Jihadi truck bomb liberates Shiite grocery market, killing 120+
posted at 1:48 pm on February 3, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Getty has photos. Few details as of yet: it was a truck, it went off outside the entrance to the market at around 5 p.m., when people were shopping for dinner, and afterwards they used pick-up trucks to help evacuate the wounded to the local hospitals, which were soon in chaos.
It’s the latest episode in a jihadi surge that began with the double bombing at the university bus stop in Baghdad two weeks ago. Why the escalation? Says the AP, probably correctly:
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it appeared to be part of a bid by Sunni insurgents to provoke retaliatory violence and kill as many people as possible ahead of a planned U.S.-Iraqi security sweep.
Why would Sunni jihadis want to goad the Sadrists into a heavy handed response? Two reasons. First, it’ll draw in more jihadis from the surrounding Sunni countries. And second, it’ll make the Sadrists big fat targets for a certain local army:
Ironically, the Americans’ greatest hope for success in defeating the Shi’ite militia may be the Sunni insurgency. Despite token attempts at national reconciliation, they are not part of the political process, do not negotiate meaningfully with the government, and are under no illusions about what a “troop surge” means for them. In recent weeks they’ve faced U.S. air strikes and Iraqi Army raids in downtown Baghdad. And the insurgents have continued to rain terror down on mostly Shi’ite civilian concentrations, in market places, universities and religious gatherings.
So, while Sadr may be able to cut deals with the Americans, Shi’ites in Baghdad and elsewhere face escalating terror attacks from the insurgency. If violence directed against Shi’ites demands a more public show of force by the Mehdi Army, it may be forced to break cover and risk becoming targets of U.S. firepower.
Iraqpundit says the security crackdown is set to begin in earnest on Monday. According to Peter Pace, the Iraqi army units involved are currently operating at about 60% manpower.
Eight car bombs went off today in Kirkuk, the oil-rich Kurdish holy city in the north. The Kurds have so many enemies it’s not even worth guessing who might have been behind it. Thankfully, only two were killed. And another American helicopter has been shot down, leading the crack dKos strategy team to lament the fact that fighting AQ has helped them to “perfect their methods.” When will Chimpy learn to take the path of least resistance?
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*sigh*
The Sunni/Shite thing in Baghdad is not going to go away. Sunni’s know the Shites are set to wipe them out once we leave. Simply cracking down on the sunni’s is not enough. Reduce the Iraqi army’s power, weaken the federal govt, make sunni’s feel more at ease. Then crackdown on them. They have to stop screwing us, so we can leave.
Methinks not matter what Iraq is going to evolve into a civil war eventually. The Shites are laying in wait. Sunni’s know this, they most certainly do not want us to leave. They must be attempting to get us to stay via extending the insurgency.
Oh well. Let the crackdown begin.
Theworldisnotenough on February 3, 2007 at 1:58 PM
My comment! Where did you go?
Theworldisnotenough on February 3, 2007 at 1:59 PM
Sometimes they take a second to fully post.
Mazztek on February 3, 2007 at 2:24 PM
I think some words trip a filter and they have to be approved manually.
lorien1973 on February 3, 2007 at 2:38 PM
Is it not possible to put check points outside the market places, and inspect cars, and trucks before allowing them into the area?
We do it here in the United States. Every destination where trucks unload have security at the entrance to check in trucks lining up to make a delivery. That can’t be done in Iraq?
Of course, I’ve never been to Iraq, so anything I suggest can easily be rejected, simply because I’ve never been there.
rockhauler on February 3, 2007 at 2:47 PM
Where is the giant anti-war demonstration protesting the Muslim escalation of the war in Iraq? Where are the lefty protestors tallying the count of dead killed by insurgents? Where?
Nowhere.
Tantor on February 3, 2007 at 2:53 PM
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Machiavelli wrote a detailed road map of how to conquer. It’s brutal, but I think we would now be seeing a far different picture of Iraq than the one we currently see.
P.S. I Niccolo Machiavelli RULES!!!
