April 15, 2003

From the Command-Post:  Rebuilding plan agreed [Sky News] Free Iraqis have drawn up a 13-point plan to rebuild their country following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. The plan was agreed at US-hosted talks at Ur, the birthplace of the biblical prophet Abraham. The delegates also voted to meet again late on Friday week. In a statement they said a future Iraqi government must be democratic, no leader must be imposed from outside, and the Baath party must be dissolved. 6:37:47 PM

Baghdad looters returning swag Contra Costa Times, Contra Costa County - Some people are surrendering the booty they took in the Dura district of Baghdad, perhaps in response to a rumored edict by a Muslim cleric forbidding Iraqi wives from having sex with looter husbands. 6:20:35 PM

US Forces Capture Abu Abbas Voice of America -  He was sought for the 1985 hijacking of the Italian passenger ship the Achille Lauro, during which terrorists shot and killed elderly wheelchair-bound U.S. passenger Leon Klinghoffer, throwing his body overboard. 5:52:05 PM

'After the anarchy will come natural selection' Guardian - Ahmed Shames is an Iraqi exile living in Britain. Born in Baghdad in 1975, he was forced to flee in 1996 when security forces arrested his mother, suspecting her of hostility to the regime.  He is the chairman of the Iraqi Prospect Organisation (IPO), a group of Iraqis campaigning for democracy in Iraq.  He explains how he felt as Tikrit fell into the hands of coalition forces 7:47:46 AM