BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden's surprise two-day visit this weekend to Iraq was meant to "re-establish contact" with leaders here, but some Iraqis bristled at the messenger more than the message.

Biden is well known in Iraq for his earlier support of a plan to give three-way autonomy to each major ethnic group here — Sunni Arab, Shiite Arab and Kurd — under a central government.

Protestors burned an American flag in Sadr City, a crowded Baghdad slum, and chanted, "No, no for occupation! No, no for America!" One of them, Mohammed Kathem, 40, an administrator, said many of the protestors hit the streets after an imam encouraged them to do so at Friday prayers. "Biden's visit sent the signal to us that Iraq will be divided," he said. "Biden's background doesn't allow him to play any role in reconciliation." » read more

BAGHDAD — On a historic day for Americans and Iraqis alike — a rare if not unprecedented handoff of military sovereignty in an active war zone — the violence that's marred six years of U.S.-led occupation struck again.

Four American service members were killed Monday in a still-sketchy incident, and 28 Iraqis died Tuesday in a bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk, which has become the epicenter of recent insurgent bomb attacks.

The U.S. military command refused to provide any details of how the American troops died. Security officials in Kirkuk said that many women and children were among the casualties there, who included at least 93 wounded. The carnage was caused by a bomb concealed in a Mercedes sedan that exploded at 5:30 p.m. in a market. Two weeks ago, a truck bomb killed 72 people and wounded 135 in Kirkuk. » read more

BAGHDAD — Khalida Waleed wants to thank Oprah Winfrey for keeping her fit.

The 34-year-old office manager at an oil company doggedly does her 30-minute treadmill workout several times a week while watching. "I changed my life because of Oprah," she said, sighing. "Sometimes I don't exercise for a while, but when I watch her, I return to it."

Waleed represents a surging trend in Iraq: With or without Winfrey's inspiration, more exercise machines are going into more homes. Neither the Ministries of Finance nor Trade could provide reliable statistics, but anecdotal evidence suggests that a growing number of Iraqis are emerging from the fog of war into the sunshine of regular workouts. » read more

BAGHDAD — The guys with the guns and bombs and best-laid plans may think the U.S. withdrawal of combat troops from major Iraqi cities will work.

But some ordinary Iraqis harbor another idea.

"They're terrified," said one U.S. soldier who works with Iraqi army and police units in the capital city. "They know there are more bad guys out there than good guys." » read more