Iraq greets fourth year of occupation with lost security, adjourned government
Iraq, Politics, 3/20/2006

The war in Iraq enters its fourth year while there are still 1500 American and American soldiers participating in a military operation in Samara town north of Baghdad described by military men as the largest strike operation in Iraq since toppling the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi politicians did not agree on the formation of the next government despite the fact that three months elapsed on the finalizing of the legislative elections, but they announced on Sunday reaching an agreement to nominate a national security council in order to debate strategic issues while negotiations to form the government are still continuous.

Some 133,000 American soldiers are deployed in Iraq representing one third increase over the forces which took part in the invasion of Iraq on march 20, 2003.

According to official statistics for the Pentagon at least 2314 American soldiers were killed in the war which cost the US between 200- 250 billion dollars,estimated.

30,000 Iraqis have been killed so far according to a US official while other estimates said that this number is much more greater.

With all the talk to describe the status of Iraq under the conditions it undergoes, US Vice President Dick Cheney told CBS's Face the Nation yesterday that Iraq has not fallen into civil war even though terrorists are doing their desperate best to foment one to thwart the nation's democratic development, .

While Iraq's former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi told the BBC "Iraq is in the middle of civil war." The BBC reported "He said Iraq had not got to the point of no return, but if it fell apart (and) sectarianism would spread."

Meantime, 17 Iraqis were killed in different explosions in Iraq including nine who were killed during a breaking in operation carried out by joint American- and Iraqi forces at dawn in al-Dalou'eya area north of Baghdad.

In another development, the Iraqi ministry of interior stressed finding 21 unidentified bodies in several areas in Baghdad with all of them were hand tightened and killed by bullets.

Simultaneously, hundreds of thousands of Shiite gathered in Karbala southwest of Baghdad to celebrate the assassination anniversary of Imam al-Hussein amid tough security measures to prevent any attacks targeting the visitors.

Previous Stories:
  100,000 march in London against Blair's war   (3/20/2006)
  Anti-war rally held at Syntagma Square in Athens   (3/20/2006)
  Iranian views of the talks with US over Iraq   (3/18/2006)
  Bush urges Iraqi leaders to unite   (3/18/2006)
  LA Times: US general praises Syria for border tightening   (3/18/2006)
  Samara military operation continues in Iraq   (3/18/2006)
  Six Iraqis killed in new attacks   (3/18/2006)
  More bodies in Baghdad   (3/17/2006)
  Jaafari ready to withdraw if it serves the nation   (3/17/2006)
  Iraqi parliament session reveals need for consensus   (3/17/2006)
  Saddam's brother claims coercion to testify against Saddam   (3/16/2006)

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