Thread: Iraq/Dinar News to April 19, 2007 10PM CST

[QUOTE=Bill;189697]

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

What he's talking about is all the money these guys make and the perks they get. Then they stand around dividing the country into politacal circles and in the end really get nothing done. Then they just up and vote themselves raises and such. Man I'm in the wrong line of work.

Oh ok, LOL, he had quoted my quote which i was replying to the other person hoping they are wrong, lOl.......

write-off for Iraq

(صوت العراق) - 19-04-2007(Voice of Iraq) - 19-04-2007
ارسل هذا الموضوع لصديقThis issue was sent to a friend

%Finance Minister urged his Egyptian debt write-off for Iraq by 100%
من اخرFrom just the latest
)Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)
.He urged Mr. Zubaidi Baqir Jabr, the Iraqi Minister of Finance today, Thursday, Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Minister of Finance to write off the debts of Egypt on Iraq by 100% as the host of the meeting of the International Covenant.
وقال ."According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance received the Iraqi News Agency (Voices of Iraq) Independent today that Mr. Ghali between that previously submitted to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak promised that the debt would be written off by 100%, affirming support for the Arab Republic of Egypt to the government of Iraq. "
.Hosts Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh early next month, both the International Covenant and the neighboring countries of Iraq.
."At the same time, the statement said that the statement "Zubaidi pointed out that there are good signs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss Iraq's debts to fire up to 100% and that the Iraqi citizen looks to extinguish those debts particularly from the neighboring sister."
% ."The statement added : "There are contacts and consultations with the State of Kuwait and Turkey to reduce debt by 100%."
.The statement said Zubaidi discussed with the Finance Minister of Slovenia to write off the debt of Slovenia on Iraq by 100% and urged him to attend the State of the importance of the meetings of the International Slovenia, the Slovenian minister promised that the State will do everything possible to support Iraq.
.It will, "the International Covenant" to solve these and other topics of the outstanding issues with respect to international economic partners, as Iraq seeks to become a member of the World Trade Organization, international cooperation and certifies environmental treaties and join the international organizations for the rehabilitation of the Iraqi economy.
.Iraq must identify the desired goals of integration within the regional and international economic policy, including the policies of taxation, customs and trade rules, financial services, public contracts and quality standards, intellectual property and investment with capacity-building within the ministries regarding the negotiations and international treaties and the procedures for its implementation.
ع ف - ح مP P-h m


Translated version of http://www.sotaliraq.com/

I have seen this man called "stupid", "Illiterate", and "lazy"...after reading this, I am not so convinced. Maybe we should not be so quick to call others names unless we know of which we speak. Interesting read!

