Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb ripped through a crowded commercial district in a mainly Shiite town north of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 32 people and wounding 43, Iraqi officials said. The explosion in Dujail was apparently targeting a police station but instead it badly damaged a nearby medical clinic, according to police. Concrete barriers largely protected the police station, the officials said. Friday's blast was the latest in a series of attacks in areas north of Baghdad, where violence has been slower to decline than elsewhere in the country. Earlier Friday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a Shiite mosque farther north in Sinjar as worshippers left prayers at midday, killing two civilians and wounding 15.

In political developments, Shiite followers of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated in Baghdad and the southern city of Kufa against plans for a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that will determine the status of the U.S. military in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, Sheik Abdul Hadi al-Mohammadawi, an al-Sadr aide, told worshippers during prayers that it is a "suspicious agreement" that would bring "humiliation and degradation to the Iraqi people."

Iraqi and U.N. officials say four cholera cases have been confirmed in Karbala, a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad that draws masses of pilgrims. The new cases come in addition to 36 previously announced by the Iraqi Health Ministry, and show that the latest outbreak of the gastrointestinal disease has spread to a new area. Naeema al-Gasseer, a doctor with the World Health Organization, confirms that figure and says the U.N. group is working with Iraqi authorities to contain the spread of the waterborne disease. Five people have died from it since Iraq's latest outbreak began last week.

Iraq Troop Reduction

WASHINGTON — Top military officials have recommended the withdrawal of about 7,000 troops from Iraq early next year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the proposal. The withdrawn troops will return home and be replaced by an equal number of troops who will be deployed to Afghanistan, where commanders have asked for additional forces to fight Taliban insurgents, said another Pentagon official. The recommendation does not specify reductions in Iraq beyond that cut. The official said a battalion of Marines, about 800 troops, will be allowed to go home from Iraq in the fall. Pentagon officials have said they expect to continue reducing forces next year if security keeps improving. There are 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Iraq

WASHINGTON — The United States is spending more money than ever on private security contractors in Iraq as thousands of troops return home amid steady declines in insurgent attacks, federal records show. This year, spending on contractors, who protect diplomats, civilian facilities and supply convoys, is projected to exceed $1.2 billion, according to federal contract and budget data obtained by USA TODAY. Most of that bill — about $1 billion —is State Department spending, which is up 13% over 2007. The remaining $200 million covers Pentagon contracts. Rising private security costs come as the Pentagon removes the last of the 30,000 extra troops sent to Iraq last year. Contractors take on roles once handled by U.S. troops, such as securing Iraq's infrastructure and guarding reconstruction supplies. Congress is raising concerns about the costs of relying on contractors for that work and the challenges of ensuring that they are supervised properly.

Iraq Troop Withdrawal

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have spoken by phone as work on a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011 continues. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Friday that Bush and the al-Maliki "had a good conversation." But he added "there are a lot of details that have to be worked out." The deal now under discussion between U.S. and Iraqi negotiators sets a course for American combat troops to pull out of major Iraqi cities by next June, with a broader exit two years later from the long and costly war that began in March 2003. The dates could be changed if security and political progress in Iraq deteriorate. There are about 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to United States Central Command, and more than 4,100 American troops have been killed there.

Iraq Troop Withdrawal

"U.S. and Iraqi negotiators reached agreement on a security deal that calls for American military forces to leave Iraq's cities by next summer as a prelude to a full withdrawal of combat troops from the country," senior American officials told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. "The draft agreement sets 2011 as the goal date by which U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq, according to Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Humood and other people familiar with the matter," the Journal says. "In the meantime, American troops will be leaving cities, towns and other population centers by the summer of 2009, living in bases outside of those areas, according to the draft." An anonymous Iraqi official told the AP that under the agreement, all U.S. troops would leave Iraqi cities by June 30 and be out of the country by the end of 2011. The final draft was finished last week but the Iraqi Cabinet has not signed off and many of its members have signaled doubts. The official says a compromise was reached on the contentious issue of immunity for American troops but did not give details.

