George Bush is ending the pretence that Iraq is a "democratic state". He is imposing new "security accords" that will strip the country of its sovereignty and allow it to be used as a platform to launch more wars.
The US military and its Iraqi allies have abandoned the siege of Sadr City, the poor Shia slum of Baghdad, after failing to disarm the Mehdi army – a resistance organisation led by rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Imagine a helicopter gunship firing missiles into your home, or troops storming into your neighbourhood to round up all the men. This is the life ordinary people in Iraq face today.
Anti-war campaigner Rose Gentle has reacted angrily to the decision by nine Law Lords to rule against the right to hold a public inquiry over the invasion of Iraq.