19 killed and dozens injured in bomb blasts in Basra; The US spends more than 6 billion in 2012: James Jeffrey
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    • According to reports, three bombs exploded in the southern port city of Basra, killing 19 people and wounding at least 65. A roadside bomb and a motorcycle bomb exploded simultaneously in a market in central Basra. Following a common pattern in Iraq, a third roadside bomb went off as people gathered at the scene, according to the official. Violence has declined nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. According to official figures, a total of 258 people were killed in October this year.1

    Meanwhile, US ambassador in Iraq James Jeffrey has said the United States is to spend more than $6 billion in Iraq in 2012 even though its forces are to withdraw from the country by the end of this year. US President Barack Obama announced on October 21 that the last troops would leave by year’s end, but Baghdad will still host the largest American embassy in the world, with up to 16,000 people at the full mission. Jeffrey also mentioned that “we are standing up an embassy to carry out a $6.5 billion programme, when you throw in the refugee programmes as well as the actual State Department budget for 2012, of assistance in support for Iraq on a very broad variety of security and non-security issues.” US-led forces toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003 and faced a subsequent insurgency. The Iraq war has left thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.2

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