75 Killed, 310 Injured In Baghdad Attacks

[cappie]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Bombings rocked Baghdad killing 75 people and wounding 310 others, making Wednesday one of the deadliest days since the U.S. handed over security of the country to Iraqis.

n total there were six explosions within an hour, Iraq's Interior Ministry officials said.

In one attack, a truck bomb explosion partly damaged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Another occurred outside the building of Ministry of Finance.

A roadside bomb exploded on Kifa Street in central Baghdad. Another bomb exploded in the Salhiya neighborhood and two more exploded in eastern Baghdad's Beirut Square, officials said.

In yet another attack, two mortars were fired into the Green Zone, the heavily fortified area in Baghdad that houses the U.S. Embassy and many government ministries.

The 4-square-mile area served as a refuge for Westerners for six years. The United States relinquished security control to the Iraqis earlier this year.

Iraqi Security Forces arrested two people in western Baghdad believed to be connected to the bombings, an official with the Iraqi army told CNN.

The two suspects were driving in a car rigged with explosives before they were arrested, the official said. The two suspects were believed to be al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders, the official said.

The United States pulled back its combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns on June 30, leaving security responsibilities to the Iraqis and remaining only in a training and advisory capacity. The U.S. military continues to conduct combat operations in areas outside cities and towns.

[Selah]

I hate violence in the Middle East so much

[Didacus]

I don't think there is any possible way the US can pull out of Iraq and leave peace behing them.



selah, what does your avatar say?

[Didacus]

I don't think there is any possible way the US can pull out of Iraq and leave peace behing them.



selah, what does your avatar say?

[Selah]

[quote]I don't think there is any possible way the US can pull out of Iraq and leave peace behing them.[/quote]

There's no way. We need to stay there. These people need help.


[quote]selah, what does your avatar say? [/quote]

"Before you judge me, try hard to love me. Look within your heart then ask, have you seen my childhood?"

[CatherineM]

We could stay another 20 years, and there will still be a civil war the minute we leave.

[Didacus]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='19 August 2009 - 12:11 PM' timestamp='1250698288' post='1952630']
We could stay another 20 years, and there will still be a civil war the minute we leave.
[/quote]

The best choice was not to be there in the first place. Now the US will be held responsible for any civil war that insues from here on end, even though they are not the subject of the sectarian violence.

[kamiller42]

[quote name='Didacus' date='19 August 2009 - 12:50 PM' timestamp='1250700629' post='1952661']
The best choice was not to be there in the first place. Now the US will be held responsible for any civil war that insues from here on end, even though they are not the subject of the sectarian violence.
[/quote]
Yes, it was a land peace and milk and honey before we arrived. No one died. No one got sick. Two cars in every garage.

[CatherineM]

It wasn't a land of peace before we got there, but there wasn't extreme chaos either. I can't imagine Saddam being any worse than the radical/military/fanatic government they will eventually end up with after they tear themselves apart for a few years.

[Didacus]

[quote name='kamiller42' date='19 August 2009 - 04:05 PM' timestamp='1250712346' post='1952764']
Yes, it was a land peace and milk and honey before we arrived. No one died. No one got sick. Two cars in every garage.
[/quote]

I have two cars! (well, the little family does)

But I don't have a garage.

[Hassan]

[quote name='kamiller42' date='19 August 2009 - 04:05 PM' timestamp='1250712346' post='1952764']
Yes, it was a land peace and milk and honey before we arrived. No one died. No one got sick. Two cars in every garage.
[/quote]

How much tonnage of straw is actually used to construct a model of this size?

[Hassan]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='19 August 2009 - 04:13 PM' timestamp='1250712805' post='1952771']
It wasn't a land of peace before we got there, but there wasn't extreme chaos either. I can't imagine Saddam being any worse than the radical/military/fanatic government they will eventually end up with after they tear themselves apart for a few years.
[/quote]


Most of the ethnic cleansing has already been done. Perhaps that will mitigate the eventual violence.

[eagle_eye222001]

Just a huge mess.

[Didacus]

The larger risk for Iraq is that Iran and Saudi Arabia wage a covered ethnic war for control of the area. The factions killing one another in Iraq are diametrically alligned with these two other countries and for their own safety, Iran and Saudi Arabia have vested interest in having their own ethnic similars in control of the country.

In short, the ethnic conflicts can in time span out into surrounding regions and excalate.

[kamiller42]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='19 August 2009 - 04:13 PM' timestamp='1250712805' post='1952771']
It wasn't a land of peace before we got there, but there wasn't extreme chaos either. I can't imagine Saddam being any worse than the radical/military/fanatic government they will eventually end up with after they tear themselves apart for a few years.
[/quote]
It wasn't extreme chaos because the wood chippers and dungeons kept everyone in line.

You can't imagine Saddam any worse because the media refuses to do its job and do a thorough job reporting the humanitarian atrocities perpetrated by Saddam. I remember some guy made a video which collected many of the videos Saddam's henchmen took of people being tortured, slaughtered in the streets, wood chipped, etc. The media labeled him as over the top and trying to profiteer by making a "Faces of Death" type video. I thought he was doing the media's job.

Saddam was a WMD.

Edited August 20, 2009 by kamiller42