68+ Killed over 200 Wounded
Good Morning,
As Mr. Bush begins the launch of his new campaign to justify the US attack on Iraq to the American public, the news there is nothing but bleek. Here is the recap for today:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A barrage of coordinated bomb and rocket attacks on eastern Baghdad neighborhoods killed at least 47 people and wounded more than 200 within half an hour on Thursday, police and hospital officials said.
The latest spasm of violence _ which included explosives planted in apartments, car bombs and several rocket and mortar attacks on mainly Shiite neighborhoods in the capital _ came even as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi forces should have control over most of the country by year's end.
The Baghdad bombings _ centered on neighborhoods controlled by Shiite militias, some of which Sunni Arabs accuse of running death squads _ brought the day's death toll across the country to at least 68.
Attackers rented apartments and shops in buildings a few days ago and planted explosives in them, detonating them by remote control almost simultaneously Thursday evening, said Maj. Gen. Jihad Liaabi, director of the Interior Ministry's counterterrorism unit.
One of the targeted buildings was a medical center housing doctors' offices in al-Hamza Square on the outskirts of the Sadr City slum in east Baghdad, he told state television.
The attacks occurred between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and included a car bomb at a market, another behind a telephone exchange building and several rocket and mortar attacks, police said.
Police and witnesses said bodies, many of them charred, had still not been recovered from the buildings and the death toll could rise.
Earlier in the day, a suicide car bomber killed two people at a gas station, while a British Embassy convoy was targeted in the upscale Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad. Two passers-by were wounded in the convoy attack, police said.
The bloodshed was part of a violent week that has left hundreds of Iraqis dead.
Have a nice day.
200+ People Killed Since Sunday
Good Morning,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad's oldest and largest wholesale market district, killing at least 24 people and wounding 35, part of a surge in bloodshed Wednesday that left 52 dead, authorities said.
Earlier, an explosives-rigged bicycle blew up near an army recruiting center in a city south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 people.
Violence across Iraq has spiked in recent days, with more than 200 people killed since Sunday in clashes, bombings or shootings _ despite U.S. and Iraqi officials' claims that a new security operation in the capital has lowered Sunni-Shiite killings there, which had risen in June and July.
A U.S. Marine from the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division was also killed in action Tuesday in Anbar province, the U.S. command said.
The market bomb in Baghdad targeted the Shurja district, where wholesalers use warehouses, stalls and shops to sell food, clothing and house products to other dealers and shoppers. A maze of streets and stalls, it hosts one of Iraq's biggest markets and is usually teeming with vendors selling everything from spices to satellite dishes.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a Justice Ministry official, Nadiya Mohammed Hassan, was shot and killed along with her driver and bodyguard by gunmen who stopped her car. Three carpet merchants were also killed while being driven to an appointment in a taxi, police said.
A family of five was killed in Buhriz, 35 miles north of Baghdad, when a roadside bomb struck their car.
In the town of Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, a man posing as a potential army cadet planted the bicycle outside the recruiting center. The bomb exploded as volunteers gathered outside to sign up for the army. Hillah was the site of one of the worst bomb attacks in Iraq, when a suicide car bomber in February 2005 killed 125 national guard and police recruits waiting to take physicals.
Insurgents have often targeted army and police volunteers as they wait outside recruiting stations, as a way to discourage people from joining the security services.
In downtown Baghdad, three police officers were killed and 14 people were injured when twin bombs _ including one planted in a car _ struck a police patrol as it drove by a line of vehicles waiting in a line for gasoline at a filling station.
An explosion Tuesday at an oil pipeline near the city of Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad, caused a massive fire that left at least 36 people dead and 45 injured, the Interior Ministry said. The city's health directorate said another 40 people were still missing.
Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Mussin of the health directorate said the relatives of the 40 missing people gathered outside the directorate's offices demanding death certificates. But he said they could not be confirmed as dead since their bodies had not been found.
The pipeline was located six miles south of Diwaniyah, the scene of fierce clashes between the Iraqi army and Shiite militia on Monday that left 73 people dead.
The cause of the blast was not clear, but police Lt. Raid Jabir said several people had been siphoning fuel from the pipeline at the time. Iraqis have faced severe fuel shortages since Saddam Hussein's 2003 ouster. Insurgents also have frequently targeted pipelines and oil refineries.
