U.S. Fails To Curb Baghdad Violence
Attacks Up 22% During Ramadan Despite U.S.-Iraqi Efforts
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Play CBS Video Video Reserves Redeployed To Iraq The Bush administration's "stay the course" strategy means a lot more U.S. soldiers will have to spend a lot more time in Iraq. As David Martin reports, the Pentagon has issued another call-up.
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Video Iraq Violence 'Disheartening' The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq delivered what was likely the bleakest assessment yet of the situation. David Martin has more.
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Video Iraq's Deadly Month Only On The Web: With his strategy under fire and elections weeks away, President Bush is dealing with an extremely gruesome month in Iraq. Bill Plante reports.
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The wreckage of a car bombing in Baghdad, Oct. 19, 2006. (AP)
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Iraqi police officers secure the area in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, on Oct. 19, 2006, after a suicide car bomb hit a major police station in the northern city. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)
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An Iraqi police officer stands guard outside a main police station in Mosul, Oct. 19, 2006, after a suicide car bomb attack. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)
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Saddam Hussein in court, Oct. 19, 2006. (AP)
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A relative shouts for help in Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad, moments before the woman died from injuries from a car bombing, Oct. 19, 2006. (AP)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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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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Who's Who Iraq Insurgency More on the militant groups behind the insurgency in Iraq and their motivations.
Despite that 22 percent, General William Caldwell insisted violence and progress exist side by side, rattling off statistics such as more that 700 weapons caches discovered since July.
But the fact that the insurgency can take loses like that and still step up its attacks against American troops in what it believed to be an attempt to influence the November elections in the United States is also a measure of its strength and resilience, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
"The enemy knows that killing innocent people and Americans will garner headlines and create a sense of frustration," Caldwell said.
The spike in violence during the month of fasting was "disheartening" and the Americans were now working with Iraqi authorities to "refocus" security measures, Caldwell said.Listen to CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick's report on the military's assessment.
"In Baghdad, Operation Together Forward has made a difference in the focus areas but has not met our overall expectations in sustaining a reduction in the level of violence," Caldwell said at a weekly news briefing.
Meanwhile, the White House is emphatically rejecting two proposals aimed at ending the war in Iraq. Press Secretary Tony Snow says the idea of dividing Iraq into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions is a "non-starter." He also says a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops — perhaps by five percent every two months — is not under consideration. "You withdraw when you win," Snow said.
Snow was commenting on ideas reportedly being looked at by a blue-ribbon panel chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker. The commission is to report its findings after the elections. But Baker has said there are alternatives other than "stay the course and cut and run."
In other developments:
The gloomy assessment of the Baghdad operation, which was set in motion with the deployment of an extra 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops on Aug. 7, was issued at a time of perceived tension between the U.S. military and administration and the nearly five-month-old government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Caldwell said, for example, that U.S. forces had been forced to release a captured top organizer for radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday, a day after he was detained on suspicion of "illegal" activities.
He said Mazin al-Sa'edi, a top organizer with the Sadr Movement political party in western Baghdad, was set free on the demand of al-Maliki. Al-Sa'edi had been detained along with five of his aides for suspected involvement in Shiite militant violence.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Listen to CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick's report on the military's assessment.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





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See all 119 Commentshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901907.html
The article is free to read you just have to create an account,no money involved.So please read.
Bush would like you to believe that terrorist groups like Al Qaeda are responsible for attacks against American Troops - the reality is that religious militias - Shia and Sunni - are behind the majority of the attacks.
Bush was warned before he went to war that after Saddam was removed from power, there would be power struggles between the various religious/ethnic groups.
He chose to ignore them and the result is that Americans are dying because of his policies.
The responsibility for the invasion of Iraq and the aftermath lays firmly on his shoulders.
He wanted war at any cost and he got it.
The man who couldn't be bothered turning up for his own military responsibilities is now happy to send American sons and daughters to die in a war that he, a known coward, started.
Meanwhile, Bush is safe at home while they are dying and his friends and campaign contributors are becoming richer of the bodies of American troops.
In a war that Bush wanted - he had and has no answers.
All he has is blood on his hands.
"This set of comments is so full of nonsense it is pure fiction. Nobody lied, Bush is not evil, The US is not evil, terrorist want to kill you whether you negotiate with them or not, none of the writers have a clue about the Middle East nor any solutions to the terrorist problem..."
And clearly, you have no clue either.