Troy Rasmussen on February 3, 2007 at 3:00 PM
You can have an insurgency with 50 people. Crazy people…but it doesn’t take that many.
These deaths are caused by our friends and neighboors around the world who are sitting on their hands.
tomas on February 3, 2007 at 3:05 PM
Peace and islam can not coexist without a harsh and evil dictatorship apparently. I thought that the Iraqis would embrace liberty that we pretty much handed to them. Turns out a muslims idea of freedom is nothing more than the freedom to kill anybody they want for any stupid reason they can come up with. I have serious doubts about peace breaking out in the middle east as long as islam is the basis for people’s thinking. On the other hand should we bail there will be a huge concept of victory on the part of the jihadists that will embolden them to the point where we will be on the defense for the next hundred years or until we elect some leadership that has a pair and is willing to stamp out these monsters with extreme prejudice. Sooner or later it will have to be done. The only question is how many people will have to die here at home before that half of Americans who bind the hands of our military from absolute victory see the light?
Guardian on February 3, 2007 at 3:07 PM
There is a history of Muslims bombing their own, at markets, to gain sympathy for their side and gain allies against their enemies.
This tactic worked perfectly in Sarajevo. The US allied with the jihadis and went to war against the accused Serbs.
I’m not saying the Shites bombed their own here but I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility. The propaganda value of this incident would seem to benefit the Shite jihadists more than the Sunni jihadists.
Perchant on February 3, 2007 at 3:08 PM
Yes, it can. Everyday people outside have told them (Bush) what a stupid Idea he had…whatever their reasons.
It is coming to a point where they are trying to protect themselves for the inevitable departure rather than working toward a new beginning. They are trying to save their skins in the only way they no how. Damnit.
tomas on February 3, 2007 at 3:12 PM
Uh, are you sure about that, AP?
They’re not my enemy.
Iraqis are defending themselves from a foreign invader, and my sympathies lie with them, not with our soldiers.
by shrekk
It makes me wonder if William Arkin is posting on KOS under a pseudoname…
EFG on February 3, 2007 at 3:13 PM
EFG, that comment from the wonderful Kos site makes me absolutely sick. But let’s not question their patriotism. Tantor, you know that our Soldiers and Marines are the “enemies” in the eyes of the leftist kooks as demonstrated daily by the few trolls who come around here and those on Kos.
Rockhauler, your idea is a good one but the INP is so embedded with bad guys it would have to be a joint US/Iraqi military (they’re not so inundated with the bad guys) and that might cause other issues. However, that being said, I don’t know why martial law isn’t declared (I know from our resident trolls that will produce some angst) get it cleared out, close the borders, etc. But what do I know, I’m now just a wife whose husband was embedded with the INP until 3 days ago.
Catie96706 on February 3, 2007 at 3:20 PM
I wonder how they’ll retaliate.
Savage on February 3, 2007 at 3:26 PM
it’s a good thing Islam means peace.
/snark
stevezilla on February 3, 2007 at 3:30 PM
EFG
I wonder how the dhimmicrats will reconcile that statement with their “real” public position. I support the troops but not the mission. We all know that statement is a far more accurate depiction of the left than supporting our troops.
still468 on February 3, 2007 at 4:56 PM
Yes, but is it any more brutal than what we are seeing now with continuing, escalated, sectarian terror attacks. Is it any more brutal than letting this conflict drag out on and on and on … and letting the people in Iraq continue to have to deal with the threat of more such violence every single day of their lives? Is it any more brutal than the much larger bloodbath that will follow if we pull out without pacifying the country?
As long as we are unwilling to apply the right medicine, the disease will get worse. At some point (if it hasn’t already), the disease will become incurable.
thirteen28 on February 3, 2007 at 5:07 PM
The fact that this thread has less than twenty posts and the one about Irk giving the finger on a lite brite got over two hundred baffles the mind.
Savage on February 3, 2007 at 5:19 PM
Hey Savage! I did my best to raise awareness of this issue.
How dare you question my patriotism!!!
