BUSH'S WAR Turning Sour; Moneymakers Fleeing

"The explosion that killed 22 soldiers and contractors on an American army base in Mosul on Tuesday was probably the work of a suicide bomber, not a rocket attack, the Pentagon disclosed yesterday.

The discovery was chilling news for the US military, which is increasingly sharing its bases with Iraqi forces. It raises the possibility that their bases could be infiltrated and their troops hit at their most vulnerable point.

At least three American contractors from Halliburton, the US conglomerate, died in the explosion, the latest civilian casualties in a war where guerrillas target those working alongside the US military to weaken their war effort.

Reflecting the increasing danger to civilian workers and the soaring cost of protecting them, another large US contractor announced that it was pulling out of Iraq."

Attribution