Meanwhile in Iraq

Mortars Set Fire to U.S. Base in Iraq: Two mortar rounds hit a U.S. military post in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, setting it on fire, police and witnesses said. A large cloud of black smoke was seen rising above Baladiyat, a predominantly Shiite area of capital, at about 3 p.m.

Calls for calm as crowd stones Iraqi PM: BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Angry fellow Shi'ites stoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's motorcade in a Shi'ite stronghold of Baghdad on Sunday in a display of fury over a devastating car bomb that tore through their area.

Al-Sadr loyalists take over Iraqi television station: BAGHDAD, Iraq - Followers of the militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took over state-run television Saturday to denounce the Iraqi government, label Sunnis "terrorists" and issue what appeared to many viewers as a call to arms.

Sword of the Shia: He can deal out death through his black-clad followers and roil the government any time he chooses. Why Moqtada al-Sadr may end up deciding America's fate in Iraq.


Ahmadinejad: Iran will help U.S. in Iraq if it stops 'bullying' policy: "You went to Iraq to topple Saddam and find weapons of mass destruction, but it was clear to us that you came in order to dominate the region and its oil." "The Iranian nation is ready to help you to get out of the quagmire - on condition that you resume behaving in a just manner and avoid bullying and invading," he added.

Iraqi president to visit Tehran on Monday: "President Talabani will start his visit to Iran on Monday. The visit is expected to last a couple of days," Hiwa Uthman said by telephone. Talabani will discuss with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on several issues, including those of common interest, Uthman added.

Rumsfeld okayed abuses says former U.S. general: Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski told Spain's El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Rumsfeld which allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation. Karpinski, who ran the prison until early 2004, said she saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods.

More than 108 killed in another bloody day in Iraq: Police in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, found the bodies of 25 people, including seven teenagers blindfolded and each with a single gunshot wound to the head

Iraqi Clerics Say U.S. Should Leave: Leading Sunni and Shiite clerics in Iraq said Saturday the U.S. military presence aggravates the sectarian violence that is tearing at the country.

Saturday: More than 120 killed as Mosque's burn in Occupied Iraq: Police found the bodies of 21 Shi'ites from an extended family, hours after they were abducted from homes in a mostly Sunni village outside Balad Ruz.

Inside Iraq: Against a backdrop of spiralling violence in Baghdad, The Times persuaded six ordinary Iraqis to visit its bureau to describe their lives. Sunni or Shia, they all had a strikingly similar tale to tell.

Iraq a moral blunder, says war hero: THE former SAS officer who devised and executed the Iraq war plan for Australia's special forces says that the nation's involvement has been a strategic and moral blunder.

Maureen Dowd: United States is lost in the desert of Iraq: Dick Cheney and his wormy aides, of course, are still babbling about total victory and completing the mission by raising the stakes and knocking off the mullahs in Tehran. His tombstone will probably say, "Here lies Dick Cheney, still winning."