For the first time in almost a year of my tenure as the scourer of US papers to compile the daily roundup of original Iraq coverage, I haven’t found a single piece. The print editions we include which publish Saturday editions are the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. The remaining two included in our survey take the day off, making the complete absence a little more understandable - but it's not as though this is a time of complete inaction here.

Some wire stories were picked up about the planned US withdrawal from major parts of Iraq’s cities at the end of the month and also the killing of the coach for Iraq’s national karate team. The word “Iraq” was mentioned once or twice in the stories about Iran’s post election events, but to no consequence. That’s really all she wrote.

We’ll be back tomorrow as always, dust-storm or shine, to see what the Washington Post and the New York Times are now preparing for their Sunday editions. If something was omitted, let us know at ds@iraqslogger.com