined forces in September in an attempt to defeat al-Qaeda. They set up the Salvation Council for Anbar and claim to have reduced the numbers of weapons and foreign fighters coming into the area. The restive Sunni dominated area has been a centre of activity for foreign jihadis linked to al-Qaeda. The head of...

A group of Indian gambling tribes has bought nearly $1 million in television time for the Republican candidate for state controller with two weeks to go in a close contest. Tony Strickland, a former member of the state Assembly known for being outspoken on his conservative views, received the boost Monday from Team 2006, an independent campaign committee formed by six Southern California gambling tribes that have been seeking to expand their operations. The committee had raised more than $9 million, according to disclosure reports filed Tuesday. The large contribution drew immediate criticism from Strickland's Democratic opponent, John Chiang, a...

Karzai calls in the tribes in bid to oust Taliban (Filed: 09/10/2006) The first thing you notice when you enter the Presidential palace in Kabul is that the Americans are missing. For the past five years President Hamid Karzai has been guarded by rude, scruffy, heavily built American male and female Rambo-style bodyguards. They treated everyone with contempt. President Hamid Karzai is protected by one of his new Afghan bodyguards Now much to the relief of tribal elders, there are different guards for the president: young Afghans in sharp suits and ties, but with machine guns slung across their shoulders....

LOS ANGELES A deal signed Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would allow two of California's richest Indian tribes to vastly expand the number of slot machines in their casinos in return for paying billions of dollars to the state. The agreement amends existing gaming compacts with the Temecula-based Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in San Bernardino County. "These compacts are a great deal for the state, the tribe and the local communities," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. The deal must also be approved by the Legislature. The announcement came just a day...

Globalization is real, but its power to improve the lot of humankind has been madly oversold. Globalization enthralls and binds together a new aristocracy--the golden crust on the human loaf--but the remaining billions, who lack the culture and confidence to benefit from "one world," have begun to erect barricades against the internationalization of their affairs. And, from Peshawar to Paris, those manning the barricades increasingly turn violent over perceived threats to their accustomed patterns of life. If globalization represents a liberal worldview, renewed localism is a manifestation of reactionary fears, resurgent faiths, and the iron grip of tradition. Except in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Hundreds of Iraq's tribal chiefs Saturday signed a "pact of honor," pledging to support the prime minister's national reconciliation plan on wiping out sectarian strife and terrorism tearing the country. In another boost for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts, a Sunni lawmaker was released nearly two months after she was abducted in an attack that had stoked sectarian tensions and led to a boycott by the minority in parliament. At least 23 people were killed Saturday, including four members of a Shiite family in Baqouba and a female translator working for the British consulate in Basra,...

The 13th season of reality TV show Survivor has already sparked controversy by announcing that contestants will be divided into teams based on their race. The 20 participants will be divided up into four tribes - African-American, Asian-American, hispanic and white. Survivor host Jeff Probst defended the decision on US TV's The Early Show saying, "The idea for this actually came from the criticism that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough. Because, for whatever reason, we've always had a low number of minority applicants for the show. So we set out and said, 'Let's turn this criticism into creative for...

Some may call it exploiting racial tensions. CBS calls it darn good television. Jeff Probst popped in on The Early Show Wednesday morning, confirming the reports that the 20 castaways for Survivor: Cook Islands will be grouped by race, with competitors divided into four tribes consisting of whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics. Apparently, "separate but equal" holds only the warmest of connotations for Mark Burnett. Like a good host, Probst had nothing but praise for the producers' controversial brainchild, calling the exercise in segregation a valuable social experiment, rather than a stunt to dig up some controversy--and raise ratings. "The...

SACRAMENTO – The stark disparity in wealth and political power that Indian gambling has brought to California reservations has taken two tribes on decidedly different journeys in recent weeks. The Agua Caliente band of Palm Springs already has 2,000 slot machines in two casinos that generate more than $250 million a year for the 400-member tribe. The Quechan band, whose remote reservation straddles the California-Arizona border in Imperial County, has fewer than 800 slots in two small casinos that produced $71 million last year for the 3,600-member tribe. Both tribes negotiated new gambling agreements that would permit expansions – a...

