baghdad retains the feel of a garrison city. drivers must navigate a maze of blast walls, check points and roving iraqi convoys. many buildings bear the bullet and mortar scars of seven years of fighting and occupation. and bombs still explode almost daily. its people, too, bear the scars and trauma of war. none more so, says activist hannah edward, than women. >> we have over one million women are widows because of the violent situation after 2003. this is a lot for the country. the widows have no incomes, no source of incomes. there are children. they have children. >> warner: one of those widows, 40-year-old . in 2006 her police officer husband and their two young sons were abducted by insurgents. >> they took him out of the car and chained him to the back. took him to some ruins near the highway and slaughtered him in front of his kids. after they slowly killed him they cut off his head in front of them. >> warner: since then, she and the children have been living on the edge and not just financially. her house in baghdad wa

he showed me his dream project to renovate downtown baghdad into a pedestrian area. for tourists, cafes and movie theaters. he, too, wants u.s. troops to stay to maintain security. at 4:00 p.m., we were down by the tigris. this ferryman told me in the worst days of 2006, he'd find six or seven bodies in the river every day. life is safer now, but still difficult. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: the government doesn't do anything, he said. he told me he only has two hours of electricity a day, but it wasn't until i saw a man swim up to the boat that i realized how desperate people feel. "tell the world we are swimming because we have no water or electricity in our houses," he said. by 6:00 p.m., iraqis rush to market to buy food to break the holy ramadan fast, a time of reflection here, but also anxiety, as american combat troops have begun to leave. richard engel, nbc news, baghdad. >>> when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, new rules this weekend for your debit card. they're meant to keep you from paying huge fees for small expenses. will th

it is a success and is moving, but it is not in baghdad. that is the dream. >> is kind of hard thinking there are two places in iraq were one is safe and the other is not. hopefully baghdad will be saved next year. -- will be safe. >> the main challenge was choosing the musicians. >> many of them are a self- taught. many don't have access to the quality of teachers we can bring here. many have never played in any form of group at all. >> many of them did not have access to unstable baghdad. they auditioned on youtube. ♪ they also play [unintelligible] music that is a messenger of peace in a troubled land. [applause] >> immigration officials in canada have begun processing several hundred people believed to be migrants from sri opera thrived on vancouver island. they have been at sea for three months. officials are screening passengers and want to find members of the tigers. sierra leone's human-rights commission wants police to hand over uncut diamonds given to naomi campbell given to her by charles taylor. she told the war crimes crile s

the deadliest attack occurred in qud, southeast of baghdad. here, too, a suicide bomber blew off the side of a vehicle outside a police station. authorities say 20 police officers died and around 90 were wounded. insurgents also targeted government security forces in basrah, kirkuk and other cities in what appears to have been a coordinated terrorist campaign. the onslaught comes amid the final withdrawal of u.s. combat troops. authorities say the bombers seek to show that iraqi security is not up to the task. >> earlier, i spoke to our "new york times" corresponded and asked, given the scale of the attacks, what are the coalition and iraqi security officials saying about iraq's ability to deal with the security situation in the country? >> it is clearly demoralizing for the iraqi security forces to cease such an assault in their ranks. what is interesting is some of the bomb scenes today, the one in baghdad in particular where the police station was destroyed, police and soldiers started fighting. they fired in the air. punches were thrown. i

vice president joe biden is in baghdad overseeing it with all american combat troops having already left the country washington says this means the end of the seven year long war that killed over four thousand u.s. troops however about fifty thousand will remain in iraq to provide training and support for local security forces u.s. troops will no longer be allowed to go on combat missions unless requested and accompanied by iraqi forces but many analysts say baghdad doesn't control the country which remains split plagued by insurgent violence last week alone dozens of iraqi citizens died in the wave of terror attacks. well for more on this we can now across live to baghdad to talk to nir rosen now he's from new york university center on law and security and also author of the book aftermath following the bloodshed of america's wars in the muslim world a fourth coming publication thanks very much indeed for joining us now iraq's prime minister has said the country is now independent now the fact that the combat u.s. troops have pulled out of iraq you spent several years in the country so

