70 Dead in Bombing of Shiite Area, Baghdad
A massive bomb shook Shiite east Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 70 persons and wounding 135. It was unclear, Ned Parker of the LAT reports, who was behind the strike, whether Sunni radicals or Shiites involved in a faction fight. Me, I'd put my money on Sunni radicals. There has at no point been any proof of any Shiite Iraqi engaging in a huge suicide bombing. The militiamen have set roadside bombs against the Multi-National Forces, but they haven't been proved to hit Iraqis this way. If it was a struggle for power in Sadr City, there would be better ways to win than random violence. Whoever did this is still trying to destabilize the new government.
It should be noted that this bombing occurred despite the US patrols, which will cease next week (or be far less frequent or conventional). So logically I cannot understand the proposition that the bombing tells us something about what it will be like when the patrols cease.
The violence is likely to go on either way.
End/ (Not Continued)
posted by Juan Cole @ 6/24/2009 09:01:00 PM
|
Facebook
4 Comments:
Here is something I might not expect. It's hard to imagine either Shiites or Sunnis not blaming the US for Iraq's troubles, but these Iraqi's whom I imagine are Sunni, go after Iran..
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009620172533410325.html
I have to expect that Iraqi resistance is motivated to try and make the US stay in the streets past the June 30 target date. This is a classic attempt to "reveal the true character" of your enemy, by using terrorist attacks to provoke a politically stupid move. Unfortunately, Maliki has not handled the Sunni members of the Sons of Iraq well enough, so there may be some foot soldiers for the resistance at this time.
Maliki could do better by the Sunni, but the US has to respect the deadline despite the violence.
Prof. Cole,
Thx for centering the Iraq violence post on the 'who benifits', 'why here' and 'why now' questions.
I would guess that most of the 'before July' Withdrawal /SOFA redeployment out of Baghdad has already taken place, or is so far advanced as to impact US patrol and mentoring rythms.
I'd be interested in your take or description of the politico-military 'order of battle', in the wake of withdrawal. Clearly things have morphed for Maliki and his executive Commandos, IP, Interior, IA regulars, Kurd units, ISCI/Hakim/Badr, JAM/Sadrists, other sadrists, the various stripes of Sunni tribal, FRL's, local takfiri's, foreign wahabi infiltrators, agents of the frontline states etc.
All the armed and influential elements occupy a somewhat different tactical position in 2009 than during the shiite roll into W. Baghdad in 2006.
"May you live in interesting times" is a curse, no doubt about it.
It should be noted that this bombing occurred despite the US patrols, which will cease next week (or be far less frequent or conventional).
Are you sure about that? The last US base in Sadr City closed four days before the bombing.
Post a Comment
<< Home