President Bush yesterday discussed changing tactics in Iraq with his top generals, as three Marines were killed there – making October the deadliest month for Americans this year.
The president reaffirmed the White House’s commitment to victory, but said strategy must be “flexible,” in a meeting with military officials, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, White House spokeswoman Nicole Guillemard said.
Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were at the White House meeting, and Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, participated by videoconference, Guillemard said.
“Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory. What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal,” Bush said in his weekly radio address before the conference.
Military officials announced yesterday three Marines were killed in combat in the western province of Anbar.
The deaths brought the number of service people killed in October to 78. If Americans continue to die at the same rate, the month could be the deadliest since the war began.
At least 18 people were also killed in a mortar attack on a crowded outdoor market south of Baghdad and Shiite militias loyal to anti-American radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr continued to battle Iraqi police for the second day running.
Worsening violence in the Shiite heartland is testing the Shiite-led government’s ability to rein in militias and exposing a power struggle in the ruling Shiite coalition that threatens to further complicate the U.S. task in Iraq.
“Attacks have grown significantly during the first weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,” Bush said. “The last few weeks have been rough for our troops in Iraq and for the Iraqi people.”
Gunfights broke out in Hamza al-Gharbi, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, after a bomb exploded near the offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a leading Shiite political party that sponsors the Badr Brigades militia.
The party’s supporters accused members of al Sadr’s Madhi Army of being behind the blast, a local official said. He said Iraqi army and police called for reinforcements and backup from American forces, who imposed a curfew.
There was no immediate confirmation of U.S. involvement from a military spokesmen.
Father south, in the city of Amarah, where the Mahdi Army briefly took control Friday, shops and government offices reopened and Iraqi army units manned checkpoints, keeping the militia fighters off the streets.
With Post Wire Services
YESTERDAY’S DEVELOPMENTS
1. Three Marines were killed in combat yesterday in Anbar province, bringing the October death toll to 78.
2. Mortars hit the town of Mahmudiya last night, killing at least 18 people.