“In Baghdad, 13 Iraqi police officers, 27 Iraqi civilians and an unidentified American security force member were killed when dozens of fighters believed to be former members of Saddam Hussein’s security apparatus laid siege to a neighborhood late Wednesday, openly walking the district’s streets in black masks and carrying AK-47s and grenade launchers, according to the U.S. military, Iraqi officials and witnesses. East of the capital, the bodies of 36 other men, their identities unknown, were found heaped Thursday near a road leading toward Iran, security officials told news agencies.”
Reuters Gunfights in multiple cities between rival Shi’ite groups kill record numbers. AFP: The session had been set for Thursday, and it was unclear early Friday when it would occur.
“The parliament session has been postponed without setting a new date… until meetings are finished and (leaders) reach an agreement on pending issues,” a spokesman for the legislature said.
New York Times– the Iranian-backed majority leaders of the Shia won’t meet with the Sunnis and want to “finish” the “constitution” themselves, and put it to a national vote on October 15th; they cancelled their “negotiations” for today and did not vote themselves another extension either. Note the calm tone the Times uses to describe Thursday’s disaster:
Mr. Hakim and many of the senior members of his group, the Supreme Council, lived for many years in Iran and even fought on the Iranian side during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980’s. The Supreme Council is suspected by American officials of receiving large amounts of assistance from the Iranian government.
The effort by the Shiites to bypass the Sunnis began Thursday afternoon, when they canceled a meeting of the Iraqi National Assembly, which was set to gather, and possibly vote, on the final draft constitution. While many Iraqi leaders first interpreted that decision as simply a delay, the Shiites made it clear that they were considering bypassing the Assembly altogether and of forgoing any further changes to the document.
There is no mention that I can see of Bush’s pleas having any effect on Hakim. 7 insurgent groups have pledged no violence and urged all Sunnis to vote no in any voting that might take place on October 15th. This puts Bush in the position of trying to stop people from voting in 2 key “battleground” provinces.
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