33 killed by suicide bomber in Baghdad

[lostnfound]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060723/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AjEMWRuQeSZCzVPUkEmQAuys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OTB1amhuBHNlYwNtdHM-

33 killed by suicide bomber in Baghdad By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer
36 minutes ago



BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide bomber blew up a minibus Sunday at the entrance to a market in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least 33 other people. The attack came just hours after U.S.-backed Iraqi forces raided the same area against suspected members of a sectarian death squad.
...

Eight more people were killed and 20 wounded when a second bomb exploded two hours after the first at a municipal government building in Sadr City, the Iraqi army said.

...

Police said the car bombing occurred about 9 a.m. at the entrance to the Jameelah market, which was crowded with shoppers and vendors on the first day of the Iraqi work week. The blast set fire to several cars and scattered bloody shoes, sandals and debris throughout the street.

The Iraqi army general command reported 34 were killed, including the bomber, and 73 wounded. The bombing at the municipal building less than three hours after the car bomb, the army said.

At the scene, police searched through the wreckage for more victims and warned bystanders to leave or they would be arrested. An elderly man, his clothes soaked in blood, wept as he called out the name of a missing relative. Police estimated at least 72 people had been wounded.

[saigon68]

1. FREEDOM is on the March

WHAT CIVIL WAR?

PROCLAIMED THE CHIMPANZEE

[Cooley Hurd]

2. Why is the media in denial about whether this is a civil war or not?

It walks like a civil war and talks like a civil war, therefore it's a GODDAMN CIVIL WAR, ya' ninnies!:grr:

[Biernuts]

11. It's a good question that deserves a serious answer. The

presence, even prominence, of non-Iraqi participants in the fighting results in the inference that it's not a true civil war. Normally, you have two or more domestic groups in conflict for control.

"civil war: A war between factions of the same country; there are
five criteria for international recognition of this status: the
contestants must control territory, have a functioning government,
enjoy some foreign recognition, have identifiable regular armed
forces, and engage in major military operations."

<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/100-20/10020gl.htm>

The situation of Iraq, point by point:

Contestants on all sides must

Control territory: No
Have a functioning government: No
Enjoy some foreign recognition: No - covert support but not recognition
Have identifiable regular armed forces: No, just the opposite
Engage in major military operations: Certainly not, just terrorist hit
& run

So it would seem that they don't ID it as civil way because they are attempting to retain a small shred of integrity.

[NJCher]

3. heartbreaking

How much longer can this go on?




Cher

[kwyjibo]

8. and horrifying.

thank you for not responding with cynicism. it's all I see here anymore when something like this is reported, and that's one of the saddest things of all. how have people become so desensitized to mass killings, suicide bombers, genocide, etc...?

[rodeodance]

4. AP update: Car bombs in Baghdad, Kirkuk kill dozens

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060723/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AvjJS4bPhRdyFKrUd6HCCfOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OTB1amhuBHNlYwNtdHM-

Car bombs in Baghdad, Kirkuk kill dozens

By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombs exploded Sunday in Baghdad and the northern oil center of Kirkuk, killing more than 60 people and dramatically escalating tension as the prime minister left for Washington for talks on reversing the country's slide toward civil war.


The blasts occurred as Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition mounted a major crackdown on the country's most feared Shiite militia, the Mahdi Army, blamed by Sunnis for many of the sectarian kidnappings and killings that threaten to tear the country apart.
..........

An Iraqi army statement said 34 people were killed and 73 were wounded. Eight more people were killed and 20 wounded when a second bomb exploded two hours later at a municipal government building in Sadr City, the Iraqi army said.

In Kirkuk, a car bomb detonated at midday near a courthouse in the city market district, killing 20 and wounding more than 150, according to police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir. It was the fourth car bombing this month in Kirkuk, where tensions are rising among Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen for control of the area's vast oil wealth........

[saltpoint]

5. When the Russian and Chinese leaders visited Dubya he took 'em for

a ride in his truck on the ranch in Crawford.

So will the Iraq guy get a truck ride on the ranch or not?

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. but those WMDs are out of that madman's ee-vil clutches now

and freedom rings.. . or "reigns" as it were from the boggy marsh to the hilly north.

these bombs going off are just a sign of their desperation, and of being in the last throes.

Couple more years, decade maybe - maybe 2 decades and we will be pumping their oil and building the first Baghdad Disney. You guys just like to point out all the bad things.

Do you know how many schools we built? Huh do you?! Did you know that some places have running water turned back on?!!! How'dya like them apples eh?

And some towns have power for six hours a day!!!! OOH ice burn, I showed you!!!

[madrchsod]

7. .iraq?.... what`s that about?

you mean there`s a war still going on over there? hell i thought that was over last week. i guess i`d better keep up on things. what is it over a hundred people a day so far this year have been murdered..."my son is in iraq fighting for our freedom"

[Biernuts]

9. That's "Murder-suicide" bomber... n/t

[lonestarnot]

10. What?! Another war is taking place? How can a civil war rage for months

in a country without notice by the rest of world. This must just be a sick joke. :sarcasm:

[liberal N proud]

12. And the White House calls the situation in Iraq "Optimistic"

That from the Chief of Staff drone Josh Bolton on Meet the Press this AM