Iraq Council Stymied by Agendas, Rivalry

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Personal agendas, ethnic rivalries and differences over visions for a new Iraq are responsible for American dissatisfaction with Washington's own creation _ the Iraqi Governing Council.

Frustration over the U.S.-appointed council has emerged at a time of escalating attacks by Iraqi insurgents, most recently the truck bombing Wednesday of the headquarters of the Italian Carabinieri police in the southern city of Nasiriyah, which killed at least 11 people.

In response to the growing insurgency, the U.S. military has adopted a new tactic of answering guerrilla attacks with massive firepower _ which risks civilian casualties and alienating Iraqis.

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Yup...the word "quagmire" certainly does come to mind