For those of us who lived through the Viet Nam era, Iraq is starting to resemble a certain quagmire:
BAGHDAD —A wave of bombings hit the Iraqi capital Sunday, killing at least 21 people in a spate of violence that rocked nearly every corner of Baghdad and renewed questions about whether the country’s security forces can repel future internal threats.
In a 90-minute period starting shortly after sunrise, more than a dozen explosions ripped through the city, unnerving ordinary Iraqis as well as officials from the United States and Iraq who had been heralding the overall decline in violence here in recent months.
With the 46,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq preparing to withdraw by the end of the year, the sheer number of attacks Sunday raised further concerns about what awaits Baghdad.
Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, said the violence “serves as a solemn reminder that there remains a determined and dangerous enemy.”
Neither Buchanan nor Iraqi security officials would speculate about who may have been behind Sunday’s attacks. But several Baghdad officials said they fear the city is facing dual threats in the months leading up to the scheduled Dec. 31 withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Mohammeed Alrubaye, a member of the Baghdad Provincial Council, said he fears that the violence is being fueled simultaneously by groups such as al-Qaeda and by other interests hoping to destabilize the Iraqi government to force a continued U.S. presence. “It’s kind of a two-shot situation,” he said.
Do you suppose it'll work?
