Post-invasion
Main articles: Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present, Insurgency in Iraq, Civil war in Iraq, and Humanitarian Crises of the Iraq War
Occupation zones in Iraq after invasion.
Following the invasion, the United States established the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq.[57] Government authority was transferred to an Iraqi Interim Government in June 2004, and a permanent government was elected in October 2005. More than 140,000 troops, mainly Americans, remain in Iraq.
Some studies have placed the number of civilians deaths as high as 655,000 (see The Lancet study), although most studies estimate a lower number; the Iraq Body Count project indicates a significantly lower number of civilian deaths than that of The Lancet Study, though IBC organizers acknowledge that their statistics are an undercount as they base their information off of media-confirmed deaths. The website of the Iraq body count states, "Our maximum therefore refers to reported deaths – which can only be a sample of true deaths unless one assumes that every civilian death has been reported. It is likely that many if not most civilian casualties will go unreported by the media."[58]
After the invasion, al-Qaeda took advantage of the national resistance to entrench itself in the country. On December 30, 2006, Saddam Hussein was hanged.[59] Hussein's half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Hamed al-Bandar were likewise executed on January 15, 2007;[60] as was Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's former deputy and former vice-president (originally sentenced to life in prison but later to death by hanging), on March 20, 2007.[61] Ramadan was the fourth and last man in the al-Dujail trial to die by hanging for crimes against humanity.
President of Iraq Jalal Talabani with U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009.
At the Anfal genocide trial, Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid (aka Chemical Ali), former defense minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed al-Tay, and former deputy Hussein Rashid Mohammed were sentenced to hang for their role in the Al-Anfal Campaign against the Kurds on June 24, 2007.[citation needed] Al-Majid was sentenced to death three more times: once for the 1991 suppression of a Shi'a uprising along with Abdul-Ghani Abdul Ghafur on December 2, 2008;[62] once for the 1999 crackdown in the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sadr on March 2, 2009;[63] and once on January 17, 2010 for the gassing of the Kurds in 1988;[64] he was hanged over a week later on January 25.[65]
Acts of sectarian violence have led to claims of ethnic cleansing in Iraq, and there have been many attacks on Iraqi minorities such as the Yezidis, Mandeans, Assyrians and others.[66] A U.S. troop surge to deal with increased violence and improve security became a contentious political issue in the United States. The surge in troops was enacted in early 2007; in his September 2007 testimony to Congress, General Petraeus stated that the surge's goals were being met.[67] Iraq also suffered a cholera outbreak in 2007.[68]
Reasat EWSIS on 14 Jan 10One of the most discussed issues in American sports today is the current bowl system in college football. Majority of the Americans, especially fans, favor on having a playoff, just like in every other sports leagues, to determine a National Champion, rather than having multiple Bowl games. According to survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, 63 percent favor a playoff system while getting rid of the current system. Only 26 percent favor on keeping the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) system. Even the President of our nation, Barack Obama favors a playoff system in college football. This issue was even involved in the U.S. Congress. The House was planning on passing a legislation to remove the current BCS system and implement a playoffs to decide a National Champion. However, 48 percent of the fans do not think it's a good idea for Congress to get involved with this, while 45 percent do. The Congress hasn't done anything yet. I personally believe that the Congress should stay out of this and worry about much more important government issues. What exactly is the BCS? It is a selection process that creates five bowl games that matches up the top 10 ranked teams in the nation. The Number 1 and 2 ranked teams in the nation are matched up for the BSC National Championship game. The other teams are subjected to other BCS bowl games which are, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona and the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida. From the season when the BCS was created, the National Championship game rotated among the 4 bowls. But starting from 2007, the BCS made the Championship Game as a separate match up from the other 4 bowls. How are teams selected to a bowl game? There are two types of qualifications, which are automatic qualifications and at-larger berths. The top 2 ranked teams automatically qualify for the National Championship Game. In college football, there are many confere
