The word "quagmire" comes to mind once again:

7 U.S. Troops Die in Iraq Violence

By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of seven more troops in Iraq, including four killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling western Baghdad _ the latest American casualties in a monthlong security crackdown in the capital.

A U.S. official, meanwhile, blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for chlorine bomb attacks that struck villagers in Anbar province earlier this week but said tight Iraqi security measures prevented a higher number of casualties.

Three suicide bombers driving trucks rigged with tanks of toxic chlorine gas struck targets in the insurgent stronghold including the office of a Sunni tribal leader opposed to al-Qaida. The attacks killed at least two people and sickened 350 Iraqi civilians and six U.S. troops, the U.S. military said Saturday.

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3,218 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, 3,176 of them after George Bush announced an "end to major hostilities" under a banner proclaiming "mission accomplished."