Four Days of Slaughter

Amy Goodman interviewed Los Angeles Times Baghdad Bureau Chief Borzou Daragahi from Baghdad: “The level of bloodshed between Sunni and Shiites as well as the number of attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces… is as bad as I have seen it.” From Democracy Now: Four days of slaughter in the town of Balad killed at least 91 people by Monday. The bloodshed began with the beheadings of 17 Shia workers on Friday. In response Shiite militias poured into the area and went on a killing spree. Fifty Iraqis were killed in other attacks across the country, including up to 30 dead from two major bombings in Baghdad. Iraqi police also reported finding 67 corpses scattered throughout the capital on Monday. Meanwhile, President Bush telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to reaffirm his full support for the Iraqi government. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that Bush urged Maliki to ignore rumors that Washington has set a deadline for the Iraqi government to control the activities of insurgents. This comes as a White House panel of advisers is said to be ready to call for a major shift in Washington’s policy on Iraq. Members of the panel, which is led by former US Secretary of State James Baker, told the Los Angeles Times that this could include large troop withdrawals. The U.S. death toll in Iraq has been soaring this month. Fifty nine U.S. soldiers have died so far in October, putting it on pace to be one of the deadliest months of the war for US forces. You can stream the interview here: Democracy Now