July 15, 2009

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A policeman stands guard outside a Christian church which was the target of a car bomb attack at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009. Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, in apparently coordinated attacks that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

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Iraqi police stand outside a Christian church the morning after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. The bomber struck just as worshippers left Sunday Mass, one of several attacks in Christians in the Iraqi capital that left at least four dead.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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The son and wife of Aziz Rizqo Nisan, the head of the audit department in the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, grieve during the funeral of Aziz Rizqo Nisan held in his office Sunday, July 12, 2009.

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Iraqi officials say gunmen killed Nissan while he was driving, though motive for the killing of the man, a Christian, was unclear.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

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Relatives and colleagues carry the coffin of Aziz Rizqo Nisan, the head of the audit department in the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, Sunday, July 12, 2009. Iraqi officials say gunmen killed Nissan while he was driving, though motive for the man, a Christian, was unclear.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

Don't be deceived when they tell you things are better now. Even if there's no poverty to be seen because the poverty's been hidden. Even if you ever got more wages and could afford to buy more of these new and useless goods which industries foist on you and even if it seems to you that you never had so much, that is only the slogan of those who still have much more than you. Don't be taken in when they paternally pat you on the shoulder and say that there's no inequality worth speaking of and no more reason to fight because if you believe them they will be completely in charge in their marble homes and granite banks from which they rob the people of the world under the pretence of bringing them culture. Watch out, for as soon as it pleases them they'll send you out to protect their gold in wars whose weapons, rapidly developed by servile scientists, will become more and more deadly until they can with a flick of the finger tear a million of you to pieces. ~ Jean Paul Marat

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Badour Georgis is comforted by her best friend, Badriya Mohammed, as she is treated for injuries after one of several bombings on Christian churches in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 12, 2009.

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(AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)

"These are the men who, without virtue, labour, or hazard, are growing rich, as their country is impoverished; they rejoice, when obstinacy or ambition adds another year to slaughter and devastation; and laugh, from their desks, at bravery and science, while they are adding figure to figure, and cipher to cipher, hoping for a new contract from a new armament, and computing the profits of a siege or tempest." ~ Samuel Johnson

45

Iraqi Christian women pray at one of several churches that were bombed in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, April 12, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world. ~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918- ) Russian writer, Soviet dissident, imprisoned for 8 years for criticizing Stalin in a personal letter, Nobel Prize for Literature, 1970

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A nun prays in a church which was the target of a bomb attack in Baghdad July 12, 2009. Bombs exploded outside four Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, killing one person and wounding more than 20, Iraqi police said.

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A car bomb exploded near a church on eastern Baghdad's Palestine Street, killing one person and wounding 14, including eight Christians on Sunday evening.

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REUTERS/Kahtan al-Mesiary (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

"...it is essential if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression that human rights should be protected by the rule of law." (preamble) - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

43

Devotees light candles inside a Christian church which was the target of a bomb attack in Baghdad July 12, 2009. Bombs exploded outside four Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, killing one person and wounding more than 20, Iraqi police said. A car bomb exploded near a church on eastern Baghdad's Palestine Street, killing one person and wounding 14, including eight Christians on Sunday evening.

REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

42

An Iraqi woman walks past a policeman standing guard outside a Christian church which was the target of a car bomb attack at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009.

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Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, in apparently coordinated attacks that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

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REUTERS/Saad Shalash

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(IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. ~ Albert Einstein

41

An Iraqi policeman stands outside a Christian church the morning after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. The bomber struck just as worshippers left Sunday Mass, one of several attacks in Christians in the Iraqi capital that left at least four dead.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

40

Muhanned Saleh has his temperature taken at a hospital after being injured in a car bomb attack on a Christian church in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. The car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring over a dozen others in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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Muhanned Saleh rests at a hospital after being injured in a car bomb attack on a Christian church in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. The car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring over a dozen others in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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A shopkeeper tends to damage from a roadside bomb in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. A passing police patrol struck the bomb, killing at least one police officer and wounding several, police said.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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A woman walks past damage from a roadside bomb in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. A passing police patrol struck the bomb, killing at least one police officer and wounding several, police said.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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A woman walks past the site of a car bomb attack against a Christian church at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009. Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, an apparently coordinated strike that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

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A burnt vehicle is towed from the scene of a car bomb attack against a Christian church at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009. Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, an apparently coordinated strike that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

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A priest looks at the damage to a grotto after the blast against a Christian church at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009. Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, an apparently coordinated strike that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

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A general view after the blast against a Christian church at Palestine Street in Baghdad July 13, 2009. Bombs exploded outside five Christian churches across Baghdad on Sunday, an apparently coordinated strike that killed four people and wounded more than 30, Iraqi police said.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

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A worker sifts through the debris inside a Christian church after a bombing in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009. Iraqi authorities Monday imposed vehicle bans in two mostly Christian towns and increased security around churches in Baghdad after attacks targeting the Christian minority. Fearing car bombs, authorities on Monday imposed vehicle bans in the towns of Tilkaif and Hamdaniyah, predominantly Christian towns near the northern city of Mosul.

(AP Photo)

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Iraqis sift through wreckage after a bombing near a Christian church and a mosque, in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009.

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Iraqi authorities Monday imposed vehicle bans in two mostly Christian towns and increased security around churches in Baghdad after attacks targeting the Christian minority. Fearing car bombs, authorities on Monday imposed vehicle bans in the towns of Tilkaif and Hamdaniyah, predominantly Christian towns near the northern city of Mosul.

(AP Photo)

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A man looks at a destroyed vehicle after a bombing near a Christian church and a mosque in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 13, 2009.

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Iraqi authorities Monday imposed vehicle bans in two mostly Christian towns and increased security around churches in Baghdad after attacks targeting the Christian minority. Fearing car bombs, authorities on Monday imposed vehicle bans in the towns of Tilkaif and Hamdaniyah, predominantly Christian towns near the northern city of Mosul.

(AP Photo)

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Workers clear the rubble of a destroyed mosque in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad July 13, 2009.

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The ethnically-mixed Iraqi city of Mosul imposed a curfew on vehicles in Christian neighbourhoods on Monday, responding to a spate of bomb attacks targeting churches in Baghdad the previous day, police said.

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REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

"If we work in marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving upon tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity." ~ Daniel Webster

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A worker clears the rubble of a damaged church in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad July 13, 2009. The ethnically-mixed Iraqi city of Mosul imposed a curfew on vehicles in Christian neighbourhoods on Monday, responding to a spate of bomb attacks targeting churches in Baghdad the previous day, police said.

REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

27

Baha Mousa's two children display a family photo at their Basra home in 2005. A public inquiry into the death of an Iraqi man in British custody was shown a video of a British soldier screaming at hooded prisoners.

