General Peter PaceOpposition forces in Iraq killed ten Iraqi policemen and soldiers north of Baghdad Monday after Christmas in a stepup of violence over the past few days. An AP story said that the Iraqi army had lost eight soldiers who were killed and seventeen who were wounded in a battle at an Iraqi checkpoint in the city of Adheim right before Christmas. More serious were the reports from an Iraqi soldier who was in that battle that his battalion of 600 had "already suffered over 250 desertions after a December 3 ambush in Adhem killed 19 Iraqi soldiers."

Meanwhile, Midnight Mass for Christmas was cancelled "because of bombing fires and curfews, but the country’s rapidly dwindling Christian minority turned out in the thousands for early morning services," according to the London Times. The Times story went on to say, "Christians once numbered between 600,000 and 700,000 in Iraq, but church officials say about about half have now fled."

Finally, in a Christmas day interview with Fox News, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine General Peter Pace acknowledged that Iraqis wanted the U.S. to leave the country "as soon as possible". Two thirds of Iraqis in a recent poll say that they are opposed to the presence of U.S. and other foreign troops in Iraq.

The Pentagon has begun the process of reducing its military presence in Iraq, but Bush Administration officials are worried as to whether the Iraqi army is up to the task of coping with the insurgents. Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell echoed Pace’s view on ABC’s Sunday show: "I think the numbers will come down".

The Bush Administration is going to have some tough decisions to make early next year in regards to our continuing U.S. military presence in Iraq.

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