A wave of violence, including an assassination attempt against a deputy oil minister, swept through Baghdad and neighboring Diyala Province on Monday as Parliament passed a bill that would grant the country's embattled minorities fewer guaranteed seats in upcoming elections.
The prospects of the enactment of the bill, which must still be approved by Iraq's executive council, is unclear. The council is composed of the country's president and two vice-presidents.
Violence sweeps through Iraq
British SAS commander in Afghanistan quits over bad equipment
A British newspaper says the commander of the Special Air Service in Afghanistan has resigned over the poor standard of equipment given to troops.
The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that Maj. Sebastian Morley has quit over what he claims is chronic under investment in armoured vehicles.
It said he blames poor equipment for the deaths of at least four of his troops.
Auditors: Private security in Iraq cost over $6B
It appears a good chunk of the money being spent to rebuild Iraq went to private security companies protecting the people doing the rebuilding. The exact cost still isn't known, but auditors think the U.S. has paid private security companies well over $6 billion to guard diplomats, troops, Iraqi officials and reconstruction workers in Iraq.
The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction says that's about 12 percent of the $50 billion Americans have spent for reconstruction.
U.S. Perpetuates Mass Killings In Iraq
The United States is directly responsible for over one million Iraqi deaths since the invasion five and half years ago. In a January 2008 report, a British polling group Opinion Research Business (ORB) reports that, “survey work confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003.
The magnitude of these deaths is undeniable. The continuing occupation by US forces guarantees a mass death rate in excess of 10,000 people per month with half that number dying at the hands of US forces— a carnage so severe and so concentrated at to equate it with the most heinous mass killings in world history.
Life as an Iraqi interpreter for the British Army: Seen as a traitor with no security

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Iraq's prime minister won't sign U.S. troop deal
The new accord's demise would be a major setback for the Bush administration, which has been seeking to establish a legal basis for the extended presence of the 151,000 U.S. troops in this country, and for Iraq, which won notable concessions in the draft accord reached a week ago.
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Iraqi Army Headcount Still Unclear Despite Millions Paid to Private Contractor
Nobody, in fact, is exactly sure how many Iraqis are actually on duty -- partly due to problems with a government contract designed to count the soldiers, according to a recent audit.
As a result, five years into the war, the U.S. still doesn't know how many Iraqis stand ready to defend their country.
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