Pilgrims undeterred by bombers' carnage

reuters
More than a million Shiite Muslim pilgrims have poured into Iraq's holy city of Karbala, defying sectarian attacks that have killed about 200 people in two days of bloodshed.

A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in a cafe north of Baghdad in Diyala province, which has seen frequent sectarian violence.

The bomber targeted a neighbourhood in the town of Balad Ruz where Shiite Kurds live.

And at least 25 Shiite pilgrims were killed as they streamed into Karbala, including 10 by a car bomb in southern Baghdad that also left 12 Iraqi police dead.

The fresh violence, in the face of tight security, came a day after some 140 pilgrims died in suicide bombings and shootings.

Despite the carnage, Shiites, who were oppressed under Saddam Hussein but now dominate politics, vowed not be deterred by attacks they blame on Sunni Arab militants.

"These acts will not stop us," said Jabar Ali, who walked for eight days from the southern city of Basra to Karbala for Shiite mourning ceremonies.

Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki launched a United States-backed security crackdown last month that has had some success in reducing death squad killings blamed on Shiite militias. But there has been no let-up in bombings, many of which target Shiite communities who say they need the militias to protect them from Sunni Arab insurgents.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that 2200 military police would be sent over to deal with detainees picked up as part of the new Baghdad security plan.

Maliki has called a weekend meeting with Iraq's neighbours and world powers - including the US and its foes Iran and Syria - to enlist their support in stopping the violence.

Shiites are commemorating Arbain, the end of 40 days of mourning since Ashura, which marks the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson in 680 AD.

Under Saddam, they were banned from making the pilgrimage.

Around 1.5 million pilgrims were in Karbala yesterday. About 10,000 police and soldiers were deployed in and around the city. Sixty checkpoints had been set up and vehicles were banned from the city centre.

- REUTERS

IAEA Freezes Assistance Programs to Iran

AP
VIENNA, Austria — Delegates to a 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday approved the suspension of nearly two dozen nuclear technical aid programs to Iran as part of U.N. sanctions imposed because its nuclear defiance.

A defiant Tehran said it would not bow to pressure on its nuclear program.

The decision to deprive Iran of 22 projects was taken by consensus and was expected. Even nations on the IAEA board normally supportive of Iran backed it because it was recommended by agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, on authority of the U.N. Security Council.

"I have not heard anyone express dissatisfaction" with ElBaradei's recommendations, said Ramzy Ezzeidin Ramzy, Egypt's chief IAEA representative, before the decision, reflecting the meeting's widespread unanimity on the issue.

Chief Iranian delegate Ali Ashgar Soltanieh dismissed the decision, along with other international moves to pressure his country to suspend uranium enrichment, as the work of a "few countries ... to deprive Iran from its inalienable rights for (the) peaceful use of nuclear energy."

The "Iranian nation is a peace-loving nation but will never tolerate any pressure or intimidation," he told the meeting.

He also said Israel's undeclared nuclear program endangers "both regional peace and security."

Those comments were in response to a letter from 17 Arab nations plus Palestinian authorities that called for Israel to be put under agency inspections. The letter asserted that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last year acknowledged that his country had nuclear weapons — something Olmert has denied doing.

Israel, in a brief statement, said it had no plans to change its nuclear policies, said an IAEA official who was inside the closed meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The suspensions of technical cooperation fell under the provision of U.N. Security Council sanctions agreed Dec. 23 to punish Iran for defying a council demand that it freeze its uranium enrichment activities. The five permanent council members now are consulting on additional sanctions after Tehran ignored a new ultimatum to stop enrichment last month.

Council diplomats in New York said these could include a travel ban, an expanded list of people and companies subject to an asset freeze, an arms embargo and trade restrictions, but they cautioned that differences remained.

While Iran says it has the legal right to develop an enrichment program to generate nuclear power, the Security Council has called on it to end such activities because of fears it could misuse the process to produce fissile material for warheads.

Before the decision on technical aid, Soltanieh accused the United States and Israel of threatening military attacks on its nuclear facilities and said Security Council sanctions against his country were illegal.

Washington in turn criticized Tehran for ignoring Security Council demands to freeze enrichment and said Iranian "intransigence" in answering questions about its nuclear program raises the level of concern that it might be seeking to make atomic arms.

Those comments, inside and on the sidelines of the meeting, came as part of a review of a report by ElBaradei that confirmed Iran had defied a Security Council deadline on enrichment last month.