The violence has included some of the fiercest fighting in months between the Iraqi army and Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Diwaniyah, 50 miles south of the capital.
Monday's fighting was significant because it pitted mostly Shiite Iraqi soldiers against the militia of one of the country's most prominent Shiite leaders. It also illustrates the complexity of the security crisis in Iraq _ with Sunni insurgents fighting U.S. troops in the west, Sunnis and Shiites killing one another in Baghdad and now Shiites battling Shiites in the south.
Have a nice day.
31 Killed Dozens Injured
Good Afternoon,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A series of explosions left at least 31 people dead and wounded dozens Sunday as Iraq's relentless violence remained unabated despite an appeal from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an end to sectarian fighting.
On Sunday, a bomb planted in a small bus detonated outside the Palestine hotel in downtown Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring 16, police and witnesses said. Another car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a government-run newspaper in the capital, killing at least three people and injuring at least 29.
A bomb exploded in the town of al-Khalis, on the outskirts of Baqouba just north of Baghdad, killing six and wounding more than a dozen, provincial police said.
And at least nine people were killed and 22 injured on Sunday in two back-to-back suicide car bombings in the northern city of Kirkuk. Four more people were killed in a motorcycle bomb in the south.
The first car bomber smashed into a checkpoint outside the house of Peyrut Talabani, a cousin of President Jalal Talabani, at about 7.30 p.m., said Col. Sarhat Qader of the Kirkuk police department.
Ten minutes later, another car bomb exploded about a half-mile away outside the home of the commander of a local police station, Sarhat said.
In Basra, a motorcycle bomb exploded in an open-air night market, killing four people and wounding 15, the governor's office said.
Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and the southern oil center, is 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.
In the Palestine attack in the capital, the bomb planted in a small bus detonated shortly before noon near the hotel's pedestrian entry point. AP Television News showed the white vehicle stopping and detonating in front of the hotel's concrete blast walls. Bodies were strewn on the road around the blast site. It was not clear how the bomb was detonated.
The attacks occurred a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed to Iraqis to support his national reconciliation plan to end sectarian fighting between Shiites and Sunnis, and terrorism by Sunni Arab insurgents.
Al-Maliki said Sunday that violence was decreasing in his country, despite daily reports of bloodshed and fighting. He insisted that his government was making progress in efforts to combat sectarian clashes between Shiites and Sunnis, and terrorism by Sunni Arab insurgents.
"The violence is not increasing. We're not in a civil war. Iraq will never be in a civil war," he said through an interpreter on CNN's Late Edition. "The violence is in decrease and our security ability is increasing."
The almost daily violence has left about 10,000 people dead since May, when al-Maliki's government took office.
The attack against the al-Sabah newspaper in a largely Sunni Arab neighborhood set at least 25 cars on fire and badly damaged the newspaper building.
The bombings _ which came a day after 26 people were killed in dozens of attacks _ showed that national reconciliation is a distant goal even though it was endorsed by hundreds of tribal chiefs at a conference on Saturday.
After the conference, the tribal chiefs signed a "pact of honor" to support al-Maliki's plan.
Tribal ties have considerable influence in Iraqi society, especially among rural people. But like all other institutions in Iraq, tribal affiliations are sometimes tenuous.
Have a nice day.
At Least 16 Killed in Series of Bombings
Good afternoon,
Today, bloodshed persisted with three car bombs in Baghdad and a series of bombings and shootings across the country killing at least 16 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers on Thursday.
AP count points to downward trend
Although accurate casualty figures are not available and statistics have not been provided for violent deaths in August, an Associated Press count indicates a downward trend. Reported deaths, however, are thought to be considerably lower than the actual number of people killed.
With one week remaining in August, the estimated number of Iraqis killed around the country was at least 605, according to an AP count. That number was about 60 percent of the estimated AP total of at least 1,015 killed for all of July.
But the government’s count for July was far higher at 3,500, including 1,500 in Baghdad alone.
Political and sectarian violence across Iraq increased after a Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad. Most of the violence has been sectarian, often involving death squads from the majority Shiites or minority Sunni Arabs.
“I think there’s a large number of civilians that have been killed by various death squads. Certain militia groups have been responding in a way that’s not in connection with the national government, and that situation is clearly not one that’s good for Iraq,” Abizaid said.
He said the United States and its coalition partners wanted Iraqis to take control of security.
Have a nice day.
