US will ‘not abandon Iraq’, vows Bush

BAGHDAD – Iraq entered the fourth year of war yesterday amid fears of civil war, as US President George W. Bush vowed not to “abandon” the violence-torn country.

At least 26 people died in attacks around the country on Monday on the third anniversary of the US-led invasion, in a reminder of the endemic violence that has convulsed Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The killings have become a daily ritual following the February 22 dynamiting of a Shi’ite shrine in Samarra that ushered in a wave of sectarian violence.In the United States, Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq and took aim at critics who say his upbeat forecasts are out of touch with the bloody reality.In the second of a series of speeches aimed at reversing the steep decline in US support for the war, Bush unapologetically defended his decision to remove Saddam Hussein by force as “the right decision.””The United States will not abandon Iraq,” he said.”We will leave Iraq, but when we do, it will be from a position of strength, not weakness.”In Baghdad, nine corpses showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds were found around the city.A bomb left in a Shi’ite restaurant in a Sunni district of the capital killed three and wounded 22, while four people were killed in another bombing outside a restaurant in eastern Baghdad.Earlier in the day, a bomb ripped through a patrol of police commandos in the middle-class Baghdad neighbourhood of Karrada, killing three commandos and three civilian bystanders, police said.Another 13 people were killed in shootings and bombings around the country, including four in a bombing near Musayyib south of Baghdad and three people in a roadside bombing between the northern city of Kirkuk and nearby Hawija.US and Iraqi forces, meanwhile, were on high alert to avert Sunni extremist attempts to trigger renewed outbursts of communal strife by targeting Shi’ite pilgrims descending on the shrine city of Karbala for a major ceremony coinciding with the war’s anniversary.Officials said that 500 000 pilgrims had been streaming daily in and out of Karbala, where the commemoration of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and a defining Shi’ite figure, reached its peak on Monday.Shi’ite pilgrims walking south to Karbala have been repeatedly shot at over the past week, with almost a dozen killed and scores wounded, including five wounded on Monday.The violence between Iraqis has led to fears that the country would spiral down into all-out civil war.Former Iraq premier Iyad Allawi told the BBC on Sunday that an average of 50-60 Iraqis were being killed each day, adding: “If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.”In three years, the Iraq war has metamorphosed from a battle between US troops and Sunni insurgents, angered by Saddam’s ouster, to an internecine struggle among Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds.Foreign fighters like al Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have also fanned the flames with spectacular attacks meant to trigger a civil war.At least 33 000 Iraqis have died in the violence since US-led forces started bombing Baghdad on March 20, 2003, according to the Internet site Iraq Body Count which tracks Iraqi casualties.But Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari expressed optimism about his country’s future on Monday, disagreeing sharply with his predecessor.”The road ahead will be tough but the Iraqi people have demonstrated their bravery, determination and resolve,” Jaafari wrote in an article in the Washington Post.The US envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said there was not a civil war but that Iraq was in a “difficult situation” while politicians struggled to form a national government that would boost the campaign for stability.”The country is bleeding.Iraqis want their leaders to rise to the occasion, to form a government of national unity,” Khalilzad said in an interview with ABC television.Political parties remained bogged down in talks three months after national elections, amid disputes over the choice of prime minister and the allocation of ministries.- Nampa-AFPThe killings have become a daily ritual following the February 22 dynamiting of a Shi’ite shrine in Samarra that ushered in a wave of sectarian violence.In the United States, Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq and took aim at critics who say his upbeat forecasts are out of touch with the bloody reality.In the second of a series of speeches aimed at reversing the steep decline in US support for the war, Bush unapologetically defended his decision to remove Saddam Hussein by force as “the right decision.””The United States will not abandon Iraq,” he said.”We will leave Iraq, but when we do, it will be from a position of strength, not weakness.”In Baghdad, nine corpses showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds were found around the city.A bomb left in a Shi’ite restaurant in a Sunni district of the capital killed three and wounded 22, while four people were killed in another bombing outside a restaurant in eastern Baghdad.Earlier in the day, a bomb ripped through a patrol of police commandos in the middle-class Baghdad neighbourhood of Karrada, killing three commandos and three civilian bystanders, police said.Another 13 people were killed in shootings and bombings around the country, including four in a bombing near Musayyib south of Baghdad and three people in a roadside bombing between the northern city of Kirkuk and nearby Hawija.US and Iraqi forces, meanwhile, were on high alert to avert Sunni extremist attempts to trigger renewed outbursts of communal strife by targeting Shi’ite pilgrims descending on the shrine city of Karbala for a major ceremony coinciding with the war’s anniversary.Officials said that 500 000 pilgrims had been streaming daily in and out of Karbala, where the commemoration of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and a defining Shi’ite figure, reached its peak on Monday.Shi’ite pilgrims walking south to Karbala have been repeatedly shot at over the past week, with almost a dozen killed and scores wounded, including five wounded on Monday.The violence between Iraqis has led to fears that the country would spiral down into all-out civil war.Former Iraq premier Iyad Allawi told the BBC on Sunday that an average of 50-60 Iraqis were being killed each day, adding: “If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.”In three years, the Iraq war has metamorphosed from a battle between US troops and Sunni insurgents, angered by Saddam’s ouster, to an internecine struggle among Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds.Foreign fighters like al Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have also fanned the flames with spectacular attacks meant to trigger a civil war.At least 33 000 Iraqis have died in the violence since US-led forces started bombing Baghdad on March 20, 2003, according to the Internet site Iraq Body Count which tracks Iraqi casualties.But Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari expressed optimism about his country’s future on Monday, disagreeing sharply with his predecessor.”The road ahead will be tough but the Iraqi people have demonstrated their bravery, determination and resolve,” Jaafari wrote in an article in the Washington Post.The US envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said there was not a civil war but that Iraq was in a “difficult situation” while politicians struggled to form a national government that would boost the campaign for stability.”The country is bleeding.Iraqis want their leaders to rise to the occasion, to form a government of national unity,” Khalilzad said in an interview with ABC television.Political parties remained bogged down in talks three months after national elections, amid disputes over the choice of prime minister and the allocation of ministries.- Nampa-AFP