In this Dec. 23, 2007 file photo, U.S. army soldiers from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, run to take defensive positions during a firefight on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah, in the volatile Diyala province, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. In the beginning, it all looked simple: topple Saddam Hussein, destroy his purported weapons of mass destruction and lay the foundation for a pro-Western government in the heart of the Arab world. Nearly 4,500 American and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives later, the objective now is simply to get out _ and leave behind a country where democracy has at least a chance, where Iran does not dominate and where conditions may not be good but "good enough." (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic, File)
**FILE** People arrive at Basra airport in Iraq on June 4, 2005, on the first commercial Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad since Basra's airport came under British control following the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. (Associated Press)
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS Camp Liberty residents, Iranian dissidents given refuge by Saddam Hussein years ago, hold banners and chant during a tour for foreign diplomats given by the Iraqi government. They want to return to their previous home, Camp Ashraf, but the Iraqi government wants them out of the country.
Camp Liberty residents, Iranian dissidents given refuge by Saddam Hussein years ago, hold banners and chant during a tour for foreign diplomats given by the Iraqi government. They want to return to their previous home, Camp Ashraf, but the Iraqi government wants them out of the country. (Associated Press)
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping their country. They fear that their future in Syria could be comparable to what Christians in Iraq suffered after the fall of Saddam Hussein when they were targeted repeatedly by extremist militants. "What is happening in these neighborhoods pains our hearts," said Maximos al-Jamal, a Greek Orthodox priest who remains in Homs. (Associated Press)
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping their country. They fear that their future in Syria could be comparable to what Christians in Iraq suffered after the fall of Saddam Hussein when they were targeted repeatedly by extremist militants. "What is happening in these neighborhoods pains our hearts," said Maximos al-Jamal, a Greek Orthodox priest who remains in Homs. (Associated Press)
A video posted online Saturday, April 7, 2012, purports to show Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest ranking member of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime still at large, lashing out against Iraq's Shiite-led government. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the video or determine when it was made. (AP Photo/AP Video)
An Iraqi man stands on the head of a statue of Saddam Hussein as U.S. Marines occupy the center of Baghdad on April 10, 2003. But pockets of resistence remained in the northern part of the city and sniper fire could be heard everywhere. The war was far from over. (J.M. Eddins/The Washington Times)
US Marine Lance Cpl. Jarrod Antczak smokes a cigarette under a no smoking sign at Saddam Hussein's palace complex in Tikrit in Northern Iraq Monday, April 14, 2003. ( J.M. Eddins Jr. / The Washington Times )
