Pentagon: Violence In Iraq Rising
New Report Says Security Problems Are Growing More Complex
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Play CBS Video Video Vietnam Veterans In Iraq Some Vietnam veterans are working to rebuild Iraq, hoping that they can make up for the promises that were broken decades ago. Mark Strassmann reports from Baghdad.
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Video Is Baghdad Crackdown Working? Mark Strassmann has been out with some of the U.S. troops patrolling some of Baghdad's worst neighborhoods as part of a security crackdown.
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Video Deadly Wave Of Attacks In Iraq Gen. George Casey said Iraqi forces will eventually be able to handle Iraq's security needs. But if the violence of the past week is any indication, that may be optimistic. Mark Strassmann reports
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U.S. soldiers inspect the site of a car bomb explosion, in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday Aug.24, 2006. (AP Photo)
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A young Iraqi girl looks at her parrots in her Baghdad home, which was damaged by rocket attacks on Sept. 1, 2006. At least 67 civilians were killed in coordinated attacks Aug. 31 after bombs and mortar shells landed in Shiite areas eastern Baghdad. (Getty Images)
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Iraqi policemen inspect the wreckage of a car used by suicide car bomber in Baghdad on Aug. 31, 2006. (AP)
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Iraqi policemen inspect the wreckage of a car bomb in Baghdad on Aug. 30, 2006. The bomb, targeting a police patrol, killed three, including one policeman, and wounded 14 others. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Aftermath of bomb blast that killed 24 people near Shurja main market in Baghdad, Aug. 30, 2006. (AP /APTN)
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Interactive Attacks Map Details on the insurgency and terrorism that has continued to take lives since the fall of Saddam.
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Interactive Religion In Iraq An interactive guide to Iraq's religious, ethnic and ideological mix.
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Who's Who Iraq Insurgency More on the militant groups behind the insurgency in Iraq and their motivations.
In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon reported that illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of both security and basic social services.
The report described a rising tide of sectarian violence, fed in part by interference from neighboring Iran and Syria and driven by a "vocal minority" of religious extremists who oppose the idea of a democratic Iraq.
Death squads targeting mainly Iraqi civilians are a growing problem, heightening the risk of civil war, the report said.
"Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife," the report said, adding that the Sunni-led insurgency "remains potent and viable" even as it is overshadowed by the sect-on-sect killing.
"Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in and around Baghdad, and concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population has increased in recent months," the report said. It is the latest in a series of quarterly reports required by Congress to assess economic, political and security progress.
However, in his weekly radio address Saturday, U.S. President George W. Bush painted a rosier picture of Iraq.
"Our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war," Mr. Bush said. "They report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country."
A growing number of members of Congress are calling for either a shift in the Bush administration's Iraq strategy or a timetable for beginning a substantial withdrawal of American forces. Although administration officials say progress is being made in Iraq, U.S. commanders have increased U.S. troop levels by about 13,000 over the past five weeks, to 140,000, mainly due to increased violence in the Baghdad area.
In other developments:
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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