(AFP/File/Essam al-Sudani)

26

An Iraqi police man walks past damaged vehicles outside the Notre Dame church following an explosion in Baghdad. Security was ramped up in Christian areas of Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after deadly bombings which left church leaders in dismay over the assailants and their motives.

(AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

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Two Iraqi women walk past cement blast walls scared by a detonated road side bomb in Baghdad.

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Security was ramped up in Christian areas of Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after deadly bombings which left church leaders in dismay over the assailants and their motives.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

24

Relatives of an Iraqi miltiaman, one of 20 killed in a fierce battle, grieve over his body. AFP/GETTY

Picture came from The Independent (UK)

"Many of our fellow Americans wear a blindfold hiding from the truth of what our government is doing. But each of you has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a voice to oppose this crime against humanity." ~ Sister Dianna Ortiz, OSU

23

A wounded man lies at a hospital after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr city July 9, 2009. Seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in a twin bomb attack in a market in Sadr City, a poor, Shi'ite Muslim area of the Iraqi capital.

REUTERS/Hadeer Abbas (IRAQ CONFLICT)

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A wounded man receives a medical treatment at a hospital after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr city July 9, 2009.

REUTERS/Hadeer Abbas

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A policeman lifts the remains of a bomb blast in Sadr City in Baghdad July 9, 2009. Seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in a twin bomb attack in a market in Sadr City, a poor, Shi'ite Muslim area of the Iraqi capital.

REUTERS/Sattar al-Rubaie (IRAQ CONFLICT)

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Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder! Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings! Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction! ~ Helen Keller

20

Residents sit near the site of a bomb attack in Sadr City in Baghdad, July 9, 2009. Seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in a twin bomb attack at a market in Sadr City, a poor, Shi'ite Muslim area of the Iraqi capital.

REUTERS/Sattar al-Rubaie (IRAQ CONFLICT)

The civilized have created the wretched, quite coldly and deliberately, and do not intend to change the status quo; are responsible for their slaughter and enslavement; rain down bombs on defenseless children whenever and wherever they decide that their 'vital interests' are menaced, and think nothing of torturing a man to death: these people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the 'sanctity' of human life, or the 'conscience' of the civilized world. -- James Baldwin

19

An Iraqi soldier is seen in a hospital as a wounded man arrives for treatment after a roadside bomb attack near a market in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love. Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

18

A wounded man lies in a hospital bed after a roadside bomb attack near a market in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

"My notion of democracy is that under it the weakest shall have the same opportunities as the strongest...no country in the world today shows any but patronizing regard for the weak... Western democracy, as it functions today, is diluted fascism... true democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the center. It has to be worked from below, by the people of every village." ~ Gandhi

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Iraqi police stand at the site of a roadside bomb attack near a market in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly on what should be said on the vital issues of the day. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

16

Residents lift the coffin of a victim who was killed in a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr City July 9, 2009. Seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in a twin bomb attack in a market in Sadr City, a poor, Shi'ite Muslim area of the Iraqi capital.

REUTERS/Kahtan al-Mesiary (IRAQ)

15

Police and civilians stand at the scene of a car bombing near Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009. Car bombs in two Shiite villages near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed 16 civilians and injured more than two dozen on Wednesday, in a surge of violence in Iraq's troubled north following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from cities to bases outside urban centers at the end of June.

(AP Photo)

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A man stands at the scene of a car bombing near Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

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Car bombs in two Shiite villages near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed up to 16 civilians and injured more than two dozen on Wednesday, in a surge of violence in Iraq's troubled north following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from cities to bases outside urban centers at the end of June.

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(AP Photo)

"He does not believe who does not live according to his belief." ~ Thomas Fuller

13

A wounded man is treated after a roadside bomb attack near a market in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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Iraqis clean up the site of a bomb concealed in a bicycle parked at a market in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

“To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one's own, is ever the beginning of one's real ethical development.” ~ Felix Adler

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Iraqi soldiers secure the site of a bomb attack in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad July 9, 2009.

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Two car bombs exploded within minutes of each other on Wednesday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing 14 people and wounding 33, police said.

REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly (IRAQ CONFLICT)

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A boy runs past a damaged house after a bomb attack in Mosul, 390 km (242 miles) north of Baghdad July 9, 2009.

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REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly

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War is fear cloaked in courage. ~ William Westmoreland

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Boys stand at the scene of a car bombing near Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

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Car bombs struck in two Shiite villages near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, signaling the challenges that face Iraq despite big improvements in security in the past two years.

(AP Photo)

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An injured man is visited by relatives after a roadside bomb attack near a market in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

"The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny." ~ Wole Soyinka

7

In this image made from television women men grieve among the victims of a second suicide attack in Tal Afar, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009. A coordinated attack killed a total of 34 people and injured 70 in Tal Afar, Thursday. The day's violence began at 6:30 a.m., when a suicide bomber in a police uniform and carrying a radio and a pistol knocked on the door of an investigator in the anti-terrorism police force in the northern city of Tal Afar. When the officer opened the door, the bomber detonated his explosive belt, killing the man, his wife and son, said Maj. Gen. Khalid al-Hamadani, police chief of the northern Ninevah province. As people gathered in the aftermath, another suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt, al-Hamadani said.

(AP Photo/Roj/TV)

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A boy who was wounded in a bomb attack lies in a hospital in Dahuk, 400 km (245 miles) north of Baghdad July 9, 2009. Two suicide bombings in Tal Afar, a town in volatile Nineveh province that is mainly home to minority Turkmen of the Shi'ite Muslim faith, killed 34 people and wounded 60, police said.

REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ CONFLICT)

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In this image made from television two men grieve among the victims of a second suicide attack in Tal Afar, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009. A coordinated attack killed a total of 34 people and injured 70 in Tal Afar, Thursday. The day's violence began at 6:30 a.m., when a suicide bomber in a police uniform and carrying a radio and a pistol knocked on the door of an investigator in the anti-terrorism police force in the northern city of Tal Afar. When the officer opened the door, the bomber detonated his explosive belt, killing the man, his wife and son, said Maj. Gen. Khalid al-Hamadani, police chief of the northern Ninevah province. As people gathered in the aftermath, another suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt, al-Hamadani said.

(AP Photo/Roj/TV)

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A man who was wounded in a bomb attack sits in a hospital in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad July 9, 2009 Baghdad July 9, 2009. Two suicide bombings in Tal Afar, a town in volatile Nineveh province that is mainly home to minority Turkmen of the Shi'ite Muslim faith, killed 34 people and wounded 60, police said.

REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ CONFLICT)

3

An injured man lies in a hospital bed in the northern town of Dohuk after being transferred from Tal Afar following a double suicide attack. A double suicide attack and four other bombings killed at least 52 people on Thursday in Iraq's deadliest day since US forces pulled out of towns and cities nationwide just over a week ago.

(AFP/Safin Hamed)

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Iraqis stand outside a destroyed building the morning after two car bombs were detonated within minutes of each other on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, 370kms from Baghdad. A double suicide attack and four other bombings killed at least 52 people on Thursday in Iraq's deadliest day since US forces pulled out of towns and cities nationwide just over a week ago.

(AFP/Mujahed Mohammed)

1

An Iraqi man sits grieving after losing members of his family the morning after two car bombs were detonated within minutes of each other on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, 370kms from Baghdad. A double suicide attack and four other bombings killed at least 52 people on Thursday in Iraq's deadliest day since US forces pulled out of towns and cities nationwide just over a week ago.

(AFP/Mujahed Mohammed)

"There never was a good war," said Franklin. There have indeed been many wars in which a good man must take part, and take part with grave gladness to die if need be, a willing sacrifice, thankful to give life for what is dearer than life, and happy that even by death in war he is serving the cause of peace. But if a war be undertaken for the most righteous end, before the resources of peace have been tried and proved vain to secure it, that war has no defense, it is a national crime. ~ Charles Eliot Norton

July 11, 2009

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An Iraqi policeman comforts a comrade injured in a bomb attack during a patrol in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 9, 2009. Bombs killed scores of people in Iraq on Thursday in the worst violence since U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week, and American forces released five Iranian officials suspected of aiding Shiite insurgents.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

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Residents carry a coffin of a victim who was killed in a bomb attack during a funeral in Baghdad July 10, 2009. Two roadside bombs in northern Baghdad targeting a police patrol near a market killed nine people and wounded 35, including three police officers, police said.

REUTERS/Bassim Shati (IRAQ CONFLICT)

"There have been periods of history in which episodes of terrible violence occurred but for which the word violence was never used.... Violence is shrouded in justifying myths that lend it moral legitimacy, and these myths for the most part kept people from recognizing the violence for what it was. The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever committed." ~ Gil Bailie

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Residents lift a coffin of a victim who was killed in Baghdad's Sadr City bomb attack, in a cemetery in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad July 10, 2009. Twin bombs went off in a market in Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad, killing seven people and wounding 20, police said.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

47

Men carry the coffin of three year old Hussein Ali, who was killed a day before when a bomb exploded in the Kasra market in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

46

Umm Mohammed reacts for her son, Mohammed Akeel, who was killed in a bombing the day before, at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

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(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

“If you don’t have tears in the eyes, you cry in the heart.” Anonymous child from Gaza, 2009

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Men carry the coffin of three year old Hussein Ali, who was killed a day before when a bomb exploded in the Kasra market in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. ~ Aristotle

44

Family members of eleven year old Mohammed Akeel, who was killed in a bombing the day before, react at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Men carry the coffin of eleven year old Mohammed Akeel who was killed the day before, when a bomb exploded in the Kasra market in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Neighbors and relatives of eleven year old Mohammed Akeel, who was killed in a bombing on Thursday, gesture towards his coffin at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Umm Hussein grieves for her three year old son, Hussein Ali, who was killed in a bombing the day before, at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. ~ Albert Einstein

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Family members of eleven year old Mohammed Akeel, who was killed in a bombing the day before, grieve at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Men carry the coffin of eleven year old Mohammed Akeel who was killed the day before, when a bomb exploded in the Kasra market in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Family members of three year old Hussein Ali, who was killed in a bombing the day before, grieve at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 10, 2009.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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Relatives grieve as the coffin of 11-year-old Muntazar Mohammed, killed in two explosions at a market in Adhamiyah, a Sunni Arab district of Baghdad, is taken for burial on July 10, 2009. Seven people were killed and 66 wounded on Saturday in attacks in Iraq, including bombings at a central Baghdad billiards cafe, security officials said.

(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

36

Dr. Mark Roberts, left, examines Hayder Abdulwahab as interpreter Ali Alzubaidi points to injuries at a physical in July. Hayder was hit by a cab bomb in Baghdad in 2004. He hoped Roberts would refer him to an ophthalmologist to get help for his near blindness from the blast.

From Tampabay.com website. Linked to this story:

Given up for dead, Iraqi refugee struggles to survive in Temple Terrace

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An Iraqi man who helped at the scene of a car bombing displays his hands on June 22, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq. The blast killed five people and injured about 20. A series of bombings killed about 27 people across Iraq today, as the deadline for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraqi cities draws near. (Photo by Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images)

34

An Iraqi man with burn injuries is rushed into a main hospital in central Baghdad following a second explosion at the bus station in the predominantly Shiite district of Baya in southwest Baghdad on June 25, 2009. Two people were killed and 26 others were wounded in this morning's blast at the station entrance. AFP PHOTO / KHALIL AL-MURSHIDI (Photo credit should read KHALIL AL-MURSHIDI/AFP/Getty Images)

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An Iraqi man with burn injuries to his face and arms is helped out of an ambulance at a main hospital in central Baghdad following a second explosion at the bus station in the predominantly Shiite district of Baya in southwest Baghdad on June 25, 2009. Two people were killed and 26 others were wounded in this morning's blast at the same station. AFP PHOTO / KHALIL AL-MURSHIDI (Photo credit should read KHALIL AL-MURSHIDI/AFP/Getty Images)

I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. Some of these young men think that war is all glory but let me say war is all hell. ~ William Tecumseh Sherman

32

An Iraqi youth is rushed into the emergency room of a hospital in the northern city of Kirkuk, 225 kms from the capital Baghdad after a road side bomb detonated as a US convoy drove by on June 29, 2009.

The youth was injured in the blast.

AFP PHOTO / MARWAN IBRAHIM (Photo credit should read MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

"Iniquity, committed in this world, produces not fruit immediately, but, like the earth, in due season, and advancing by little and little, it eradicates the man who committed it. ...justice, being destroyed, will destroy; being preserved, will preserve; it must never therefore be violated." ~ Manu 1200 BC

31

An Iraqi child dances in front of his relatives during festivities celebrating the pull out of US troops from cities and towns on June 30, in the Zawra Park in central Baghdad on June 29, 2009. Thousands of Iraqis partied in Baghdad amid massive security to mark the imminent pullout of US troops from urban areas and to celebrate the conflict-hit nation's reclaimed sovereignty. AFP PHOTO / ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

30

Dust rises as Iraqis peer into a store following a car bomb at a central market in the northern city of Kirkuk, 255 kms from the capital Baghdad, on June 30, 2009. Twenty-six people were killed and 70 wounded in a car bomb attack on the day that Iraqis celebrated the US troop withdrawal from towns and cities across Iraq, six years after the US-led invasion of the country. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN IBRAHIM (Photo credit should read MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

29

A seriously Iraqi man injured in a car bomb in Kirkuk lies in a hospital bed after being transported to Arbil, some 80 kms away on July 01, 2009.

