Car bombing
A huge car bomb killed 47 and wounded 114 at the al-Karkh Police station in Baghdad yesterday. The suicide bomber targeted prospective recruits to the police force. These were guys wanting a job to make a buck, feed their families and possibly, if they don't get killed before they get on the job, do some good once on the job. This was Iraqi on Iraqi violence.
I can't imagine the hell that would evolve should the coalition forces pull out. I'm bunking with a retired army major who served two tours in Vietnam, the last being shortly before we pulled our troops. He talked of how we simply up and left, including leaving the South Vietnamese, who had worked with us for ten to fifteen years, to be slaughtered. It seems our options are dwindling to walking away and creating a super rogue state or increasing our presence. It would be nice to see more clarity and proposed direction from either the Bush or Kerry campaign. I haven't much access to news but it seems their primary concern is to refight the Vietnam conundrum. I would think the nightly news back home would be enough to cajole a plan for Iraq from either campaign. It doesn't seem anyone is speaking to the Iraqi people or the forces fighting here of what the future holds or even of what we hope the future holds. I don't if more of the same will get us to where we want to go.
Michael O'Hanlon published a piece at the Brookings site detailing options. A paragraph follows.
The world needs to recognise that humanitarian military interventions are here to stay—and will place far greater demands on military forces than most governments have been willing to recognise. Countries should restructure their armed forces accordingly, not at the kind of modest pace that Europe has followed for a decade. The argument is strong enough on humanitarian grounds alone. But in the era of global terrorism, such intervention also has an important strategic dimension. That is because failed states can provide refuge for terrorists. In addition, western reluctance to assist beleaguered Muslim populations can breed further hatred of the west—and thus more recruits for al-Qaeda.
A female coworker just said the porta potties here give her penis envy!
I can't imagine the hell that would evolve should the coalition forces pull out. I'm bunking with a retired army major who served two tours in Vietnam, the last being shortly before we pulled our troops. He talked of how we simply up and left, including leaving the South Vietnamese, who had worked with us for ten to fifteen years, to be slaughtered. It seems our options are dwindling to walking away and creating a super rogue state or increasing our presence. It would be nice to see more clarity and proposed direction from either the Bush or Kerry campaign. I haven't much access to news but it seems their primary concern is to refight the Vietnam conundrum. I would think the nightly news back home would be enough to cajole a plan for Iraq from either campaign. It doesn't seem anyone is speaking to the Iraqi people or the forces fighting here of what the future holds or even of what we hope the future holds. I don't if more of the same will get us to where we want to go.
Michael O'Hanlon published a piece at the Brookings site detailing options. A paragraph follows.
The world needs to recognise that humanitarian military interventions are here to stay—and will place far greater demands on military forces than most governments have been willing to recognise. Countries should restructure their armed forces accordingly, not at the kind of modest pace that Europe has followed for a decade. The argument is strong enough on humanitarian grounds alone. But in the era of global terrorism, such intervention also has an important strategic dimension. That is because failed states can provide refuge for terrorists. In addition, western reluctance to assist beleaguered Muslim populations can breed further hatred of the west—and thus more recruits for al-Qaeda.
A female coworker just said the porta potties here give her penis envy!
posted by BC at 5:00 PM
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