20 Pilgrims Killed, Hundreds Injured
Good Afternoon,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Snipers lurking on buildings and in a cemetery sprayed bullets into Shiite Muslim religious processions in the capital Sunday, killing at least 20 people in another spasm of sectarian bloodletting that many Iraqis fear is pushing them toward civil war.
About 300 people were injured, mostly when they fell while running to escape gunfire in Sunni Arab-dominated areas along the parade routes. In one neighborhood, gunmen hid behind tombstones at a Sunni cemetery.
"I was walking and someone got shot in front of me. It wasn't random fire, it was a clear sniper attack," said Mohammed Jassim, 32.
He said he could hear the faint crack of shots over the noise of the procession. "People panicked and started yelling: 'It came from here, no from there.'"
Women in black Islamic robes helped each other while running for cover. Many took refuge under an overpass, flinching and ducking in fear at the sound of each gunshot.
It was relatively quiet elsewhere in Iraq, with eight killings reported in other areas.
The snipings occurred despite heavy security imposed in Baghdad by Iraqi and U.S. forces as well as a weekend driving ban designed to prevent car bombings amid the tit-for-tat violence that Shiites and Sunnis have waged since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra.
Still, the day's main ceremonies went off peacefully at the golden-domed shrine to Imam Moussa Kadhim, one of 12 Shiite Muslim saints.
The attacks on pilgrims took place in three or four neighborhoods at least a mile from the shrine where Kadhim is buried in the Kazimiyah neighborhood of north Baghdad. Shiites believe that Kadhim, who died in A.D. 799, was poisoned in prison by a Sunni caliph.
Pilgrims wearing white shrouds to symbolize their willingness to die for Islam chanted "God bless (Prophet) Muhammad and his descendants" as they converged on the mosque.
"We heed your call, oh Imam!" they proclaimed before entering the compound, beating their chests and flagellating themselves with steel chains in a traditional Shiite expression of grief.
Have a nice day.
16 Killed Across Iraq, 12 Male Bodies Found Murdered In Tigris River
Good Morning,
Attacks killed 16 people across Iraq on Saturday, and police reported finding 15 apparent victims of sectarian violence, including a dozen bodies fished out at a grate that blocks weeds from flowing down the Tigris River.
On Saturday, the bound and blindfolded bodies of 12 men were found in the Tigris in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, at one of the metal grills fixed in the river to block debris from being swept downstream. The victims were aged between 35 and 45, and most had been shot in the head and the rest in the chest, said Mamoun al-Rubaie, an official at the morgue in Kut, where the bodies were bought. Three more bodies were discovered Saturday, one in Baghdad and two in Kifil in Hillah province south of the capital. In addition, 16 people died from bombings and gun attacks, including two in the southern city of Basra killed when a bomb exploded at a shop selling CDs featuring sermons and interviews of al-Sadr.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 people have been killed every month in the Baghdad area since January.
Have a nice day.
3 Killed, 3 Bodies Found, Kurdistan Office Of Patrioitic Union Set Ablaze
Good Morning,
Gunmen on Friday shot and killed three people in Baghdad and one in the northern city of Mosul in separate incidents, police said, and three unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad.
About 50 gunmen in the northern city of Kut stormed the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, headed by President Jalal Talabani, beat up the guards and set the building on fire, said police Lt. Othman al-Lami. The attackers accused the party's official newspaper of criticizing Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yacoubi.
The raid in Kut was another demonstration of Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divisions that have exploded into violence, mostly between Shiite and Sunni Arabs. It came a day after a suicide bomber killed 35 people in front of Iraq's most sacred Shiite shrine, the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf.
Have a nice day.
Shrine Bomber Kills 35, Injures 122. + !8 Killed In Other Violence + 5 Bodies Found
Good Morning,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A martyr bomber detonated a belt of explosives Thursday near a highly revered Shiite shrine in southern Iraq, killing at least 35 people and injuring 122, an official said.
The bomber blew himself up while being patted down by police near the Imam Ali mosque in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said Dr. Munthir al-Ithari, the head of the city's health directorate.
Shiite religious leaders in Najaf accused Sunni loyalists of former dictator Saddam Hussein of carrying out the attack
The Najaf bombing occurred at about 10:30 a.m. in a market packed with pilgrims and shoppers in front of the Imam Ali mosque, which contains the tomb of Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali. It is one of the world's most sacred shrines for Shiites, the minority sect of Islam.
