Iraq puts off federal debate as civil war fears grow
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Iraq's parliament again delayed debate   of a divisive bill on federalism on Tuesday after a fresh wave   of violence killed 50 people and the United Nations warned that   Iraq could descend into civil war.
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BAGHDAD -- The interim Iraqi government brushed aside Sunni Muslim demands to delay the Jan. 30 election yesterday. And a spokesman for the majority Shiite Muslim community called the date &quot;non-negotiable.
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Conditions that could lead to a   civil war exist in Iraq, the Pentagon said in a new report on   Friday, as the "core conflict" has changed into one pitting   Sunni Muslims against Shi'ites, with the Sunni Arab insurgency   overshadowed.
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BAGHDAD -- Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim parties and the religious leadership headed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani yesterday rejected a demand by other communities for a delay in nationwide elections scheduled for Jan. 30, in an escalating dispute that magnifies the country's ethnic and sectarian fault lines.
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Wide public discontent over the war in Iraq helped sweep Democrats to the control of Congress last year. But Iraq is becoming less of an issue for both parties, either on the campaign trail or in the nation's capital, ahead of the fast-approaching presidential primaries.
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President Bush and Sen. John Kerry clashed yesterday about whether conditions are improving in Iraq as the president continued to question his opponent&#39;s ability to lead.
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The White House acknowledged on Monday that sectarian violence in Iraq had entered "a new phase" but denied it amounted to civil war.
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The president refused to label the recent surge in killings in Iraq a civil war.
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Iraqi interim government officials and the country&#39;s election commission have all but ruled out demands by Sunni Arab parties to postpone parliamentary elections scheduled for January
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Iraq's parliament abruptly adjourned on   Thursday after several Shi'ite lawmakers tried to force debate   on the divisive issue of federalism, which Sunnis fear could   lead to the breakup of the oil-rich country.
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NBC News on Monday branded the Iraq conflict a civil war -- a decision that put it at odds with the White House and that analysts said would increase public disillusionment with the U.S. troop presence there.
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F rom Tuesday evening until the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Johnny Isakson sat at his desk on the Senate floor and listened as Democrats and Republicans alike took turns making speeches during a rare all-night debate on Iraq. Across the street, antiwar groups had organized a candlelight vigil...
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The Iraqi government yesterday brushed aside Sunni Muslim demands to delay the Jan. 30 election, and a spokesman for the majority Shiite community called the date ``nonnegotiable
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President Bush and rival John Kerry paused from private debate practice on Monday to accuse each other of lack of clarity on Iraq as they campaigned in "must win" states for each &#151; the Republican incumbent in Ohio and his Democratic challenger in Wisconsin.
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Iraq stood on the verge of its first free election in a half-century Saturday, its borders and bridges locked down, its hopes on the line. The government urged Iraqis to vote despite their fears of violence, even as insurgents rocketed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, killing two Americans.
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The Senate refused to consider a resolution on Saturday denouncing President George W. Bush's Iraq troop buildup that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the day before.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Fears of heavier fighting in Najaf grew on Wednesday after an Iraqi peace delegation failed to defuse a confrontation between US troops and militiamen holed up in a revered shrine in the city.