The Sunni insurgents' car bomb and mortar attack in Baghdad's Sadr City Shiite slum last week killed more than 200 people, worsening Iraq's situation and highlighting the inability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's six-month-old administration to establish security for the Iraqi people. The attack's devastation surpassed that of the March 2, 2004, blasts aimed at Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, which killed at least 181 people. Apparent Shiite retaliations against Sunnis soon followed last week's attack, and more violence is feared.

The attack in Sadr City occurred shortly after a United Nations report stated that at least 3,709 Iraqi civilians died in October, topping a previous high of 3,590 set in July. The country's violence is killing an average 120 Iraqi citizens each day. In October, Iraq's health minister estimated that 150,000 people had died in the war. Iraq Body Count, a Web site run by academics and peace activists, estimates that 47,781 to 53,014 civilians have been killed.

The monthly death toll of U.S. soldiers in Iraq grew higher every month from August to October. The October figure was the worst since January 2005, when the Iraqis held parliamentary elections. More than 2,800 U.S. soldiers have died since the invasion of Iraq. The toll is expected to reach 3,000 within a few months. The U.S. is paying a high price for starting the Iraq war.