Assailants Attack in Iraq's North and South

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB8HSPZS6E.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A roadside bomb hit an Iraqi police patrol Sunday in a southern city and gunmen opened fire on a coffeeshop in the north, leaving at least one dead and injuring four others countrywide as Iraq's tiny Christian community celebrated Easter. snip

Violence persisted on Sunday, with assailants opening fire on a cafe popular with ethnic Kurds in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, killing one and injuring three, said Brig. Sarhat Kadre of the police force in the city 180 miles north of Baghdad. The motive behind the attack was unclear.

Iraq's insurgency appears to be scaling back attacks on U.S. military forces while focusing its deadly efforts on government workers, primarily targeting Iraq's fledgling security forces.

A video posted Sunday on the Internet purportedly showed an Iraqi Interior Ministry official hostage being shot dead by militants from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network.

more

[NYC]

1. It seems endless.

I hope one day those people have peace.

[cliss]

2. Think of the surface of the sun, for a moment.

A seething, boiling hotbed. I believe that Kirkuk, for a variety of reasons, could very well be the next Falloujah. There are multiple problems; it's the home town of Saddam Hussein.

It's in the north,and it's closer to Turkey. Kirkuk has one of the biggest spigots of oil in Iraq. Really nice, sweet crude, right under the surface. Easy to pump, a real Sultan's Gold Mine.

There is a large number of Kurds who have a bigger alliance to the Kurds in Turkey, who subsequently want to form their own state.

Turkey is biting its fingernails to the quick, at this moment. Tayyip Erdogan and PM Gul are terrified about the potential. They despise Bush for opening this Pandora's Box. They have enough trouble keeping the lid on their own Kurdish population, and this is not helping.

Thanks for nothing, Bush.

[Wright Patman]

4. Saddam's from Tikrit

n/t

[cliss]

5. You're right.

I was thinking about Tikrit the whole time. Both cities have vast amounts of oil.
Thanks.

[bemildred]

3. Iraqi resistance begins to crack after elections

Have some KoolAid(tm):

The Iraqi resistance has peaked and is 'turning in on itself', according to recent intelligence reports from Baghdad received by Middle Eastern intelligence agencies.

The reports are the most optimistic for several months and reflect analysts' sense that recent elections in Iraq marked a 'quantum shift'. They will boost the government in the run-up to the expected general election in May.

Though the reports predict that violence against coalition troops and local forces is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, at least two Middle Eastern intelligence agencies believe that recent 'backchannel' initiatives aimed at persuading Sunni Muslim tribes in western Iraq to cease their resistance are meeting with some success.

The talks are aimed at driving a wedge between so-called Iraqi nationalist elements of the resistance and radical Islamic militants.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1446356,00.html

[Rockerdem]

6. Whats with all these "tide is turning" articles in normally sane outlets?

In the past 10 days or so, there have been a slew of these articles in places where we wouldnt expect them. Is there really koolaid that tastes THAT good??

It sounds like they are going to scale back the Iraq coverage and leave everybody with the impression of a low-level resistance. We had better gear up to combat that notion.

[bemildred]

7. The State Propaganda Organs, otherwise known as the Mighty Wurlitzer,

swings into action with some regularity with this sort of
ad campaign for The War Against Terror(TWAT). The goal is
always the same, to convince us that "there is light at the
end of the tunnel" etc. If you read a wide variety of news
sources, the unanimity with which it is done domestically is
striking, and the extent to which even foreign sources will
carry this bilge is also striking.

[osiristz]

8. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network?

Did they present credentials? From what I remember, Zarqawi is a one-legged criple who is most likely DEAD now.

How do we know it's not Saddam's loyal factions? or BIN LADEN's guys?

Amazing how they don't know who did it, but they sure know who did it!

They just bombed the oil pipeline again - the one that was just repaired YESTERDAY 3/24.

hmmmmm, has all the symptoms of a Halliburton inside job. Blow 'em up / put 'em out. Blow 'em up, put 'em out. Billions! We're raking in BILLIONS!