Iraq: October 31, 2004

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The anti-government forces went after government officials and the media over the weekend. A car bomb went off outside the building housing the Iraq operations of the Al Arabiya cable TV news network. Unlike al Jazeera, which favors rumors and fantastical speculation in its reporting,  Al Arabiya sticks more to the facts and likely outcomes. This means that Al Arabiya stories tend to be less favorable to al Qaeda and anti-government forces in Iraq. Al Arabiya has been threatened frequently for this "disloyal" reporting, and now they have been bombed. The attack killed seven Iraqis and wounded 19. Attacks on government officials concentrate on security forces. Police and army commanders are approached by the Baath Party paymasters and offered money to secretly work with the anti-government forces, or face assassination. Not all of these officers refuse the offer.