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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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Length:0:48
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Here's a
look now at stories that CNN correspondents around
the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)