12/25/04 1:20pm EST

A suicide attack using a truck filled with explosives killed nine people in Iraq. The apparent target of the attack was the Jordanian embassy, but barricades and other preventative measures prevented the attackers from reaching their objective. The dead were from a house near the embassy which bore the brunt of the attack. At least seven of those who died appeared to be from the same family.

Also, four Turks were kidnapped including Kahraman Sadikoglu, one of Turkeys richest shipping magnates. Kahraman appeared on a video being interviewed by kidnappers and delivering a ransom message.

Nearly two years after the US Invasion of Iraq and mere weeks from much anticipated elections, conditions in Iraq are the worst in the modern history of the country. In addition to the violence and kidnappings, the country faces energy shortages, and long lines often extending for miles waiting for gasoline. Interviewers from various news agencies are getting similar reactions from everyday Iraqis; frustration, disappointment, and in some cases near nostalgia for the previous regime. The problems Iraqis face meeting their everyday needs are understandably influencing if not completely overshadowing the upcoming elections. The words once uttered by outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell echo over the Iraqi landscape as tragically unheeded prescience. 'You broke it, you bought it.'