Meanwhile in Iraq

Iraq: At least 30 kiled as bloody U.S. occupation continues: The U.S. military said its forces killed five suspected insurgents, including four who were in a building that was destroyed in an airstrike south of Balad.

11 US troops killed in Iraq: Iraq's most violent Ramadan ends in bloodshed as 86 US troops killed in first three weeks of October

US offers amnesty in secret talks: AMERICAN forces are negotiating an amnesty with Sunni insurgents in Iraq to try to defuse the nascent civil war and pave the way for disarmament of Shia militias

US 'cannot stay course' in Iraq : The US is not winning in Iraq and will not be able to stay the course in the long-term, a US state department insider has said.

Ike Skelton, who backed Iraq war, now wants U.S. to withdraw: The spiraling violence is "deeply disturbing," Skelton said in a conference call with reporters, during which he called for the redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq.

Active-Duty Troops Launch Campaign to End U.S. Occupation of Iraq: For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, active- duty members of the military are asking Members of Congress to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and bring American soldiers home.

Iraqi Forced To Drink Urine By British Occupation Forces: An Iraqi civilian detained by British troops in Iraq told a military court Monday that he was beaten and forced to drink urine by his captors.

The Exodus: 1.6m Iraqis have fled their country since the war : Iraq is in flight. Everywhere inside and outside the country, Iraqis who once lived in their own houses cower for safety six or seven to a room in hovels.

UK warned against invasion : On the day after the September 11 terrorist attacks, senior British intelligence officials told their American counterparts that they would not support retaliatory action against Iraq, a new book claims.

Alleged corrupt arms deals cost Iraq US$800M: Iraq's former finance minister alleged in a U.S. television report aired Sunday that up to US$800 million meant to equip the Iraqi army had been stolen from the government by former officials through fraudulent arms deals.

Many military families rely on donated goods: They were waiting for day-old bread and frozen dinners packaged in slightly damaged boxes. These families are among a growing number of military households in San Diego County that regularly rely on donated food.

Iraq: At Least 41 Killed As U.S Occupation Grinds On: Sunni and Shi'ite tribes clashed between Madaen and Suwayra, south of Baghdad, on Saturday, police said. On the Shi'ite side, six people were killed and three wounded, and three Sunnis were also killed

Bloody battle for Amarah a glimpse of future : The militia headed by the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr yesterday took over the southern Iraqi city of Amarah, recently vacated by British forces, after a day of heavy fighting which left dozens killed, almost 100 injured and widespread damage to buildings

Three million uprooted Iraqis face "bleak future", UNHCR says: UNHCR estimates that more than 1.5 million Iraqis are internally displaced in Iraq, including some 800,000 who fled their homes prior to 2003 and 750,000 who have fled since. A further 1.6 million Iraqis are refugees in neighbouring countries, the majority in Syria and Jordan.

U.S. official admits "arrogance" in Iraq: The United States has shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq, a senior U.S. diplomat said in an interview aired on Sunday, after U.S. President George W. Bush said he was flexible on tactics, if not strategy.

Iraqi youth want U.S. troops to withdraw : Majorities of Iraqi youth in Arab regions of the country believe security would improve and violence decrease if the U.S.-led forces left immediately, according to a State Department poll that provides a window into the grim warnings provided to policymakers.

Andrew Sullivan: Iraq is no Vietnam – it's far worse than that: A political solution, the only secure way to achieve peace in Iraq, has slipped across the horizon, as Sunni Arabs, Shi’ite Arabs and Sunni Kurds recoil into the protection of the clan, the tribe and the ethnic or religious family. After each round of violence a cycle of revenge follows.

Iraq mayhem triggers hunt for exit strategy in US and UK : Foreign Office urges talks with Syria and Iran, as militia seize city left by British.

At Least 15 Killed As Shiite Militia Seizes Control of Iraqi City : The takeover of Amara by the militia, the Mahdi Army, was a broad act of defiance against the authority of the central government, which has been trying to impose order and curb sectarian violence. The incident also raised questions about whether Iraq’s militias can be reined in.

