Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
March 18, 2008
Pg. 6
Violent day across Iraq claims at least 72 lives
From wire reports
BAGHDAD — Vice President Cheney declared the U.S. invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor" during a visit to Baghdad on Monday. Also Monday, a bomb killed at least 40 people in the Muslim holy city of Karbala.
At a news conference with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, Cheney said it is very important that "we not quit before the job is done" in Iraq.
"If you look back on those five years" since the invasion in 2003, "it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor … and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney said.
Cheney, who stayed on a military base reporters were asked not to reveal for safety reasons, credited recent reductions in violence to President Bush's decision last year to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq.
In deciding whether to draw back more than those 30,000 before he leaves office, Bush will weigh whether the United States can continue on a track toward political reconciliation and stability in Iraq, Cheney said.
"It would be a mistake now to be so eager to draw down the force that we risk putting the outcome in jeopardy," Cheney said. "And I don't think we'll do that."
Petraeus and Crocker are working on a status report on the war and will testify to Congress next month. Petraeus said discussions on the report would continue within the chain of command this week and then with the president.
"We're keenly aware of the strain and the stress that these extended deployments have put on soldiers and their families, and we would love to draw down further, but that is dependent on conditions on the ground," Petraeus said.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, was also in Baghdad on Monday for a second day of meetings with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"We recognize that al-Qaeda is on the run, but they are not defeated," McCain said after meeting al-Maliki. "Al-Qaeda continues to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a democracy. So we know there's still a lot more of work to be done."
The suicide bombing in Karbala was the deadliest in a series of attacks across the country that left at least 72 Iraqis dead, including six youths killed when mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field in eastern Baghdad.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll closer to 4,000 as the U.S.-led war enters its sixth year.
The Karbala attack came after worshipers had gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the golden-domed shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Mohammed who was killed in a seventh-century battle.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, told the Associated Press the attacker was a woman.
The U.S. military described the attack as a suicide operation and said 40 Iraqis were killed and 65 were wounded. The U.S. statement said the bomber's identity was unknown. The U.S. Embassy and military issued a joint statement blaming al-Qaeda in Iraq for the attack.
Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, Karbala's police chief, said 43 people were killed and 73 wounded. He denied it was a suicide attack, saying a bomb had been planted in the area. The discrepancies could not immediately be resolved.
Karim Khazim, the city's chief health official, said seven of those killed were Iranian pilgrims who had traveled to the holy site.
Female suicide bombers have been involved in at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks since the war began, including the bombings of two markets in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people last month.
The U.S. military has warned that insurgents use women in the attacks because they are more easily able to avoid being searched at checkpoints and can hide the explosives under traditional all-encompassing black Islamic robes.
Police closed the area around the twin golden-dome mosques and blocked all roads leading to the sites.
March 18, 2008
Pg. 6
Violent day across Iraq claims at least 72 lives
From wire reports
BAGHDAD — Vice President Cheney declared the U.S. invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor" during a visit to Baghdad on Monday. Also Monday, a bomb killed at least 40 people in the Muslim holy city of Karbala.
At a news conference with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, Cheney said it is very important that "we not quit before the job is done" in Iraq.
"If you look back on those five years" since the invasion in 2003, "it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor … and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney said.
Cheney, who stayed on a military base reporters were asked not to reveal for safety reasons, credited recent reductions in violence to President Bush's decision last year to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq.
In deciding whether to draw back more than those 30,000 before he leaves office, Bush will weigh whether the United States can continue on a track toward political reconciliation and stability in Iraq, Cheney said.
"It would be a mistake now to be so eager to draw down the force that we risk putting the outcome in jeopardy," Cheney said. "And I don't think we'll do that."
Petraeus and Crocker are working on a status report on the war and will testify to Congress next month. Petraeus said discussions on the report would continue within the chain of command this week and then with the president.
"We're keenly aware of the strain and the stress that these extended deployments have put on soldiers and their families, and we would love to draw down further, but that is dependent on conditions on the ground," Petraeus said.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, was also in Baghdad on Monday for a second day of meetings with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"We recognize that al-Qaeda is on the run, but they are not defeated," McCain said after meeting al-Maliki. "Al-Qaeda continues to pose a great threat to the security and very existence of Iraq as a democracy. So we know there's still a lot more of work to be done."
The suicide bombing in Karbala was the deadliest in a series of attacks across the country that left at least 72 Iraqis dead, including six youths killed when mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field in eastern Baghdad.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll closer to 4,000 as the U.S.-led war enters its sixth year.
The Karbala attack came after worshipers had gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the golden-domed shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Mohammed who was killed in a seventh-century battle.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, told the Associated Press the attacker was a woman.
The U.S. military described the attack as a suicide operation and said 40 Iraqis were killed and 65 were wounded. The U.S. statement said the bomber's identity was unknown. The U.S. Embassy and military issued a joint statement blaming al-Qaeda in Iraq for the attack.
Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, Karbala's police chief, said 43 people were killed and 73 wounded. He denied it was a suicide attack, saying a bomb had been planted in the area. The discrepancies could not immediately be resolved.
Karim Khazim, the city's chief health official, said seven of those killed were Iranian pilgrims who had traveled to the holy site.
Female suicide bombers have been involved in at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks since the war began, including the bombings of two markets in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people last month.
The U.S. military has warned that insurgents use women in the attacks because they are more easily able to avoid being searched at checkpoints and can hide the explosives under traditional all-encompassing black Islamic robes.
Police closed the area around the twin golden-dome mosques and blocked all roads leading to the sites.