dan harris reporting from baghdad tonight. >>> was it a hate crime? a fire at the site of a planned islamic center. in the heart of the bible belt. >>> and, miracle on the tracks. a woman falls into the path of a racing subway train. how did she survive? >>> good evening. tonight, across the gulf coast, they're marking five years since katrina. there were powerful images today. in new orleans, they prayed along a rebuilt levee. in st. bernard parish, they sent a wreath into the sea. and in mississippi, they read names etched into that wall. president obama traveled to the gulf, and we'll have his words in a moment. but we begin tonight by asking -- how much has changed? it was five years ago this morning. katrina made landfall. and inside the superdome, where thousands of evacuees sat in those stadium seats, the roof began to tear off. all we had was our cell phone to call out. massive waterfall in the center of the superdome. no one knew that surviving the superdome and the convention center would be even more challenging than surviving the storm its

>> warner: you would have to call this still the heart of baghdad. there are a lot of government ministries and government buildings in this area. whoever did it clearly is trying to send a signal that as the government prepares to really take over even greater security responsibilities from the americans that they aren't up to the task. so whether it's al qaeda, which is what the iraqi military is saying officially, or whether it's what quite a few people in the crowd they suspect the hand of either the iranians, iranian intelligence, the syrians. no one is quite sure, but there is just no doubt that various insurgencies and terrorist groups out there still have the power to strike if not in big coordinated attacks as they used to, in still fairly spectacular ones with high symbolic value. >> ifill: with this violence, this uptick in violence we're seeing, how insecure are people feeling about this upcoming pullout or handover or whatever you want to call it? >> warner: they sound insecure when they speak to me about it, gwen. i've only been here 36

life in baghdad right now is very difficult. this is not what you could consider a normal or a stable city. just coming in from the airport this morning and driving to our bureau, it's about a 12-mile journey along a short stretch of road. we had to pass through six different checkpoints. there is a curfew in place tonight, as there is every single night. that gives you an idea of how much stability there is here -- not very much at all. also, iraqis only have about three hours of power every single day. they had 24 hours of power here in baghdad under saddam hussein. while the united states may want to close the door on the conflict, many iraqis aren't able to turn on the lights in their own homes. many couldn't even watch the speech today because they didn't have power. >> richard engel, our veteran of that conflict, back in baghdad for us tonight. richard, thank you for your reporting. >>> weather is making news tonight all over the world. in pakistan, the death toll continues to climb from the worst flooding ever seen in tha

sadly, bloom died of a blood clot before reaching baghdad. on the convoy today, lieutenant steven dewitt from san jose, california, knows he's taking part in a turning point for american troops and the united states. >> when they told us we were going to do this, you didn't really grasp how important it was. you know, how big a deal this actually was to be driving out of here, you know, as the last combat battalion in iraq. it feels pretty good to be a part of it right now. >> reporter: we're driving down a main highway in and amongst traffic. >> exactly. you see, you know, even a year and a half ago, two years ago you wouldn't have had traffic passing a convoy. >> reporter: for the last few days, the lights of stryker vehicles have been breaking the darkness as they cross into kuwait. a brigadier general standing to salute every arriving soldier. >> good job, guys! >> we're going home! >> to be able to cross that border and know that i have made it with all of my guys, which i could not say before, is a tremendously good feeling. >> reporter

. >> a suicide attack in baghdad this week. iraq's army commander once the americans to stay another 10 years. iraq cannot cope alone, he says. president obama says that all american troops will be out of iraq by the end of next year. many will end up in afghanistan. the iraq conflict is not exactly over. al qaeda is getting stronger. sunni militants are threatening to rejoin the insurgency. the united states will still help the iraqi government, but as one u.s. officer said, this is no longer america's war. >>> reports suggest the state department and the u.s. is close to announcing the launch of direct peace talks with israel and palestinians. this is after months of indirect talks. the last substantive negotiations were nine years ago. the details are still being worked out. >>> organizers of the commonwealth games in delhi have suffered two blows, two big firms withdrawing their sponsorship because of corruption allegations, and an australian swimmer has advised countrymen to stay away from the event. >>> the american musli