A car bomb detonated during peek shopping hours yesterday killing 33 civilians and injuring 92 others on the day that Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal of US troops from urban areas, six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

28

An injured man is treated for wounds after a parked car bomb exploded in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 5, 2009.

(AP Photo)

"If they do it, it's terrorism, if we do it, it's fighting for freedom." - Anthony Quainton, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, 1984: Anthony Quainton - Source: Off the record response of the Ambassador to a group of concerned U.S. citizens when asked to explain the difference between U.S. government actions in Nicaragua and the violence it condemns as terrorism elsewhere in the world.

27

Firemen respond to the scene of a parked car bomb attack in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 5, 2009.

(AP Photo)

The US and other Western governments turned a blind eye to Amnesty International reports of widespread human rights violations in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, and ignored Amnesty International's campaign on behalf of the thousands of unarmed Kurdish civilians killed in the 1988 attacks on Halabja. Once again, the human rights record of a country is used selectively to legitimize military actions. ~ Amnesty International

26

An Iraqi police man inspects a destroyed vehicle following a road side bomb in the northeastern city of Baquba. An Iraqi policeman was killed and 15 others, including three police, were wounded in four separate grenade attacks in the same Mosul street on Sunday, a security official told AFP.

(AFP)

25

Iraqi National Police escort Hawra Jabbar to her home in Baghdad after Iraqi security forces freed Jabbar, two days after her kidnapping in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 4, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Note the guys in the background with blindfolds on.

24

Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, July 3, 2009. The signs read "No, no America" (R) and "Out, out America" (L).

REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ) CONFLICT POLITICS)

23

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr burn a banner representing the U.S. flag during a protest in Baghdad's Sadr City, northeastern Baghdad July 3, 2009. Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr paraded through a Baghdad slum on Friday, burning American flags and shouting anti-U.S. slogans during a visit to Iraq by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

22

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr burn a banner representing the U.S. flag during a protest in Baghdad's Sadr City, northeastern Baghdad July 3, 2009.

REUTERS/Stringer

"The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his [or her] deception, the one who lies with sincerity." ~ Andre Gide

..

The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself. ~ Jane Addams

21

Photo: DVIC

Many civilians were killed when a suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into a bus (file photo).

From article by UN Integrated Regional Information Network.

IRAQ: Timeline of violence in 2009

An American-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein & and the replacement of the radical Baathist dictatorship with a new government more closely aligned with the United States would put America more wholly in charge of the region than any power since the Ottomans, or maybe even the Romans. ~ David Frum, speachwriter for USA president, George W Bush

20

Photo: DVIC

A bombed out Baghdad police station (file photo).

From article by UN Integrated Regional Information Network.

IRAQ: Timeline of violence in 2009

For bureaucratic reasons we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could agree on. ~ Paul Wolfowitz, USA Deputy Defence Secretary in an interview in the July 2003 issue of magazine Vanity Fair

19

People gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq, Tuesday, June 30. 2009. The bombing comes as Iraqis celebrate what the government is calling 'National Sovereignty Day' to mark the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

18

People gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq, Tuesday, June 30. 2009. The bombing comes as Iraqis celebrate what the government is calling National Sovereignty Day to mark the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

17

People gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq, Tuesday, June 30. 2009. The bombing comes as Iraqis celebrate what the government is calling National Sovereignty Day to mark the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

16

People stand by a fire at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 30, 2009. Hours after U.S. troops handed over full control of Iraq's cities to its domestic security forces, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 32 people and wounded over 100 on Tuesday, police said.

REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY)

15

An Iraqi firefighter holds a hose as people crowd around a flipped vehicle following a car bomb at a central market in the northern city of Kirkuk, 255 kms from the capital Baghdad. Violence may continue in certain parts of Iraq in the coming months after US troops pull out of the country's cities, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

14

Iraqis line the roof of shops as they look down on the scene of a car bomb at a central market in the northern city of Kirkuk. The blast left 33 people dead and 92 wounded including women and children.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

13

An Iraqi shop owner surveys the damage in a popular market in the center of the northern city of Kirkuk, 225 kms from Baghdad. Bombings in the lead-up to the pullback of US forces from Iraq's towns and cities, resulted in the bloodiest death toll seen in the conflict-hit nation in 11 months, official figures showed Wednesday.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

12

Iraqi shop owners clear debris a day after a parked motorcycle loaded with explosives blew up in a market at Husseiniya, north east of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim kadim)

11

Iraqi shop owners clear debris a day after a parked motorcycle loaded with explosives blew up in a market at Husseiniya, north east of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

(AP Photo/Karim kadim)

10

In this photo taken Thursday, June 18, 2009, three-year-old Shams is seen with her grandmother at her home in Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi girl who was blinded and disfigured in a 2006 Baghdad car bombing has returned home to Baghdad with a new set of eyes following a trip to London for medical treatment. Shams still can't see, but her family says the reconstructive surgery — which is expected to take years — will give her a chance to live a normal life without the stigma of a scarred appearance.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

9

The shadows of two Iraqis are reflected in a blood pool at the site of a car bomb in Baghdad in 2007. Fifty-five people were killed and 116 injured by a bomb in a crowded market in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City, an interior ministry official said on Wednesday.

(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

"Truth never envelops itself in mystery, and the mystery in which it is at any time enveloped is the work of its antagonist, and never of itself." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

8

Iraqi security forces secure the site of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood, Iraq, Thursday, July 2, 2009. The attack was the first in Baghdad since US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

7

An Iraqi man drives a damaged car away from the site of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood, Iraq, Thursday, July 2, 2009. The attack was the first in Baghdad since US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

6

Iraqis in Baghdad celebrate the withdrawal of US troops from the country's cities and towns yesterday. From Independent (UK) website.

From this article:

Iraqi government approves BP oil field offer

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

Iraq's government has approved a BP-led consortium's offer to develop a giant oil field in the south of the country.

5

An Iraqi man injured in a car bomb in Kirkuk lies in a hospital bed after being transported to Arbil, some 80 kms away. Bombings in the lead-up to the pullback of US forces from Iraq's towns and cities, resulted in the bloodiest death toll seen in the conflict-hit nation in 11 months, official figures showed Wednesday.

