Five US Troops KIA in Baghdad by Suicide Bomber

Five US soldiers have been killed by a suicide bomb attack while they patrolled in Baghdad, the US army said. The suicide bomber approached the patrol on a Baghdad street and blew himself up, Iraqi police told Reuters.

Three other troops and an Iraqi interpreter were also injured in the attack, the US military said.

The attack follows the killing of Thaer Ghadban al-Karkhi, a Sunni tribal leader, in a suicide bomb attack on his house near Baquba earlier on Monday.

The US military told the BBC that the attack on its troops took place in the Mansour district of Baghdad.

In other Iraq War news: US envoy to Iraq, Ryan Crocker intends to retire in early January of 2009 and leave the post he has served since March of last year.

I am prepared to remain in Baghdad until early 2009, when I intend to retire," Mr Crocker told the Washington Post.

"That will make two years in Iraq and 37 years in the Foreign Service - it's enough!"

Gen David Petraeus is also expected to leave Iraq on a scheduled rotation of duties just before Mr Crocker has said he will retire.

Saber Rattling: Iran in US Bombsights?

According to AFP the Bush administration has got plans on the table to "surgically" attack Iran:

The US administration has shifted strategy and is drawing up plans for possible air strikes against Iran's Revolutionary Guard instead of the country's nuclear sites, the New Yorker magazine reported on Sunday.

President George W. Bush has requested the Joint Chiefs of Staff revise plans for a possible attack on Iran, with the focus on "surgical" raids against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps which Washington accuses of targeting US forces in Iraq, the magazine wrote.

Previous contingency plans called for a more elaborate bombing campaign against suspected nuclear sites in Iran as well as other infrastructure, the magazine reported, citing unnamed former officials and government consultants.

The change in focus comes as Bush and his top aides have begun to describe the war in Iraq in public statements as increasingly a "strategic battle between the United States and Iran," said the article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.

During a video conference over the summer, Bush allegedly told Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, that he was considering striking Iranian targets across the border and that the British "were on board," according to the article.

Endangered Wolf(owitz) and Rudderless Hulks

The BBC Reports

A group of senior former World Bank employees has urged beleaguered head Paul Wolfowitz to resign, saying he can no longer be an effective leader.

Mr Wolfowitz is battling to remain in his job after admitting helping his partner win a promotion and pay rise.

More than 40 World Bank officials, including 18 former vice-presidents, published their call in an open letter to the Financial Times newspaper.

They said Mr Wolfowitz had "lost the trust and respect of bank staff".

"There is only one way for Wolfowitz to further the mission of the bank: he should resign."

"He has [...] damaged his own credibility on good governance - his flagship issue," the letter reads.

The letter was signed by, among others, the former number two in the organisation during the first year of Mr Wolfowitz's time at the Bank, Shengman Zhang.

The former senior officials warn that if Mr Wolfowitz remains in office, he will "preside over a rudderless hulk".

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Speaking of "rudderless hulks", President Bush's surge strategy was dealt another blow over the weekend:

Violence has continued with three suicide bombers killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 60 in various parts of Iraq, including one close to where [new US ambassador to Iraq] Mr.[Ryan] Crocker was speaking. "The road is going to be a tough one," Crocker said. "I don't begin my tour here with any illusions. It is going to be very, very difficult, but I certainly believe that success is possible. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here." Crocker said the months ahead will be "critical."

Speaking of "critical", Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on Monday criticized a U.S. plan to deploy a missile defense system in central Europe, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"We consider that the U.S. strategic missile defense system is a destabilizing factor that may considerably affect regional and global security," Serdyukov said after talks with his U.S. counterpart Robert Gates, who arrived here earlier on Monday for a visit.

The United States plans to deploy a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. The 3.5-billion-U.S. dollar project is set to start operating by 2011.

Russia has rejected the plan, alleging its real target will not be Iran as Washington has claimed, but Moscow.

The United States is offering Russia a new package of incentives to drop its strong opposition to American missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, including an invitation to begin linking some American and Russian antimissile systems, the New York Times reported on Saturday.