Iraqi forces clash, Bush talks of changing tactics (not strategy)

[rodeodance]

Iraqi forces clash, Bush talks of changing tactics

By Jaafar Abd Al-Sahib 44 minutes ago

SUWAYRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Shi'ite militias fought gun battles with Iraqi police for a second day running on Saturday and
President Bush talked of changing tactics in an effort to quell spiralling turmoil.


"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory. What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Worsening violence in the Shi'ite heartland is testing the Shi'ite-led government's ability to rein in militias and exposing a power struggle in the ruling Shi'ite coalition that threatens to further complicate the U.S. task in Iraq.

"Attacks have grown significantly during the first weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan," Bush said. "The last few weeks have been rough for our troops in Iraq and for the Iraqi people."

More than 2,700 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. At least 73 U.S. troops have been killed in October alone, a pace that if continued will make it one of the deadliest months for U.S. forces.

"We will continue to be flexible, and make every necessar

[C_U_L8R]

1. a strategy is simply a plan

and Bush has no plan

[rodeodance]

2. Mortar Rounds Hit Iraqi Market; 18 Dead

Mortar Rounds Hit Iraqi Market; 18 Dead
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press Writer

October 21, 2006, 1:06 PM EDT

Lt. Hayder Satar of the Mahmoudiyah police said 18 people were confirmed dead and 52 injured in the attack on the city about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

Earlier in the day, gunfights broke out in Hamza al-Gharbi, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, after a bomb exploded near the offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a leading Shiite political party that sponsors the Badr Brigades militia.


http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ats-ap_intl10oct21,0,1341002.story?coll=ny-leadworldnews-headlines

[wellst0nev0ter]

3. Linky? (nt)

[mcscajun]

4. rodeodance

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