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Nightline Daily E-Mail
March 17, 2004
TONIGHT'S FOCUS: One year after the war in Iraq, a massive explosion in Baghdad with many casualties. What does this mean for the American presence in Iraq and the scheduled handover of authority?
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There was an explosion in Baghdad today, the target - a hotel. Details at this time are sketchy, but there are many dead and injured. This attack highlights, once again, just how dangerous things are in Baghdad one year after the start of the war.
Yesterday, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said, "Clearly, there has been a shift in the insurgency and the way the extremists are conducting operations." And in the past week, with at least eleven western civilians murdered, and today even more, it has become evident that civilians are now the main target of the insurgency.
The American-led Coalition Provisional Authority is supposed to hand sovereignty over to the Iraqis June 30th. Do the people behind these attacks have a plan? Is it to derail the handover? Is it to prevent the United Nations from getting involved? Is it to drive members of the coalition out? The newly elected Spanish Prime Minister has already said that he wants to withdraw his country's troops from Iraq. These are the questions the administration will be dealing with in the coming weeks. And as we approach the first anniversary of the invasion on Friday, tensions in the region are likely to be high.
Ted Koppel will anchor tonight and we will have full reports from ABC News correspondents in Baghdad, including Peter Jennings. We are still working on guests for tonight. We hope you will join us.
Madhulika Sikka and the Nightline Staff
ABCNEWS Washington D.C. bureau
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