And apparently, even the truth doesn't seem to ring any bells with you.
Back to the old head in the sand routine for you.
You say the people in this forum don't have a clue about terrorism or the Middle East. Well we would all love to hear what you know about how and why we ended up in this mess and how we get out. Maybe you can tell us who the terrorists are, where they're from, and what they want. It would be extremely enlightening I'm sure. If you can write a paragraph with some original thought rather than talking points or some tired, empty, rediculous slogans you heard on fox news I will be extremely impressed.
Most of the experts, Bush and Chenney had at their disposal, said going to Iraq is a mistake.
DOE: "The tubes cannot be use for a centrifuge"
CIA: "NO yellow cake connection"
NSA: "no contact between Iraq and Al Qaeda"
Pentagon: "Taking Iraq will be a long a hard fought guerrilla warfare exercise"
Funny, I don't remember hearing much of this dissent in the run-up to "The GOP/Bush Iraq War".
Why? I don't know, but I do know that Republicans were and are in power everywhere in our government.
Message to Bush, Chenney, Rumsfeld, and all the rest of the White House fools:
I put the blame solely in your hands for the cursory war in Iraq, which you and your sloppy administration led us into.
I WANT FAMILY OF MINE TO COME HOME ALIVE FROM IRAQ. I NEVER WANT CURSORY LEADERS PUTTING MY FAMILIY IN HARMS WAY, WHEN I DON'T KNOW WHY OR FOR DISPUTED REASONS.
Shame on Republicans for their lack of imagination, their poor performance as leaders and their willful ignorance when adapting policies that effect the lives of every American.
We have to do everything in our power to remove these incompetent leaders from power.
Americans need to vote with their minds and not their emotions so Congress can be made up of leaders that will do the same.
Conservative or liberal, you don't have to attack those who disagree with your view. This is the U.S.A; we are allowed to do that.
On the other hand, I can say whatever I want about the President; he's no longer my Commander in Chief, and he could never fill the shoes of any of the Commander in Chiefs I served under, from Ike to "wild Willy."
This is supposed to be a board where we can have a discussion or debate without attacking each other. I think that's what the rules are.
Left or right, liberal or conservative, progressive or 'status quo', one can't help but notice that Bush's approval ratings are extremely low. You've got to notice that the approval ratings for the 'conservative led' Congress, Senate and House, are at a rock-bottom embarrassing 16 percent.
Conservative or liberal, you've got to know that planning a war only ten days after becoming president is not a conservative action. The 'liberal' media has been very kind to Bush in not pursuing this fact.
Conservative or liberal, you've got to know that lying to go to war is not a conservative action.
Conservative or liberal, you've got to know that attacking a nation that didn't attack us is not a conservative action.
Conservative or liberal, you've got to know, that a dim-witted C-average student with no real business acumen, a 'businessman' who never turned a profit in the oil business, could not possible have the skills necessary to lead a democracy of nearly 300 million free-thinking people. (He did turn a profit in selling the Texas Rangers, but the citizens of Arlington Texas took a big one in the shorts over the stadium deal.)
Warning! WARNING!
any one who dares call our Glorious Leader a liar is possibly an ENEMY COMBATANT and may be detained, tortured and shipped to Guantanamo without evidence or trial.
George Bush was selected by OUR LORD to rule our Country in these end of days. therefore we have given him exclusive and absolute power to determine who is an ENEMY COMBATANT and they of course HAVE NO RIGHTS as humans!
Vice Chancellor Cheney und Field Marshall Rumsfeld may also determine ENEMY COMBATANTS to be tortured.
PRAISE OUR GLORIOUS LEADER OR YOU COULD BE NEXT!
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS
GOD FORGIVE GEORGE BUSH
They will surley be surprised when the 72 virgins they'll see will be nuns with shot guns.
sounds like some people still have 9/11 and iraq mixed up. still no connection. guess the news doesn't get around so fast to some places. funny, seems like it's always the people that need an excuse for the Iraq mess that get mixed up with the facts om 9/11. but they mention it alot, anyway.
Afghanistan, the taliban and al queda were responsible for 9/11. They are all still in business. we've handed that job off to nato.
so we can concentrate on Iraq.
Where we are stuck in a civil war between ancient enemies.
Remember when we had "broken the back of the insurgency"
and they were "a few dead enders"
and "Bring em on"
That's not strong on security- that's just stupid,
heckuva job georgie!
God Bless Our Troops
God forgive George Bush
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