By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 12, 7:06 PM ET
BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi officials have voiced cautious optimism that
the 2-month-old security operation in
Iraq might be working. A suicide bombing at parliament and another that
sent a Baghdad bridge crashing into the Tigris River delivered a
powerful message that the American-led crackdown may be too late.
The attack inside Iraq's parliament, which uses a Saddam-era convention
center in the U.S.-guarded Green Zone, occurred despite considerably
hardened security in the compound since the beginning of the latest
security drive against Baghdad's violence.
Thursday's bombings were emblematic of the struggle U.S. and Iraqi
troops are fighting not only in Baghdad but in many areas throughout the
country. Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen who've held power for
months or years are fighting for their turf ferociously, resorting to
classic guerrilla hit-and-run tactics.
Compounding the problems facing the U.S. and Iraqi security operation is
al-Qaida in Iraq, the most violent organization in the larger Sunni
insurgency and the most difficult to defend against because it has an
apparently full stable of suicide bombers. Such attacks, like the ones
Thursday, can be virtually impossible to stop.
The symbolism of the parliament bombing in the Green Zone, especially
because it is seen as a safe haven in an otherwise chaotic and
extraordinarily dangerous city, was a public relations blow to the Bush
administration's bid to expand U.S. troop strength and keep the force in
Iraq.
President Bush and U.S. commanders in Iraq all say the American effort
to restore calm to the capital and surrounding regions needs at least
until the end of summer. But Thursday's attacks and other evidence
suggest the job could take considerably longer.
The parliament attack compounds other problems bedeviling Iraq.
The Bush administration has demanded that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki meet a series of difficult legislative benchmarks to get the
country on track. But none of them, especially passage of a law to share
oil income throughout the country among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, is
anywhere near going onto the books.
An attack like the one in parliament likely will throw the recalcitrant
legislative body into further turmoil and make quick action on any
disputed measure unlikely.
The current security drive, orchestrated by the White House in
conjunction with al-Maliki, will see an additional 30,000 American
forces in the country by the end of May. The stated purpose is to calm
the capital sufficiently so that the politicians can deal with the
extraordinarily difficult tasks before them.
But the parliament bombing is certain to only harden positions. That
could make compromise ‹ already difficult ‹ nearly impossible.
And beyond that, the parliament attack overshadowed the incredible
bombing of one of Baghdad's nine Tigris River spans, an incident that
would have been difficult to imagine even on a particularly violent day
in Baghdad.
The two attacks draw stark attention to the country's deepening
Sunni-Shiite divide, and the difficulty of spanning them. The bridge
fell physically, but was also a symbol of how Baghdad's once vibrant and
mixed neighborhoods now slowly are becoming almost solely Sunni or
Shiite, with the Tigris as boundary.
Hurst is AP Iraq bureau chief and has reported on the war since 2003.
* Rattled US denounces Baghdad parliament blast AFP, 34 minutes ago
* Holbrooke blasts Bush over Iraq refugees AP, 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
Feature Articles
* The Iraq Parliament Attack: Al-Qaeda Sends a Message at TIME
Magazine, Apr 12
* 4 Years On, the Gap Between Iraq Policy and Practice Is Wide at
The New York Times (reg. req'd), Apr 12
News Stories
* Bombing Inside Green Zone Kills 3 Iraqi Lawmakers, 5 Others at
The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Apr 12
* Red Cross details 'unbearable suffering' of Iraqi civilians at
The Guardian (UK)., Apr 12
Opinion & Editorials
* The Real Surge Story at The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Apr 12
* Four Years Later in Iraq at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Apr
12
World News
* Bombing at Iraqi parliament kills 8 AP
* Raw Video: Exact moment of Iraq Blast AP - Thu Apr 12, 1:28 PM ET
Thick smoke rises from the site of an explosion at Baghdad's
Al-Sarafiyah bridge where a suicide bomber blew up a truck, 12 April,
2007. A suicide bomber has blown himself up in the Iraqi parliament
canteen in Baghdad's Green Zone, killing three people in a major breach
of security at the country's most heavily guarded site.(AFP/Ali Yussef)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_blow_to_security;
_ylt=A0WTUcPBBR9GWAIA.QBvaA8F
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Money: What a concept?
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