Nouri Kamel Mohammed Hassan al-Maliki (Arabic: نوري كامل المالكي, transliterated Nūrī Kāmil al-Mālikī; born c. 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki, is the State Prime Minister of Iraq. He is a Shi'a Muslim, and is the deputy leader of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. His 37-member Cabinet was approved by the National Assembly and sworn in on May 20, 2006.
Al-Maliki's constitutional mandate will last until 2010. On April 26, 2006, al-Maliki's office announced that he would thenceforth use the first name Nouri instead of his pseudonym Jawad.[1]
Early life
Nouri Kamel al-Maliki was born in Abu Gharaq, a southern Iraqi town lying between Karbala and Al Hillah, in 1950. He attended school in Al Hindiyah (Hindiya). Al-Maliki received a bachelor's degree at Usul al-Din College in Baghdad, and a master's degree in Arabic literature from Baghdad University.[2] Al-Maliki lived for a time in Al Hillah, where he worked in the education department. He joined the Islamic Dawa Party in the late 1960s while studying at university.
Al-Maliki's grandfather, Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin, was a poet and cleric who served as Iraq's Minister of Education under King Faisal I.[3]
Exile and return to Iraq
In 1980, the Saddam Hussein government sentenced al-Maliki to death for his activism in the Dawa party and thereafter, he lived in exile, first in Iran[4] and later in Syria. In Syria, he headed the party's Jihad Office, a branch responsible for directing activists and guerrillas fighting Saddam Hussein's regime from outside of Iraq. He was elected chairman of the Joint Action Committee, a Damascus-based opposition coalition that led to the founding of the Iraqi National Congress, a United States-backed body of opposition to the Saddam Hussein regime which the Dawa Party participated in between 1992 and 1995. Some foreign diplomats who were responsible for maintaining links with the Iraqi opposition in Syria before the war, have maintained that al-Maliki was never more than a minor figure in the period before 2003. While in exile, al-Maliki adopted the pseudonym "Jawad", which he used until after his return to Iraq.
Returning home after Saddam's fall, he became the deputy leader of the De-Baathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government, formed to purge former Baath Party officials from the military and government. Many Sunni Arabs deeply resented the commission, viewing it as part of a Shi'a conspiracy to take power in Iraq, even though the Baath Party officials affected came from both the Shi'a and Sunni communities.
Al-Maliki was elected to the transitional National Assembly in January 2005. He was considered a tough negotiator in drawn-out deliberations over the new constitution, and was the senior Shi'ite member of the committee that drafted the new constitution that was passed in October 2005 over Sunni Arab objections. He resisted U.S. efforts to put more Sunnis on the drafting committee, as well as Sunni efforts to water down provisions giving wide autonomy to Shi'a and Kurdish regions in the north and south.
Prime Minister nomination
Further information: Government of Iraq from 2006
In the December 2005 parliamentary elections, the United Iraqi Alliance won the plurality of seats, and nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's first full-term post-war prime minister. However, al-Jafaari faced opposition from Sunni and Kurdish factions who were negotiating to be part of the new government. In April 2006, al-Jaafari was removed as the candidate, and on April 22, 2006, al-Maliki was named prime minister-designate by President Jalal Talabani.
United States Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, has stated that "[Maliki's] reputation is as someone who is independent of Iran," and that "He sees himself as an Arab" and an Iraqi nationalist. Khalilzad also maintained that Iran "pressured everyone for Jaafari to stay." Maliki's nomination is seen as a victory for Khalilzad's negotiating efforts. Khalilzad praised Iraqi statesmen, saying "It showed that Sistani doesn't take Iranian direction. It showed that Abdul Aziz Hakim doesn't succumb to Iranian pressure. He stood up to Iran. It showed the same thing about the Kurdish leaders."[5] This interpretation reflects the position of the U.S. Government. On May 20, 2006, al-Maliki presented his Cabinet to Parliament, minus permanent ministers of Defense and of Interior. He announced that he would temporarily handle the Interior Ministry himself, and Salam al-Zobaie would temporarily act as Defense Minister. "We pray to God almighty to give us strength so we can meet the ambitious goals of our people who have suffered a lot," al-Maliki told the members of the assembly.[6]Maliki has brought Sunnis into his national unity government.[7]
In Office
As Prime Minister, al-Maliki has vowed to crack down on militias which he calls "organized armed groups who are acting outside the state and outside the law." He had been criticized for taking too long to name permanent Interior and Defense ministers, which he did on June 8, 2006, [8] just as Maliki and the Americans announced the killing of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. [9] [10]
Meanwhile, Maliki criticized coalition armed forces as reports of allegedly deliberate killings of Iraqi civilians (at Haditha and elsewhere) became known. He has been quoted as saying, "[t]his is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces. No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It's unacceptable." According to Ambassador Khalilzad, Maliki had been misquoted, but it was unclear in what way.[11]
On December 30, 2006, Maliki signed the death warrant of Saddam Hussein and declined a stay of execution, saying there would be “no review or delay” in the event. Citing the wishes of relatives of Hussein's victims, he said, “Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him.”[1] Hussein's execution was carried out on December 30, 2006 (notably, the first day of the feast of Eid ul-Adha). Maliki's official videographer, Ali Al Massedy, filmed the execution, and immediately handed over the videotape to Maliki's office.
Official visits
On June 13, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush paid a visit to Baghdad to meet with Maliki and President of Iraq Jalal Talibani, as a token of support for the new government. [12] On June 25, al-Maliki presented a national reconciliation plan to the Iraqi parliament. The peace plan sets out to remove powerful militias from the streets, open a dialogue with rebels, and review the status of purged members of the once-ruling Ba'ath party. Some viewed this as a bold step towards rebuilding Iraq. [13] By July 2006, when al-Maliki visited the United States, violence had continued and even escalated, leading many to conclude that the reconciliation plan was not working.
On July 26, 2006, al-Maliki addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.[14] . Several New York Democrats boycotted the speech after Al-Maliki condemned Israel's attack on Lebanon. Howard Dean, the DNC chairman, accused Al-Maliki of being an "anti-Semite" and said the United States shouldn't spend so much on Iraq and then hand it over to people like Maliki. [15]
On September 11, 2006, Al-Maliki made his first official visit to neighbouring Shi'a Iran, whose influence on Iraq is a matter of concern for Washington DC. He conspicuously chose Sunni Persian Gulf Arab states for his first foreign trip but his visit to Iran will likely upset Sunnis. He discussed with Iranian officials, including president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the "principle of no interference in internal affairs" during his visit on September 11, 2006 and September 12, 2006, i.e. political and security issues. The announcement of his visit followed a dispute between the two countries in which Iranian border guards in the week from September 3, 2006 detained Iraqi guards after accusing them of crossing into Iran. Ibrahim Shaker, Iraqi defence ministry spokesman, told the Iraqi patrol, five soldiers, one officer and one translator, had simply been doing "their duty".[16]
Governmental prospects
The stability of Maliki’s government depends on a tenuous peace between Moqtada al-Sadr, who controls one of the largest voting blocs in parliament, and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who leads the United Iraqi Alliance and the country’s largest Shi'a party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. A generations-long feud between their families has carried over into a personal and political rivalry between the men, and their militias have periodically clashed.[17]
In October 2006, doubts grew concerning Maliki's willingness or ability to defeat Shi'a militias. Maliki criticized an American-led raid that targeted a militia leader because, he asserted, it had been conducted without his government's approval. [18]
On January 2, 2007, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Maliki in which he said that he hadn't wanted to become Prime Minister of Iraq and that he had only accepted the position out of a sense of duty. He also stated that he wished he could end his term before it expires in 2009. [19]
On January 13, 2007, Maliki selected Lieutenant General Abud Qanbar as the Iraqi commander for the capital of Baghdad, Iraq. [2]
Censorship
On August 24, 2006, he banned television channels from broadcasting images of daily bloodshed in the country and warned of legal action against those violating the order. Major General Rashid Flayah, head of a national police division added "...We are building the country with Kalashnikovs and you should help in building it with the use of your pen". [20]