Shakir Obeid Hassan, who was injured in the blast, said the suicide bomber was stopped at the last police checkpoint before the shrine, which was untouched, though all the stores facing the shrine were damaged, he said.
"Before I reached the checkpoint, only a few (feet) from the shrine, I heard a huge explosion. Something hit me on the head and I fell. I couldn't hear for a while but I saw bodies and human flesh everywhere," Hassan, 51, said from his hospital bed.
The Grand Market, directly in front of the shrine's entrance, is a wide road with shops lining both sides selling perfumes, jewelry, clothes and religious souvenirs, including rings with pictures of Ali and his son Hussein.
The aftermath of the bombing was a scene of carnage. Indistinguishable debris, boxes of perfume bottles, sandals and worry beads littered the bloodied street. Volunteers picked up human remains and washed away the thick pools of blood.
In other violence, 18 people were killed across the country, most of them in Baghdad, including four policemen who died in a gunfight with insurgents. Five bodies were also found Thursday.
Have a nice day.
Killings Continue, Bodies Found
Good Morning,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi government agency said Wednesday that "terrorists," not a U.S. airstrike, were to blame for an explosion at a mosque in Baqouba that left four people dead. The blast also wounded 16 people late Tuesday in the city 35 miles north of Baghdad, and police originally blamed an American strike.
In other violence Wednesday, gunmen on two motorcycles assassinated Col. Qassim Abdel-Qadir, administrative head of an Iraqi army division in the southern city of Basra, said a police official who did not want to be named for security reasons.
A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Habibiya, killing one bystander and wounding one U.S. soldier, said police Lt. Bilal Ali.
Police also found the bodies of three men who were shot in the head and dumped in two locations in southwestern Baghdad, said police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said.
Have a nice day.
31 Killed, 2 Bodies Found, 58 Wounded In a Variety Of Bombings and Shootings Around Iraq
Good Morning,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A series of bombings and shootings killed at least 31 people Tuesday, most in the Baghdad area, as more U.S. troops were seen in the capital as part of a campaign to reduce Sunni-Shiite violence that threatens civil war.
Three bombs exploded simultaneously near the Interior Ministry buildings in central Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding eight, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid said.
A couple of hours later, two roadside bombs ripped through the main Shurja market, also in central Baghdad, killing 10 civilians and wounding 50, police Lt. Mohammed Kheyoun said.
The blasts were the latest sign of the security crisis that prompted U.S. commanders to bolster the American troop presence in the city. More U.S. troops patrolled the streets of the Ghazaliyah neighborhood, a mostly Sunni area and among the most violent parts of the capital
In other violence Tuesday, two Sunni bothers were slain in their car repair shop in southwestern Baghdad and four Shiites were gunned down in a series of attacks in Baqouba and Muqdadiyah, two cities in Diyala province northeast of the capital, police said.
A policeman was killed in a bombing in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, and a police sergeant was shot dead in his car in Baghdad, police said.
Police also found two bodies, both shot in the head, in northwest Baghdad on Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, police said two Iraqi journalists were killed in separate attacks the day before in Baghdad. They were among more than 100 Iraqi and foreign media workers slain here since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Have a nice day.
10 Killed by Funeral Bomber, 10 Killed Elsewhere, 18+ Injured
Good Morning,
TIKRIT, Iraq - A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt Sunday night among mourners at a funeral in Tikrit, killing at least 10 people and wounding 18, police said.
Police Capt. Laith Hamid said the attack took place about 8:15 p.m. at the funeral of the father of a member of the provincial council. The council member, Saab Abd Bedeiwi, was killed in the attack, Hamid said.
The casualty toll is expected to increase because body parts were scattered around the tent where the mourners were gathered, Hamid said.
Elsewhere in Iraq, authorities lifted a partial curfew in Mosul, the country's third-largest city. The ban was lifted after authorities repulsed a series of attacks and rounded up dozens of suspects.
Ten people were killed elsewhere in Iraq in ongoing sectarian and political violence, police said, while several U.S. Marines were injured in a suicide bomb attack.
Heavy fighting erupted in Mosul Friday between security forces and insurgents, killing a police colonel and raising concern that insurgents were regrouping there.
Have a nice day.
