IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - An Iraqi carrying hidden explosives set them off outside a police recruitment center Wednesday where people were applying for jobs, police said. The U.S. military said at least 50 Iraqis were killed, making it the deadliest insurgent attack in Iraq in more than two months.

Among the most likely conflicts the Pentagon foresees in the near term are withNorth Korea and Iran, the two remaining members of Bush's "axis of evil." The Bush administration accuses both of having ambitions to become a nuclear power; North Korea has already claimed it has nuclear weapons.

The U.S. military has timelines in place for defeating its potential adversaries, given enough soldiers, tanks, aircraft and warships to do the job. But with so much of those resources tied up fighting insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, those timelines could slip, Myers said, according to the defense official.

About 138,000 American troops are in Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command. Another 18,000 are in Afghanistan.

Military officials have given no precise estimate when they will be able to significantly draw down the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, but some generals have suggested it could come next year if Iraqi security forces continue to improve in quality and grow in numbers.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces say they have intercepted a letter intended for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who is the most wanted man in Iraq. They say the letter was sent by a man calling himself Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al-Yemeni, a member of al Qaeda in Iraq -- Zarqawi's group. It was intercepted on April 28th. In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. military said unnamed analysts had determined the letter, addressed to "the Sheikh," was intended for Zarqawi because "many of his close followers refer to him as 'the Sheikh." "Sheikh" is a very common form of address in Arabic that can either refer to a tribal elder or a religious authority. The U.S. military said the letter, dated April 27th, praises the sheikh for being "a thorn in the mouth of the Americans," but also addresses low morale among Zarqawi's followers and weakening support for Jihad, or Holy war. In its statement, the military said the letter admonishes the sheikh for "abandoning his followers since Falluja," where U.S. forces drove out militants in a furious assault in November last year. However, it was not clear from the translation of the letter provided that the writer was admonishing the person he was writing to.

Tony Blair's hopes of keeping Iraq off the election agenda were dashed yesterday by the killing of the 50th British soldier in hostile action since the conflict began two years ago, renewed violence on the streets and accusations from the brother of the murdered British hostage Ken Bigley. Writing in The Independent Paul Bigley claims Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, privately urged him to issue a public apology to Mr Blair to avoid criticism of the Government damaging the Prime Minister's bid for a third election victory.