Soltanieh accused the U.S. and Israel of "continuing to make threats against Iran's ... (nuclear) facilities." But he suggested that Tehran's nuclear program would survive any aggression, citing ElBaradei in declaring that nuclear "knowledge cannot be bombed."

While not directly threatening attacks, both Israel and the U.S. have not ruled out any option in trying to stop what they say is an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

Soltanieh denied such aims, saying: "Weapons of mass destruction have no place in the Islamic Republic of Iran's defense doctrine." Iran steadfastly insists it is not interested in nuclear arms and wants to enrich uranium not to create the fissile core of warheads but to generate energy.

Outside the meeting, he attributed international pressure on Iran to give up enrichment to "the poisonous food served up by a few (IAEA) members and sent to New York," to the Security Council.

Reflecting the U.S. stance, chief delegate Gregory L. Schulte accused Iran of ignoring "the serious international concerns expressed by the Security Council" in demanding a freeze of enrichment.

Schulte also criticized Iran for continuing to build facilities that will produce plutonium — another possible pathway to nuclear arms — and thus again ignoring a Security Council demand. He cited ElBaradei in saying that his agency cannot conclude that Iran's program is peaceful unless Tehran stops stonewalling on questions posed by his agency. And he urged Tehran to reverse a ban on 38 IAEA inspectors, all from countries that back Security Council action against the Islamic republic.

On North Korea, Japan and other nations urged Pyongyang to honor its commitments under a six-nation deal that ultimately commits it to scrap its nuclear weapons program. ElBaradei plans to go to the communist nation March 13 as part of the agreement, a possible prelude to the return of IAEA monitors after a more than four-year hiatus.

Missing words on new $1 coins mystify U.S. Mint

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In God We Trust. In machines? Not so much.

An unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington are missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges, the U.S. Mint said on Wednesday.

The Mint released more than 300 million gold-colored, George Washington $1 coins last month, but it recently discovered a problem. The coins, made by the Philadelphia Mint, were supposed to have the inscriptions "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum," the date and the mint mark around the edge.

It is unclear how the mistake occurred or how many of the coins are in circulation, according to the Mint statement. The Mint said it would make necessary technical adjustments in the manufacturing to eliminate the defect.

"The United States Mint understands the importance of the inscriptions 'In God We Trust' and 'E Pluribus Unum' as well as the mint mark and year on U.S. coinage. We take this matter seriously," the statement said.

"We also consider quality control a high priority. We are looking into the matter to determine a possible cause in the manufacturing process."

Robert Hoge, curator of North American coins and currency for the American Numismatic Society, said that collectors find coins with a mistake like this, known as a Mint error, desirable when a relatively small number are in circulation.

"Since it was an accident, there is no count of how many were created. That's always the question with a mint error and it's difficult to tell how many there might be," he said.

On the auction Web site eBay, one of the coins sold for

$405.

One of the most famous Mint errors in the United States occurred in 1922. That year, "through carelessness or overzealousness," Hoge said, a defective die for the obverse, or head, side of the 1-cent piece failed to show the "D" mark indicating it was struck at the Denver Mint. One of those coins in mint condition would fetch upwards of $10,000, Hoge said.

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So we care about our money having the words "in god we trust" but we don't care if it says "federal reserve note" instead of "silver certificate". I guess, we need "In god we trust" on all our money, right where God would want it.

U.S.: Iraqi insurgent attacks intensifying

chron
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Military force alone is "not sufficient" to end the violence in Iraq and political talks must eventually include some militant groups now opposing the U.S.-backed government, the new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Thursday.

"This is critical," U.S. Gen. David Petraeus said in his first news conference since taking over command last month. He noted that such political negotiations "will determine in the long run the success of this effort."

American troops have stepped up efforts to clear and secure major highways around the capital as part of the Baghdad security crackdown, which began last month. The Pentagon has pledged 17,500 combat troops for the capital.

Petraeus said Thursday "it was very likely" that additional U.S. forces will be sent to areas outside the capital where militant groups are regrouping, including the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.

The region has become an increasingly important staging ground for groups including al-Qaida in Iraq. Meanwhile, many Sunni extremists apparently have shifted to Diyala to escape the Baghdad clampdown.

Petraeus declined to predict the size of the expected Diyala reinforcements.

One of Iraq's most expansive militias — the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — appears to have set aside its weapons under intense government pressure to lend support to the Baghdad security plan.