2 Killed, 8 Wounded
Good Morning,
Saturday's bombings occurred in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. The first blast destroyed a grocery store and the second went off about five minutes later as police cars arrived at the scene. Police said the eight wounded included seven civilians and one policeman.
In other violence, two members of Saddam's former regime were shot dead in separate incidents Saturday, police said.
On Friday, gunmen killed a bodyguard of a senior Justice Ministry official in western Baghdad, and a police commando was killed by a roadside bomb in the central city of Samarra.
Have a nice day.
35 Iraqis Killed While Hundreds Of Thousands Chant Death To Israel and Death To America
Good Morning,
As Mr. Bush begins his summer vacation at his ranch in Crawford Texas, look at what is happening in Iraq:
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Hundreds of thousands of Shiites chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" marched through the streets of Baghdad's biggest Shiite district Friday in a show of support for Hezbollah militants battling Israeli troops in Lebanon.
No violence was reported during the rally in the Sadr City neighborhood. But at least 35 people were killed elsewhere in Iraq, many of them in a car bombing and gunbattle in the northern city of Mosul.
The demonstration was the biggest in the Middle East in support of Hezbollah since the Israeli army launched an offensive July 12 after a guerrilla raid on northern Israel. The protest was organized by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political movement built around the Mahdi Army militia has been modeled after Hezbollah.
Al-Sadr summoned followers from throughout the Shiite heartland of southern Iraq to converge on Baghdad for the rally but he did not attend.
Demonstrators, wearing white burial shrouds symbolizing their willingness to die for Hezbollah, waved the group's yellow banner and chanted slogans in support of its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who has attained a cult status in the Arab world for his defiance of Israel.
"Allah, Allah, give victory to Hassan Nasrallah," the crowd chanted.
"Mahdi Army and Hezbollah are one. Let them confront us if they dare," the predominantly male crowd shouted, waving the flags of Hezbollah, Lebanon and Iraq.
Many walked with umbrellas in the searing afternoon sun. Volunteers sprayed them with water.
"I am wearing the shroud and I am ready to meet martyrdom," said Mohammed Khalaf, 35, owner of a clothes shop in the southern city of Amarah.
Al-Sadr followers painted U.S. and Israeli flags on the main road leading to the rally site, and demonstrators stepped on them _ a gesture of contempt in Iraq. Alongside the painted flags was written: "These are the terrorists."
Protesters set fire to American and Israeli flags, as well as effigies of President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, showing the men with Dracula teeth. "Saddam and Bush, Two Faces of One Coin" was scrawled on Bush's effigy.
Iraqi government television said the Defense Ministry had approved the demonstration, a sign of public anger over Israel's offensive and of al-Sadr's stature as a major player in Iraqi politics.
"I consider my participation in this rally a religious duty. I am proud to join this crowd and I am ready to die for the sake of Lebanon," said Khazim al-Ibadi, 40, a government employee from Hillah.
Although the rally was about Hezbollah, it was also a show of strength by al-Sadr. Many people worried the presence of so many Shiite demonstrators _ most of them from the Mahdi Army _ would add to sectarian tensions in the city, which has seen almost daily clashes between Shiite and Sunni extremists.
The sectarian violence escalated after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra unleashed a wave of reprisal attacks on Sunnis nationwide.
On Thursday, Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, told a Senate committee in Washington that sectarian violence in Iraq "is probably as bad as I have seen it" and that if the spiral continued the country "could move toward civil war."
In the latest violence, at least 12 people were killed Friday when Iraqi security forces fought gunbattles with suspected insurgents in Mosul after a suicide car bomber attacked a police patrol, said the provincial police commander, Maj. Gen. Withiq al-Hamdani. He said that the bombing killed four policemen and that eight insurgents died in the subsequent gunbattle.
On Thursday evening, a suicide bomber drove into a soccer field in the town of Hatra near Mosul, setting off a blast that killed seven spectators and three policemen police Col. Abdul Karim Ahmed Khalaf said. Six civilians and nine policemen were injured, he said.
On Friday, three mortar shells hit a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing two people, wounding four and damaging some stores, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid, said.
An engineer was shot dead and an unidentified body, showing signs of torture, was found in western Baghdad.
Separately, gunmen shot and killed four people and wounded eight from a Shiite family late Thursday in Dujail, 50 miles north of Baghdad, police Lt. Hussam al-Dujeili said.