president obama describes the latest violence in baghdad. hostage drama at the drama the -- embassy in israel. and hthe detonations is concernd that many of the millions of people affected by the floods -- the u.n. is concerned that many of the millions of people affected by the floods and pakistan have yet to receive any help at all. lost bridges are hampering efforts to get aid to the region. the world bank has promised pakistan a loan of more than $900 million. >> getting aid to the flood victims is getting to be a serious problem. the relief supplies are not readily available. in this province, the disaster first became evident in a reminder of how destructive the floods can be. >> the government must help us out by providing food. with bridges across the river in the west, boats are used to ferry supplies between villages. unemployment is becoming common. there is no one to look after your needs. in the put job province, a school has been turned into a shelter for pregnant women. -- in this province, a school has been turned into a shel

oday, vice president biden arrived in baghdad. on wednesday, he'll preside over he'll nge of command that will leave 50,000 u.s. troops in a the support role. leave troops in ared, what does all support role. the ordinary wonle and their day-to-day life day-tq? dan harris, on his isventh trip there, decided to knock on some doors. >>> reporter: we chose the intersection of two small baghdad backstreets. let's start with this apartment s apartment ht here. ding right here. car bomb went off. it was aimed at a church across the street, but it shattered the apartment building, with the hussein family inside. how's it going? .ice to meet you. we recently went to their rebuilt home and met their daughter, dima, who was blinded in one eye and still needs more surgery. violence is way down since the urgery.s. at the height of the war, in ar,tember of 2006, 3,389 iraqi re ilians were killed. kill this month, 270. which is why we saw some hopeful signs on these two blocks. like this new building going up here. and in the building across th

extreme violence rocks baghdad. dozens are killed. >>> and he's known for many talents, including his voice. but now actor michael douglas, risks losing just that. >>> good morning. well, it is enough to give hope to anyone with a fear of flying. nearly everyone survived this crash of a boeing 737 on a dare bean island, including all of the americans onboard. >> two of them will be air-lifted to hospitals today, as a team from washington, d.c. helps in the ongoing investigation. >> as john hendren explains, weather on the san andreas island at the time could be to blame. >> reporter: it looks like the catastrophe of colombia. a boeing 737 jetliner, shattered in three pieces, littering the runway. >> the wing was covered with fuel. and i was concerned. have an explosion, we will die. i just started praying. >> reporter: they're calling it the miracle of san an degrees island. somehow of the passengers onboard, only one did not survive, a woman who had a heart attack after the crash. carolina bolino of georgia, was am

our terry mccarthy is in baghdad tonight and he spoke with the top u.s. general there. >> reporter: coordinated attacks across the country, all within a two-hour period. meanwhile, said america's top commander in iraq, a bad day. >> i'm fairly certain it's al qaeda, maybe with some other groups working with them. it's about the terrorists trying to make a point about the lack of a government, trying to challenge the security forces. put doubts in people's minds. >> reporter: the attacks came just one day after the u.s. pulled out its last combat troops. trusting in the ability of the iraqis to keep the insurgents at bay. 50,000 u.s. troops remain in iraq, mostly involved in training. it must be a worry that they can stage 12 or more attacks simultaneously on one day. >> it is. it shows that they still have somewhat of a network, that they can do it. i think it takes them a long time to plan such events, but it is worrying that they can still do it. >> reporter: the attacks-- or risk as they were-- are no longer a daily occurrence here. the streets of bagh

. >> on march 5th, 2007, a car bomb was exploded on mutanabbi street in baghdad. mutanabbi street is a mixed shia-suni area. more than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. this locale is the historic center of baghdad book selling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. named after the famous 10th century classic poet, al-mutanabbi, this is an old and established street for book selling and has been for hundreds of years. mutanabbi street also holds cafes, stationary shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. it has been the heart and soul of the baghdad literary and intellectual community. this tragedy is part of a wider and continuing tragedy, but one that we want to isolate and address, not only for the loss of lives but also for the implications underlying the destruction of a street where books were sold. book selling on mutanabbi street is no different from book selling here. we traffic in memory, ideas and dreams. in that sense, we feel that mutanabbi street starts at the front door of all of our book shops. mutanabbi

