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I'm Rebecca Kaufman. And I'm Peter O'Dowd. Welcome to Uptown Radio.
A group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility today for Wednesday's suicide bombing in Baghdad's heavily armed Green
Zone. One civilian died in the blast and 22 were wounded according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
The attack came one day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that most military serving in the war would face extended tours of duty.
ACT: GATES_ODOWD.WAV: 0:17: Effective immediately, active army units now in the central command area of responsibility and those headed there will
deploy for not more than 15 months and will return home to home station for not less than 12 months
Gates said the only other option would have been to reduce the time soldiers could spend at home between tours.
My colleague Rebecca Kaufman spoke to Peter Beinhart (BINE-ART) from the Council of Foreign Relations today. He said the bombing is a
psychological blow to the war effort.