(AFP/Safin Hamed)

4

An Iraqi shopkeeper surveys the damage following a car bomb blast in the northern city of Kirkuk that killed 33 civilians. The month of June witnessed the highest number of deaths from violence in Iraq for 11 months, official figures have shown, with 437 people killed across the conflict-hit nation.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

3

Iraqis gather at the scene of a car bombing at a central market in the northern city of Kirkuk. The blast left 33 people dead. Iraqi forces are in control of towns and cities nationwide after the pullout of US troops six years after the invasion, but the bloody car bombing underscored the tough challenge ahead.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

2

Iraqis roll over a destroyed vehicle following a car bomb at a central market in the northern city of Kirkuk, 255 kms from the capital Baghdad. Iranian support for armed insurgents in Iraq has fallen slightly amid stepped up security along their joint border, the top US commander in Baghdad, General Ray Odierno, said Tuesday.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

1

People stand by a fire at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 30, 2009. Hours after U.S. troops handed over full control of Iraq's cities to its domestic security forces, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 32 people and wounded over 100 on Tuesday, police said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY) REUTERS/STRINGER/IRAQ

June 30, 2009

50

Fruits and vegetables are scattered at the site where a car bomb exploded in 2006. At least 62 people were killed by a bomb in a crowded market in Baghdad's sprawling slum neighbourhood of Sadr City on Wednesday, less than a week before US troops must pull out of Iraq's cities.

(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

49

A wounded man lies in a hospital after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr city June 25, 2009.

.

A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

REUTERS/Abdulrahman Tahir (IRAQ CONFLICT)

48

A wounded man lies in a hospital after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr city June 25, 2009.

.

A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

REUTERS/Abdulrahman Tahir (IRAQ CONFLICT)

47

Residents stand at the site of a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009. A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

46

A woman is seen at the site of a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

.

A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

45

A woman grieves for a relative killed in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

44

A woman is overcome by grief for a relative killed in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

43

A man holds up a bloodied garment at the site of a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009. A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

42

Nezar Hatam, 12, lies in a hospital bed flanked by his family after he was wounded a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

40

Hussein Ali, 25, lies in a hospital bed flanked by family after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas..

.

.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

The ability and inclination to use physical strength is no indication of bravery or tenacity to life. The greatest cowards are often the greatest bullies. Nothing is cheaper and more common than physical bravery. ~ Clarence Darrow, Resist Not Evil

41

Saad Maqtoon, 45, right, is assisted by his son at a hospital after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

39

Children walk through the site of a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009. A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, killing and wounding scores less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

38

Emad Dinar, 20, lies in a hospital bed flanked by friends after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth. ~ Publius Cornelius Tacitus

37

Umm Aabas weeps as she sits next to her son after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar-soaked fingers out of the business of these nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own -- and if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type because the "haves" refuse to share with the "have-nots" by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don't want and above all don't want crammed down their throats by Americans. ~ General David M. Shoup - Commandant of the Marine Corps 1960-63, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor

36

Umm Aabas sits next to her son after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

.

A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

35

A woman and her son hold a sign that reads "Release my father" during a protest in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, June 25, 2009.

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More than 200 women and children took part in the protest asking for the release of detainees outside Kerbala's main prison.

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REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have: three meals a day for their bodies, - education and culture for their minds - and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

34

A woman holds a sign that reads "Release my husband" during a protest in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, June 25, 2009.

.

More than 200 women and children took part in the protest asking for the release of detainees outside Kerbala's main prison..

.

REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ CONFLICT)

33

Relatives prepare to bury a bombing victim in the Shiite city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009. A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, killing and wounding scores less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Tahseen Ali)

32

Relatives weep as they prepare to bury a bombing victim in the Shiite city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, killing and wounding scores less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

(AP Photo/Tahseen Ali)

31

Women mourn during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, June 25, 2009 for a victim who was killed during a bomb attack in Baghdad.

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A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

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REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts." -- John Locke

30

Residents lift the coffin of a victim, who was killed in Baghdad's bomb attack, in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, June 25, 2009. A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

29

Residents cry as they carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in Baghdad's bomb attack, during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, June 25, 2009. A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

28

Residents carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in Baghdad's bomb attack, during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." ~ Chinese Proverb

27

Residents mourn near the shrouded body of a victim, who was killed in Baghdad's bomb attack, in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, June 25, 2009. A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum, police said, six days before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

26

Police inspect the site of a bombing at a bus station in southwest Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009. The blast was the latest in a series of deadly attacks ahead of a U.S. military withdrawal from cities next week.

(AP Photo/Loay Hameed)

25

A relative grieves during the funeral of a relative killed in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has moved to reassure Iraqis that his security forces are able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Qassem Zein)

24

Iraqi women gather at the scene of a blast at the Mraidi market in the eastern Sadr City district of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has moved to reassure Iraqis that his security forces are able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

23

An injured Iraqi is helped out of an ambulance at the main hospital in Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has moved to reassure Iraqis that his security forces are able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Khalil al-Murshidi)

He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust. ~ Aquinas

22

Friends and relatives carry the coffin of a victim of the Sadr City bombing. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has moved to reassure Iraqis that his security forces are able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

We cloak ourselves in cold indifference to the unnecessary suffering of others--even when we cause it. ~ James Carroll

21

A doctor's assistant treats Ali Ahmed, 5, after he was wounded in a bombing in the main Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

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A bomb ripped through a crowded market on Wednesday, less than a week before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's urban areas.

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(AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason." ~ Thomas Paine - Common Sense -[January 10, 1776]

20

A relative looks after an injured Iraqi man at the Sadr Hospital following a blast at the Mraidi market in the eastern Sadr City district of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to reassure Iraqis on Thursday that his security forces were able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

19

Iraqis gather at the scene of a blast at the Mraidi market in the eastern Sadr City district of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to reassure Iraqis on Thursday that his security forces were able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

18

The early morning scene of a bomb blast at the Mraidi market in the eastern Sadr City district of Baghdad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to reassure Iraqis on Thursday that his security forces were able to protect the population after a bomb killed dozens days before a major pullout of US forces.

(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

17

Followers of radical Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burn a representation of the U.S. flag after Friday prayers in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday,June 26, 2009. An aide to al-Sadr denounced a wave of recent bombings_ many of which targeted Shiite areas — and called on worshippers to protest the violence after Friday prayers. He also read a statement from al-Sadr that blamed the Americans for the bombings and called on his followers to demand 'security, services, independence and sovereignty by peaceful and civilized means.'

(AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

16

Relatives lift the coffin of a blast victim in Baghdad. Iraq's main motorcycle market was hit by a bombing that killed 13 people and wounded more than 50, just four days before US soldiers pull out of cities, towns and villages nationwide.

