Is the Iraqi government buying arms from the Italian mafia? And if they are, one has to look at one of two possibilities. The first is that it’s a deal that the United States knows nothing about and may have been undertaken to supply arms to those ministries that have a vested interest in ensuring that either Shia leadership, or a predominantly Shia Parliament, remains in place. The second is that the United States is covertly behind it and is simply following the auspices of plausible deniability, which has long been the trademark of the CIA. This would, of course, present a paradox, being that they have recently started arming Sunni militias to help them combat Salafi Jihadi groups. Then again, playing both sides is also nothing new, so flip a coin.

Italy is no stranger to businesses that are, and have been, fronts for the CIA, a reality that extends back decades. Nor are they strangers to engineered elections in the past that coincide with US interests, primarily following the Second World War.

It will be interesting to see where this leads, and if it will get more attention than the Italian trial regarding the illegal kidnapping and rendition of Abu Omar to Egypt that is currently underway. Twenty six Americans have been indicted in the case, though the United States government has told Rome that it will not comply with any request to have the individuals extradited to face trial.

In other news, and as was to be expected, the Pentagon has roundly rejected the recent assertion of Lieutenant General Douglas Lute that the draft is “an option on the table”. Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, stated today…

“I can tell you emphatically that there is absolutely no consideration being given to reinstituting the draft. The all-volunteer force has surpassed all expectations of its founders.”

Beyond discrediting Lute, that’s a bold statement given the current reality of the Stop-Loss Policy.