Storms in U.S. divert gaze from worsening Iraq

Situation not getting any better
In anticipation of pre-vote violence, U.S. and Iraqi troops have been stepping up security. In Baghdad, new checkpoints now block many roads. Drivers are forced to get out of their cars as soldiers inspect them for explosives.

In parts of the heavily Sunni Anbar province in western Iraq, frightened families watch as troops enter their homes and rifle through their personal belongings in search of insurgents and bomb-making materials.

Still, despite the massive U.S. military presence in Iraq, and President Bush's claims that American forces are constantly adapting their tactics to deal with the strategic changes by their enemies on the ground, each night Iraqis — and often Americans — are left counting their dead and wounded.

The insurgents have employed a range of deadly tactics, some sickenly devious. A suicide attacker lured a crowd of day laborers to his minibus by offering work before blowing it up, killing 114 Iraqis on Sept. 14, in what was the bloodiest single day in Iraq since Saddam's ouster.

And an attack this week marked the first known strike by a female suicide bomber. On its Web site, al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility, hailing the woman they called Sister Karima as a "blessed sister." She disguised herself in a traditional robe and headscarf, usually worn by Iraqi men, to cover explosives as she lined up outside a security checkpoint in the northern city of Tal Afar.

The blast did not discriminate, killing at least five Iraqi civilians. The result: Security forces now face another challenge, having to focus their attention on both men and women as potential attackers.

Still optimistic
Back in Baghdad, though, filmmaker al-Hakim has high hopes and grave concerns for his country's future. "I will be optimistic after the December elections (when Iraqis vote on a new government) if the new government is strong," he says. At the same time he complains that Iraqi badly needs to implement strict anti-terrorism laws.

As for his future — and despite constant worried phone calls from loved ones in the U.S. — he has decided to stay in Iraq through the referendum. "All my friends are here," he explains. "You can't just leave them. You can't."

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