EFG on February 3, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Yeah, and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t weigh on me when posting about this. The Iraq posts rarely draw more than 20 comments. Viral videos rarely draw fewer than 20. I do the Iraq posts anyway because it feels like we’re ignoring the subject if I don’t, even though we aren’t. There’s just not a lot to say about every new bombing except to remark upon how horrendous it is.
Allahpundit on February 3, 2007 at 5:28 PM
Anyone other than me have a “knee jerk” reaction of “…those gosh darn Iranians” when I first heard about this?
{21st post}
PinkyBigglesworth on February 3, 2007 at 5:43 PM
Timing is everything… with the posts I mean. It’s Saturday, plus, I haven’t seen jack about this on the news but the litebright caper is all EVERYBODY was talking about on the news and on the net. That says even more about our MSM.
That being said, this is very sad for the innocent victims of the deranged minds that conceived this plot much less the psycho who pressed the detonator. While shopping for food, innocent people are blown up. But it will be twisted and contorted to blame anyone and everyone but the truly guilty. Motives and reasons for this psychotic action aside, I’m sad for the victims and their survivors.
SilverStar830 on February 3, 2007 at 5:47 PM
Don’t you know? America and the Bush regime caused them to be fighting each other in the first place. If we would have just left Saddam alone, he would never have let that happen. His monopoly on mass murdering in Iraq kept it all nice and tidy.
Ugh…what would the DU’er and the Kos Kids have to say about that …
JetBoy on February 3, 2007 at 6:17 PM
Everyday, by such acts, I learn anew that life is dirt cheap in Islam. Even children’s lives.
shaken on February 3, 2007 at 6:39 PM
The GWOT is the biggest issue I have. Nothing else comes close, not imigration, not crime, not abortion or gay marriage or anything or Church vs state. Nothing. I have strong opinions on all of them, but they are all subordinate to the GWOT. I’ll make common cause with almost anyone, as long as they are tough and realistic on the GWOT.
Having said that, AP is right, there isn’t a lot to be said in the comments on a post like this, except that it is horrendous. But I went to every link AP had in his post, and I read every last word in each of those linked articles.
That’s not to say that I don’t like the other posts on other issues. And AP does have some of the best wit and dark humor on the internet. They add enormously to the value of this blog.
But if the GWOT faded from this blog, and it became just posts about Christianity and AP provoking 500 comment monster threads with his talk of a third party or poking Tom Tancredo with a sharp photo shop stick, and funny viral videos, well, in my eyes that would be a huge loss of perceived value.
Just my two cents.
EFG on February 3, 2007 at 6:43 PM
this is exactly right !
retired on February 3, 2007 at 7:04 PM
That’s a great point. I’d like to go you one better, if you don’t mind. These deaths are also caused by friends and neighbors of the Arab world. Most sit idly by watching Iraq evolve into chaos without offering a whisper of support, politically or militarily, while one in particular does all it can to aggravate the chaos and accelerate the killings.
This is a primitive culture demonstrably incapable of evolving, unwilling to unilaterally test the waters of any western-style democracy and would rather embrace a lifestyle that has been wrapped in bloodshed and turmoil for the last thousand years. Death, sadly, is a way of life for these people. I think they have a problem grasping the value of helping others, not to mention the sacrifice others are making to help them live a more civilized and purposeful existence.
Until the day comes when they take that giant step out of the stone age, I don’t see things changing one iota.
fogw on February 3, 2007 at 7:06 PM
These continued bombings really should be a hint to all of us of what I’ve suspected and said for some time. Followers of the Muslim cult are UNABLE to live without killing. That’s not an opinion, its a fact. Look at the history of the predominantly muslim nations and draw your own conclusions. We did the right thing (as I’ve said on multiple occasions) removing Saddam from power and showing all the Muslim practicing countries that if their way of life threatens us here, or threatens peaceful nations anywhere in the world, we have the ability to EASILY overthrow whatever government is behind this terrorism and effectively dismantle their army (all within days). However, for us to try to install a democracy to barbarians and primitive cultures is foolish. You’d have as much success going into a zoo and trying to teach a community of apes the concepts and practice of democracy. And yes for those of you that wonder, I consider the Muslim practicioners on about the same level of intellect and social skills as your average monkey. Only monkeys have a much higher value on life. So now the big question is what do we do now? I think, as others have suggested, we pull back to a position where we can watch these animals closely (an experiment if you will) and tell them if they develop a government that threatens others, or practices the same level of depravity that Saddam and family did, we’ll just be a helicopter distance away to bombing them back to where they are now. We can’t keep trying to convinve ourselves and the Muslim people that they are ready for democracy. They aren’t.