Originally Posted by PAn8tv

Annual inflation index rises in Iraq within a year by 36.6 %

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19 April 2007 (Iraq Directory)

Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation said that the annual inflation index rose in one year (from March 2006 to last March) by 36,6 %.

It stated in a report that the monthly indicator of inflation also rose last March by 1.3 % which is a record, reflecting the prices of goods and services provided to the consumer.

The report was prepared in the Central Agency for Statistics and Information Technology at the Ministry on the basis of field data collection on the prices of goods and services that form the consumer basket of retail prices in selected markets in Baghdad and other governorates.

The report said the rise was the outcome of the high index of food and clothes, fabrics, footwear, furniture, transport, communications, medical services, medicines and rent, which form 94.4 % of total domestic consumer spending.

you know, they always reference a percentage increase of a previous rate, without telling us exactly what the current annual inflation rate actually IS. Since that monthly summary we had awhile back that was used to demonstrate that the CBI was indeed getting a grip on inflation, does anyone know how that's progressed?

Originally Posted by ccgideon

I have seen this man called "stupid", "Illiterate", and "lazy"...after reading this, I am not so convinced. Maybe we should not be so quick to call others names unless we know of which we speak. Interesting read!

Nouri Kamel Mohammed Hassan al-Maliki (Arabic: نوري كامل المالكي, transliterated Nūrī Kāmil al-Mālikī; born c. 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki, is the State Prime Minister of Iraq. He is a Shi'a Muslim, and is the deputy leader of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. His 37-member Cabinet was approved by the National Assembly and sworn in on May 20, 2006.
Al-Maliki's constitutional mandate will last until 2010. On April 26, 2006, al-Maliki's office announced that he would thenceforth use the first name Nouri instead of his pseudonym Jawad.[1]
Early life
Nouri Kamel al-Maliki was born in Abu Gharaq, a southern Iraqi town lying between Karbala and Al Hillah, in 1950. He attended school in Al Hindiyah (Hindiya). Al-Maliki received a bachelor's degree at Usul al-Din College in Baghdad, and a master's degree in Arabic literature from Baghdad University.[2] Al-Maliki lived for a time in Al Hillah, where he worked in the education department. He joined the Islamic Dawa Party in the late 1960s while studying at university.
Al-Maliki's grandfather, Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin, was a poet and cleric who served as Iraq's Minister of Education under King Faisal I.[3]
Exile and return to Iraq
In 1980, the Saddam Hussein government sentenced al-Maliki to death for his activism in the Dawa party and thereafter, he lived in exile, first in Iran[4] and later in Syria. In Syria, he headed the party's Jihad Office, a branch responsible for directing activists and guerrillas fighting Saddam Hussein's regime from outside of Iraq. He was elected chairman of the Joint Action Committee, a Damascus-based opposition coalition that led to the founding of the Iraqi National Congress, a United States-backed body of opposition to the Saddam Hussein regime which the Dawa Party participated in between 1992 and 1995. Some foreign diplomats who were responsible for maintaining links with the Iraqi opposition in Syria before the war, have maintained that al-Maliki was never more than a minor figure in the period before 2003. While in exile, al-Maliki adopted the pseudonym "Jawad", which he used until after his return to Iraq.
Returning home after Saddam's fall, he became the deputy leader of the De-Baathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government, formed to purge former Baath Party officials from the military and government. Many Sunni Arabs deeply resented the commission, viewing it as part of a Shi'a conspiracy to take power in Iraq, even though the Baath Party officials affected came from both the Shi'a and Sunni communities.
Al-Maliki was elected to the transitional National Assembly in January 2005. He was considered a tough negotiator in drawn-out deliberations over the new constitution, and was the senior Shi'ite member of the committee that drafted the new constitution that was passed in October 2005 over Sunni Arab objections. He resisted U.S. efforts to put more Sunnis on the drafting committee, as well as Sunni efforts to water down provisions giving wide autonomy to Shi'a and Kurdish regions in the north and south.
Prime Minister nomination
Further information: Government of Iraq from 2006
In the December 2005 parliamentary elections, the United Iraqi Alliance won the plurality of seats, and nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's first full-term post-war prime minister. However, al-Jafaari faced opposition from Sunni and Kurdish factions who were negotiating to be part of the new government. In April 2006, al-Jaafari was removed as the candidate, and on April 22, 2006, al-Maliki was named prime minister-designate by President Jalal Talabani.
