Sadr City Car Bombs Kill 41; Violence in Baghdad returns to 2008 Levels
AP reports that two car bombs ripped through a commercial district in Shiite East Baghdad (Sadr City) on Wednesday evening, killing at least 41 persons and wounding 68.
McClatchy challenges President Obama's assertion that violence is way down since last year. McClatchy figures show 200 killed in Baghdad alone in April, compared to 99 in March and 46 in February. The last time McClatchy recorded 200 deaths in the capital in a single month was March, 2008. So violence at least in Baghdad is back up to 2008 levels.
Ghaith Abdul Ahad explains the extra-constitutional mechanisms whereby Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his Islamic Mission Party (Da'wa) have gained control of key intelligence, military and political units. It sounds to a lot of people like "Saddam lite." Although Abdul Ahad's article is as usual highly informed and perceptive, he does not talk about money. My guess is that al-Maliki is doing what he is doing with Iraq's oil revenue reserves, which give him enormous leverage over a poor, weak society. There are no oil countries that are true democracies with the sole exception of Norway; it is a tough thing to pull off, when the state can overwhelm society through its vast independent wealth.
Meanwhile, Aljazeera English reports on Arab-Kurdish political divisions and violence in Mosul in the north:
The government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is demanding a formal apology from US Gen. Ray Odierno for a special operations raid in Kut that left two persons dead and stirred controversy in Iraq. The demand is probably related to the dispute between Iraq and the US over whether all combat troops should be withdrawn from major Iraqi cities (including Mosul--see above) this summer.
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Wednesday:
' Baghdad
In three separate incidents the Iraqi Security Forces detonated under control three parked car bombs in Abu Disheer and Hay al Mualimeen in southern Baghdad, and in Amil neighbourhood in southwestern Baghdad Wednesday morning.
A roadside bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in Shaab neighbourhood, northern Baghdad at 3 p.m. Tuesday. No casualties were reported.
- Three parked car bombs detonated in sequence in a busy street in Sadr city in eastern Baghdad around 5:15 p.m. Forty one people were killed and sixty eight others were wounded.
- Around 6:50 p.m. a car bomb detonated in Risala neighborhood in west Baghdad on Wednesday. Five people were wounded. - Around 7 p.m. a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol in Khadraa neighborhood in western Baghdad on Wednesday. No casualties reported.
- Two car bombs detonated in Hurriyah neighborhood in northwest Baghdad around 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Two people were killed and eight others were wounded.
Nineveh
A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Qahira neighbourhood, downtown Mosul Tuesday injuring three policemen.
A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in New Mosul at 8 a.m. Wednesday injuring two policemen.
Kirkuk
A thermal grenade targeted American soldiers near a marketplace in Riyadh district, western Kirkuk, Wednesday afternoon, local police said. The American returned fire, killing two civilians and injuring four others, one of whom was a woman, the police said. An American military spokesman said the attack targeted a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol that was distributing micro-grant money requested by the people in the town to stimulate small business. The joint patrol was attacked by several individuals using a grenade and small arms fire and the unit returned fire, the U.S. said. The Americans added, “Current reports have been two enemy killed and one wounded. All three were taken to the Riyadh medical clinic. Coalition forces sustained one wounded, who is reported in good condition.”'
End/ (Not Continued)
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posted by Juan Cole @ 4/30/2009 12:51:00 AM
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13 Comments:
The Kurdish list in Nineveh managed in January to triple its 2005 votes, in itslef widely documented as being rigged by the Kurds on a large scale! Obviously, they will not be able to do the same in the general election unless their militias, secret police, and officials rule as much as before.
Barazani's grand-standing is good news for the Arabs in Mosul as it leaves no room to accepting power sharing, and keeps the nasty head of the Kurdish list, who has been acting as the Ninevite Emperor for years, out in the cold.
Maliki has already met with both lists, and the Kurds had to accept that:
1) Districts are subservient to the Provincial and Federal governments, and any officials who refuse their authority will be prosecuted.
