Bush meets Iraq Shi’ite leader after plea for calm
As one of Iraq’s most powerful Shi’ite faction leaders visited the White House on Monday, the United States made an urgent plea to Iraqis to resist a cycle of violence that will “destroy you and your country”. A day after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Iraq was now in a civil war and 52 more victims of sectarian death squads were found dumped in Baghdad, President George W. Bush met Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the biggest party in government. Full Story