| Deadly
war |
| U.S death
toll in Iraq creeps closer to 3,000 mark |
agencies
The
U.S. military reported the deaths of five more
soldiers on Friday, bringing the U.S. death toll
closer to 3,000, as Defense Secretary Robert
Gates ended a two-day visit aimed at finding
a new strategy for Iraq.
Four U.S. servicemen were killed in action on
Thursday in the restive Anbar province, heartland
of the unrelenting Sunni insurgency against U.S.
forces and the Iraqi government and the most
dangerous place in Iraq for American soldiers.
A fifth was killed and another wounded west of
Baghdad on Friday when their patrol came under
machinegun and mortar fire. At least 71 U.S.
soldiers have died so far this month.
The deaths brought the total U.S. death toll
in Iraq to 2,960, creeping closer to the 3,000
mark and adding more pressure on President Bush
to find a strategy that will allow the eventual
withdrawal of 135,000 U.S. troops.
Bush has said he will announce a new strategy
in January after listening to the advice of his
military commanders, State Department officials,
Iraqi leaders and Gates, who said he would report
back to the president this weekend.
Gates would not say whether he will recommend
a short-term troop surge, one of the options
Bush has said he is considering. Military commanders
have raised doubts about increasing troop strength,
saying it will only delay a handover to Iraqis.
Gates said whatever strategy was decided, the
Shi'ite-led Iraqi government must take the lead
in curbing sectarian violence between minority
Sunnis and majority Shi'ites that has killed
thousands of Iraqis, many in the Iraqi capital.
"
The situation in Baghdad is obviously difficult.
Clearly success will only be achieved by a joint
effort with Iraqis taking the lead," he
told reporters.
"
They do have some concrete plans in mind, and
putting flesh on those bones is exactly what
General Casey and his team and the Iraqis will
be doing in the days ahead," he said, referring
to the U.S. commander in Iraq, General George
Casey.
But critics of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
say he has done little to rein in the militias,
which are tied to parties within his ruling
Shi'ite Alliance and operate with impunity.
Maliki is weakened by infighting in a fractious
government between different factions and
a boycott by supporters of radical Shi'ite
cleric
Moqtada
al Sadr. The Sadrists, key backers of Maliki,
want a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal.
POLITICAL PILGRIMAGE
Officials in the Shi'ite Alliance said leaders
would head to Najaf, home to Iraq's most
powerful Shi'ite clerics, within two days
to seek their
help in uniting the Shi'ite factions.
The alliance was created with the blessing
of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's
most senior
Shi'ite cleric.
"
There will be a total review of the Alliance
and the government's situation," said Haidar
al-Ibadi, a member of parliament in the Alliance.
The Pentagon said this week that Sadr's Mehdi
Army militia had overtaken Sunni Islamist
al Qaeda as the greatest threat to Iraq's
stability.
Sadr's supporters say it is for self-defense
only and does not launch revenge attacks
against Sunni Arabs.
Revenge was on the minds of angry residents
of Haditha northwest of Baghdad on Friday.
They
demanded the execution of four U.S. Marines
charged with murder on Thursday over the
killing of 24
unarmed civilians there in November 2005.
"
Those soldiers killed 24 people. They killed
women and children, isn't that enough for them
be executed? Just so that the family can have
peace," said Khaled Salman, whose sister
Asmaa was among those killed.
None of the murder charges carries a possible
death sentence because the Marines are
charged with unpremeditated murder, and
the maximum
possible sentence is life in prison.
Iraqi witnesses say enraged Marines shot
the civilians in their homes to retaliate
for the
death of a popular comrade who was
killed by a bomb that hit a convoy in the
town.
Defense lawyers dispute the Iraqi witnesses'
version of events and say the Marines
were engaged in a furious battle
in Haditha and the civilians
may have been killed during the chaos.
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| Holyday
season |
| "Museum" comedy
set to rule Christmas box office |
agencies
Hollywood
is hanging out a number of stockings as Christmas
weekend arrives. Among the new movies, broad
appeal is the name of the game. Three of the
five wide releases this frame carry a PG rating
as studios look to lure nice audiences rather
than naughty ones.
The Ben Stiller comedy "Night at the Museum," which
has been generating positive buzz for some time,
is likely to dominate the weekend. Insiders put
the four-day haul for the Twentieth Century Fox
effects extravaganza in the $35 million-$40 million
range.
Two sports-themed movies -- MGM's "Rocky
Balboa," which bowed Wednesday, and Warner
Bros. Pictures' "We Are Marshall," based
on the 1970 Marshall Universaity football team
tragedy -- also are looking to claim their share
of the till. "Rocky" already won its
first round, grossing an estimated $6.2 million
Wednesday to claim the title of top-grossing
film for the day.