bbc news, baghdad. >> mexican troops have found 72 bodies, 58 men and 14 women, in our ranch. they were found after a shootout with suspected drug cartel gunmen. they're believed to be illegal migrants from several countries. the chilean president has told the 33 miners trapped in the north of the country that every effort is being made still free them. he said that the whole of chile was with them. the miners have not been told it could take four months to rescue them. this is the scene in northwest afghanistan where a shooting at left four dead. there were clashes with security forces. reports suggest an afghan police recruiter opened fire and killed two spanish officers and their interpreter. most of the survivors from monday's fatal siege on manila have gone home to hong kong, with the bodies of eight dead tourists. weapons from the reagan have been -- weapons from the raid had been tested to confirm who shot first. flood waters in pakistan are threatening a new areas of the southern province. three-quarters of people can only be reached by air. the u.n. says they need 40

richard engel, nbc news, baghdad. >>> the jazz legend abbie lincoln has died. she was an outspoken advocate for civil rights. she was 80 years old. >>> when we come back, a young explorer who changed the landscape in tv land marks a milestone. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene. biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth. look for biotene in your oral care section today. this has been medifacts for biotene. nothing beats prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn with prevacid®24hr, all day, all night. nothing works better. to bring art to the people. without my health i wouldn't be able to do anything. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, keep your heart healthy. cheerios can help. the whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. it's simple; love your heart so you can do what you love. [

he has just completed an effective tore in baghdad. the ambassador has had a long career, beginning with the peace corps in cameroon. he has been in korea, macedonia, among other places. he has been the leader of the six party talks in north korea, assistant secretary of state. the next chapter will have him be the dean of international studies at the university of denver. he will soon go back to rhode island. it is the home of the best ice cream parlor in the country. you should visit it. so, another red sox fan here. we're very pleased to have embassador hill. some lessons learned, but visions of where we are going with this relationship between the u.s. and iraq. there are people in baghdad and beirut who are watching us online. we may get some questions from them as well, and from this group, and from the overflow audience in a nearby room. please welcome ambassador hill. [applause] elcome ambassador hill. [applause] >> thank you very much, bill, and for inviting me to this old building. i know that you are all looking forward to t

baghdad resident jesma was gloomy when asked about the u.s. force drawdown. >> i think we need america here. we need the america here. i think so. >> warner: one cities that's had its fill of american troops is fallujah west of baghdad in the heart of the sunni triangle. it was in fallujah? 2004 that four american security contractors were killed. their bodies burned and strung up on this bridge. that touched off two major american offensives to route iraqi insurgents from this city. now after a period of joint control, iraqi forces are in charge. though parts of fallujah have been rebuilt and security refor-- restorted, we could only travel there under the protection of federal and local police who warned us not to linger on the streets more than 10 minutes at a time. from some of the residents jockeying for an audience at city hall come reports of an uptick in targeted killings in town. but that doesn't mean the head of the city council sheikh hamid al hashim wants u.s. troops back in fallujah or nearby. are you happy to see them go. >> of c

on their way back from baghdad, they say they stopped in new hampshire, they said they received a nice greeting there, they also stopped in colorado, that was nice here. but they it was nothing compared to the welcoming they received here. it was all hugs and kisses for members of the 49th as they saw their families in some cases for the first time in 15 months. the guards men and women are based here in fairfield and served at camp liberty in baghdad training iraqis to train over law enforcement duties. the return home is part of the scheduled troop draw down in iraq and they are the last military police brigade to serve in baghdad. and they arrived about 4:30 greeted at the tarmac by governor arnold schwarzenegger. but the main thrill for the soldiers was seeing their families. >> it was great to see our family, it's been a year and we've missed them very, very much. >> how long have they been away? >> a year, they were gone a year. i can't believe we made it. we finally made it. >> reporter: the 49th is the same brigade that lost clarkson in their last tour. this time around, they d

