Michael Ware

Journalist

AAM: "Shifting pieces across the chess board."


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Length: 3:29


MILES O'BRIEN: The wave of violence not ebbing in Iraq. In just the first few days of this month, at least 14 U.S. troops have been killed. This as the Shiite-led government tries to forge a plan to keep the peace between warring religious sects.

CNN's Michael Ware live in Baghdad with more on all of this, -- Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles, just an hour and a half ago we saw the violence in Iraq continue as if unrelenting. I mean this is the daily grind. We saw a triple bomb attack on a Ministry of Industry convoy just 90 minutes ago. So far, the death toll from that stands at 12 Iraqis, with 70 wounded.

And, as you say, this comes on the back of just the first three-and-a-half days of this month and the death of 14 U.S. troops. This follows September when more than 70 U.S. troops were killed. Yesterday morning, 30 executed bodies were found just in the capital Baghdad alone, many of them with signs of torture. This doesn't account for the rest of the country. Attacks are on the rise, suicide bombings are spiking. This country very much is in the grip of the holy month of Ramadan offensive by the insurgents -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Michael, I know that the Shiite-led government in Iraq is attempting to come up with some sort of plan to address this sectarian violence. There is a proposal out there. Is it likely it will do any good? Is it likely it will be endorsed and embraced by all parties?

WARE: Well, Miles, given that it's, you know, very powerful factions within this Shia-led government that's responsible for a large proportion of the sectarian killings -- in fact, this U.S.-backed government actually runs its own death squads -- it does lead to some cynicism about any kind of plan that emerges.

Let's look at the four-point plan that the Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki -- a relatively powerless figure who doesn't have his own militia to back him up, hence the U.S. forces are attempting to prop him up -- comes up with a plan proposing committees to address violence. Three levels of committees, some on the local level within the capital, one an over-arching oversight committee and the third a media committee.

Now this is supposed to include Sunni and Shia politicians and other figures. Problem is the Sunnis who will be on this committee do not in any way represent the insurgency so there will be nothing from them. And members of the government representatives, membership from there will come from the very factions that are responsible for a lot of the violence, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And I guess if the -- it seems unlikely that the answer to this violence is to create a series of committees.

WARE: Absolutely. I mean, this is just a shell game, Miles. This is just moving pieces about the table or shifting pieces across the chess board. I mean, that's what a lot of this is about.

I mean, we've heard much about the so-called Battle of Baghdad, Operation Together Forward, tens of thousands of American and Iraqi troops trying to reclaim this city from insurgents, militias and death squads. Well, this is just a matter of perception. It's impossible. We see that the killings continue and in fact are rising during this operation. Much of it is smoke and mirrors to give the impression to local Iraqis and domestically to Americans back home that something is being done; but in reality, there is very little behind it -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware in Baghdad, thank you very much.




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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.

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MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Michael Ware in Baghdad, as the bloodshed continues to worsen here in Iraq.

October has already become a gruesome month for U.S. forces, with 13 troops killed in these first three days alone, all but one of them to hostile fire, and seven killed in one day. This is on the back of September, when more than 70 U.S. troops were killed.

Violence continues against Iraqi civilians, with 30 executed bodies found in the capital yesterday alone. This is all during the holy month of Ramadan, a period when the insurgents traditionally launch an offensive. This is their fourth Ramadan offensive since the fall of Saddam's regime.

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