A desperate struggle for survival — and not the white man and his horse — likely forced First Nations people on the Canadian Plains to band together in complex communities at least 1,700 years before what is currently accepted. And the way they came together to ward off threats from southern bands from the Dakotas and Minnesota may have resembled a very early form of democracy. University of Calgary archaeologist Dr. Dale Walde has proposed the controversial theory in the prestigious World Archaeology journal, following more than five years of research in the field in Alberta and Saskatchewan. If accepted,...

FOB KALSU – The southern portion of Iraq is reaping the long overdue benefits of infrastructure rebuilding and trained security forces. Although the areas in the Karbala, Najaf and Babil provinces still have their share of turbulence, some of the success the provinces are enjoying stems from the willingness of local tribes to work together to put their part of Iraq back together, said Capt. Dave Zaino, commander, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. “We are going into areas in the northern sector of our area of operations, finding a large population...

Kohanim, Tribe of Levi to have 'family reunion' Groundbreaking 'Gathering of the Tribe' will include leading researchers and rabbis. Conference is set to take place in Jerusalem in summer 2007 Ynetnews Recent scientific research and DNA testing has shown that today’s descendents of the biblical priesthood known as Kohanim are genetically related. Although the descendents of Aharon, the brother of Moses, have spread throughout the world over the past 3,300 years, the members of this extended family are being invited to participate in the first ‘family reunion’ held since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Participants...

PORCUPINE (AP) -- The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted 9-5 Thursday to impeach the tribal president for proposing an abortion clinic on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Cecelia Fire Thunder survived two earlier attempts to remove her from office since she was elected in November 2004 as the tribe's first female president. This time, the issue was over South Dakota's new abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest. After Gov. Mike Rounds signed the bill, Fire Thunder vowed to work to open a Planned Parenthood clinic on the reservation, beyond the reach of state law. Will Peters,...

Sen. Akaka’s plan to beat Jack Abramoff at his own game by Andrew Walden, Editor, Hawaii Free Press, Hilo, Hawaii The Akaka Bill is back, scheduled for debate on the floor of the US Senate any day now. Bill sponsor, Senator Daniel Akaka says, “This is about establishing parity for Hawaii’s indigenous peoples in federal policies.” Native Hawaiians may want to consider whether “parity” with American Indians is desirable. Are Native Hawaiians to be “privileged” --or held back-- by the Akaka Bill? Indian reservations are not exactly a great model of success—they are often characterized by poverty and corruption, often...

Gov. Schwarzenegger met for the first time ever with Inland tribal leaders Wednesday, signifying a marked change in his approach to tribes he once accused of "ripping off" taxpayers and not paying their "fair share" into the state's general fund. Tribal leaders emerged from the nearly 80-minute private talk with cautious praise for the governor but with no promises of new agreements on gaming or other issues. Schwarzenegger told the tribes he wants to talk to them individually about renegotiating the pacts that allow them to operate casinos, which the tribes said they are willing to consider. Mark Macarro, chairman...

SACRAMENTO – Three years after bashing Indian gaming tribes on the way to the governor's office, Arnold Schwarzenegger is quietly reaching out to California's most powerful tribal leaders as he prepares for what could be a difficult re-election campaign. The overtures, similar to those the Republican governor has made in recent months to other special interests he has battled, could lead to another round of gambling expansion while chilling possible tribal opposition to his bid for a second term. “Schwarzenegger may never convince these tribes to be his biggest backers, but if he can talk them down to neutral, that...

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Darren McGavin at approximately 7:10 A.M. Pacific time today, Saturday 25, 2006. Darren was just three months short of his 84th birthday. While we suspect none of us can imagine a world without the beloved, feisty little red-head, it is time to reflect, give thanks for his life and hold in reverence his memory. Darren is gone, but in many respects he will always be with us: as Carl Kolchak, fighting authority and battling monsters; the grumpy Old Man sending curses over Lake Michigan; as David Ross, the outsider,...

