Some good news out of Iraq (isn't Obama blessed that the conversation is on the economy, not how badly he miscalculated the surge and it's effectiveness), the walls that were put up to stop the Iraqis from killing each other are now being taken down:
Market by market, square by square, the walls are beginning to come down. The miles of hulking blast walls, ugly but effective, were installed as a central feature of the surge of American troops to stop neighbors from killing one another."They protected against car bombs and drive-by attacks," said Adnan, 39, a vegetable seller in the once violent neighborhood of Dora, who argues that the walls now block the markets and the commerce that Baghdad needs to thrive. "Now it is safe."
(via)
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I'm beginning to believe McCain and Palin want; that he be assassinated. They do nothing to stop these outbursts at rallies, they say nothing to calm them to the press. If anything happens to Obama, terrible things will happen in this country that haven't been seen in a century or more.
Since McCain is going around asking "who is the REAL Barack Obama?" (as if Obama hasn't been scruntinized down to his eyebrows for the last four years), I think it's fair to ask "Who is the REAL John Sidney McCain III?"
Turns out there's a whole lot people don't know:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain
myshkin2 and EG, pigs will fly before Michele admits she's part of the mob crying for Obama's death, but her silence betrays her. Like her heroes McCain/Palin, she hasn't breathed so much as a word of criticism.
"Bomb his own house"? What a great line.
before Michele admits she's part of the mob crying
Oh, please.
----------------------------
OT: But it's so ironic that Bush is advocating getting through this economic crisis "together," as he's always been 'bout as maverick as they come.
Maybe those faith-based initiatives will get going yet ... might wish we had 'em already.
simple minds believe simple slogans like "the surge worked." the truth is a lot more nuanced, and less certain.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/07/holmes.surge/
more than the surge has played into the reduction of violence, including the walls that michele's post focuses on (but does she acknowledge that fact? no, she copies and pastes from the article, but according to her all of the credit goes to the surge), the sons of iraq, the awakening movement, probably had the largest affect in ridding the areas of al quaeda in iraq. and then we changed our strategy of whack-a-mole where we would clear an area and retreat back to the green zone to one where our troops moved into joint security stations within the communities. these things and others were all part of an equation that has gotten us this far.
to say that the surge failed is wrong, but to say that it succeeded is equally wrong. iraq is still broken. death and violence still roil areas of iraq.
sept 29: A bloody Sunday in Baghdad, in spite of the surge
* "Five explosions ripped through central and southwestern Baghdad Sunday evening as families shopped for an upcoming holiday, killing at least 33 and injuring at least 111."
* "In southwest Baghdad, a minivan detonated in a side street of a market."
* "About an hour and a half later, a second parked car bomb ripped through another market place."
* "Police later found a third vest they believed was intended for use at the same time."
* "Also Sunday in Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and injured three others including a civilian and an adhesive bomb attached to a vehicle killed one person and injured another."
* "In the northern province of Diyala the mayor of the town of al Saidiyah was injured along with three of his bodyguards and two civilians on Sunday in a roadside bomb."
sept 30: Car bomb strikes Baghdad restaurant
* "Death toll in Baghdad car bombing [Tuesday] rises to four."
* "On Sunday, a car and suicide bombing in the same district killed and wounded scores of Iraqis."
* "Also on Tuesday, a U.S. soldier died after his unit came under small arms fire in northern Baghdad."
* "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldier was killed Monday in a similar attack, also in northern Baghdad."
* "This month, 25 U.S. service members have died in Iraq, and 4,176 have died since the Iraq war began."
oct 2: Bombs targeting worshippers kill 20 in Iraq
* "The suicide bomb blasts also wounded 35 others."
* "Bombs went off as worshippers left the mosques to celebrate Eid al-Fitr."
* "In other violence, an explosion struck a U.S. military convoy in western Baghdad, wounding two civilians and four U.S. personnel."
* "A mortar round also struck the International Zone, also known as the Green Zone."
* "The attacks Thursday are at least the third time Eid revelers have been targeted in Iraq this week."
oct 4: Helicopters collide in Iraq, killing 1, injuring 4
* "[Another] U.S. helicopter crashed in northeastern Baghdad as a result of clashes between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and gunmen."
oct 4: 15 soldiers killed by Kurd rebels
* "At least 23 rebels were killed when Turkish troops later returned fire."
* "Rebels have been fighting for two decades for autonomy."
