So much violence. So many people so poorly protected.
According to this BBC article:
The government described it as a failed bid to assassinate the prominent head of the Wolf Brigade commando unit, Abul Waleed, who escaped the blast unhurt.
Anyone who has even remotely followed the patterns of violence in Iraq since the beginning of this illegal war has seen story after story about attacks on Iraqi police and recruits. Time and time again, I have wondered out loud why these people are not better protected since they are such obvious targets. I don’t have the answer to that question and I doubt any of you do either, but I stand strong in believing that the so-called coalition forces are not taking this seriously.
Some say that it’s impossible to protect against suicide bombers and, in so many instances, that is the truth. But, the fact that a suicide bomber could “slip into the base along with the morning shift”, even given that he was a former commando, shows that Iraqi police headquarters security is obviously lacking. While Rumsfeld et al keep reminding the world that they want Iraqis to take care of their own security, his defense department is not exactly helping much in the transition.
The head of the brigade and target of the assassination is a man who should have had better protection:
The Iraqi version of “COPS”?
In other news from Iraq:
An Iraqi police officer in the city said that the two were security guards who were killed by mistake.
Just great. As if there isn’t enough animosity towards the Iraqi police…
And:
Seven men, three women and a child were killed, a police source said.
There is no end in sight…
Two cars pulled up and militants inside opened fire on the bus, which was coming from the town of Jbala, 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, police said.
Another three workers were injured in the attack, Reuters news agency reports.
And, if that’s not enough, check out this heartbreaking story on CNN’s site about patients fleeing a hospital in Tal Afar, described as the “the most dangerous area in Iraq now.”
A car bomb near the Slovak embassy on Saturday also wounded four people.
Such a horribly mismanaged war lies at the feet of Donald Rumsfeld and George W Bush. May the troops stay safe and may this end as soon as is humanly possible.
Is the American public even paying attention anymore?
War may be hell, but those in charge of the coalition are responsible for the actual depth of that hell.
If the latest polls are accurate, it would appear that some people are paying attention. But, it would also appear that the population is a long way from demanding accountability.
I know there is a continuous loss of support for the Iraq war effort. I just wonder if the public is desensitized to these attacks that take place everyday.
people, especially the police is not important to the occupation. Keep in mind what the real reasons for the invasion of Iraq were. They had to do with oil, with Saddam Hussein trading oil for Euros, with establishing 14 military bases in the middle east, with keeping close militarily to Iran and Syria, with controlling the Persian gulf.
Is there any reason that police stations don’t have check points to check ID’s and wands to scan everyone who enters the area?
Is there any reason that police stations don’t have check points to check ID’s and wands to scan everyone who enters the area?
Bushco has so mismanaged the money involved in the reconstruction efforts to this point i.e. lack of proper sewage treatment, clean water, electricity etc. that is doesn’t surprise me that the simplest security precautions are not intact yet. Just look at the state of US security at home. 9/11 was almost 4 years ago, yet front line staff all over the country are still lacking sufficient funds and equipment. How anyone can feel secure in the US or Iraq considering that track record is beyond me.
Would checkpoints have helped in this situation? Not trying to be snarky, but it seems the bomber was himself a member of the police. And I don’t know how much can be done about this level of infiltration.
I agree that the American public is not yet at the point of demanding accountability, but one way or another, that time is close. With armed forces recruiting a major disaster, I see Bushco as having two options:
1. Staying the course with the army they have, living in a happy state of PR denial, while the military brass turns on them. Iraq goes to shit in a very ugly, public way, and the GOP is run out of office on a rail come 2006. Impeachment proceedings begin Jan 21, 2007 (ok, that last bit is wishful thinking).
-or-
2. One word: draft. All the sudden, a nation fully of teens and 20-somethings (and their parents) get pissed.
Yes, the world does look somewhat nicer in this pair of rose-colored glasses, but the blood is still very red.
Right, how can we know the exact details of the suicide bombings. It’s my despair at the bloodshed that makes me come up with just any idea I can.
Would checkpoints have helped in this situation? Not trying to be snarky, but it seems the bomber was himself a member of the police. And I don’t know how much can be done about this level of infiltration.
He was a former commando, so you’d think they would have questioned what he was doing there if they’d had proper security.
The devil is in the details. When you read in the wee hours, you miss out on little things like the word “former” – thanks for pointing that out.