United States Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, has stated that "[Maliki's] reputation is as someone who is independent of Iran," and that "He sees himself as an Arab" and an Iraqi nationalist. Khalilzad also maintained that Iran "pressured everyone for Jaafari to stay." Maliki's nomination is seen as a victory for Khalilzad's negotiating efforts. Khalilzad praised Iraqi statesmen, saying "It showed that Sistani doesn't take Iranian direction. It showed that Abdul Aziz Hakim doesn't succumb to Iranian pressure. He stood up to Iran. It showed the same thing about the Kurdish leaders."[5] This interpretation reflects the position of the U.S. Government. On May 20, 2006, al-Maliki presented his Cabinet to Parliament, minus permanent ministers of Defense and of Interior. He announced that he would temporarily handle the Interior Ministry himself, and Salam al-Zobaie would temporarily act as Defense Minister. "We pray to God almighty to give us strength so we can meet the ambitious goals of our people who have suffered a lot," al-Maliki told the members of the assembly.[6]Maliki has brought Sunnis into his national unity government.[7]
In Office
As Prime Minister, al-Maliki has vowed to crack down on militias which he calls "organized armed groups who are acting outside the state and outside the law." He had been criticized for taking too long to name permanent Interior and Defense ministers, which he did on June 8, 2006, [8] just as Maliki and the Americans announced the killing of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. [9] [10]
Meanwhile, Maliki criticized coalition armed forces as reports of allegedly deliberate killings of Iraqi civilians (at Haditha and elsewhere) became known. He has been quoted as saying, "[t]his is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces. No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It's unacceptable." According to Ambassador Khalilzad, Maliki had been misquoted, but it was unclear in what way.[11]
On December 30, 2006, Maliki signed the death warrant of Saddam Hussein and declined a stay of execution, saying there would be “no review or delay” in the event. Citing the wishes of relatives of Hussein's victims, he said, “Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him.”[1] Hussein's execution was carried out on December 30, 2006 (notably, the first day of the feast of Eid ul-Adha). Maliki's official videographer, Ali Al Massedy, filmed the execution, and immediately handed over the videotape to Maliki's office.
Official visits
On June 13, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush paid a visit to Baghdad to meet with Maliki and President of Iraq Jalal Talibani, as a token of support for the new government. [12] On June 25, al-Maliki presented a national reconciliation plan to the Iraqi parliament. The peace plan sets out to remove powerful militias from the streets, open a dialogue with rebels, and review the status of purged members of the once-ruling Ba'ath party. Some viewed this as a bold step towards rebuilding Iraq. [13] By July 2006, when al-Maliki visited the United States, violence had continued and even escalated, leading many to conclude that the reconciliation plan was not working.
On July 26, 2006, al-Maliki addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.[14] . Several New York Democrats boycotted the speech after Al-Maliki condemned Israel's attack on Lebanon. Howard Dean, the DNC chairman, accused Al-Maliki of being an "anti-Semite" and said the United States shouldn't spend so much on Iraq and then hand it over to people like Maliki. [15]
On September 11, 2006, Al-Maliki made his first official visit to neighbouring Shi'a Iran, whose influence on Iraq is a matter of concern for Washington DC. He conspicuously chose Sunni Persian Gulf Arab states for his first foreign trip but his visit to Iran will likely upset Sunnis. He discussed with Iranian officials, including president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the "principle of no interference in internal affairs" during his visit on September 11, 2006 and September 12, 2006, i.e. political and security issues. The announcement of his visit followed a dispute between the two countries in which Iranian border guards in the week from September 3, 2006 detained Iraqi guards after accusing them of crossing into Iran. Ibrahim Shaker, Iraqi defence ministry spokesman, told the Iraqi patrol, five soldiers, one officer and one translator, had simply been doing "their duty".[16]
Governmental prospects
The stability of Maliki’s government depends on a tenuous peace between Moqtada al-Sadr, who controls one of the largest voting blocs in parliament, and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who leads the United Iraqi Alliance and the country’s largest Shi'a party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. A generations-long feud between their families has carried over into a personal and political rivalry between the men, and their militias have periodically clashed.[17]
In October 2006, doubts grew concerning Maliki's willingness or ability to defeat Shi'a militias. Maliki criticized an American-led raid that targeted a militia leader because, he asserted, it had been conducted without his government's approval. [18]
On January 2, 2007, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Maliki in which he said that he hadn't wanted to become Prime Minister of Iraq and that he had only accepted the position out of a sense of duty. He also stated that he wished he could end his term before it expires in 2009. [19]
On January 13, 2007, Maliki selected Lieutenant General Abud Qanbar as the Iraqi commander for the capital of Baghdad, Iraq. [2]
Censorship
On August 24, 2006, he banned television channels from broadcasting images of daily bloodshed in the country and warned of legal action against those violating the order. Major General Rashid Flayah, head of a national police division added "...We are building the country with Kalashnikovs and you should help in building it with the use of your pen". [20]

