"Death toll rises to 160 in Baghdad bombings"
CNN (October 26, 2009)
"The death toll from twin car bombings in Baghdad climbed to 160, with hundreds more wounded in the deadliest attack in the capital in more than two years, the Interior Ministry said Monday.
"At least 540 people were wounded in Sunday's attacks.
"One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad's governorate [sic] building, the other outside the justice ministry. The bombs detonated in quick succession about 10:30 a.m., officials said...."
I haven't posted on this before, for several reasons:
- It's been a busy year for my family
- A daughter married
- My father died
- This latest bombing in Baghdad is
- A personal tragedy for hundreds - possibly thousands - of people
- Nothing new
And, getting all that rebuilding and diplomacy done while religious crazies and (probably) Iranian agents are doing their level best to foul up the process? Under the circumstances, I think it's mildly surprising that blasts like Sunday's don't happen more often.
It's not that I don't care: but I've seen nothing to show that this attack represents any sort of change.
It's greatest significance seems to be that the Iraqi government is reacting in what I see as an admirably defiant way. If some bunch had blown up buildings and killed people in Minnesota's capital, I'd much rather have representatives of the governor say that there's no way the terrorists will win, than hear nice gestures of reconciliation.
But, I'll admit that I'm biased. I don't approve of terrorism, and don't want the likes of Al Qaeda to win.
1 I know: a lot has happened since 1919. But I don't think today's situation was helped by telling Kurds, for example, that they had to put up with boundaries drawn by foreigners, based in part on what luminaries like President Wilson thought, and administrative divisions set up by the Ottoman Empire.
2 comments:
When is this crap going to end? I think never right? Sad, but true eh? How do we stop Radical Islam?
Shane at Environmental Health-Wellness-Beauty,
People have been acting like people since the start of recorded history, several thousand years ago - and the archaeological and paleontological records suggest that we've been acting like ourselves for much longer.
Right now, radical Islam is a real problem for people who aren't 'sufficiently Islamic.' As to stopping the crazies?
In the short term, I think that direct, intelligently-applied military force, coupled with a willingness to investigate terrorist's activities before they commit mass murder, is the best - possibly the only - practical approach.
Leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban will not, I think, stop being naughty and start being nice just because someone asks them - no matter how nicely they're asked.
In the long term, I think people who follow Islam and who are not happy with the terrorists will have to decide what it is that they believe - and whether they'll tolerate the terrorists.
Just a thought.
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