Baghdad bombings hit all time high

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Baghdad_bombings_hit_new_high.html?siteSect=143&sid=7129801&cKey=1159996165000

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb attacks in Baghdad have hit an all-time high, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, as one of the capital's frontline police units was pulled off the streets on suspicion of involvement with sectarian death squads.

Thousands of police face criminal vetting and lie detectors as part of a "retraining" process designed to weed out militia killers who have used the cover of their uniforms to kidnap, torture and commit mass murder, U.S. officials have said.

The overnight orders to move the 8th National Police Brigade into barracks and arrest one of its commanders came a day after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki unveiled a sketchy deal with Sunni leaders and fellow Shi'ites to try to stem violence. But there was still no sign of further talks to provide substance.

U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said the number of car bombs in Baghdad, both detonated and defused, hit their highest level of the year last week and that bombs reported in general were "also at an all-time high".

[Selatius]

1. I guess the operation to stem Baghdad violence has failed

I remember a few weeks back the US gov't said it was embarking on a large operation to try to stem the flow of violence. Apparently, predictions of success were premature.

Then again, everything the federal government predicted with respect to Iraq turned out to be completely wrong.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Total chaos......and the only person who can change things immediately

is too friggen worried about his legacy and has calcified his options into doing nothing. It was a crime to invade and occupy, it's another crime to allow Iraq to devolve into anarchy.

[The Wielding Truth]

3. It's still in turmoil .