There were two significant bombings in Iraq today but only one is attracting media and public attention, i.e. the bombing of the Iraqi parliament within the supposed safe confines of the Green Zone. Taking a backseat was the bombing of the Sarafiya bridge in Baghdad. But as time goes on we will begin to realize that the attack on the Sarafiya bridge was more important strategically and tactically then the bombing inside the Iraqi parliament building.
The bomb inside parliament is a major psychological blow to the Bush policy and will heighten anxiety inside the Green Zone. However, it will also lead to a short term improvement in security practices and procedures controlling access to the Green Zone. It will be tougher to get any work done inside the security ghetto over the next month. Not so with the Sarafiya bridge. The downed bridge is a downer on most counts.
There are eleven major bridges that unite west Baghdad with east Baghdad. They are:
Tigris River bridges
1. Aimma Bridge
2. Adhimiya Bridge
3. Sarafiya Bridge
4. Tamuz Bridge
5. Shuhada Bridge
6. Ahar Bridge
7. Sinak Bridge
8. Jumhuriya Bridge
9. 14th of July Bridge
10. Jadriya Bridge
11. Dora Bridge
Consult the following map to orient yourself:
The effects will be immediate and significant.
Not entirely OT, but another member of the Coalition of the Willing has plans to bug out of Iraq:
that spin is so weak it isn’t even funny.
If I was a medieval general, the Dora Bridge would be next. (This depends upon what modern communications/transportation centers are currently located within that arc east of the river.) Then I’d sabotage the major north|south road (unnamed on this map). Truck bombs do leave craters, and that is where I’d use them.
Cities are built on rivers for a reason that is valid even today. That collapsed bridge not only blocks the traffic which would cross it, but blocks the channel to river traffic and trade. Building a new bridge will be easier than clearing the channel of the debris.
It would not be possible to completely isolate the area for a siege (where food and water supplies are considered), however, if the electric lines are down, the roads are blocked, and communication is sporadic, then the centers of government will be unsupportable. There would be more security and checkpoints on such routes as still passable, and this would aid my plan to snarl traffic into gridlock. (Hey, if the opposing general wants to bring concrete into the country, I’ll just determine where he places it, and let him do the work.)
If you strike the right points, the quickest way for almost all traffic will be on foot, and the technology difference will be mitigated. The opposition will have those pesky helicopters, but they are failing to keep them maintained. If they have to use those helicopters to airlift an evacuation, they won’t save as many people as they hope or need to.
I live in the tip of North Oakland. In 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake shook down 3 miles of the Cypress Expressway just a spitball south of me and collapsed a section of the Bay Bridge just to my west. We also had no power, etc., for several days. I understand the futility of trying to maneuver when the exits are closed… and we weren’t under fire.
The Vikings pulled down London Bridge 3 times. When it gets made into a song, you know it is an effective tactic.
it looks exactly like a professional job with carefully placed charges (that wouldnt have had to be that big) designed to deny the use of the bridge.
perpetrated by the same people who brought down WTC 1,2&7. And for the same reasons: fear divides people, making it easier to control them. Consider this piece from uruknet
I am not surprised at the audacity and stupidity of taking out this bridge. It seems to be SOP for this administration. While the public explanation may be to control the north and south side, I see this, unfortunately, only in terms of an opportunity for Bush loyalists to fill their already over-flowing pockets with more money when the bridge is rebuilt.
We are harming these people and their country more every day. All in the name of greed. When will the insanity stop?