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The Mehdi Army, which fought against U.S. troops after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has fractured into small, well-trained and well-armed criminal gangs involved in contract killings, kidnapping and extortion from homeowners, businessmen and government agencies, particularly in Baghdad.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has tried everything, including using very mild quasi-profanity. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki still isn’t requesting U.S. troops to stay past their scheduled December 2011 withdrawal. And a new, sneakier gambit by the Iraqis to extend their stay isn’t going to work.

The expiration today of United Nations protection of Iraq’s oil revenue from creditors seeking damages stemming from Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait may make the assets vulnerable to seizure, exacerbating tensions between the two countries.

Osama al-Nujaifi, the Iraqi parliament speaker, has told Al Jazeera that the amount of Iraqi money unaccounted for by the US is $18.7bn - three times more than the reported $6.6bn.

"Approximately $6.6 billion in cash was likely stolen after being flown to Iraq during the months that followed the U.S.-led invasion, Pentagon officials said recently."

Iraqi cleric's supporters march in Baghdad, threatening to take up arms if US troops stay beyond year-end deadline.

This article is possibly only of historical interest given events, but it does prove a point

Moqtada al Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shia cleric, has threatened to revive his Mehdi Army and relaunch armed resistance against continued US presence in the country. The threat came as tens of thousands of people marched across the capital Baghdad, marking the eighth anniversary of former leader Saddam Hussein's fall on Saturday. A spokesperson of al Sadr, said the US had until the end of the year to meet the cleric's demands.

KIRKUK (Iraq) - Wednesday's attack at Ninawa, some 110 kilometres west of the city of Kirkuk, forced the complete shutdown of the pipeline which transports 450,000 to 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day. 'We need between three to seven days to repair the damage. A part of the damaged pipe will be replaced,' said the official at the state-owned Iraqi company that operates the pipeline. 'The fire took place due to an explosion that targeted the oil pipeline,' the official said on condition of anonymity.

Here comes $200 per barrel oil?!... CNN A bomb planted under an oil pipeline exploded in northern Iraq preventing the flow of hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, an Oil Ministry spokesman said Thursday. The pipeline in Ninevah province pumps about 500,000 barrels of crude oil every day to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, said spokesman Asim Jihad. It will take a few days to make repairs to the pipeline and resume pumping oil.