UPDATE ON JEWS IN IRAQ: Or not, as the case may be. The DARPA TIDES Iraq Reconstruction Report No. 277, 5 August 2004 reports the following:

Iraqi Official Denies Granting Passports to Iraqi Jews

Qatar: Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 1513 GMT 04 Aug 04 [Announcer-read report over video]

Pascal Ishu Warda, Iraqi minister of immigration and expatriates, has denied reports that the interim Iraqi Government has granted some Iraqi Jews Iraqi passports to facilitate their return to Iraq.

[Begin Wardah recording] I have described this issue as a sensitive file because it has not been decided yet. It is a sensitive file. Therefore, I strongly and plainly deny this report, which went as far as alleging that I have given passports to Jews. If we the Iraqis inside Iraq still have no documents, so is it reasonable for us to start giving documents to people outside Iraq? [End recording]

That excuse may do for a while, but I expect to hear some progress soon. And I would feel better if this official had made it clearer that getting passports to expatriated Iraqi Jews was on his agenda and would be dealt with as soon as possible. The phrase "a sensitive file because it has not been decided yet" is not encouraging, although the full context isn't clear.

(Thanks to Chuck Jones for the heads-up.)