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October 09, 2003

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At least 8 people have died after a car bomb exploded outside a police station in northeast Baghdad. Nearly 30 more people have been injured. U.S. officials said a suicide bomber drove a white Oldsmobile through the gates and detonated a bomb that left a crater in police courtyard 10 feet across and four feet deep.

Meanwhile the Spanish Foreign Ministry reported that a Spanish diplomat was shot dead outside his home in Baghdad today.

In other Iraq news, the U.S. announced they had detained 112 people in a major raid near the Syrian border on Sunday. Among those captured was a high-ranking official in the former Republican Guard.

The Washington Post reports the White House is launching a new public relations campaign to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

As part of the effort President Bush is scheduled to speak today about Iraq and Vice President Cheney will speak tomorrow.

The Republican National Committee also sent out a briefing to reporters in an attempt to spin the findings of weapon inspector David Kay who last week reported he had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Republican briefing asked, "What did David Kay find? Hidden labs, documents and equipment, biological and chemical weapon catalysts, UAV and missile programs, and more."

And National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice again justified the invasion as she spoke before the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations yesterday. She said "Saddam Hussein lied to the Security Council. And, let there be no mistake, right up until the end, Saddam Hussein continued to harbor ambitions to threaten the world with weapons of mass destruction and to hide his illegal weapons program."

• Dan Murphy, reporter for The Christian Science Monitor speaking in Baghdad.