* "Attack comes on eve of Turkish vote on military authority in Iraq."
oct 4: U.S. military says al Qaeda in Iraq mastermind dead
* "Poland ends military presence in Iraq with ceremony Saturday."
* "Troops acting in self-defense shot Abu Rami and woman, according to military."
* "U.S. military blames Abu Rami for masterminding numerous car bombings, including an October 2 suicide car bombing that killed eight people and wounded more than 30."
oct 4: 11 Iraqis killed in U.S. raid in Mosul
* "Some of the Iraqis were killed when a member of the family detonated a suicide bomb inside the house the Americans were raiding."
* "It's unclear whether gunfire from U.S. soldiers is responsible for some deaths."
* "Five men, three women and three children were killed. Another child was injured and one was left unharmed."
* "Seven other Iraqis died in two additional incidents of violence in Mosul this weekend."
* "Mosul remains dangerous."
* "On Sunday, gunmen killed four mourners [including an Iraqi army officer] and injured six others during a funeral procession in the al Zinjili area."
* "Also on Sunday, police found the dead bodies of three men who were kidnapped Saturday in Mosul."
oct 8: Female suicide bomber kills 9 in Iraq
* "More than 30 female suicide bombers have triggered explosions so far in 2008."
oct 9: Bomb kills senior Iraqi lawmaker
* "The blast also left two bystanders dead."
* "In a separate attack Thursday, a roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying a local Awakening Council leader and his family north of Baghdad, killing the leader and his son."
* "A roadside bomb went off in the Mudhafar square in eastern Baghdad Thursday morning, killing one person and wounding four others, including two police officers."
* "A bomb left in a plastic bag exploded Thursday afternoon inside a restaurant in the northern town of Tal Afar, killing two people and wounding three others."
* "Iranian forces early Thursday shelled border villages in northern Iraq's Sulaimaniya province where Kurdish rebels are thought to be operating."
oct 9: Assassinations replacing car bombs in Iraq
* "U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeing a shift in violence in Iraq from mass car bombings to assassinations using magnetic bombs, weapons with silencers and bicycle bombs."
* "On Thursday, a prominent parliament member from the Shiite Muslim faction led by radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr was killed near his home when an explosive-laden motorcycle rammed his convoy."
* "A Karbala city council member was killed by a magnetic bomb attached to his car."
* "In Baghdad, another magnetic bomb killed a man as he drove through a busy shopping district."
* "U.S. military officials said they've seen as many as 200 such attacks this year."
* "In the last three weeks, eight Ministry of Interior officials have been killed or wounded by men using weapons with silencers."
* "I think the political process itself is the target. There are some . . . who don't want the political process to go on and are targeting the politicians."
"In July and August, at least 10 people were assassinated each month, mostly in Baghdad, by gunmen using silencers."
* "In the New Baghdad district of the capital, men with silencers have killed as many as seven people in the last two months."
simple minds believe simple slogans like "the surge worked." the truth is a lot more nuanced, and less certain.
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/07/holmes.surge/
more than the surge has played into the reduction of violence, including the walls that michele's post focuses on (but does she acknowledge that fact? no, she copies and pastes from the article, but according to her all of the credit goes to the surge), the sons of iraq, the awakening movement, probably had the largest affect in ridding the areas of al quaeda in iraq. and then we changed our strategy of whack-a-mole where we would clear an area and retreat back to the green zone to one where our troops moved into joint security stations within the communities. these things and others were all part of an equation that has gotten us this far.
to say that the surge failed is wrong, but to say that it succeeded is equally wrong. iraq is still broken. death and violence still roil areas of iraq.
www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/53227.html
sept 29: A bloody Sunday in Baghdad, in spite of the surge
* "Five explosions ripped through central and southwestern Baghdad Sunday evening as families shopped for an upcoming holiday, killing at least 33 and injuring at least 111."
* "In southwest Baghdad, a minivan detonated in a side street of a market."
* "About an hour and a half later, a second parked car bomb ripped through another market place."
* "Police later found a third vest they believed was intended for use at the same time."
* "Also Sunday in Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and injured three others including a civilian and an adhesive bomb attached to a vehicle killed one person and injured another."
* "In the northern province of Diyala the mayor of the town of al Saidiyah was injured along with three of his bodyguards and two civilians on Sunday in a roadside bomb."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/30/iraq.main/index.html
sept 30: Car bomb strikes Baghdad restaurant
* "Death toll in Baghdad car bombing [Tuesday] rises to four."
