A massive truck bomb followed by two smaller blasts ravaged Kirkuk yesterday, police said, killing more than 80 people in the deadliest attack in the troubled northern Iraqi city since the war began…The attacks this month are part of a pattern of increasing violence at a time of heightened tensions among ethnic Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen residents in the city and its environs…The attacks also furthered fears that insurgents pushed out of Baghdad by the increased US military presence are focusing their efforts on the country’s north, which has far fewer troops. [Link]
The situation for Iraqi children is getting worse and, in some respects, was better before the war began, a senior UN official said yesterday. “Children today are much worse off than they were a year ago, and they certainly are worse off than they were three years ago,” said Dan Toole, director of emergency programs for the United Nations Children’s Fund. He said Iraqis no longer have safe access to a government-funded food basket, established under Saddam Hussein to deal with international sanctions. [Link]
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has reached a tentative agreement to buy financial information group Dow Jones & Company for five billion dollars, but the family with a controlling share in Dow is divided on whether to approve the deal, a newspaper report said. The deal will be put to the full Dow Jones board Tuesday evening for its endorsement, according to the report in the Wall Street Journal, the leading US financial daily which is owned by Dow Jones. [Link]
In his most optimistic remarks since the U.S. troop buildup began, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that Iraq has undergone a “sea change” in security in recent months, and that this will influence his recommendation to President Bush on how long to continue the current strategy. After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday. [Link]
In the pursuit of an elusive enemy the US loosely labels AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq), US Green Berets and soldiers in this remote corner of Iraq have enlisted the help of a new ally that they have christened LRF, the “Legitimate Resistance Force.” It includes ex-insurgents, police dropouts with checkered backgrounds, and former Al Qaeda-linked fighters – all united by a desire to rid Diyala Province of the network’s influence, say US officers…its creation clearly demonstrates a desire by the US to look for grass-roots solutions amid increasing frustration with the combat readiness – and even loyalty – of Iraqi forces….Maliki warned US forces last month against creating new militias in their fight against Al Qaeda-linked operatives. He insisted that all collaboration with local groups must be done through his government. [Link]
Most Iranians support nuclear inspections, a democratic government and normal relations with the United States, a poll by a U.S.-based organization has found. Terror Free Tomorrow found 80 percent of Iranians support full inspections and a guarantee not to develop nuclear weapons in return for aid from other countries. Slightly more than half, however, said they still favor the development of nuclear weapons and think the country would be safer with them. Developing the weapons is considered a “very important” priority for just 29 percent of those polled. [Link]
Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, said Monday he’s “extremely doubtful” that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will be able to secure the country and allow American forces to leave any time soon…”The most important is inclusivity,” he added. “That is making sure that you include all elements of Iraqi society in the government,” he said. “They’re not close at all. The president gave them a satisfactory rating. But all they’ve done is create a committee” to work on a host of legislative issues aimed at completing the transition from the Saddam Hussein era. “I am extremely doubtful about it. He’s had quite a bit of time now. He’s known exactly what he’s had to do. He hasn’t done it. His rhetoric is pretty good. His performance is pretty bad,” Hamilton said in an interview with on NBC’s “Today” show. [Link]
The Pittsburgh newspaper owned by conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife yesterday called the Bush administration’s plans to stay the course in Iraq a “prescription for American suicide.” The editorial in the Tribune-Review added, “And quite frankly, during last Thursday’s news conference, when George Bush started blathering about ’sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don’t enable you to be loved,’ we had to question his mental stability.” [Link]
The oil price on Monday skirted record highs above $78 a barrel, prompting policymakers to warn about the inflationary impact of rising energy costs. Brent crude oil, seen as the best gauge of the global oil market, rose to an intra-day high of $78.40 a barrel, just below last August’s all-time high of $78.65. [Link]
The largest morgue in Diyala province is overflowing daily. Officials told IPS they have had to dig mass graves to dispose of bodies. More and more bodies of victims of the ongoing violence are being found every day in Baquba, capital city of the province, 50km northeast of Baghdad…Many victims of U.S. air strikes have been buried under the rubble of their homes for days, sometimes weeks, residents say. The military operation has been launched to target al-Qaeda, amid local reports that the operation began after the al-Qaeda suspects had fled town. People in the town feel targeted by killings from all sides. Foreign terror groups, like those who claim to be following the model of al-Qaeda, have kidnapped many people who are never heard from again….The refrigerators at the morgue are packed beyond capacity, and workers narrate grisly accounts of attempts to access the bodies for identification. [Link]
Dozens of Shiite villagers in the north were massacred by Sunni extremists, two officials said Tuesday, while a car bomb exploded across the street from the Iranian Embassy in the heart of Baghdad and killed four civilians. Meanwhile, Shiite legislators loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decided to end their five-week boycott of parliament, one of their leaders said. The Shiite protest along with a separate Sunni boycott had blocked work on key benchmark legislation demanded by the U.S. [Link]
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