corrente

Thanks, Paul. We were wondering.

In Iraq, it was another terrible morning .

Saturday and Sunday weren't so hot either, definitively for three young Americans, definitely, but one hopes not definitively, for Akila Al Hashimi, whom "riverbend" of Baghdad Burning explains is a fascinatingly complex and important female member of the Iraqi Governing Council.

I couldn't find the names of the American soldiers; perhaps they haven't been released yet. Jim Lehrer on PBS's NewsHour ends each broadcast with the names of any new American fatalities, along with a moment of silence. The names should be important to us, important to say, to write down, to think about in silence. Then, perhaps, we can avoid having to erect another sacred black wall to engrave them on.

Three hundred and three American soldiers have now died in Iraq, since the start of military operations in March. This figure does not include, please remember, the number of wounded. I know we're not supposed to make those foolish, defeatist, comparisons to our American experience in Vietnam, and who would be so reckless as to compare 60,000 deaths with 303.

On the other hand, some years back while working on a script set in 1965, I had occasion to look up the number of American military deaths in Vietnam during that year; I was astonished to discover that they were below 400 until late in the year. By the time of Kennedy's death, we had but 16,000 troops in Vietnam. That figure went up by the end of 1965 to close to the number of troops we have now in Iraq, where we've been for less than a year, and still we're hot on the trail of that 400 death mark. Yes, the situation on the ground in Iraq is markedly different from what was happening in Vietnam, but isn't it well to remember that a death toll of 60,000 was once a death toll of 303?

The chilling details of that suicide bombing outside the UN headquarters are useful reminders of why Goya used the title, "Disasters Of War."

The blast occurred at the entrance to a parking lot next to the U.N. compound at the Canal Hotel, scene of a devastating car bombing last month that killed about 20 people, including the U.N.'s top envoy.

The powerful blast was heard throughout the city and hurled the hood of the car some 200 yards. The detached arm of one victim lay more than 100 yards away.

Master Sgt. Hassan al-Saadi, among the first on the scene after the explosion, said he was told by injured policemen that a gray 1995 Opel with Baghdad license plates had approached the entrance to the parking lot.

"A guard went to search the car, opened the trunk and the car exploded, killing him and the driver. When I arrived, there was fire and smoke, even the guard's body was ablaze," he said.

(edit)

Authorities identified the slain policeman as 23-year-old Salam Mohammed.

PANIC AMONG STAFF

In Baghdad, Hanan Tahir, a nutritionist with the World Food Program, said the attack near the U.N. building caused panic among staff.

"They were screaming, shouting," she said. "They were crying and they were running."

Aqeel Abd Ali, a guard at the building, said the torso and head of the bomber had been found, and the face was still recognizable. Police were trying to identify him.

At a nearby hospital, Wahid Karim, who had a chunk of metal removed from his head, said: "I didn't even hear it. I lost consciousness. I came round in my car. The driver was bleeding."

U.N. spokeswoman Antonia Paradela said 19 people were wounded, two of them Iraqi U.N. staff.

"This incident today once again underlines that Iraq remains a war zone and a high risk environment, particularly for those working to improve the lives of the Iraqi people," Kevin Kennedy, the senior U.N. official in Baghdad, said in a statement read out by Paradela at the scene.

Paradela said U.N. staff did not know why they were being targeted. "It's not really for lack of security that this happens," she said. "If people are willing to kill themselves there's not a lot we can do."

She said security was being reviewed.

"People are just talking here and seeing if we can operate in these conditions. There are deliberations here and deliberations in New York."

Not to worry. The adults are in charge and they know what they're doing.

With the cost of the occupation mounting, Iraq's U.S. administrator said Monday he believed the $87 billion that Bush requested from Congress last week would suffice to put Iraq back on its feet.

"It's a lot of money no matter how you slice it, even here in Washington -- $87 billion is not chopped liver," Paul Bremer told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.

"We have done a very careful analysis of what is needed and we are confident that this will put Iraq on the path to peace and stability," he added.

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