Universal Pictures' Robert De Niro-directed spy
movie "The Good Shepherd" is courting
the adult audience.
With Christmas Eve falling on Sunday, that night
will be a quiet one at the box office, making
weekend totals difficult to predict. On Christmas
Day, there are two other developments that will
further complicate holiday weekend estimates.
On that day, MGM will target disaffected teens
and holiday scrooges as it opens "Black
Christmas," a horror flick from the Weinstein
Co. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures will expand "Dreamgirls," which
it co-produced with DreamWorks, to 852 theaters.
The Bill Condon-directed musical performed strongly
in special "roadshow" engagements that
launched in Los Angeles and New York last weekend.
Still, it is shaping up to be a big weekend at
the "Museum." The Shawn Levy-directed
film features a slew of young and veteran comedians.
The film stars Stiller as a hapless night watchman
at the Museum of Natural History who must combat
the creatures that come alive at night. Ricky
Gervais, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan also are
cast, along with Owen Wilson in an uncredited
cameo. Mickey Rooney and Dick Van Dyke co-star
as two old-time watchmen.
"
Rocky" is on track to generate close to
$30 million for its six-day opening run. The
$24 million film expands Friday to 3,017 theaters
from 2,752. Although observers initially viewed
it as a joke considering Sylvester Stallone's
career downturn and the diminishing returns of
its predecessors -- "Rocky" has turned
into a comeback story in its own right.
Generating primarily positive reviews (it has
earned a 75% positive rating on RottenTomatoes.com),
the film was also written and directed by Stallone,
whose character comes out of retirement for
one last go-round. Burt Young plays his manager
Paulie
for the sixth time, and Milo Ventimiglia (NBC's "Heroes")
co-stars as Rocky Jr.
Warners will bow the inspirational sports film "Marshall" from
director McG ("Charlie's Angels").
The movie centers on the aftermath of the 1970
plane crash that killed the entire Marshall University
football team and its coach. Matthew McConaughey
stars as the Huntington, W.Va., team's new coach
who tries, along with the school's dean (David
Strathairn) and the surviving players, to keep
the program going. Matthew Fox (ABC's "Lost")
co-stars as his assistant coach.
Universal unveils De Niro's "Shepherd" in
2,218 theaters. Centering on the early history
of the CIA, "Shepherd" stars Matt Damon,
Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and De Niro. The
film could be handicapped by its nearly three-hour
running time, but the stellar cast could help
it break through. Industry watchers expect the
film to gross in the $10 million-$12 million
range.
On Christmas Day, MGM will play against type
with "Black Christmas," a remake of
the 1974 horror picture, updated by writer-director
Glen Morgan ("Willard"). "Christmas" revolves
around a group of sorority sisters who are harassed
by menacing phone calls and are killed one by
one during their Christmas break. The film has
religious groups protesting its Christmas Day
release date, which, as most protests do, should
add to the movie's profile as provocative counterprogramming.
A slew of limited releases also bow this weekend.
Perhaps the highest-profile film is Warners' "Letters
From Iwo Jima," the companion piece to Clint
Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," which
disappointed at the box office two months ago.
Depicting the same World War II battle shown
in "Fathers," "Letters," also
directed by Eastwood, tells the Japanese side
of the story. Receiving early accolades from
various critics groups, "Iwo Jima" stars
Ken Watanabe as the American-educated general
who leads the Japanese resistance in the famous
battle. It opened Wednesday on five screens in
Los Angeles and New York.
Warner Independent Pictures also launched its
limited bow of "The Painted Veil" on
four screens Wednesday in Los Angeles and New
York. A long-gestating adaptation of W. Somerset
Maugham's novel, the film stars Edward Norton
and Naomi Watts as an unhappy married couple
who resurrect their relationship while living
in China during a cholera epidemic.
Sony Pictures Classics is unveiling "Curse
of the Golden Flower" in Los Angeles and
San Francisco Friday, a day after the Chinese-language
film from acclaimed director Zhang Yimou opened
in New York.
Universal opens Alfonso Cuaron's R-rated "Children
of Men" on Christmas Day in 16 theaters.
The well-reviewed film stars Clive Owen, Julianne
Moore and Michael Caine in a dystopian British
future where women are unable to reproduce.
Miramax Films opened "Venus" on Thursday
in Los Angeles and New York. The R-rated take
on a May-December romance, directed by Roger
Michell, stars Peter O'Toole in an Oscar-worthy
role as an older man whose daily routine is altered
when the grand niece (Jodie Whittaker) of his
best friend comes to visit.
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