Iraqi Shiite Muslims perform on October

Iraqi Shiite Muslims perform on October 17, 2008 the weekly Friday prayer at the Shrine of Imam Hussein in the holy city of Karbala, one day ahead of an expected mass protest called for last week by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to demonstrate against the US presence in Iraq. Iraqi leaders poured today over a new draft of a proposed military pact with Washington that would set the terms of a US troop presence beyond this year, after the US Defense Secretary Robert Gates presented the same draft agreement to the US Congress yesterday to begin consultations. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)