Iraq

Iraq is fast becoming one of the United States' top customers for military sales. Since January 2007, Iraq has spent $3.1 billion on U.S. weapons. That number looks likely to grow exponentially as Iraq uses its vast unspent reserves of petrodollars to develop its army into a force capable of defending its borders against hostile neighbors. It is considering buying 140 of the United States' most advanced tanks, at approximately $4 million to $5 million per tank, plus hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of support equipment to go along with the tanks.

• JJ Commentary: Hmm. We helped arm Saddam and then had to go to war with him . What next foe are we arming now?

Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces loyal to the Shiite-led government are raiding voter registration centers and taking other steps to discourage participation in upcoming elections, says the head of Iraq's voting regulatory agency. President Bush has said the elections are crucial to involving more Iraqis in politics, particularly Sunni former insurgents. Yet the recent incidents have raised concerns about the fairness of the election, which could take place early next year. A drive to register new voters is slated to end next week. However, only about 1 million people had registered as of Wednesday, a low turnout due partly to voter intimidation, according to Iraq's High Elections Commission. Opposition politicians such as Ali Hatem, a leader of a group of former insurgents known as the Sunni Awakening, accuse ruling parties of trying to sabotage the elections because they fear losing power.

Multiple combat deployments to Iraq are increasing serious mental health problems among soldiers, triggering drug and alcohol abuse and contributing to record suicide levels, suggest reports out Thursday at the American Psychological Association meeting in Boston. In a typical unit headed to Iraq, 60% are on their second, third or fourth deployment, lasting about a year each, says U.S. Army Col. Carl Castro, who directs a medical research program at Fort Detrick, Md. More time in Iraq means heavier exposure to violence, which leads more soldiers to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, Castro told the psychology meeting. By their third tour to Iraq, more than a quarter of soldiers show signs of mental problems, such as PTSD, and it's about 1 out of 3 for those exposed to heavy combat, according to a U.S. Army Surgeon General report in March on more than 2,000 soldiers.

Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military contracts in the Iraq theater have cost taxpayers at least $85 billion, and when it comes to providing security, they might not be any cheaper than using military personnel, according to a report released Tuesday. The Congressional Budget Office report comes on the heels of increased scrutiny of contractors in the last year, some of whom have been investigated in connection with shooting deaths of Iraqis and the accidental electrocutions of U.S. troops. The United States has relied more heavily on contractors in Iraq than in any other war to provide services ranging from food service to guarding diplomats. About 20% of funding for operations in Iraq has gone to contractors, the report said. Currently, there are at least 190,000 contractors in Iraq, a ratio of about one contractor per U.S. service member, the report says.

Iraq

BAGHDAD — Hampered by years of violence, a decimated infrastructure, a lack of foreign investors and a flood of imports that undercut local businesses, Iraq’s private sector, particularly its small non-oil economy, has so far failed to flourish as its American patrons had hoped. In its absence, the Iraqi government has been sustaining the economy the way it always has: by putting citizens on its payroll. Since 2005, according to federal budgets, the number of government employees has nearly doubled, to 2.3 million from 1.2 million. The impetus is not only economic: In exchange for abandoning the insurgency that plunged the nation into civil war, many of the 100,000 members of civilian patrols known broadly as the Awakening movement have been promised jobs in the security forces or in reconstruction, though many Sunni Muslim members complain it is not happening quickly enough. But this growth has not come without problems. Already, a huge wage increase to government workers that was instituted — but then suspended because of fears that it was pushing up inflation — has underscored the difficulties of being far and away the largest employer in an unstable country.

Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Iraqi government could end the year with as much as a $79 billion budget surplus as ever-increasing oil revenues pile on top of leftover income the Iraqis still haven't spent on their national rebuilding effort, congressional auditors say. A report by the Government Accountability Office made public Tuesday prompted renewed calls from senators that Baghdad pay more of the bill for its own reconstruction, which has been heavily supported with U.S. funds. The projected Iraq surplus, including unspent money from 2005 through 2008, has been building because of rising world oil prices, increasing Iraqi oil production, the government's inability to execute budgets for spending its money and persistent violence in the country, the GAO said.

• JJ Commentary: While we use deficit spending to finance the Iraq war, they pocket billions in oil revenue. We need to cease all U.S. funded reconstruction right now.

Iraq Deaths Down

U.S. combat deaths in Iraq appear headed to the lowest monthly total since the start of the war as the top U.S. general there said overall violence is declining toward "normal" levels. There have been six U.S. combat deaths so far in July, according to a USA TODAY database. The lowest monthly number was eight in May 2003, slightly more than a month after the invasion. Iraqi civilian deaths also have dropped. Although suicide attacks along with other violence has been declining, al-Qaeda retains the ability to bomb civilian targets and wreak havoc. Monday's attack that killed more than 50 Iraqis was the deadliest in more than a month.

Iraq

Concerns over security, sabotage and smuggling are fading as the government in Baghdad takes control of oil-rich areas that were run by rogue Shiite militias just a few months ago. This month, the Iraqi government expects 10 major foreign oil companies — including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron — to sign modest contracts that could be a first step toward bigger investments. However, any major jump in Iraqi oil production is probably years away, analysts say. Still, the stakes are enormous for both Iraq and the global economy. With the world's fourth-biggest crude reserves, Iraq could provide the world's best hope for a medium-term solution to record-high prices of around $130 a barrel, which have pushed gas prices above $4 a gallon for American drivers.

The decisive battle of the Iraq war is shaping up — not in the streets of Baghdad but in the halls of government where the future of America's role across the region is on the line. American and Iraqi officials have expressed new resolve to hammer out far-reaching deals that would allow U.S. forces to remain on bases across Iraq once the U.N. mandate expires at year's end. The stakes in the talks are enormous. The outcome will shape not just Iraq for years to come — but, more important, America's strategic position all across the oil-rich Persian Gulf at a time when Iran's influence is growing. The U.S. maintains substantial air and naval forces elsewhere in the Gulf but few ground troops except in Iraq. A pact also would assure Arab allies that Iraq would not fall under domination by Iran, which is pressuring the Iraqis to refuse any deal that keeps U.S. soldiers here. But critics in the United States fear it will tie the hands of the next president when millions of Americans are anxious to bring troops home. Many Iraqis, in turn, worry the deal will allow American domination of their country for decades. With so much in the balance, the Iraqi government said Wednesday that both Washington and Baghdad recognize the need to finish the talks by July's end "to avoid any legal vacuum that may arise."

Iraq

European and Asian companies are beating their American rivals into Iraq now that security has improved the investment climate, Iraq and U.S. officials say. "It's starting to turn … and the people who are getting in on the ground floor are not American," said Paul Brinkley, the Pentagon official who is leading U.S. efforts to help Iraq rebuild its economy. "It's ironic." Foreign companies have committed to deals worth about $500 million so far this year and Brinkley expects at least $1 billion in foreign investment by the end of the year. So far, Romanian consortium and a Lebanese company have signed revenue-sharing deals with Iraqi state-owned cement factories. Each group will invest about $150 million. China has also aggressively pursued the Iraqi market, selling machinery to the government and electronic products to consumers.

Iraq Improvements

BAGHDAD — This May has been one of the least violent months of the Iraq war. The relative calm follows a cease-fire agreement by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia in the face of steady pressure from U.S. and Iraqi forces. Eighteen U.S. servicemembers have been identified as having died in Iraq so far in May, according to the Pentagon. To date, the least deadly month of the five-year war was February 2004, when 21 U.S. troops were killed in a 29-day period. The number of wounded also has fallen. Overall, militant attacks in Iraq have dropped to levels not seen since spring 2004, U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said this week. Attacks are down 70% since President Bush ordered a U.S. troop increase, or "surge," early last year.

