SHE WILL NEVER WALK ALONE
  
 
  She will never walk alone
She has God on her life
She will never walk alone
God is on her side
She will never walk alone
Because God is always watching out for her
She will never walk alone
Because she has a friend that is God
She will never walk alone
She has someone who loves her and that someone is God
She will never walk alone
Because God is a good friend of her
She will never walk alone
She will always have someone to keep her company
And that someone is God
She will never walk alone

Bush Calls Democratic Leadership in Congress "Irresponsible"

President Bush says Congressional Democrats are pushing legislation that would undercut U.S. troops in Iraq just as he says reinforcements in Baghdad are beginning to reduce sectarian violence.

"I know we have our differences over the best course in Iraq," he said. "These differences should not prevent us from getting our troops the funding they need without withdrawal and without giving our commanders flexibility."

President Bush says the clock is ticking for U.S. troops in the field as the Defense Department will transfer $1.6 billion from other accounts to make up the shortfall. An independent government report last month said the Army has enough money to fund military operations in Iraq through July.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says it is not about the money. He says Democrats are holding the president to account for a war that public-opinion polls show a majority of Americans now believe was a mistake.

"Let me be clear," he said. "Democrats are committed to giving our troops the funds they need. The supplemental appropriation bill that we are trying to send to President Bush will provide every dollar our commanders have requested."

President Bush says he will veto any spending bills that include a timetable for withdrawal because that would embolden the enemy.

Close votes in both the House and Senate make it highly unlikely that Democrats could find the two-thirds majority to over-ride that veto.

In a speech to a local chapter of America"s largest veterans" association, President Bush said it is irresponsible for Democrats to delay funding for U.S. troops at war.

"Democratic leaders in Congress are bent on using a bill that funds our troops to make a political statement about the war," he said. "They need to do it quickly, and get it to my desk so I can veto it. And then Congress can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without further delay."

Reid says Democrats want Iraqi authorities to take greater responsibility for their own security and to force the president to hold them to benchmarks for their performance.

"American troops are putting their lives at risk every single day, but Iraqi leaders are not willing to take the political risk of governing their own country," he said. "That must change. That is what Congress is demanding. That is what the American people by a large majority demand. And the president should be leading us in that direction, not threatening to veto funding for our troops unless we rubber-stamp his flawed plan."

The president invited Congressional leaders from both parties to come to the White House next week to discuss the supplemental funding. Spokeswoman Dana Perino says that is not a negotiation, but a chance for Democrats to explain how they are going to get the president a bill he can sign.

Nigerian Security Agencies on Full Alert Before Election

President Olusegun Obasanjo said in a statement Sunday he had placed Nigerian security forces on full alert before the forthcoming polls.

The elections are set to be a landmark in Nigeria"s troubled history, marking the country"s first transfer of power from one elected civilian leader to another.

President Obasanjo said security forces would "clamp down heavily" on anyone who threatens to disrupt the country"s polls.

President Obasanjo said he had taken the step to prevent any threat to, what he described as Nigeria"s "collective desire for trouble-free elections."

The President"s statement is to be aired on national television as part of a special Easter broadcast.

Elections for 38 state governors are to take place on Saturday, with presidential polls to follow a week later.

Last week, a report by US-based Human Rights Watch criticized the Nigerian government for failing to tackle political violence before the polls.

EU election observers have said they will not be sending representatives to the restive Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, because of security fears.

Iraq: Car Bomb Kills Dozens; Insurgents Attack Another Baghdad Bridge

The blast in Karbala happened a little after 9 o"clock in the morning, at a bus station just 200 meters from the Imam Hussein shrine where the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad is believed to be buried. Karbala is one of Shiite Islam"s most important sites.

The bus station is surrounded by shops, and the area was busy with morning shoppers. Police say many women and children are among the dead and injured.

This witness says he saw the explosion as he was on his way to the Imam Hussein shrine this morning.  He says many people were thrown into the air and onto the street.

This vendor in the market says he came here to sell vegetables. He says he was shocked when the blast happened, and he saw many people burning. 

Last February, an insurgent attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of the capital, pushed the country into the current phase of sectarian violence that the two-month old security plan is trying to curb. 

Karbala Governor Akeel al-Ghazali says recent intelligence indicates that the gates leading into the city could be attacked. He says he has asked the interior ministry to send more security forces to the city, but they have not arrived yet.

He adds that that the city has millions of visitors, making it impossible to check everyone. He says he lacks well-trained security forces and sophisticated bomb detection equipment.

Governor Ghazali says some Iranian pilgrims are among the victims of the attack at the bus station.  

Meanwhile, in central Baghdad"s Karradah district, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on a bridge over the Tigris River. It is the second such attack in three days.

The extent of the damage to the Jadiryah bridge was not immediately known, but police say several people on the bridge were killed in the blast.

On Thursday, a suicide truck bomber targeted the famous Sarafiya Bridge, causing heavy damage and killing eight people. The attack came hours before a suicide bomber detonated a bomb where Iraq"s parliament meets in the heavily guarded Green Zone. One legislator was killed.

The latest violence deals a blow to an Iraqi and U.S. security crackdown in Baghdad and some of its surrounding provinces. Sectarian executions and kidnappings have gone down since the operation began, but high-profile bombings continue to be a problem.

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