is ripe for exploitation by al qaeda and its affiliates in iraq. so i think they re also, you ll be hearing in a way from the white house they ll be pressing malaki to change how he s governor, suzanne and michael. appreciate it. i want to bring in arwa damon in south africa on assignment at the moment but literally spent years in iraq. arwa, more than 6,000 iraqis killed so far this year, 1,000 last month. the u.s. and iraq have a common enemy in iraq. but i want you to talk about the elephant in the room which brianna touched on. nuri al malaki spurned efforts to keep a u.s. presence in iraq. he s the guy who promised political inclusiveness and reconciliation with the sunnis, provided neither doing the opposite in many ways. that was what opened the door to al qaeda and sunni anger, isn t it? reporter: it most certainly, michael, are is what provided the opportunity for al qaeda to
especially without u.s. support and technology. and let s not forget that this is a nation where violence and politics go hand in hand. the actions of the shia-led government have made it easy for al qaeda and other sunni extremists to capitalize on the growing discontent, spread their influence and increase their attacks. there have also been retaliatory attacks by the shia against the sunnis and in recent months, the death toll has reached levels not seen in years. the u.n. envoy to iraq called it an accelerated surge in violence. an ache will ration the syrian civil war has helped fuel, blurring battle lines as al qaeda expanded its iraq operation into syria over the summer. and iraqi prime minister al malaki has laid the blame for the resurgence of al qaeda due to what is happening in
in just a few hours results will start coming in from today s republican triple-header caucuses in colorado, minnesota and a primary in missouri up for grabs. dozens of delegates, but perhaps more importantly momentum. the front-runner mitt romney s campaign is anticipating a potential setback as his rivals look for an opportunity. our jim acosta is in denver. reporter: we re going to turn around and look at this screen back here, because mitt romney will talk to us from his bus. reporter: with a snowstorm slowing him down, he ran about an hour later, so he skyped to the crowd, a sign that not everything was going his way on this caucus day. colorado has something to say about who our nominees will be, and i think i will be that nominee. a strategy memo was released. saying the campaign is anticipating possibly a loss. we expect our opponents to notch a few wins, too. the memo red cued newt gingrich s plans to boasting romney would triumph in the west, suggesting
today, there are just eight shopping days let me tell for christmas. do you actually know what not to buy? it was less than three weeks ago since the iowa caucus, the state s largest newspaper is getting ready to endorse its republican pick for the white house. the des moines register will make that announcement today. romney picked up a key endorsement in another early voting stays. we re talking about south carolina. it is with great pride, great respect, great support that michael and i are very proud to say that we are endorsing governor mitt romney for president of the united states. now, that s south carolina. that s nikki haley. how big of a deal is this south carolina endorsement? it s going to be a pretty big deal. these candidates rack up pride after prize. in iowa, you ve got a lot of people still undecided and so this could the sway them towards a particular candidate, tip them over the tip the scales for one candidate or another. but the other thing int
very nice. you be careful in the mid-atlantic, because you ve got a system moving your say. see you tomorrow. it s snowing right now. we re back in a moment. you re in cnn nuri al malaki. rid ends december 31st. now is the time to find the plan that best meets your needs. here s a plan that could give you the benefits and stability you re looking for, an aarp medicarecomplete plan from securehorizons. what makes it complete? this plan combines medicare parts a and b, which is your hospital and doctor coverage, with part d prescription drug coverage, and more. all in one simple plan starting at a zero dollar monthly premium beyond what you pay for medicare part b. this plan offers you benefits like annual preventive screenings and immunizations for just a $0 copay. you ll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. there s more.