Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani speaks at a news conference in Baghdad February 9, 2010.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani (L) holds a joint conference with Iraq's Planning Minister Ali Baban in Baghdad February 9, 2010.

A worker carries a billboard of Iraqiya bloc candidate Omar Abdul-Sattar in Baghdad February 9, 2010. Iraq will hold parliamentary elections in March.

A worker prints posters of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ahead of March parliamentary elections, at a workshop in Baghdad February 9, 2010.

Iraq's former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad February 8, 2010. A ban on election candidates accused of links with Saddam Hussein's Baath party threatens to drag Iraq into civil war, a former prime minister and head of a group seen as a strong...

AP Photo 1 day ago

In this photo released by the Iraqi Government, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, and government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, right, meet with tribal leaders in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. Iraq's prime minister says he accepts an appeals panel's jurisdiction over a ban on...

AP Photo 1 day ago

In this photo released by the Iraqi Government, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks during a meeting with tribal leaders in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. Iraq's prime minister says he accepts an appeals panel's jurisdiction over a ban on candidates from March 7 parliamentary...

Protesters hold X marked posters of Iraqi Sunni lawmakers Dhafir al-Ani (R) and Saleh al-Mutlaq during a rally against the former Baath Party return in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad February 7, 2010. Iraq's Shi'ite parties held emotional demonstrations on Sunday and vowed...

AP Photo 2 days ago

Iraqis chant anti-Baathist slogans at a protest in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. Iraq's parliament meets as a legal panel rejects 26 appeals from candidates who have been banned from the March 7 ballot because...

Iraqi policemen frisk residents near the site of a rally against the former Baath Party return in Baghdad, February 7, 2010. Iraq's Shi'ite parties held emotional demonstrations on Sunday and vowed to purge loyalists of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party as tensions over a list of candidates...

An Iraqi policeman uses a metal detector to search the body of a victim killed in bombings in Kerbala, during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, February 6, 2010. Twin car bombs killed at least 40 people and wounded 145 others on Friday in Iraq's holy city of Kerbala...

Iraqi policemen carry the coffin of a victim killed in bombings in Kerbala, during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, February 6, 2010. Twin car bombs killed at least 40 people and wounded 145 others on Friday in Iraq's holy city of Kerbala as hundreds of thousands of...

An Iraqi soldier looks at destroyed vehicles after a car bomb attack in the holy city of Kerbala, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, February 5, 2010. At least 20 people were killed and 75 wounded on Friday when two car bombs blew up in Iraq's holy city of Kerbala as hundreds of thousands...

Iraqi policemen work at the scene of a bomb attack in the holy city of Kerbala, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, February 5, 2010. At least 20 people were killed and 75 wounded on Friday when two car bombs blew up in Iraq's holy city of Kerbala as hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite...

A man walks past a torn poster of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki posing with the country's soccer team, on a street in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, February 5, 2010.

AP Photo 5 days ago

In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010, an Iraqi police dog handler watches a bomb-sniffing dog jump during a training session at the police college in Baghdad, Iraq. The American military is rushing delivery of bomb detection dogs to Iraq, following a request by Prime Minister Nouri...

Iraqi soldiers march towards coffins bearing the remains of comrades who were killed during the 1980's Iraqi-Iranian war, during a ceremony at the Iraq-Iran Shalamcha Border Crossing, in southern Iraq February 4, 2010. Iraq on Thursday received the remains of nine soldiers during the second...

AP Photo 5 days ago

Iraqi soldiers kiss the coffin bearing the remains of an Iraqi soldier who were killed during an eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, at the border crossing Al-Shalamjah, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. The remains of nine Iraqis were returned to their native country during a ceremony at a...

An Iraqi policeman stands guard at the site of the bomb attack (not seen) as Shi'ite pilgrims continue walking to attend Arbain, in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad February 3, 2010. A bomb on a cart pulled by a motorcycle killed at least 20 in a crowd of Shi'ite pilgrims on...

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) meets with Iraqi students who have scholarships abroad, as Iraq's Minister for Higher Education Abd Thiab al-Ajili (R) and Education Minister Khodhair al-Khozaei (L) look on, in Baghdad February 3, 2010.

An Iraqi soldier mans a machine gun near a picture of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as Shi'ite Muslims commemorating the Arbain ritual ceremony gather in Kerbala February 2, 2010. Picture taken February 2, 2010.

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani (R) meets with Iraqi Shi'ite politician Ahmed Chalabi at his residence in Baghdad February 2, 2010. Picture taken February 2, 2010.

Getty Images 1 week ago

WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 02: Iraqi Vice President Dr. Tariq Hashimi (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leave after a photo opportunity at the State Department February 2, 2010 in Washington, DC. Hashimi met earlier with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and they...

Getty Images 1 week ago

WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 02: Iraqi Vice President Dr. Tariq Hashimi (L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department February 2, 2010 in Washington, DC. Hashimi met earlier with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and they discussed Iraq's...

AP Photo 1 week ago

Shiite pilgrims march in Baghdad, Iraq,Tuesday, Feb.2 , 2010, a day after a female suicide bomber struck pilgrims. Shiites are making their annual pilgrimage to Karbala to mark the end of the forty-day mourning period after the anniversary of the 7th century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the...