It's awful to read about it, but I'm sure the escalating violence in Iraq is far scarier for those who actually have to live through it.
IRAQ is slipping into all-out civil war, a Shia leader declared yesterday, as a devastating onslaught of suicide bombers slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them Shias, around the capital at the weekend.One bomber killed almost 100 people when he blew up a fuel tanker south of Baghdad, an attack aimed at snapping Shia patience and triggering the full-blown sectarian war that al-Qaeda has been trying to foment for almost two years.
Iraq’s security forces have been overwhelmed by the scale of the suicide bombings — 11 on Friday alone and many more over the weekend — ordered by the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Pray for peace in Iraq, and for wise leaders who will make the decisions necessary to resolve the violence and bring the terrorists to justice.
All the attacks seem random and especially vicious but remember terrorist’s attacks always have a purpose. The draft of the constitution is getting close. It won’t happen if there’s a civil war. Look at who is getting attacked and by whom and you’ll see the purpose.
One of the interesting things about these attacks is how unsuccessful they've been at derailing whatever progress they were intended to derail. Right before the elections in January there was an escalation of attacks and yet, the elections went forward as planned.
If we were dealing with an enemy that cared about what civilized nations regard as success and failure, things would be a lot more rosy than they are as far as violence in Iraq is concerned.
That's one of the encouraging things in Iraq. These attacks aren't accomplishing their objectives. These thugs have to be rooted out. They’re like the Mafia. Law and order have to prevail.
It is simultaneously encouraging AND discouraging. While the attacks aren't accomplishing their objectives... they're continuing anyway. The enemy is not thwarted by their ineffectiveness.