<p>Two U.S. Marines avert their eyes as they pass the sickening tribute to the 9/11 terror strikes painted on the wall of Iraq's abandoned military headquarters at Nasiriyah.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON - More than 1,000 American paratroopers dropped into northern Iraq last night to open up a new front, while a column of fierce Republican Guards desperately rushed south from Baghdad, aiming for a violent showdown with American ground forces.</p>