rayvet on February 3, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Not that I disagree with you (yet), but if the Muslims aren’t ready for democracy, why did 12 million of them vote?
csdeven on February 3, 2007 at 7:25 PM
Because the thought of democracy was appealing and they assumed that by having a democracy like us, they would have more Freedoms. They seemed to forget a little fact that in order to be a good Muslim, the basics of Democracy can not be practiced.
rayvet on February 3, 2007 at 8:23 PM
Not to worry. You will have another chance tomorrow. There will be another post, just like this one, with about the same comments, all saying about the same thing.
And another one the day after that. and the day after that.
and the day after that……
rockhauler on February 3, 2007 at 8:38 PM
Regarding the inability of Iraqis to embrace democracy, I think the indiscriminate violence and/or willingness to kill one’s own for political purposes signal they don’t get the idea that freedom and prosperity are right around the corner. No doubt the insurgency and militia threat will be managed (never eliminated) but by benchmarks for violence which are beyond what could even be described as transitional democracy. Sounds like heresy, but better maybe to start considering other forms of government. That, or get used to redefining democracy in more state of nature terms.
dapro on February 3, 2007 at 8:52 PM
I will never understand the level of a mind who can do such a thing.
Still, we simply cannot allow this to continue any longer. The ever-increasing number of civilian casualties is unacceptable.
We’ve got to do better for these people.
The Ugly American on February 4, 2007 at 3:10 AM
From the very beginning I have concluded that these terrorists are nothing more than gangster thugs who gain power through murder, and intimidation, while disguising themselves with piety and the words of Mohammad. They are not religious, they exploit religion, they are simply evil. Being skilled with words, they immediately accuse us of doing the very thing that they are doing. They have a clear understanding of human nature, human psychology, and are skilled at exploiting it.
In their hatred they are psychopaths. Their insanely murderous behavior demonstrates that.
How do we defeat them? We can’t negotiate with them, nor persuade them, or bribe them because that rewards their insane behavior. We can’t intimidate them, so we are left with confining them, or killing them. We can no longer ignore them. Of course this blanket conclusion doesn’t apply to every terrorist, as some can be turned around. Some are just hired hands, for sale to the highest bidder, or willing to work for anyone who can protect them and their families.
If you remember US history you also remember there were people who loved and admired Al Capone, not many, perhaps, but there were some.
Removing this threat to our civilization will take generations, which is why they begin indoctrination of their children at a very young age. They know exactly what they are doing.
This also clearly demonstrates that what the liberal democrats are doing in the US is so despicable.
Which is why we must refute the leftist, defeatist politics of liberal democrats, and their propagandist allies in the news media.
Unfortunately, ‘venting spleen’ might feel good, but it is not persuasive.
rockhauler on February 4, 2007 at 9:47 AM
As with the first gulf war…the problem is lack of support. If you know that you are going to be left in the cold…you are less likely to stick your neck out. People are positioning themselves for the after not the now.
tomas on February 4, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Especially the politicians and their business interests.
They will, however, support their bottom line.
Emmett J. on February 4, 2007 at 6:20 PM
Comparing a group of a certain religion to animals…this has a really, really familiar ring to it. Let me think, it will come to me…..ties in with that idea of conducting experiments on these people if I’m not mistaken….
honora on February 5, 2007 at 3:55 PM
You think they’re stupid? What about the assholes who sold this nonsense to the American public?
honora on February 5, 2007 at 3:58 PM
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