(AFP/File/Qassem Zein)

15

A man walks past as damaged motorbikes are loaded on the back of a police truck following an explosion at a motorbike market in Baghdad.

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Iraq's main motorcycle market was hit by a bombing that killed 13 people and wounded more than 50, just four days before US soldiers pull out of cities, towns and villages nationwide.

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(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

"Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations as between neighbor citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang." ~ Benjamin Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, 14 March 1785

14

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold a sign that reads "No terror no Baath Party" during a protest after Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City June 26, 2009.

REUTERS/Kahtan al-Mesiary (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

13

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr burn a banner symbolizing the United States during a protest after Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City June 26, 2009.

REUTERS/Kahtan al-Mesiary (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

12

Residents pray over the body of a victim who was killed in Friday's bomb attack, in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, June 27, 2009. The bomb killed at least 13 people at a Baghdad market selling motorbikes and furniture on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks that have intensified ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities. One police source said as many as 19 people were killed after the bomb, planted on a motorcycle, exploded in the market in the industrial area of Bab al-Sheikh, a mixed but majority Shi'ite Muslim part of central Baghdad REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish

(IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION)

11

A policeman uses a metal detector to scan the body of a victim who was killed in Friday's bomb attack, in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, June 27, 2009. The bomb killed at least 13 people at a Baghdad market selling motorbikes and furniture on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks that have intensified ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities. One police source said as many as 19 people were killed after the bomb, planted on a motorcycle, exploded in the market in the industrial area of Bab al-Sheikh, a mixed but majority Shi'ite Muslim part of central Baghdad.

REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ CONFLICT)

10

An Iraqi woman looks at her destroyed car after a car bombing in the parking lot of a police academy in western Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 28, 2009. U.S. troops will be out of Iraqi cities by Tuesday 30 in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

9

An Iraqi policeman inspects the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad June 28, 2009. A car bomb wounded seven policemen when it exploded in the car park of a police training centre in western Baghdad, police said.

REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ CONFLICT)

8

An Iraqi man lies injured in his hospital bed surrounded by his parents in Falluja hospital, 50 kms (30 miles) west of Baghdad, April 29, 2003. U.S. troops shot dead at least 13 Iraqis during an anti-American protest in the town overnight, witnesses said on Tuesday, in a clash likely to inflame anger at the U.S. presence in Iraq.

REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

7

An Iraqi policeman surveys the damage from a truck bomb that exploded the day before in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Residents of the town hit by Iraq's bloodiest attack in 16 months were searched for their loved ones after a massive truck bombing killed 72 people and destroyed dozens of houses.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

6

Women grieve for a relative, killed in a massive truck bombing, during burial services in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 21, 2009. Police and rescue crews sifted through the rubble of a mosque and dozens of flattened mud-brick homes on Sunday looking for survivors of the worst attack in Iraq this year — a truck bombing blamed on al-Qaida in Taza, 10 miles (20 kilometers) south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

(AP Photo/Ahmed al-Husseini)

5

Iraqis search through the wreckage of a truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. A truck bomb killed 64 people near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the country's bloodiest attack in 15 months just 10 days before US troops are due to quit urban areas.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

4

Firas Ahmed is treated for his wounds after a bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009. Deadly bombings hit the Baghdad area on Monday as Iraqi officials braced for new violence ahead of a planned withdrawal next week of U.S. troops from major cities and urban areas.

(AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)

3

Baghdad Island, built in the 1980s and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in is seen in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009. U.S. and Iraqi officials have begun renovating an amusement park on an island north of Baghdad. It's the latest effort to restore a sense of normalcy amid security gains and reflects a U.S. focus on civil affairs projects ahead of next week's deadline for combat troops to withdraw from cities. The 150-acre Tigris River complex was a popular site for weddings and other celebrations before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. But it was devastated by looting in the aftermath.

(AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

And that looting was 100% the RESPONSIBILITY of the US occupation forces.

2

Blood drips from a minibus hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad's Sadr City. Twenty-seven people have been killed as a spate of attacks hit Iraq just days before US troops are due to pull out of Iraq's cities, security officials said.

(AFP/Sabah Arar)

1

Tahseen Ali is treated for his wounds after a bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009.

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Deadly bombings hit the Baghdad area on Monday as Iraqi officials braced for new violence ahead of a planned withdrawal next week of U.S. troops from major cities and urban areas.

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(AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Why We Can't Wait, 1963

June 23, 2009

50

A man wounded in a bomb attack lies in bed as his mother stands next to him in a hospital in Baghdad June 22, 2009. Two people were killed and 13 were wounded when a bomb went off inside a cafe in a Shi'ite district of southern Baghdad, police said.

REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

During war, the laws are silent. ~ Quintus Tullius Cicero (c.102-43 B.C.), Roman general; brother of Cicero the orator

49

A girl who was wounded in a bomb attack lies in a hospital in Baghdad June 22, 2009.

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Two people were killed and 13 were wounded when a bomb went off inside a cafe in a Shi'ite district of southern Baghdad, police said.

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REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

I was once some mother's darlin',

Some daddy's little girl,

More precious than the ruby,

More cherished than the pearl.

My heart was full of mercy,

And my forehead full of curl,

Now I am nothing and am lost unto this world.

They herded me like cattle, cut me down like corn, took me from my babies, before they could be born.

You can blame it on the famine,

You can blame it on the war,

You can blame it on the devil,

It don't matter anymore.

I was tortured in the desert,

I was raped out on the plain,

I was murdered by the high way,

And my cries went up in vain.

My blood is on the mountain,

My blood is on the sand,

My blood runs in the river,

That now washes thru their hands.

Can I get no witness, this unholy tale to tell, was God the only one there watching and weeping as I fell? Oh, you among the living, will you remember me at all?

Will you write my name out, with a single finger scrawl? Across a broken window, in some long forgotten wall, that goes stretching out forever, where the tears of heaven fall.

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

I am lost unto this world...

-Emmylou Harris

48

Workers clean the site of a car bombing in central Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009. The blast was just one in a series of bombings that killed several people in Baghdad.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

47

Policemen inspect the site of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad June 22, 2009. A roadside bomb killed three people and wounded 30 in north Baghdad's Shaab district, police said.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

46

A policeman checks the damage from a minibus after a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad June 22, 2009. A roadside bomb wounded three people in Baghdad's eastern Habibiya district, police said.

REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

45

A man cries near his minibus which was damaged after a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad June 22, 2009. A roadside bomb wounded three people in Baghdad's eastern Habibiya district, police said.

REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

44

Minibus driver Abdul Kareem Hussein surveys the damage to his vehicle after a roadside bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009. The blast hit the bus, carrying Iraqi high school students on their way to their final exams on Monday, police said, the deadliest in a series of blasts that killed several people in Baghdad.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

43

Minibus driver Abdul Kareem Hussein, left, is consoled by his brother after a roadside bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 22, 2009. The blast hit the bus, carrying Iraqi high school students on their way to their final exams on Monday, police said, the deadliest in a series of blasts that killed several people in Baghdad.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

42

An Iraqi policeman inspects the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad June 22, 2009. Two people were killed and 13 were wounded when a bomb went off inside a cafe in a Shi'ite district of southern Baghdad, police said.

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REUTERS/Ahmed Malik (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

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A resident searches for belongings amid the ruins of his house after a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 21, 2009. A suicide truck bomberkilled at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

". . . wars might be avoided by: universal disarmament; limited national sovereignties; provision for all people of the world: of a rising standard of living, better education, more contact with and better understanding of others; and equal access to the technical and raw materials which are needed for improving life. . . ." --- J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1946

40

An Iraqi boy sits in the ruins of his house after a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 21, 2009. A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. ~ Nuremburg War Tribunal regarding wars of aggression

39

An Iraqi boy digs his family's belongings out from the rubble of their home after it was destroyed in a truck bomb that exploded the day before in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Residents of the town hit by Iraq's bloodiest attack in 16 months searched for their loved ones on Sunday after a massive truck bombing killed 72 people and destroyed dozens of houses.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

38

An Iraqi woman looks at the damage caused by a truck bomb that exploded the day before in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Residents of the town hit by Iraq's bloodiest attack in 16 months were searched for their loved ones after a massive truck bombing killed 72 people and destroyed dozens of houses.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

37

An US Marine hands out compensation to Iraqis who were detained and later not allowed to cross the main check point into the city of Fallujah in 2005. Iraq has formed a committee to assess claims for compensation from people who have suffered because of US military operations since the start of the year, the government said on Sunday.

(AFP/POOL/File/Hrvoje Polan)

36

The victim of a massive truck bombing is carried by relatives during burial services in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 21, 2009. Police and rescue crews sifted through the rubble of a mosque and dozens of flattened mud-brick homes on Sunday looking for survivors of the worst attack in Iraq this year — a truck bombing blamed on al-Qaida in Taza, 10 miles (20 kilometers) south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

(AP Photo/Ahmed al-Husseini)

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Men pray over the body of a relative, killed in a massive truck bombing, during burial services in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 21, 2009. Police and rescue crews sifted through the rubble of a mosque and dozens of flattened mud-brick homes on Sunday looking for survivors of the worst attack in Iraq this year — a truck bombing blamed on al-Qaida in Taza, 10 miles (20 kilometers) south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

(AP Photo/Ahmed al-Husseini)

34

In this photo taken on Saturday, June 20, 2009, emergency crews are seen at the site of a truck bombing near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Police have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for a truck bomb that killed more than 70 people and say the attack bears all the hallmarks of the terrorist group.Police say rescue crews in northern Iraq are sifting through the rubble of the Shiite mosque and dozens of surrounding homes damaged by the bomb to find any survivors.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

33

In this photo taken on Saturday, June 20, 2009,victims of a truck bombing are buried in a mass grave near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Police have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for a truck bomb that killed more than 70 people and say the attack bears all the hallmarks of the terrorist group.Police say rescue crews in northern Iraq are sifting through the rubble of the Shiite mosque and dozens of surrounding homes damaged by the bomb to find any survivors.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

32

People sift through the rubble of their home destroyed by a truck bombing on Saturdaynear Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 21, 2009. A truck bombing struck on Saturday near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

31

People sit in the rubble of destroyed homes after a truck bombing near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 21, 2009. The truck bombing struck on Saturday near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

30

A wounded Iraqi woman is rushed into hospital following a truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. A truck bomb killed 64 people near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the country's bloodiest attack in 15 months just 10 days before US troops are due to quit urban areas.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

29

Iraqi men burry relatives killed only hours earlier in a truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. A truck bomb killed 64 people near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the country's bloodiest attack in 15 months just 10 days before US troops are due to quit urban areas.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military profession I never had an original thought until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher- ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service. ~ General Smedley Butler USMC (Ret.)

28

A man grieves for his relatives at a mass grave for bombing victims near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. A truck bombing struck near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

27

Victims of a truck bombing are buried in a mass grave near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. A truck bombing struck near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

26

Thamer Ali arrives at a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009.

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The man was injured near Kirkuk in a truck bombing near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

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(AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)

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Men prepare graves for bombing victims near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. A truck bombing struck near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." ~ Theodore Roosevelt "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

24

Men prepare graves for bombing victims near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. A truck bombing struck near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

23

Ehsan Musher weeps for his sister as she is treated at a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009.

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The woman was injured near Kirkuk in a truck bombing near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

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(AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)

"To answer brutality with brutality is to admit one's moral and intellectual bankruptcy." - M. K. Gandhi

22

A medic rushes the victim of a bombing to a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. The man was injured near Kirkuk in a truck bombing near a Shiite mosque following prayers, police said, making it the deadliest blast in nearly two months.

(AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)

21

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009. A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed

20

A resident talks to his wounded sister who lies in a hospital after a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km

(155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed

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The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing. ~ John Adams

19

An Iraqi woman flees the scene of a truck bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk. The bomb killed 46 people and wounded 166, police and hospital officials told AFP.

(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

"In order to get power and retain it, it is necessary to love power; but love of power is not connected with goodness but with qualities that are the opposite of goodness, such as pride, cunning and cruelty." ~ Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi - (1828-1910) Russian writer

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice." - Robert Kennedy

18

Iraqis search through the wreckage of a truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

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A truck bomb near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk killed 46 people and wounded 166, police and hospital officials told AFP.

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(AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), US civil rights leader

17

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009.

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A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

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REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. . . Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty." ~ Howard Zinn

16

A wounded woman lies in the hospital after a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009. A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

"What does it matter to the dead, the orphan, and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?" ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

15

A policeman helps a wounded man after a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009.

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A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

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REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

We kill at every step, not only in wars, riots, and executions. We kill when we close our eyes to poverty, suffering, and shame. In the same way all disrespect for life, all hard-heartedness, all indifference, all contempt is nothing else than killing. With just a little witty skepticism we can kill a good deal of the future in a young person. Life is waiting everywhere, the future is flowering everywhere, but we only see a small part of it and step on much of it with our feet. - Hermann Hesse, German poet and novelist.

14

Wounded boys receive treatment at a hospital after a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2009.

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A suicide truck bomber killed at least 25 people near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, police said.

