BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Many of the 60 killed and 220 wounded by a suicide truck bomb blast in central Baghdad Tuesday morning were unemployed Iraqis lured toward the explosion by an offer of work, according to an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry. A pickup truck, loaded with about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives, pulled into Tayaran Square at 7 a.m., a time when hundreds of unemployed Iraqis were gathered with their picks and shovels seeking a day’s work. The driver signaled to the would-be workers that he had jobs for them — causing a crush of people around the truck — and he detonated his bomb, the official said.
Another day…another example of the senseless violence ripping Iraq apart at the seams. It’s tragic enough that this sort of thing occurs seemingly on a daily basis; it’s doubly so because we’re responsible for letting the genie out of the bottle. No, Americans aren’t the ones setting off the car bombs or fanning the flames of sectarian, Muslim-on-Muslim violence, but without the 2003 invasion, things in Iraq might look a fair bit different. And there might just be thousands of innocent Iraqis who would still be alive today.
In the case of today’s bombing, the victims were guilty of nothing more than wanting to find work to support their families. In a country where day labor is an economic staple (depending on where you’re looking, unemployment in Iraq runs between 20%-60%), laborers tend to gather in large groups, hoping for the opportunity to earn something. Unfortunately, this also makes day laborers the perfect target- a large group of people willing to respond to someone calling them over with the promises of a day’s wages.
And another day dawns in Baghdad with the promise and the reality of more senseless killing. More blood and more tears…forever and ever, seemingly without end. And if history is to be an accurate judge, it will hold Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader responsible.
Mission Accomplished, my ass….
Having gone into Iraq uninvited, it’s generally not reasonable to think about leaving uninvited- you broke, you fix it. Except that in this case there’s no way that America is going to be able to fix what’s broken in Iraq. While pulling out of Iraq may increase the violence in the short term, ultimately the only people who will be able to solve Iraq’s problems are Iraqis themselves. We might be able to assist, but we’re not going to be able to effect any lasting solutions. No matter how hard we try, America simply is not going to be able to fix what we’ve broken.
Bodies blown apart, families left to grieve…just another day on the streets of Baghdad….
NOW CAN WE IMPEACH THE LYING BASTARD??