* "On Sunday, a car and suicide bombing in the same district killed and wounded scores of Iraqis."
* "Also on Tuesday, a U.S. soldier died after his unit came under small arms fire in northern Baghdad."
* "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldier was killed Monday in a similar attack, also in northern Baghdad."
* "This month, 25 U.S. service members have died in Iraq, and 4,176 have died since the Iraq war began."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/02/iraq.violence/index.html
oct 2: Bombs targeting worshippers kill 20 in Iraq
* "The suicide bomb blasts also wounded 35 others."
* "Bombs went off as worshippers left the mosques to celebrate Eid al-Fitr."
* "In other violence, an explosion struck a U.S. military convoy in western Baghdad, wounding two civilians and four U.S. personnel."
* "A mortar round also struck the International Zone, also known as the Green Zone."
* "The attacks Thursday are at least the third time Eid revelers have been targeted in Iraq this week."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/04/iraq.helicopter.crash/index.html
oct 4: Helicopters collide in Iraq, killing 1, injuring 4
* "[Another] U.S. helicopter crashed in northeastern Baghdad as a result of clashes between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and gunmen."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/04/turkey.kurds.killed/index.html
oct 4: 15 soldiers killed by Kurd rebels
* "At least 23 rebels were killed when Turkish troops later returned fire."
* "Rebels have been fighting for two decades for autonomy."
* "Attack comes on eve of Turkish vote on military authority in Iraq."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/04/iraq.main/index.html
oct 4: U.S. military says al Qaeda in Iraq mastermind dead
* "Poland ends military presence in Iraq with ceremony Saturday."
* "Troops acting in self-defense shot Abu Rami and woman, according to military."
* "U.S. military blames Abu Rami for masterminding numerous car bombings, including an October 2 suicide car bombing that killed eight people and wounded more than 30."
www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/53490.html
oct 4: 11 Iraqis killed in U.S. raid in Mosul
* "Some of the Iraqis were killed when a member of the family detonated a suicide bomb inside the house the Americans were raiding."
* "It's unclear whether gunfire from U.S. soldiers is responsible for some deaths."
* "Five men, three women and three children were killed. Another child was injured and one was left unharmed."
* "Seven other Iraqis died in two additional incidents of violence in Mosul this weekend."
* "Mosul remains dangerous."
* "On Sunday, gunmen killed four mourners [including an Iraqi army officer] and injured six others during a funeral procession in the al Zinjili area."
* "Also on Sunday, police found the dead bodies of three men who were kidnapped Saturday in Mosul."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/08/iraq.main/index.html
oct 8: Female suicide bomber kills 9 in Iraq
* "More than 30 female suicide bombers have triggered explosions so far in 2008."
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/09/iraq.main/index.html
oct 9: Bomb kills senior Iraqi lawmaker
* "The blast also left two bystanders dead."
* "In a separate attack Thursday, a roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying a local Awakening Council leader and his family north of Baghdad, killing the leader and his son."
* "A roadside bomb went off in the Mudhafar square in eastern Baghdad Thursday morning, killing one person and wounding four others, including two police officers."
* "A bomb left in a plastic bag exploded Thursday afternoon inside a restaurant in the northern town of Tal Afar, killing two people and wounding three others."
* "Iranian forces early Thursday shelled border villages in northern Iraq's Sulaimaniya province where Kurdish rebels are thought to be operating."
www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/53718.html
oct 9: Assassinations replacing car bombs in Iraq
* "U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeing a shift in violence in Iraq from mass car bombings to assassinations using magnetic bombs, weapons with silencers and bicycle bombs."
* "On Thursday, a prominent parliament member from the Shiite Muslim faction led by radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr was killed near his home when an explosive-laden motorcycle rammed his convoy."
* "A Karbala city council member was killed by a magnetic bomb attached to his car."
* "In Baghdad, another magnetic bomb killed a man as he drove through a busy shopping district."
* "U.S. military officials said they've seen as many as 200 such attacks this year."
* "In the last three weeks, eight Ministry of Interior officials have been killed or wounded by men using weapons with silencers."
* "I think the political process itself is the target. There are some . . . who don't want the political process to go on and are targeting the politicians."
"In July and August, at least 10 people were assassinated each month, mostly in Baghdad, by gunmen using silencers."
* "In the New Baghdad district of the capital, men with silencers have killed as many as seven people in the last two months."
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