The Daily Muck

A former U.S. official stationed in Iraq recalls rides with Blackwater escorts that included jumping road dividers, driving on the wrong side of the road, and speeding in excess of 100 mph. The official also recalls a Blackwater driver needlessly and intentionally smashing into an Iraqi civilian car with small kids in the back. (LA Times)

When the U.S. led occupation authority granted military contractors in Iraq immunity from Iraqi courts, U.S. diplomats warned that this decision was a “bomb that could go off at any time.” Though diplomats in Iraq have repeatedly warned that private contractors endanger Iraqi civilians and undermine efforts to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis, the State Department has ignored these warnings. (LA Times)

According to a U.S. official, the secret CIA overseas detention program that President Bush acknowledged last year (after The Washington Post revealed it), is still operational. The White House, through spokesperson Dana Perino, refused comment on the program, stating “We haven’t been in the habit of doing a press release every time we have a prisoner.” (Reuters)

The Pentagon’s chief war crimes prosecutor (Air Force Col. Morris Davis) at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has abruptly resigned in a dispute over his independence. Davis was recently informed that his prosecutions would be supervised by someone with access to “attorneys, documents and other relevant information in the office of the chief prosecutor.” (Miami Herald)

When American forces captured an Iranian official and identified him as a member of the Quds Force (a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that is accused of providing arms and training to Shiite extremists), Iran closed five border crossings into Kurdish territory. The U.S. refuses to state why they have made this classification. The crossings have reopened after a Kurdish delegation protested that their region should not be punished for something the Americans did. (Chicago Tribune)

CQ.com’s look at two recent spy memoirs (George Tenet and Tyler Drumheller) points out that Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee, obtained FBI files on his political enemies and tried to obtain NSA intercepts of others. Shelby also liked to troll for dirt on Tenet. (CQ) via War&Piece

Toe-tapping Larry Craig struck out in a Minnesota men’s room earlier this year, but he will still be inducted into Idaho’s Hall of Fame next week. One Republican precinct committeeman urged Idaho officials to reconsider the achievement award, stating now is not the time,” “it’s a sad day to be a Republican.” (USA Today)