Three U.S. occupation force soldiers killed in Iraq : Three U.S. soldiers killed in separate incidents in occupied Iraq during the past 48 hours, the U.S. military said in statements on Friday

Iraq 'hiding true casualty figures': THE Iraqi Government has told medical authorities not to reveal to the UN the true extent of civilian casualties in the country's conflict, French newspaper Le Monde said today.

Patrick Cockburn: Hospitals now a battleground in the bloody civil war : Iraqi hospitals are dangerous places. Policemen and soldiers carry their wounded comrades into operating theatres and demand immediate treatment, forcing doctors at gunpoint to abandon operations on civilians before they are completed.

The End of Maliki?: Will a Coup Unravel Iraq

Former Top Bush Administration Official Calls For Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Iraq: Richard L. Armitage — who served as deputy secretary of state from 2001-2005 — is advocating a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. From the New Jersey Express-Times.

Are You Afraid?: Watch his haunting observational film that explodes the myth around the claims that the Iraqis are preparing to take control of their own country. Contains some strong language. Flash presentation

White House Resists Major Course Change in Iraq: President Bush will resist election-year pressure for a major shift in strategy in Iraq, the White House said on Friday, despite growing doubts among Americans and anxiety over the war among Republican lawmakers.

Iraq: At least 81 killed as U.S. occupation grinds on: Six suicide bombers in vehicles, including one in a fuel truck, attacked Iraqi police and U.S. patrols, and insurgents fired mortars and clashed with police, U.S. officials and police said. The violence killed at least 20 people in the city 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. Another 18 killed in Bomb Attacks: Eight people have died in a attack on an Iraqi bank in Kirkuk, while earlier in Mosul an explosive-laden truck was blown up near a police station killing at least 10 people. Shiite militias battle in southern Iraq: The family of the murdered chief of police intelligence in the southern Maysan province struck back today against his suspected killers, kidnapping the teenage brother of a local militia commander and vowing not to free him unless the culprits are turned over, police said. US army concedes failure in Baghdad: American and Iraqi efforts to improve security in Baghdad have failed to reduce bloodshed in the increasingly violent Iraqi capital, the senior US military spokesman in Iraq acknowledged on Thursday. Cynicism on Iraq: A Marine friend just back from Ramadi said to me, "It didn't get any better while I was there, and it's not going to get better." Virtually everyone in Washington, except the people in the White House, knows that is true for all of Iraq. Troops will be out of Iraq in 16 months, Blair tells Commons: Tony Blair set a 16-month limit for keeping British troops in Iraq yesterday as he admitted for the first time that they would be a "provocation" if they stayed too long. Iraq a 'catastrophic blunder': The war in Iraq has been a "catastrophic blunder" that has substantially increased the terrorist threat to Australia, one of the nation's most distinguished former diplomats said today. Paul McGeough: Civil war reveals bankrupt Iraq policy: DEMOCRACY in Iraq is meaningless until an end is brought to the civil war now tearing the country apart. Diplomat lashes out at pro-US stance: A PROMINENT former diplomat has labelled the war in Iraq a "disaster" and flayed the Howard Government for undermining Australian democracy. Iraq: What Does "Job Done" Mean?: The mantra, since the bloody and illegal war in Iraq started, has been: “we will leave Iraq when the job is done.” What exactly does this mean? Why doesn’t anyone ask Mr Bush/Blair what ‘job done’ means? U.S. building huge military airfield in Iraq: Following hints U.S. troops may remain in Iraq for years, the United States is reportedly building a massive military base at Arbil, in Kurdish northern Iraq. Riverbend is back: Iraqi girl blog: The Lancet Study...: This has been the longest time I have been away from blogging. There were several reasons for my disappearance the major one being the fact that every time I felt the urge to write about Iraq, about the situation, I'd be filled with a certain hopelessness that can't be put into words and that I suspect other Iraqis feel also. U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Built by Trafficked Workers in Squalid Working Conditions: One longtime supervisor claims that 50 to 60 percent of the laborers regularly complain that First Kuwaiti “treats them like animals,” and routinely reduces their promised pay with confusing and unexplained deductions.