>> dan harris back in baghdad, thank you. >>> and to pakistan now and those epic floodwaters. the united states rescue efforts do continue and in many places, helicopters are the only way out. but as lama hassan reports, many have to make choices about how stay assen who is left behind. >> reporter: there are two distinct scenarios emerging, while north battles with the aftermath of the flooding, the south copts to suffer. in the mountains of northern pakist pakistan, the floodwaters took way almost everything. little infrastructure is still standing. the only way in and out is by helicopter. u.s. marines reached the isolated victims, delivering rice and flour. evacuating who they can. in the southern part of the country it's a completely different story. they're beginning to feel the brunt of the flooding and they're in desperate need of basic relief supplies. the pakistani navy has been battling raging floods to reach those stranded, where rivers have become vast lakes. they found four men, there was only room for two of them on board. they say many more need help. those who

vice president joe biden is in baghdad overseeing it with all american combat troops having already left the country its surge just after midnight local time in baghdad and washington says this means the end of this seven year long war that killed over four thousand u.s. troops however about fifty thousand will remain in iraq to provide training and support for local security forces u.s. troops will no longer be allowed to go on combat missions unless requested and accompanied by iraqi forces but many analysts say baghdad doesn't control the country which remains split in playing by insurgent violence last week alone dozens of iraqi citizens died in a wave of terror attacks nir rosen journalist and chronicler of the iraq war told me only if the people there are still suffering they did get rid of saddam hussein at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives of iraqis millions of displaced tens of thousands of iraqis who were languished in american prisons years of their lives were lost. is destroyed shattered dirty desperate people of very poor living amidst trash during hours of checkpoi

the soldiers in baghdad as part of george w. bush's search, in many ways, they were at the worst of it. i am in touch with these guys all the time. almost any of them will tell you that the consequences of what they saw and in georgia and experienced a wave from american eyes as they fought every -- what they saw and in georgia and experienced away from american eyes as they fought in iraq is difficult to get away tavis: from tavis are these soldiers -- difficult to get away from. tavis: are the soldiers of to the task? >> they certainly are trained. i know a couple of years ago they could not do much at all and when push came to shove, in many cases, they just ran away. that is not the case anymore. violence is down and things are better. for anyone who is there, i think is reasonable for them to cross their fingers and hope that the iff will be able to step up. tavis: let me talk pure political strategy. the president is about to give a speech about the drawdown in iraq. joe biden was in indianapolis this week speaking to the

this local is the historic center of baghdad book selling. a winding street filled with book stores and out door book stalls. named after the famous 10th century arab poet, this is an old and established street for book selling and has been for hundreds of years. book selling on this street is no different from book selling here. we traffic in memory, ideas and dreams. in that sense we feel the street starts at the front door of all of our book shops. monthknabe street starts here. >> just before the street was eviscerated by a searing length of deaths and despair, delusion and destruction that destroyed more than the 30 lives. twisted more than the 100 souls who were bent and crippled amidst it's rage. just before the moment you were the proclamation, the prayer as they summoned and swore laugh, controlled, denied and affirmed. did you hear the words as they fell. for 2,000 years we have. what do you think. this says, map, border, resistance. truth. spirit, faith. doctrine, domaine. love, free, open, winds, cut. did you here the euphony of t

earlier today, i talked to margaret warner in baghdad about these troop changes. margaret, it's good to seej- ou. we've just seen these pictures of american combat troops leaving iraq last night, but, in fact, margaret, that is process that's been under way for some time? >> yes, absolutely. as you recall, president obama when he took office are promised that he would get u.s. troops down to the 50,000 level by the end of this month, on their way to full exit from the country by the end of next year, as the bush administration had agreed. so they've been really doing this especially an accelerated way for the last several months. they had to get 95,000 troops out of the country from the high when the president took office. the pentagon decided not to let it end with a whimper but rather to actually stage a highly symbolic exit. so they invited journalists to ride along with this last convoy of what's called dedicated combat troops, or dedicated combat brigade as it made its way from camp victory near the baghdad airport near here all the way down to the kuwait bor