The U.S. military said in a statement that coalition forces killed at least three "terrorists" during an air strike and multiple raids southeast of Baghdad on Thursday.
Spoksmen for Mr. Bush say that his vacation will be "Short" this year. Rest well Mr. President.
Have a nice day.
On The Brink Of Civil War - Revenge Over Reconcilliation
Good Morning,
Today 3 US Generals finally admit that with the way the secretarian violence is going that Iraq could have an all out civil war. Brilliant men huh? We've been calling this for the last two years. I guess they have to wait until it gets right in their face before they can smell the coffee.
Today in Baghdad a dozen people were killed with a motorcycle with a bomb planted on it blew up at a market killing vendors/civilians.
I am the first one to tell you that I do not know or understand the spirit of the Iraqi soul. I would imagine that it would take an act of "God" to make the Iraqi's who have been so brutally attacked first by the US and then by each other to rid themselves of the pain through "Reconcilliation". Reconcilliation means that people can sit down at the same table, express themselves openly, be heard by each other, and then peace can be negotiated through a civilized process. However, when the blood of all Iraqi's are at their boiling point, I feel extremely pesimistic that "Reconciliation" can occur. Who is capable of being civil, or rational in an uncivil and irrational situation? People have to blow themselves to smitherines until the desperation of the situation is is so grave, that even it (the despiration), dies.
Below is today's article about US Generals thoughts/concerns about the Iraqi civil war. Mr. Bush has ignited this horrific situation upon the Iraqi people, and for what? Only he and his "God" knows for sure.
WASHINGTON - Two of the Pentagon's most senior generals conceded to Congress on Thursday that the surge in sectarian violence in Baghdad in recent weeks means Iraq may descend into civil war.
"Iraq could move toward civil war" if the violence is not contained, Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I have seen it," he said, adding that the top priority in Iraq is to secure the capital, where factional violence has surged in recent weeks despite efforts by the new Iraqi government to stop the fighting.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the panel, "We do have the possibility of that devolving into civil war." He added that this need not happen and stressed that ultimately it depends on the Iraqis more than on the U.S. military.
"Shiite and Sunni are going to have to love their children more than they hate each other," Pace said, before the tensions can be overcome. "The weight of that must be on the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government."
President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have steadfastly refused to call the situation in Iraq a civil war, although Rumsfeld at a news conference on Wednesday acknowledged that the violence is increasing.
The commanders' remarks about the threat of a civil war came just three months before congressional elections in which Bush administration policy in Iraq looms as a defining issue. Many voters have tired of the 3-year-old war, which has cost more than 2,500 U.S. lives and more than a quarter trillion taxpayer dollars.
They also come at a time when thanks to the high level of violence in Baghdad, administration hopes have diminished of significantly reducing the U.S. force in Iraq, which Rumsfeld said currently totals 133,000. Last year, Army Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, expressed hopes of significant troop cuts this year, comments that Abizaid seemed to temper on Thursday.
"Since the time that General Casey made that statement, it's clear that the operational and the tactical situation in Baghdad is such that it requires additional security forces, both U.S. and Iraqi," Abizaid told Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee.
"It's possible to imagine some reductions in forces, but I think the most important thing to imagine is Baghdad coming under the control of the Iraqi government," Abizaid said.
Later in the hearing, the general expressed confidence that the Iraqi government is moving in the right direction.
"Am I optimistic whether or not Iraqi forces, with our support, with the backing of the Iraqi government, can prevent the slide to civil war? My answer is yes, I'm optimistic that that slide can be prevented," Abizaid said.
Later in the hearing Pace told the committee that his comment about the possibility of civil war did not mean he expects one. "Speaking for myself, I do not believe it is probable," he said, because the Iraqi government and the Iraqi military are not breaking apart.
Asked whether the United States would continue to have a military mission in Iraq in the event that civil war did break out, Rumseld declined to respond directly, saying that it could give the impression that he presumes there will be a civil war. "Our role is to support the government. The government is holding together. The armed forces are holding together," he said.
Bush last week approved an increase in the number of U.S. troops in Baghdad as part of a new effort to help Iraqi security forces get a grip on the sectarian tensions.
Abizaid also said under questioning that it was possible that U.S. casualties could rise as a result of the battle to contain sectarian violence in the capital.
"I think it's possible that in the period ahead of us in Baghdad that we'll take increased casualties _ that's possible," he said.