Interesting,

No doubt about it, Maliki is educated, but look at Bush, he too is educated, but about as inept as they come in my opinion. I put Maliki in the same category, book smart, common senseless. I'll take the common sense smart over book smart all day long. They have both proven themselves without a doubt, both are common senseless. (g)

Good luck and health to all, Mike

Carol, LIME GREEN is so hard to read in your posts. either that or i need another pair of gasses. LOL

Bush is inept? As you stand to make millions from his actions to take down a bloody dictator. I didn't have you pegged as Bush hater for some reason. Goes to show the power of the western media.

Come on guys lets get serious and I am the last one that knows about any of it, just invester.Nemo you said you were starting new thread! Can we keep this one for reaL,
I WILL PUT EVERYTHING i HAVE INTO IT!!??
aLAN

Gates: 'Clock Is Ticking' on Iraq By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 48 minutes ago



FALLUJAH, Iraq - Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on an unannounced trip to Iraq, delivered a sharp message to the country's political leaders Thursday: The U.S. military's commitment to the war is not open-ended.

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"The clock is ticking," Gates told reporters, saying he will warn Iraqi officials that they must move faster on political reconciliation. "I know it's difficult, and clearly the attack on the council of representatives has made people nervous, but I think that it's very important that they bend every effort to getting this legislation done as quickly as possible."

