top news - "iraq"

U.S. authorities have recovered the remains of two american contractors, the latest grim development in one of the longest-running hostage dramas of the iraq war.

As the death toll for american troops in iraq reached 4,000, President Bush conferred yesterday with top U.S. officials in Washington and in Baghdad and vowed in a public statement that the outcome of the war 'will merit the sacrifice.'

Authorities awaiting identification of the remains of three bodies in iraq, a day after the remains of two kidnapped contractors were identified.

The Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is threatening what he calls a countrywide civil revolt if offensives against his followers continue.

AP - As the United States heads into the sixth year of the war in iraq, hollywood still hasn't figured out how to deal with the subject. Audiences have stubbornly avoided films like 'Redacted' and 'In the Valley of Elah.' Steven Bochco's iraq war TV series 'Over There' flopped, while less ambiguous dramas like '24' and 'The Unit' ? where the bad guys are more clearly defined ? have fared better.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from iraq looms for presidential candidates as renewed violence returns the issue to the forefront this election year. Rapid withdrawals could create new dangers for U.S. troops in iraq, but keeping troops where they are also invites criticism.

Fighting broke out in the southern port city of Basra on Monday, where the U.S. is providing air support for an Iraqi government 'cleansing operation' aimed at radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and other groups. Confrontations between Sadr's militia and iraq's Shiite-dominated security forces have been intensifying in Baghdad and elsewhere.

Will the Iraqi government's crackdown on militias in Basra push Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end the cease-fire that began in August? Peter Harling, a senior analyst with the international Crisis Group,

Iraqi security forces fought fierce gunbattles with powerful Shiite militias in Basra Tuesday as followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered a civil disobedience campaign.

One of iraq's most influential Shi'a clerics has vowed a countrywide campaign to oppose invading forces.