Prime minister touts progress

BAGHDAD — Iraq has defeated terrorism and is well on the road to recovery after five years of war, a confident Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared. Then the lights went out.

Al-Maliki, known for his dour gaze and steely nerves, tried to continue his speech. But his bodyguards would have none of that.

They hustled him off the stage — apparently fearing that the power failure might be part of a plot against the prime minister.

Al-Maliki's speech Thursday was an attempt to boost national morale on the anniversary of the start of the war. But its abrupt end was a reminder of the country's persistent problems and the obstacles ahead.

Iraqis must cope with frequent power outages, lack of clean drinking water, rampant joblessness — and the ever-present fear of violent death. Five years of bombs, bullets and sectarian slaughter have sapped much of the spirit from this troubled nation.

Al-Maliki delivered his remarks at a cultural festival in Hillah, a mostly Shiite city about 60 miles south of Baghdad near the ruins of fabled Babylon, one of the great cities of the ancient world.

The prime minister was speaking five years to the day after U.S. forces fired a first salvo of missiles before dawn on March 20, 2003, triggering a conflict that toppled Saddam Hussein but has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,000 American troops.

Al-Maliki promised to strengthen Iraq's role in world affairs, assuring the Iraqi people that their nation "cannot be anything but strong, unified and active."

"It will not be isolated," al-Maliki said of Iraq. "As Iraq has triumphed over terrorism, it will triumph in the international arena."

Al-Maliki's optimistic remarks were the latest in a series of statements aimed at rallying morale and projecting the image of Iraq as a country on the road to recovery as it enters a sixth year of war. He said the cultural festival was a sign that normal life was returning to Iraq, but cut short his remarks a few moments later when the electricity failed.