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The War Goes on

Spanish Translation

By Nellie Gonzalez Cutler
With Reporting By Bobby Ghosh; M. Ezzat/Baghdad

Traditionally, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a time of prayer, fasting and family. For the people of Iraq, this year's Ramadan was also a time of violence. Last week, as Muslim Iraqis marked the end of the holy month, acts of violence surged. Bomb blasts rocked Iraq's capital, Baghdad. North of the city, rebels attacked Iraqi police recruits. In the southern city of Amarah, police battled militias, which are private armies. In October, many civilians and more than 300 Iraqi security-force members were killed.

U.S. forces also paid a high toll. At least 97 U.S. troops were killed, making October one of the deadliest months in the war. More than 2,800 American lives have been lost since the war started in March 2003.

Taking New Steps
The increase in fighting has renewed calls for a change in strategy. At a press conference last Wednesday, President George W. Bush acknowledged that there had been setbacks in Iraq. He assured Americans that military tactics were changing to meet new challenges. He also pointed out that violence is confined to a small section of Iraq.

Bush refused to set a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. There are currently about 140,000 U.S. forces in the country. "Just because the enemy has made some progress doesn't mean that we should leave," he said.

A day earlier, General George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador, announced that the U.S. was setting a timetable that would eventually lead to full Iraqi control of the country within the next 12 to 18 months. But before that can happen, the Iraqi government has to improve its security forces, get rid of militias and split oil wealth among all religious and ethnic groups.

Meeting those conditions will not be easy. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had disagreed about the timetable. But by week's end, he had promised to do more to halt violence.

Caught in the Crossfire
Iraq is a deeply divided nation. Most Iraqis belong to one of three groups: Kurds, Sunni Muslim Arabs or Shiite Muslim Arabs. Much of the fighting in recent months has pitted Iraqis against Iraqis. Increasingly, U.S. forces find themselves caught in the crossfire of a civil war.

In Amarah last week, fighters loyal to a Shiite Muslim leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, attacked Shiite policemen. Al-Sadr says his goal is to force foreign troops to leave Iraq. But his private militia, the Mahdi Army, has killed thousands of Sunnis and any Shiites who didn't follow his lead.

To establish a nation, Iraq's government must rein in al-Sadr and other militia leaders. But for Iraqis like Ammar Jawad, it may be too late. Last month, Jawad moved his family out of Baghdad to Balad. He hoped that they would be safe in the small town. Instead, within a week of their arrival, Balad erupted in violence. Nearly 100 people died in the fighting. Jawad told TIME he has "given up believing things will be better anywhere in Iraq."

Can the Iraqi government convince its people not to give up on their country?

THE U.S AND IRAQ: A TROUBLED HISTORY
August 2, 1990
Iraq invades its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait.

January 17, 1991
The U.S. and allies attack Iraq. Operation Desert Storm is swift. Allied forces liberate Kuwait on February 27. Iraq agrees to give up its weapons of mass destruction and allow U.N. inspections.

November 1, 1998
Iraq stops cooperating with U.N. inspectors. The U.S. and Britain bomb sites in December.

September 12, 2002
Bush speaks to a special session of the U.N. He calls for world leaders to help stop "the grave and gathering danger" of Iraq.

March 20, 2003
The U.S. and allies attack Iraq. Their goal: find and destroy dangerous weapons and remove from power Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

April 9, 2003
U.S. forces march into Baghdad.

December 13, 2003
Hussein is captured.

June 28, 2004
The U.S. hands power over to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

January 30, 2005
Eight million people vote in Iraq's first free elections in 50 years.

February 2005
After a bomb attack on a sacred Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra, violence sweeps the country.

October 15, 2005
Iraqis vote on a new constitution. In December, they elect a parliament.

April 22, 2006
Nouri al-Maliki is chosen as prime minister.

Next: A Fence for the Border