Mahdi militiamen also have allowed Iraqi authorities to try to protect at least 1 million pilgrims heading to Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad.

Many are making the traditional trek on foot for rituals beginning Friday to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in a 7th-century battle near Karbala cemented the schism between Sunnis and Shiites.

The processions have proved to be vulnerable targets, with attacks killing more than 170 people this week.

Al-Sadr issued a statement urging pilgrims to join in chants denouncing the attackers. "I ask almighty God to protect you from the sectarian sedition," said the message.

Petraeus denounced the "thugs with no soul" who have targeted Shiite pilgrims. "We share the horror" of witnessing the suicide bombings and shootings, he said.

He said U.S. forces are ready to help provide additional security for the pilgrims if asked by Iraqi authorities.

"It is an enormous task to protect all of them and there is a point at which if someone is willing to blow up himself ... the problem becomes very, very difficult indeed," he said.

Security forces in Karbala have taken unprecedented measures, including checkpoints for top-to-bottom searches and a six-ring cordon around the two main Shiite shrines. At least 10,000 policemen have been placed on round-the-clock patrols.

"All the city's entrances have been secured, and I call upon the pilgrims to follow the instructions of the security forces and let them do the necessary searches," Iraq's minister of state for national security, Sherwan al-Waili, said in Karbala.

In Baghdad, a mortar attack shattered some windows at the Iraqi Airways office on the airport compound, but the shells landed hundreds of yards from the passenger terminal and caused no serious flight disruptions.

Such attacks, however, send chills through Iraqi officials preparing to host an international conference Saturday on ways to help rebuild and stabilize the country.

The meeting will bring Iran and the United States to the same table for the first time in more than two years. Washington cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after the takeover of the U.S. Embassy by radicals in the wake the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The United States has accused Iran of backing anti-American Shiite militants in Iraq, has detained Iranian officials there and has angered Tehran by beefing up its military presence in the Persian Gulf. Washington is also pushing for new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday that his country hoped "the conference will bring forward the end of the presence of foreign forces" in Iraq — reiterating Tehran's stance that U.S. troops should withdraw.

Pentagon OKs addition of 2,200 MPs for Baghdad

AP
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has approved a request by the new U.S. commander in Iraq for an extra 2,200 Military Police personnel to help deal with an anticipated increase in detainees during the Baghdad security crackdown, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday.

Gates said the request is in addition to the 21,500 combat troops that President Bush is sending for the crackdown, along with 2,400 support troops.

“That’s a new requirement by a new commander,” Gates said of the request for more MPs by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who assumed command in Baghdad last month. He added that the Pentagon was still considering other troop requests.

Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the dayto- day commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, has recommended that the higher troop level be maintained until next February, the New York Times reported on its Web site Wednesday night. Odierno said the extra troops are needed to support a sustained effort to win over the Iraqi populace.

Odierno made the recommendation to Petraeus, but Petraeus has not yet acted on it, the report said.

House Democratic leaders intend to propose legislation that would require withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of 2008, and even earlier if the Iraqi government fails to meet security and other goals, Democratic officials said.

The conditions would be added to legislation that would provide nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the officials said. The legislation is expected on the floor of the House later this month.

In Iraq, a suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of the capital Wednesday, killing 30 people as a wave of violence left 90 dead across the country.

The bloodshed persisted as Iraqi security forces struggled to protect more than a million Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala for annual religious rituals that begin Friday. The pilgrims are facing a string of attacks along the way that have claimed at least 174 lives in two days.

The victims included 22 people — 12 police commandos and 10 civilians — who died Wednesday in a car bombing at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad set up to protect pilgrims, the U.S. military said.

Just north of Baghdad, a powerful bomb killed three American soldiers trying to clear explosives from a major highway, the U.S. military said, raising the U.S. toll to 3,188 since the war started in March 2003.

U.S. troops have stepped up efforts to clear and secure major highways around the capital as part of the Baghdad security crackdown, which began last month.

But the operation has so far failed to intimidate Sunni insurgents, who have retaliated with attacks outside the city — including those against Shiite pilgrims.

In northern Iraq, insurgents raided a prison near Mosul on Tuesday and freed a nephew of Saddam Hussein whose father was recently executed, a member of the Ninewa provincial council said Wednesday.

Hisham al-Hendawi said Mohammed Barzan, son of Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam’s intelligence chief, who was decapitated in a botched hanging Jan. 15, was among 140 prisoners who escaped when gunmen overwhelmed guards at the Badoosh prison. The Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the raid.