June 26, 2008

Army death: Capt. Gregory T. Dalessio, 30, Cherry Hill, N.J.; died Monday in Baghdad of wounds from small-arms fire in Salman Pak; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

Security pact: President Bush and Iraq's president expressed cautious optimism yesterday about prospects for completing a complex agreement that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year-end. Bush said the United States was working on an agreement that “suits” the Iraqi government. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, speaking in the Oval Office after meeting with Bush, cited recent progress and said he hoped it could be finished “very soon.” U.S. and Iraqi authorities are trying to meet a July target date for completing the security agreement. Talks bogged down over several key issues, which Iraqi lawmakers said violated the nation's sovereignty. Recently, however, Iraqi authorities said prospects for a deal had brightened after the Americans submitted new, unspecified proposals. “We talked about a strategic framework agreement that suits the Iraqi government,” Bush said. “We talked about elections and different laws that have been passed. We talked about the fact that the economy's improving and that the attitude of the people there has improved immeasurably over the years.” Bush wants the agreement in place before he leaves office. If not, major decisions about how U.S. forces operate in Iraq could be left to the next president, including how much authority the United States must give Iraqis over military operations and how quickly the hand-over takes place. “We are doing our best for this agreement – strategic agreement with the United States of America,” Talabani said.

Withdrawal plan: Three Massachusetts congressmen called for a United Nations security force to replace U.S. troops in Iraq as part of a phased plan for withdrawing U.S. forces after a new president takes office in January. Yesterday's proposal, sponsored by Reps. James McGovern, John Tierney, and William Delahunt, calls for an end to ongoing talks between the United States and Iraq on a long-term security agreement. Instead, according to the proposal, U.S. authorities should immediately start negotiations with the U.N. on a mandate to govern the “internationalization of responsibility for aid and support to Iraq.”

Bomb blast: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one civilian in southern Kirkuk.

Fatal explosion: An Iraqi soldier was killed and three were wounded in an explosion when they entered a booby-trapped house in Mullaeid, a reputed al-Qaeda in Iraq stronghold near Baquba.

Minibus hit: A bomb exploded on a minibus near one of the most revered Shiite shrines in the holy city of Karbala. At least two people including a young boy were killed, and 14 were wounded.

Three killed: A car bomb killed three people and wounded seven in Baghdad's Karradah district.

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