Movement controls areas out of Pakistani government's reach - February 9, 2006 PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Four years after the United States led the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a new Taliban movement has taken control in a swath of neighboring Pakistan. Taliban militants control much of Waziristan, a rocky, mountainous area twice the size of Long Island along the Pakistani border. Despite a heavy presence of Pakistani troops, Waziristan has become the largest and most protected sanctuary for Islamic militant guerrillas in the Afghan-Pakistani theater of the "global war on terror." U.S. military officers and Afghan officials in...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada began receiving campaign contributions from at least four American Indian tribes only after they hired Jack Abramoff, Republicans charged this week in an effort to tie the Senate Democratic leader to the disgraced lobbyist. On Thursday, Reid shrugged off questions about money he received from tribal clients of Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last month to three felonies after being accused of exchanging meals, travel and gifts for political favors. "I've said that I received money from Indians in the past and will continue to do so," Reid said. Asked what he would say...

Brad Jones, candidate for the Republican and Conservative nomination to Congress in the NY-24th District, announced today that he is adamantly opposed to any Indian Tribe being allowed to place any land in trust within New York State. He publicly stated this position at the Land Trust Forum in Oneida County on January 10th and again at the Land Trust Forum in Madison County on January 11th. Jones calls on Congressman Sherwood Boehlert to state clearly whether the Congressman is for or against the Land in Trust process. Jones says, “Asking for hearings, holding meetings, and getting extensions to response...

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Sen. Patty Murray said Friday that returning contributions from Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff would "taint" the tribes. The state's senior senator, a Seattle Democrat, said there was nothing wrong with accepting more than $40,000 in campaign donations from out-of-state tribes represented by the disgraced lobbyist. Abramoff's excesses have been halted and Congress is considering myriad ethics reforms, she said. The donations, from 1999 to 2005, placed Murray second among Senate Democrats and ninth overall in the Senate, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C., organization that tracks money in...

This monthly thread is dedicated to Freepers who also enjoy online gaming. Post here to find fellow gamers, arrange online games, or share screen shots, reviews, helps and tips. Separate Ping lists are created and maintained for each game.Official game site links are available for most games listed. We currently have 92 gamers playing over 95 different games. Top Games: Battlefield/Battlefield 2 (19 gamers) World Of Warcraft (16 gamers) Unreal Tournament (9 gamers) City Of Heroes (10 gamers)

If you are a Freeper, and also like online gaming, post here to find fellow gamers, share screen shots, reviews, helps, and tips. Gamer tables are updated and published weekly. We currently have 86 gamers playing over 60 different games. Top Games: Battlefield/Battlefield 2 (19 gamers) World Of Warcraft (15 gamers) Unreal Tournament (9 gamers) City Of Heroes (10 gamers)

If you are a Freeper, and also like online gaming, post here to find fellow gamers, share screen shots, reviews, helps, and tips. Gamer tables are updated and published weekly. We currently have 84 gamers playing over 60 different games. Top Games: Battlefield/Battlefield 2 (19 gamers) World Of Warcraft (15 gamers) Unreal Tournament (9 gamers) City Of Heroes (10 gamers)

SAMARRA, Iraq — After keeping their distance for months, Iraqis in this Sunni Arab city suddenly began cooperating with U.S. troops, leading them to insurgents and hidden weapons caches. The reason: anger over the assassination by insurgents of a local tribal chief. "That's when they decided to make a stand," said Capt. Ryan Wylie, commander of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment. "They definitely had an idea of the terrorists and where they hang out." U.S. commanders cite other reasons for a lull in violence in this city 60 miles north of Baghdad. They include construction of an 11-mile berm around...

Americans in Iraq quickly discover that they are in a different culture. It's a violent culture, where the public order we take for granted in the U.S. does not exist in many parts of the country. What is going on here? Don't the Iraqis appreciate our efforts to liberate them from Saddam Hussein's cruel rule? Well, most Iraqis do, but a sizable number want to bring back the good old days (for them), and are taking advantage of some aspects of Arab culture to make it so. Understand this, and you understand what is going on in Iraq.  Iraq has been a violent...