Attacks erupt during Iraqi election
BAGHDAD, March 7 (UPI) -- A series of terror attacks hit Baghdad and other cities as Iraqis went to the polls to elect a new parliament, officials said.
The New York Times, citing the Interior Ministry, reported at least 38 people were killed in Baghdad with dozens more wounded. The attacks by insurgents were timed to frighten voters away from the polls, the Times said, but were only partly successful.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Iraqis on their "courage ... in the face of violence."
"On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the Iraqi people on their courage throughout this historic election," Obama said at the White House. "Today, in the face of violence from those who would only destroy, Iraqis took a step forward in the hard work of building up their country. The United States will continue to help them in that effort as we responsibly end this war, and support the Iraqi people as they take control of their future."
In Baghdad, with dozens of mortar, rocket and bomb attacks slackening, many Iraqis lined up to vote, some expressing outrage, the Times said.
CNN said votes were being counted Sunday after polls closed. A senior U.S. official said turnout could reach 55 percent, the broadcaster reported. The United Nations said preliminary results are expected Wednesday.
The attacks began as some of the estimated 19 million eligible voters began casting ballots at 7 a.m. for 325 seats in parliament. It was the first parliamentary election since 2005.
The national election is the fifth since 2003, but only the second for a full four-year-term parliament.
A mortar rocket killed 12 people in the Ur neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad, CNN reported, and roadside bombs killed an undetermined number of people in the capital.
Militants fired more than 30 mortar rounds, including three that landed inside the International Zone, the location of the U.S. Embassy and numerous Iraqi government buildings. But the rockets caused no casualties.
In Najaf, three people died and 54 suffered injuries Saturday when a car bomb blew up.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged people to head to the polls to strengthen democracy and told the BBC the violence should not deter voters.
KARACHI, Pakistan, March 7 (UPI) -- A U.S.-born member of the terror group al-Qaida has been arrested in Pakistan but authorities said it was not Adam Gadahn, as had been previously reported.
The operative, who was taken into custody in recent days in Karachi, was identified as Abu Yahya Mujahdeen Al-Adam, The New York Times reported Sunday. The suspect was said to have been born in Pennsylvania and is suspected of commanding al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.
The arrest in Karachi follows the arrests of several Afghan al-Qaida senior leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, described as the second-ranking leader in the Afghan Taliban, the Times said. A senior Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pakistani authorities have granted U.S. interrogators access to question Baradar but he has not provided "any actionable intelligence."
"He's talking to us but we're still in the trust-building phase," the official said.
Sources said earlier Sunday the suspect picked up in Karachi was Gadahn, 31, who was born in Oregon and raised in Southern California, where he converted to Islam. U.S. authorities say Gadahn attended a mosque in Orange County, Calif., before he was banned for assaulting its chairman, and began working for a California charity with suspected ties to al-Qaida in 1997 before moving to Pakistan.
The FBI identified Gadahn in 2004 as part of an al-Qaida cell planning attacks designed to disrupt the presidential election, and put him on its most-wanted list.
A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicted him for treason in 2006. The first American to be so charged in almost 60 years, Gadahn faces the death penalty if convicted. The U.S. government is offering a reward of up to $1 million for his capture, CNN reported.
House leader predicts reform will pass
WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. House Democratic leader said Sunday he believes Congress will approve healthcare reform legislation.
"I believe it will pass. Do we have a mortal lock? No, because people are still looking at some of the changes that are being made to the bill," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said.
Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, pointed out President Barack Obama has sent lawmakers a letter with additional ideas based on the recent bipartisan healthcare summit.
"Until people have a final product that they are able to look at and the Congressional Budget Office, our referee on budget issues, says whether or not this will do what the earlier bills did, then I think it's going to be hard to get people to commit," Van Hollen said. "But I think the trend is in the right direction because people see that the status quo is absolutely broken."
Van Hollen pointed to "skyrocketing" health insurance premiums and people losing coverage because of high costs or job loss.
Rep. Brian Baird, D-Washington, who also appeared on the program, agreed on the need for reform, though he voted against the House bill and remains undecided on it.
"The current system -- the rising costs, the numbers of uninsured, the ability to be rejected if you have a pre-existing condition -- is absolutely unacceptable," he said. "We have to do something. And I actually applaud President Obama and the Democratic Party for taking this difficult challenge on."
But Baird added: "I think I'm in a place where many Americans are. They see the need for reform. The question is: Is this the best way we can do reform? And it is very complicated."
McConnell: Dems could regret reform's OK
WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- If congressional Democrats pass healthcare reform, they could come to regret it in November, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Sunday.
"Every election this fall will be a referendum on this bill" if Congress passes reform, McConnell said on ABC's "This Week." He said Americans have closely followed the healthcare debate and fear cuts to Medicare, tax increases and higher insurance costs.
"(Democrats) can say, 'Ah, we got it done after 60 years.' And then they have to defend it from now until November," McConnell said. "And I think it will be very tough to defend a lot of the things inside that bill."
Although several elements of legislation already passed by the House and Senate -- including a prohibition on denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions -- would take effect this year, McConnell told ABC the benefits of reform wouldn't kick in for four years, while what he called "massive cuts" would be made to Medicare before then.
"The tax increases kick in immediately," McConnell said. "So there's nothing -- just looking at the politics of it -- there's nothing but pain here for the next four years. Why in the world would (Democrats) conclude that that would be popular?"
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, also appearing on the program, asserted Americans are "desperate" for healthcare reform even though polls show support has eroded significantly. She said President Barack Obama would like to have Republican votes but he and GOP lawmakers had fundamental disagreements.
"The Republicans feel strongly that insurance companies should have less regulation than they do now, less consumer protection, less oversight," she said. "The president feels strongly that we need to change the rules of the road, that we can no longer have a private health system where insurance companies get to pick and choose, where they can lock people out and price people out. And that's really one of the fundamental divides."