Rumsfeld, who testified alongside Abizaid and Pace, did not comment directly on the prospect of civil war but said Iraq's future lay in the hands of Iraqis, beginning with a reconciliation process that has yet to get under way.
"Ultimately the sectarian violence is going to be dealt with by Iraqis," Rumsfeld said.
And under tough questioning by Sen. Hillary Clinton about previous appearances before the committee, he denied that he had ever "painted a rosy picture" of the situation in Iraq.
Pace said he did not anticipate one year ago that Iraq would now be in danger of plummeting into civil war. Abizaid said it was obvious a year ago that sectarian violence was on the rise, and that Iraq's police forces did not develop as well as U.S. officials had expected.
"It's vital that we turn this around," the general said.
Pressed about the prospect of reducing U.S. troop levels in Iraq, Rumsfeld stuck to his usual assertion that it depends on conditions and on the ability of the Iraqi government to suppress sectarian tensions. He said the Pentagon is seeking a careful balance between having too few troops and having too many.
"That's a fair tension there," Rumsfeld said.Have a nice day.
53 Killed In Ongoing Violence
Good Day,
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombs exploded on a soccer field Wednesday killing 11 young people, and at least 42 other people _ two of them Americans _ died elsewhere in sectarian or political violence. Still, the president said plans are on track for Iraqis to take over security.
The two homemade bombs went off on a soccer field in the mostly Shiite district of Amil in west Baghdad, killing both players and spectators ranging in age from 15 to 25, police 1st Lt. Maitham Abdul Razzaq said.
Two mortar shells struck another Shiite district, Abu Dshir, killing three people under age 15, police Capt. Firas Queti said. One shell exploded on a soccer field and the other hit a house, wounding a couple and their child, he said.
Have a nice day.
The Unfiltered Graphics Please
Good morning,
Wow.. I'm on a rampage today. Just read Riverbends blog (See the right column, I have her link listed there). She talks about the graphic details of the aftermath of the Israel bombing in Lebanon the other day. Yes, you know,the bombing which killed dozens of innocent women and children. To those of you who read this from other countries, you should know that the United States Of America is really big into keeping our news "Clean". Our news broadcasters are not allowed to show corpses, hacked up people, blown apart body parts, dead babies, bloodshed, or any type of what Americans would consider "Graphic" photographic or video coverage of the aftermath of an attack. Even after September 11th, they were very careful to not show any of the bloody afermath. We saw only a few powdery faces, maybe some tears or looks of horror. My question is, why is America so "Protective" of its audience or.. as we say, "Respectful" for those and their families who have been badly injured, torn apart, or killed? On one hand I do understand the idea that perhaps people would prefer to remain unseen, or their families might prefer to not have the blood of their relative broadcasted to the world. On the other hand, I think that we Americans need to see the real, true, unfiltered aftermath of the horrific attacks, bombings, murders, kidnappings, and slaughter that is out there.
Why does our news coverage need to be so sterilized? I believe the more graphic the coverage, the more opportunity we have to see the real truth of the matter, thus have the chance to even for a moment experience heartfelt pain and anger. Let's get out of denial, whitewashing, and for heaven's sake, such sterilized coverage of the morbid Iraqi condition. Americans might finally see the truth, and wake up and force change onto this exceptionally subborn and steadfast regime that we call our "Administration". Trust me, international readers, this "Administration" does not reflect nor do they "administer" the will of the majority of the American people. Most Americans agree that their attack on Iraq was a HUGE blunder and mistake. Most Americans believe that the USA should get out of there if not immediately, as soon as possible. Most Americans, quite frankly, have lost respect (if they ever had any to begin with), with Mr. Bush. Quite simply, he and his little crew of strokers, clearly live in their own world and honestly do not represent the majority of how the people of the US feel. Excuse the tangent!
On that note, I'll leave you with a single thought. Let's take off the rose colored glasses so we can truly see the red.
Have a nice day.
70+ Killed, 45 People Kidnapped
Good Day, this is the latest update as of Tuesday evening:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombings and shootings killed more than 70 people in Iraq on Tuesday in a surge of bloodshed as U.S. forces prepare to take back Baghdad's streets from gunmen. The dead included 20 Iraqi troops, a U.S. soldier and a British soldier.
