Iraq Rocked By Bomb Attacks

Iraq Will Not Become Another Syria, Says Government, As Car Bombs Kill 34 -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Car bomb attacks killed at least 34 people in Baghdad on Thursday but the Interior Ministry said it would not allow al Qaeda, which it blames for a surge in sectarian violence, to turn Iraq into another Syria.

More than 100 people were wounded in at least eight blasts, one of which was near the "Green Zone" diplomatic complex, part of a wave of bloodshed that has taken the monthly death toll in Iraq to the highest levels in five years.

"Iraq's streets have become a battleground for sectarian people who are motivated by hatred and religious edicts and daring to kill innocent people," the Interior Ministry said in an unusually frank statement.

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More News On The Violence In Iraq

Car Bombs Kill 33 in Baghdad -- Wall Street Journal
Car bomb attacks near Baghdad's 'Green Zone', across city kill at least 33 -- NBC News/Reuters
Iraq unrest: Baghdad hit by wave of deadly bombings -- BBC
Iraqi city Baquba hit by deadly double bombing -- BBC
Baghdad car bombings kill dozens -- Independent.ie
Series of deadly bombings hits Iraqi capital -- Al Jazeera
Bomb close to Baghdad’s ‘Green Zone’ explodes, 33 killed across city -- Al Arabiya
Iraq PM insists security campaign to carry on -- FOX News/AFP
Iraqi premier vows to continue security operations -- AP
Baghdad bombings put pressure on Iraq government -- Christian Science Monitor
U.S. Sidelined as Iraq Becomes Bloodier -- Time

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Al Qaeda Is Driving Iraq Into A State Of Civil War

Al Qaeda Drives Iraq Toward Chaos -- Washington Times

U.S. withdrawal left door open to sectarian battle for power

Security inside Iraq is unraveling at an alarming pace, and al Qaeda terrorists there aren’t just pulling the thread; they’re setting it on fire.

More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in bombings and shootings last month, making July the deadliest month since violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims peaked from 2006 to 2008, the United Nations says.

On Thursday, gunmen stormed a policeman’s home in Tikrit and killed him, his wife and their three children. When neighbors later approached the house, a nearby car bomb exploded and killed eight people — a noted al Qaeda tactic, though the terrorist group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the past week alone, more than 85 Iraqis have been gunned down or blown up.

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My Comment: I personally am relieved that U.S. forces are now out of Iraq. The fight between Sunnis and Shiites goes back centuries .... and while a heavy U.S. military presence would be one way to clamp down on the violence .... realistically .... I doubt that there is any political or public will in the U.S. to commit tens of thousands of soldiers, hundreds of billions of dollars, and the loss and destruction of American lives .... to help a people who have been hostile to us in the past, present, and will in the future.

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