Friday, December 03, 2004

This Script Sucks--Can I Get A New Writer?

With elections imminent in Iraq next month, attacks are becoming bolder and more deadly. In Baghdad this morning BBC reported one suicide bombing outside a Shia mosque as people were leaving prayers that killed 13 and injured 19 (so far), and further in, an attack on a police station just outside the Green Zone that killed 10. The insurgents shot up the place, the cops ran away, and the insurgents then looted the station armory and freed prisoners. But wait...wasn't it supposed to Bruce Willis who overran the bad guys and freed the helpless? Where's the deus ex machina that's going to make this all turn out right? We need Re-Write!

Interesting thing is that this attack took place right next to the airport road, one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country, just outside what should be the safest area of the city (or country, for that matter). But the US embassy has forbidden its employees from using the road. Meantime, Juan Cole mentions the latest kidnappings of several governing council members, one of which is a woman. (The insurgents seem to like to target women in governing positions especially. They have been attacked in far greater numbers, relatively, than men.)

Update: The death toll has climbed to 25.

Meanwhile, Riverbend's report on Fallujah (remember Fallujah?) and the situation in Baghdad should bring a thrill of pride to those warmongers among us who insisted this unprovoked, illegal invasion was going to be a moral coup:
"The situation in Falloojeh is worse than anyone can possibly describe. It has turned into one of those cities you see in your darkest nightmares- broken streets strewn with corpses, crumbling houses and fallen mosques... The worst part is that for the last couple of weeks we've been hearing about the use of chemical weapons inside Falloojeh by the Americans. Today we heard that the delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Health isn't being allowed into the city, for some reason...
The situation is really bad in Baghdad. Many areas have turned into mini-warzones. A'miriyah, A'adhamiyah, Ghazaliyah and Haifa to name a few. The rest of us just get our usual dose of daily explosions and gun fire...
Allawi, in spite of all his posturing and posing, has turned himself into a hateful figure after what happened in Falloojeh. As long as he is in a position of power, America will be occupying Iraq. People realize that now. He's Bush's boy. He has proved that time and again and people are tired of waiting for something insightful or original to come from his government."
Bodes well for the elections, don't you think? Bring 'em on!

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