A suicide bomber infiltrated the parliament building in the heavily fortified Green Zone a week ago, dealing a blow to the U.S.-led effort to pacify the capital's streets.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the violence in Baghdad an "open battle."

Gates, traveling to Iraq for the third time in four months, took a decidedly stronger tone this time, reflecting U.S. frustration and the political tumult in Washington, where President Bush and Congress are deadlocked over whether to set an end date for the war.

Since January, when Bush announced his new strategy for the Iraq war — featuring a troop buildup and a renewed push for economic development and political progress — Gates and other senior administration officials have frequently and publicly reminded the Iraqis that they must act quickly to settle their differences. They have attempted to strike a balance between pressuring the Iraqis to reconcile and reassuring them that the U.S. military will not abandon them while they struggle to avert a full-scale civil war.

Gates said again Thursday that the Washington debate has been helpful in letting the Iraqis know that American patience with the war is ebbing. Democrats have seized on those remarks to bolster their arguments that there must be a deadline for the Pentagon to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The last time a U.S. defense secretary visited Fallujah — which until late 2004 was a key stronghold of the Sunni insurgency — it was Donald H. Rumsfeld, who stopped here in December 2005 to announce a plan to begin reducing U.S. troops. Small reductions were made, but shortly afterward troop levels began climbing again. In February 2006, the spectacular bombing of a mosque in Samarra, north of Baghdad, set off a wave of sectarian retribution and a surge of civilian deaths that scuttled U.S. plans to pull out more troops.

Gates said the Iraqis must, as quickly as possible, push through legislation on political reconciliation and the sharing of oil revenues among the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

"It's not that these laws are going to change the situation immediately, but I think ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness to work together," he said.

Those efforts, Gates said, would, in turn, create an environment in which violence could be reduced. But he acknowledged, "I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face."

Shortly after landing in Baghdad, Gates boarded a helicopter to Camp Fallujah, about 35 miles west of the capital city. There, he met with top military commanders, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus.

Commanders agreed that the recent uptick in violence is troublesome, occurring just as they were starting to see some improvements.

Gates stopped in Iraq on a trip through the Middle East. His visit comes on the heels of Iraq's bloodiest day since the U.S. troop buildup ordered by Bush began nine weeks ago. On Wednesday, four bomb blasts killed 230 people.

"Yesterday was a bad day, there's no two ways about it," said Petraeus. "And a day like that can have a real psychological impact, and it came at a time where frankly ... (we) felt like we were getting a bit of traction."

Petraeus added that while the changes are almost imperceptible at times, there had been slow progress both in Anbar Province, which has been a stronghold for Sunni insurgents, and with the Baghdad security plan.

"Clearly these sensational attacks can't be anything other than viewed as setbacks and challenges," said Petraeus. But he said that after meeting with Iraqi leaders Wednesday and Thursday, he believes they are determined to calm their people and press on.

Commanders also expressed little support for withdrawing troops in the coming months.

Brig. Gen. Mark Gurganus, commander of ground forces in Anbar Province, said he has seen progress in western Iraq, including a decrease in attacks and an increase in recruitment of Iraqi police and army soldiers.

Reducing his forces, he said, could erase the gains they've made. "Would it have an adverse impact? Absolutely," he said.

Underscoring the urgency in controlling the violence, police said a suicide car bomber rammed into a fuel truck in central Baghdad only hours before Gates arrived, killing at least a dozen people.

"It is very important they make every effort to get this done as soon as possible," Gates said, noting that the attack at the Iraqi parliament building made people particularly nervous.

Just a day before Gates' visit, Bush met with congressional leaders to discuss the impasse over legislation to provide funds for the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Three of the five brigades Bush ordered into Iraq to stem Baghdad violence have arrived, bringing U.S. forces in the country to 146,000. Officials want the rest in place by June, for a total of 160,000.

Soon after that, they plan to assess how much longer the higher troop level — about 30,000 more than before the buildup — will be needed.

Officials have struggled to find troops from within the stretched U.S. military to sustain the increase. Gates last week lengthened tours of duty to the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan from one year to 15 months.

Originally Posted by RetMil

Bush is inept? As you stand to make millions from his actions to take down a bloody dictator. I didn't have you pegged as Bush hater for some reason. Goes to show the power of the western media.

I'm a Bush lover! I think he is a great president and has alot of common sense and book sense. If he could run again, I would vote for him all over again!

Monica