Iraq Green Zone Attack: The Positive Spin

While all terror attacks are evil and should be denounced, that doesn't mean we can't examine the broader implications of a single one. According to the WaPo the attack killed three lawmakers and five others.

"This is just a barbaric attack on the institution of government," Stroud said.

Three of the dead have been identified as members of the Iraqi legislature, according to wire service reports and local officials: Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, Taha al-Liheibi of the Sunni Accordance Front and Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc.

I've never doubted terroristic elements would step up their attacks, that's been broadly acknowledged and terrorist groups have been trying to target the Green Zone for months. Attacking the government itself may well be the Iraqi-based terrorist equivalent of jumping the shark. The Iraqi government as a group needs to understand that it is the ultimate target of every street-level attack. That sentiment hasn't always appeared to prevail. Perhaps now they will get the message a bit more clearly.

Time says al Qaeda was sending a message:

In an assault apparently aimed at chilling negotiations between the Iraqi government and a faction of the insurgency, the Iraqi Parliament, located in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, suffered a bomb attack.

Within an hour of the explosion, a message from the al-Qaeda-controlled Islamic State in Iraq was posted on a prominent militant website, muslm.net, calling the blast a "message" to anyone who cooperates with "the occupier and its agents." It said ominously, "We will reach you wherever you are"

Perhaps, though it's far from clear they can attack in the Green Zone at will. But what really needs to happen now is for a unified Iraqi government to send an even louder message back. If the Iraqi government can come halfway together politically and express themselves through the army, backed by US forces, of course - the message should be, we can reach you, too - and we will.

Whatever it is, the Iraqi government's response to this may well be pivotal to the battle for Iraq as a whole.

Comments

[Martin]

Who is the Iraqi government exactly? Al Sadr is a large bloc of it and you morons want to kill him.

There is no national government because there's no nation.

[Kelvin]

No comments from the far right. A sure sign that they know that they are beat. Time to shut the party down.

[splashtc]

and now the battle is where it belongs
( takes a bow).Best they be blow'in up their government then ours. Just hope the pussy Iraqis get fighting mad. Took awhile to get there but history will prove it was the right course. Ironic though -we may need to give Iraqis nukes.

[Zifnab]

I like how the "silver lining" in all of this is more dead Sunnis and Shia. As if three dead Iraqi politicians will somehow make the country more stable, or will decrease the sectarian hate and violence.

That Dan applauds death as some sort of boon for the nation lends itself to what I'm sure many die-hard warhawks consider the final solution to the Iraqi problem.

[Phoenix]

There is a parallel here worth noting. In our country we have the right and the left - much like the Sunnis vs. the Shiites. Lots of people speculate that it will take something really big to unify Americans, but sad to say, it will have to be big enough to cost a lot of American lives.

Today's attack by al-Qaeda against 'all' factions does nothing but unify them all. Eat or be eaten, so to speak. Whenever there is a third party involved, sooner or later two sides gang up to fight back whichever is perceived as the bigger bully.

[GDAEman]

I wondered how common attacks were on the Green Zone.

This is what I found out.
http://gdaeman.blogspot.com/2007/05/green-zone-attack-statistics.html