Seventeen American troops died when two UH-60 helicopters collided at night in northern Iraq. Some witnesses say they saw gunfire or rocket fire, but the wreckage will have to be carefully examined to determine if the incident was not an accident.

There are now nearly 100,000 Iraqi police and security troops (armed guards) in service. This large number has been achieved by cutting corners in the selection and training of former Iraqi police and soldiers. But even many of the carefully trained Iraqi police have gone back to their corrupt ways. So "inspector general" and "internal affairs"  programs are being set up to try and address the problem. For centuries, rulers in the area tolerated corruption among their officials as long as they kept their boss in power. Old habits die hard.