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Saddam Trial Adjourned until Jan. 24
 Saddam Photo Leak

Nearly three years after the US-led invasion, Iraq has still been a whirlpool of violence with people numbed by bloody attacks almost on the daily basis.
The year of 2005 is very much a year of ballot boxes, but the limited political progress has failed to result in security and stability in the war-torn country.
YEAR OF ELECTIONS
Related Story: Iraqi National Elections
More than eight million Iraqis, some 60 percent of the total eligible voters, took part in the elections in January to choose a transitional parliament, the first ballot after the US-led invasion toppled the Saddam Hussein regime.
But most of the Sunnis, making up one fifth of Iraq's population, either boycotted the elections or were scared away from the voting centers by insurgent threats. The community, which once dominated the country under Saddam's rule, has only garnered 17 seats in the 275-member national assembly and remained largely marginalized in the political landscape.
The legitimacy of the January ballot held under the US occupation and the government formed afterwards was also repeatedly impugned.
The Shiite- and Kurish-dominated interim government, formed in April, has failed to stamp out violence by insurgents and the al- Qaida terror group in the country.
A national referendum in mid October on a controversial constitution did not manage to bring the Sunnis back into the fold as the charter was supported by Shiites and Kurds but strongly rejected by Sunnis.
The constitution has been narrowly passed although the Sunnis showed an impressive voting turnout but failed to muster enough " NO" votes to founder it.
With a week to go before the elections for a new full-term parliament due on Dec. 15, the Sunni minority seems determined to head to the polls and ensure that they get their due share of the legislature.
VIOLENCE CONTINUES
It is true that the political process has made some progress, but the achievements have not brought out stability and security, one of the top concerns for common Iraqis.
Violence fueled by insurgents and al-Qaida fighters has shown no signs of abating.
Daily killings, deadly suicide bomb attacks, gruesome kidnappings and less than three hours of power supply per day under Baghdad's scorching sunshine have driven many Iraqis into disillusionment.
"There have been changes in the country, but most of them are bad ones", said an Iraqi journalist who only gave his name as Abu Omar.
"Political process? It is just a big joke," said a student from the Baghdad University. "We don't even have books to read in class. "
At least over 1,600 Iraqis have been killed and about 3,500
injured since the interim government was sworn in on April 28, according to media count.
In addition, more than 200 foreigners have been snatched away and about 40 found killed since the war broke out in early 2003.
The trial of former Iraqi president Saddam and his seven co- defendents opened on Oct. 19, a move the US and the Iraqi government hope can discourage insurgency and pave the way for the key Dec. 15 general elections.
But the high-profile trial, successively adjourned, was marred by the assassination of two lawyers on Saddam's defense team and a death threat on a senior judge.
The appearance of the former ruler in the courtroom, who might face the death penalty if convicted for charges of crimes against humanity, has stirred up mixed reactions from the Iraqis with pro- Saddam and anti-Saddam protests.
The political process in Iraq is somehow moving forward, but there is a big question mark about how successful it is.
THORNY ISSUES AHEAD
Although the constitution was approved in the October national referendum, some key issues such as federalism and the distribution of the oil revenues were not settled and might be fuses to future strife among Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis, analysts said.
The current charter has granted Shiites and Kurds effective autonomy in northern and southern Iraq, where the country's massive oil wealth lies, leaving the Sunnis in the center with no access to petroleum resources.
Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders reached a compromise before the referendum that a special parliamentary committee will be set up after the mid-December elections to work out proposals of changes to the constitution.
But any amendments have to be approved by the parliament and another national referendum before taking effect.
In addition, the troubled sectarian relations were further strained by the discovery in November of a bunker at the Shiite- run Interior Ministry where about 170 men, most Sunnis, were held prisoner and some tortured.
If the frustration of the Sunnis is not properly addressed, analysts said, the sectarian tensions will be aggravated and the country will be plunged into more violence.
The presence of the US occupation forces in Iraq also remains thorny amid soaring calls for withdrawal both in Iraq and abroad.
Over 2,130 US soldiers have been killed and 16,000 others wounded since the US-led invasion in March 2003. Washington has been under sharp rebukes from critics over the origin and progress of the Iraq war as US President George W. Bush's approval ratings have fallen to new lows.
US defense officials have revealed that the Pentagon planned to reduce the number of US troops in Iraq, currently 155,000, to about 138,000 after the December elections. The troops might be reduced further to about 100,000 next summer if conditions allowed.
But Washington has ruled out the possibility of an imminent withdrawal and refused to draw a timetable for pullout and the Iraqi government has also voiced against any premature withdrawal, arguing such a move will only encourage insurgency.
Meanwhile, insurgents have vowed not to lay down their weapons as long as the country is under US occupation.