combat mission in iraq will come to its official end within the hour vice president joe biden is in baghdad overseeing it with all american combat troops having already left the country. and washington says that this means the end of the seven year long war that killed over four thousand u.s. troops however about fifty thousand will remain in iraq to provide training and support for local security forces u.s. troops will no longer be allowed to go on combat missions unless requested and accompanied by iraqi forces but many analysts say baghdad doesn't control the country which remains split some plagued by insurgent violence last week alone dozens of iraqi citizens died in a wave of terror attacks well john laughlin from the institute for democracy and cooperation says the war in iraq is far from over. there's no real withdrawal at all on the contrary fifty thousand troops are going to remain in iraq so what we're dealing with here is a political package it's an administrative change the troops who are already in iraq will stay there the name of the mission changes but they will still be co

in the 115-degree heat this weekend in baghdad, u.s. troops took down the flag as american combat forces handed responsibility to iraqi troops. the iraqi soldiers put on a display at the ceremony marking the handover. they raided a mock house, stopped a vehicle and exploded a dummy bomb. like so many of these demonstrations, the goal was to prove iraqi forces are ready to take change. this time, they'll have to be. because these iraqi troops are taking over for the last american combat brigade in iraq. american combat troops only have one mission left -- to leave later this month. when they do, the seven and a half-year operation iraqi freedom will be over. already this year, 407 out of 505 u.s. bases have been closed. only about 60,000 american troops remain. that will go down to 50,000 by the end of august. then, the new mission will be training, not war fighting. >> it is one of those rites of passage where we're certifying that our iraqi army counter parts are more than capable of handling the day-to-day missions. >> one of the bigg

this prayer service includes time in baghdad, damascus, cairo, tkelaita. he is an arabic speaker and is uniquely positioned. the format today, first we will hear from mr. corrigan and then -- mr. corbin. how we appreciate if you identify yourselves by name and affiliation. keep it brief and please end it with a question mark. our plan is to wrap up by 2:30. thank you again. writer and the microphone over to michael corbin. >> thank you. it is an honor for me to talk about something extremely important to the state department. its designer for me to be here with my partner in abreu closely with in the last year and met in baghdad in may of 2009 when we were in the early stages of talking about some of the tremendous developments that we are working on everyday as we deal with iraq. i am also very honored that there is a large emphasis on iraq. this subject deserves a lot of attention. i am gratified all of you are here today. i am here to give you some of the color and flavor of something the state department is highly focused on. that is the transition fro

we still have to register which is move all of our military equipment from baghdad let's say down the quaids to the ports so there's a chance we're still going to lose american troops in iraq next year and so i think it's easier to make that speech unfortunately i think the president's been given a free pass in iraq since day one since he was a candidate yes it was against the iraq war yes he was a state senator and chicago speaking in a district where it was highly unpopular support the war he never made a vote in congress and we've seen what he's done in afghanistan which is embrace a counterinsurgency strategy that he simply. pows in iraq so afghanistan he's in huge trouble right now and i hate to say this but it looks like the iraq speech to top that is a way to as he likes to do skin the cat and be on both sides of the fence and show to the left is upset in afghanistan that he did quote and the iraq war but the iraq war was essentially ended by the sofa agreement that the iraqi government put in place ok i want to ask you what you're an interpretation is of what's going to happen

the iraq war began on march 20, 200 #, with the bombing of baghdad. since then 4,415 american service members have died in hostile action. nearly 32,000 american troops have been wounded. there is no confirmed number of iraqi casualties. estimates range from 50,000 to 600,000. >>> students, faculty and staff at college of san mateo, classes have been cancelled because of a power outage. the school thinks water flooded one of the electrical units on campus. >>> much of the bay area is getting a welcome break from gray skies with sunshine and summery weather. steve paulson joins us now. >> you want fog, cool, warm, hot? if you want sunshine, today almost everybody is in on it. there is still some fog at the coast. we had low clouds and fog this morning. a northwest wind at sfo, that west-southwest at 8 is at travis. so temperatures are warming up nicely. it's a one-day event. we'll start a cooldown again tomorrow and really cool down by saturday. 63 san francisco, fog has lifted. yesterday we had the really high fog. today it was more down on the deck.