The American soldier, who was assigned to the 1st Armored Division, died "due to enemy action" in Anbar province west of Baghdad, the U.S. command said. In a separate statement, the military said a U.S. soldier from the 16th Corps Support Group died the day before in a roadside bombing south of the capital.
In further violence, officials confirmed that about 45 Shiite Muslims were kidnapped over the last two weeks on the main highway to Syria and Jordan. The highway passes through Sunni insurgent strongholds west of Baghdad.
The deadliest attack Tuesday occurred when a roadside bomb devastated a bus packed with Iraqi soldiers near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad. All 24 people aboard were killed, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said. All but four of the dead were Iraqi soldiers, police said.
In Baghdad, 14 people died and 37 were wounded when a car bomb exploded at a bank where police and soldiers were picking up monthly paychecks, police Lt. Col. Abbas Mohammed Salman said.
The blast set several other cars ablaze and scattered dismembered bodies along the street as bystanders carried the injured to ambulances.
Abdul-Hassan Mohammed, 62, a retired teacher who had gone to the bank to pick up his pension, said the explosion slammed him about 12 feet into a wall.
"My friends took me to one of their stores, gave me water and asked me to relax," Mohammed said. "I didn't even get my pension."
It was the third major attack in less than a week in Karradah, a fashionable, mostly Shiite neighborhood in central Baghdad that is home to several prominent politicians. Last Thursday, 31 people were killed in an attack that included rockets, mortars and a car bomb.
On Monday, gunmen dressed in military fatigues abducted 26 people from the offices of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and a nearby mobile phone company.
The British soldier was fatally wounded in a mortar barrage before dawn Tuesday on a British base in the southern city of Basra, the British Defense Ministry said. Britain has lost 115 soldiers in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
There was no claim of responsibility for the barrage. But it followed a crackdown by the British on Shiite militias that have infiltrated security forces in the city and threaten the authority of the government in Baghdad.
In the southern city of Najaf, Gov. Assad Abu Kilal said 45 people from his province had disappeared while traveling by bus through the Sunni-dominated area west of Baghdad. He demanded the government stop the kidnappings or he would send his own forces to protect the road.
A senior Interior Ministry official, Saadoun Abu al-Ula, confirmed that more than 45 people from the Najaf area were seized but said "it's been going on for the past two weeks _ like two or three people snatched per day."
Late Tuesday, an Internet statement by the al-Qaida-affiliated Mujahedeen Shura Council claimed "the resistance" captured 37 Najaf policemen Monday near Ramadi as they returned from a training course in Jordan. It was unclear if they were from the group cited by the Najaf governor.
U.S. officials have also grown alarmed over the rise in Sunni-Shiite violence and the role of sectarian militias. Those tensions are now considered a greater threat than the Sunni insurgency to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The U.S. military is moving at least 3,700 soldiers from Mosul to Baghdad and is gearing up for a new security operation to wrest control of the capital from Shiite militias, Sunni insurgents, kidnap gangs, rogue police and freelance gunmen.
U.S. officials have described the Baghdad campaign as a "must-win" for al-Maliki, whose government has been unable to curb the rise in violence since it took office May 20. American troops will work alongside U.S.-trained Iraqi forces.
As part of the campaign against militias, U.S. troops on Tuesday arrested a Baghdad-area representative of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army is among the most feared armed groups.
The arrest of Sheik Ahmed al-Ashmani was reported by al-Sadr's staff, which said 10 other members of the cleric's movement were detained. There was no confirmation from the U.S. military.
Meanwhile, gunmen ambushed a minibus carrying employees of a power station to their homes in the Shiite district of Sadr City, killing five passengers and wounding six, police said.
A car bomb killed seven people, six of them civilians, in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad and a flashpoint of Sunni-Shiite tensions. Three Iraqi soldiers were killed Tuesday evening when a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint in the northern city of Tal Afar, the Iraqi army said.
An Iraqi journalist working for the Iranian government-run Al-Alam television was slain in western Baghdad. Adil al-Mansuri, an Iraqi in his 20s, was stopped by gunmen Monday and shot, according to a colleague, Aysar al-Yasiri.
A Sunni Arab politician, Mohammed Shihab al-Dulaimi, was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad, his associates said. Al-Dulaimi is the spokesman for a coalition of political groups that rejected the results of the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
The other victims reported by police died in a series of shootings and bombings, mostly in Baghdad.
Have a nice day.