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REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Write on my gravestone: "Infidel, Traitor." --infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people. ~ Wendell Phillips

13

Men search for survivors buried in rubble after a truck bombing near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

12

Men search for survivors buried in rubble after a truck bombing near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

11

The crater left behind by a truck bombing is seen near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

10

A woman grieves for her husband, who was killed in a truck bomb attack, near Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009. Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

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Men grieve for their sister, killed in a truck bomb attack, at a hospital in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 20, 2009.

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Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti

8

Medics treat three children who were wounded by a truck bomb attack near a Shiite mosque, at a hospital in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday June 20 2009 .

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Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.

(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

The best defense of peace is not power, but the removal of the causes of war, and the international agreements which will put peace on a stronger foundation than the terror of destruction. ~ Hon. Lester B. Pearson, Former Prime Minister, Canada

7

A boy raises a sign that says "Release the innocents" during a demonstration in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad June 20, 2009. About 400 residents demonstrated for the release of innocent detainees.

REUTERS/Helmiy al-Azawi (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS)

6

A woman is treated for smoke inhalation from a fire at the Iraqi Health Ministry in central Baghdad Thursday, June 18, 2009. The blaze left the top six floors charred and wounded several employees. Most suffered from burns and breathing problems, according to police and hospital officials.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

5

Fire fighters respond to a fire at the Iraqi Health Ministry in central Baghdad on Thursday, June 18, 2009. The blaze left the top six floors charred and wounded several employees. Most suffered from burns and breathing problems, according to police and hospital officials.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

4

Men sit in crowded cells in a jail in central Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Iraqi interior minister Jawad al-Bolanivisited the jail after members of Iraqi parliament called for investigation on human rights abuses in Iraqi jails. Complaints about mistreatment of inmates in Iraqi prisons gained widespread attention last week when a Sunni lawmaker who was a champion of prisoner rights was killed after delivering a sermon at a Baghdad mosque.

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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Detainees sit in a prison during a tour by Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani in Al-Karrada in Baghdad June 16, 2009.

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REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

2

People gather near the crater left by a suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. From BBC website. June 20, 2009

Faith is greater than any bomb!

Faith is the most potent weapon ever devised.

Do not lose faith in mankind, and in the purposes of the Creator.

Do not lose faith in the future.

Much is being done to promote brotherhood, understanding and peace.

~ David E. Lilienthal

1

Amir was unable to attend school because he lacked the correct documents. He was falling behind in his education. While the UN refugee agency and UNICEF launched a programme in 2007 to help get tens of thousands of Iraqi children back into school, demand far outstrips the available budget.

From the Independent (UK) website.

Back to Living in Exile: Young Iraqi refugees in Syria

June 20, 2009

50

Family strife and violence amongst frustrated refugees have increased.

From the Independent (UK) website.

Back to Living in Exile: Young Iraqi refugees in Syria

49

They lived in a small, bare flat and were finding their stay in Syria increasingly difficult.

Iraqis are not allowed to legally work in Syria, causing many to simply languish at home.

From the Independent (UK) website.

Back to Living in Exile: Young Iraqi refugees in Syria

48

Amir’s father, himself a photographer, was murdered by insurgents in 2007.

Amir and his family fled to Syria a few days later.

From the Independent (UK) website.

Back to Living in Exile: Young Iraqi refugees in Syria

47

After living in Damascus for nine months Amir's mother decided to take her family back to Baghdad, despite his father's murderers still being at large.

From the Independent (UK) website.

Back to Living in Exile: Young Iraqi refugees in Syria

46

Iraqi women pass by a destroyed minibus after a bomb exploded in the Shaab neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 15, 2009. A bomb hidden under a minibus exploded killing two people and wounding nine others, during morning rush hour, police said.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

45

The wreckage of a minibus sits in the road after it was blown up in a bus station in the Al-Shaab district of Baghdad. Five people, including an Iraqi soldier, were killed and 14 wounded in violence across Iraq on Monday, security officials said.

(AFP/Sabah Arar)

44

A resident and Iraqi soldiers look at blood stains after an attack in Baghdad June 12, 2009.

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The head of the Iraqi parliament's biggest Sunni Muslim bloc was killed in a mosque on Friday, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

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REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS) REUTERS/MOHAMMED AMEEN

43

Honor guards carry the coffins of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009. . The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq. . REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT RELIGION POLITICS) . REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI

42

Honor guards stand near the Iraqi flag-draped coffin of Harith al-Ubaidi as Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (center, L) looks on at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009.

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The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

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REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

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REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI

41

Relative looks at coffins of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law during their funeral inside a mosque in Baghdad June 13, 2009.The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

40

A boy prays by the coffins of Iraqi lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, and his assistant Bassem Fadil in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Iraq's top leaders in a show of solidarity attended the funeral Saturday of a prominent Sunni lawmaker assassinated outside a mosque, in an attack seen as an attempt to destabilize sectarian relations in the country.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

39

Men cry during the funeral of Iraqi lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Iraq's top leaders in a show of solidarity attended the funeral Saturday of a prominent Sunni lawmaker assassinated outside a mosque, in an attack seen as an attempt to destabilize sectarian relations in the country.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

38

Men carry the coffin of Iraqi lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Iraq's top leaders in a show of solidarity attended the funeral Saturday of a prominent Sunni lawmaker assassinated outside a mosque, in an attack seen as an attempt to destabilize sectarian relations in the country.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

37

A man cries over the coffin of Iraqi lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Iraq's top leaders in a show of solidarity attended the funeral Saturday of a prominent Sunni lawmaker assassinated outside a mosque, in an attack seen as an attempt to destabilize sectarian relations in the country.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

36

Men bury the coffin of Iraqi lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Iraq's top leaders in a show of solidarity attended the funeral Saturday of a prominent Sunni lawmaker assassinated outside a mosque, in an attack seen as an attempt to destabilize sectarian relations in the country.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

35

Independent member of the Iraqi parliament Safiya al-Suhail cries during the funeral ceremony of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009. The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

34

Harith al-Ubaidi's daughter cries during his funeral ceremony at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009.The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

33

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (front, 3rd L), parliament members and other government officials pray during the funeral of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009. The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

32

Family members and relatives of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law cry during their funeral ceremony at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009. The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

31

Honor guards carry the coffins of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009. The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION)

30

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (2nd row from front, L), parliament members and government officials pray during the funeral of Harith al-Ubaidi and his brother-in-law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad June 13, 2009.

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The head of Iraq's biggest Sunni Muslim parliament bloc, al-Ubaidi, was killed at a mosque on June 12, officials said, an assassination which could undermine efforts for sectarian reconciliation in Iraq.

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REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS RELIGION

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Mourners