Iraq's prime minister says economic and security progress shows that reconciliation between the nation's feuding factions is close to being completed. His Shiite-dominated government is under pressure to show progress in reconciliation among the country's Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds. Iraq's Sunni Arab minority has long felt it is being sidelined by the majority Shiites and the Kurds, who dominate the Iraqi parliament and al-Maliki's government.

Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In a strikingly upbeat assessment, the CIA chief cited major gains against al-Qaeda's allies in the Middle East and an increasingly successful campaign to destabilize the group's core leadership. While cautioning that al-Qaeda remains a serious threat, Hayden said Osama bin Laden is losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Islamic world and has largely forfeited his ability to exploit the Iraq war to recruit adherents.

The Puzzle that is Iraq Continues

Violence appeared to be on the rise in Iraq after a day that saw at least 42 people die — numbers that cast doubt on the easing of sectarian violence following a surge of U.S. forces to the country last year. The spike comes in the wake of a 60% drop in attacks across the country since June, according to U.S. military figures. According to an Associated Press count, at the height of unrest from November 2006 to August 2007, on average approximately 65 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence. As conditions improved, the daily death toll steadily declined. It reached its lowest point in more than two years in January, when on average 20 Iraqis died each day. Those numbers have since jumped. In February, approximately 26 Iraqis died each day as a result of violence, and so far in March, that number is up to 39 daily. Military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said Sunday that recent violence should not be taken as evidence of "an increase or a trend of an increase." With the overall U.S. military death toll in Iraq nearing 4,000, the latest killings also mark a significant rise in deadly attacks against Americans.

A Pentagon report finds that up to 90% of the foreign fighters in Iraq cross the border from Syria and that Iran's support for Shiite militants also is hurting efforts to improve security in Iraq. As those external pressures dog coalition and Iraqi forces, the government of Iraq is also hamstrung by internal corruption and persistent problems getting basic services to the people. The Defense Department's quarterly report on progress in Iraq released Tuesday says that terrorists continue to find safe havens and logistical support in Syria.

Iraq isn't spending much of its own money, despite soaring oil revenues that are pushing the country toward a massive budget surplus, auditors told Congress on Tuesday. The expected surplus comes as the U.S. continues to invest billions of dollars in rebuilding Iraq and faces a financial squeeze domestically because of record oil prices. "The Iraqis have a budget surplus," said U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. "We have a huge budget deficit.. .. One of the questions is who should be paying."

The top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday a week after the publication of a magazine article that described him as being at odds with the Bush administration's stance toward Iran. In a profile in Esquire magazine, author Thomas P.M. Barnett described Adm. William Fallon as "brazenly" challenging the Bush administration and pushing back against a president "who trash-talks his way to World War III" with Iran.

• JJ Commentary: We must re-think our strategy for the war on terror, using our massive fire-power instead of troops on the ground. The advantage we possess in smart bombs and missiles is of no use in guerrilla style warfare where the enemy has the advantage.

Greed Triumphs Once Again

BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday rejected a U.S. Senate proposal calling for the decentralization of Iraq's government and giving more control to the country's ethnically divided regions, calling it a "catastrophe." The measure, whose primary sponsors included presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions for the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities in a power-sharing agreement similar to Bosnia in the 1990s.

Iraq's constitution lays down a federal system, allowing Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north to set up regions with considerable autonomous powers. But Iraq's turmoil has been fueled by the deep divisions among politicians over the details of how it work, including the division of lucrative oil resources. Many Shiite and Kurdish leaders are eager to implement the provisions. But the Sunni Arab minority fears being left in an impoverished central zone without resources.

• JJ Commentary: In the end, greed usually triumphs over nationalism, religion and blood.