Monday, August 07, 2006

My attitude is that a young democracy has been born quite quickly. And I think the Iraqi government has shown remarkable progress on the political front. And that is is that they developed a modern constitution that was ratified by the people and then 12 million people voted for a government.

Which gives me confidence about the future in Iraq, by the way. You know, I hear people say, Well, civil war this, civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box. And a unity government is working to respond to the will of the people. And, frankly, it’s quite a remarkable achievement on the political front.

A suicide truck bomber struck the provincial headquarters of an Iraqi police commando force north of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 10 troops and wounding 18 others, police said.

Iraqi and U.S. forces also raided a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad early Monday, triggering a gunbattle that left three people dead, while 12 people were killed in other attacks, including five in a drive-by shooting against a barbershop.

[...]

The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks across central and northern Iraq in recent days that have tested the capabilities of Iraq’s U.S.-trained security forces.

In Baghdad, sounds of heavy gunfire and explosions rattled the Sadr City district about 1 a.m. Monday and persisted for more than an hour. Iraqi government television and aides to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said U.S. aircraft attacked buildings in the area.

“We condemn this cowardly, terrorist attack conducted by the U.S. forces in Sadr City,” said Falah Shanshal, a lawmaker aligned to al-Sadr. “We demand the government take necessary measures to stop such unjustified aggression and we demand an investigation.”

Col. Hassan Chaloub, police chief of Sadr City, said three people including a woman and a 3-year-old girl were killed and 12 injured in the fighting. He said three cars and three houses also were destroyed.