2) It is within the Hadba list rights, as election winners, to exclude the Kurdish list from the leading posts.
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General Odierno would be wise to make that apology, very publicly and very quickly, before PM al-Maliki ups the ante.
He could, with little provocation, also demand that Odierno apologize for war crimes committed by troops under his command in 2003-2004.
Is the Commander of US military forces in Iraq really a war criminal ?
Technically, nobody is until convicted in a legit court.
But General O has already been convicted in the Iraqi court of public opinion.
One reason he is absolutely the worst person to have in that job.
I would be better. My dog would be better, and my dog is dead.
the avid, plodding student in the back of the classroom
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One month does not represent a trend - so it's a stretch to say that violence has returned to "2008 levels."
However, one month at such a high rate of casualties does represent a serious concern - and one that needs to be addressed with more than the usual State Dept. salves that Clinton has lifted from the Bush administration.
Other democratic "oil countries" would include (to varying degrees) the UK, Indonesia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
"There are no oil countries that are true democracies with the sole exception of Norway."
I think you're forgetting Venezuela.
-- Rodolfo
What is the definition of an oil country? One that exports, rather than imports?
"There are no oil countries that are true democracies with the sole exception of Norway; it is a tough thing to pull off, when the state can overwhelm society through its vast independent wealth."
England, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia.
Ghaith AbdulAhad's article results from meeting a number of anti-Maliki Mukhabarat, who were evidently out to do Maliki down. It is not surprising that they're going to make accusations of dictatorship.
What AbdulAhad is really doing is explaining what type of accusations the opposition against Maliki is making.
Accusations of power-grabbing against Maliki first surfaced last year in the context of so-called independent analysts who were being briefed by the US embassy in the Green Zone. Essentially it's an accusation intended to weaken Maliki. Whether the US is still out to do that, I don't know.
In general, on autocracy in Iraq, it should never be forgotten that autocracy was invented in Iraq, more than four thousand years ago. Well, maybe in Egypt as well. State control of the economy, soviet-style, belongs to the Third Dynasty of Ur, around 2100 BC, as well proven by the cuneiform tablet archives. It would not be too surprising if autocracy were deeper engrained in that country than elsewhere.
OK you jokers, the UK is not an oil country. An oil country gets the lion's share of its income from petroleum revenues. The UK has a diversified economy. Likewise Canada. And, democracy is on a spectrum; Venezuela is not high on that spectrum.
People vote for Chavez every chance they get, but when they didn't want him to change the constitution, he accepted that. So Venezuela is definitely in the democratic camp. The only salient criticism I have heard comes from his aggressive moves against the media. But the narrow oligarchy that owns the media there is so blatant in its contempt for Chavez that they did not cover the coup against him, and chose to play nothing but cartoons instead. So its hard to see those clowns as guarantors of civil society; in fact, its easier to see them as the opposite.
"it is a tough thing to pull off, when the state can overwhelm society through its vast independent wealth."
It's also tough to pull off democracy in any country, like the US, where an economic elite has vast power, through it's control over the economy and its control over the media and its control over the careers of the political elite.
We are working way too hard to find ways to praise Obama when we admire him for making a statement that is more sensible than Clinton. The point should be, why are Clintons and Mullens allowed to stray off policy so far, if that's what they are doing, when they make extremist comments (eg. Clinton repeatedly claiming that the purpose of talking to Iran is to push Iran harder against a wall). Some seem to think that letting the hardliners have their say weakens their position. Oh yeah? Clinton's call for a crippling economic attack on Iran (that's not only economic war, folks, but it's also collective punishment, and over a crazily hyped up supposed threat) is now being backed by Berman in the House, via new legislation.
I dont see what is exactly wrong with Obama saying that violence is lower than it was in the previous year, according to the website icasualties.org the first four months killed 2952 people in 2008whereas in 2009 the first four months has killed around 1009. April in 2008 claimed the lives of 744 whereas this month so far has claimed 339
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