Shiites have been targeted in daily bombings across Iraq, and there seems to be no end to the madness.
"Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has resulted in the deaths of about 300 people in the past two weeks," the Associated Press reported on Sunday, May 26.
Justin Doolittle writes in his article, "The Iraq War is Not Over for the Iraqi People":
However, the war is far from over for the people of Iraq. They are living with the consequences of the war every day, and will be for quite some time. The country is, to this day, terrorized by suicide bombings, which, crucially, did not exist in Iraq prior to the American invasion. In early 2008, Robert Fisk called the acute reality of suicide terrorism in Iraq “perhaps the most ghoulish and frightening legacy of George Bush’s invasion.” Now, more than five years later, the “perhaps” can safely be removed from that sentence. On Tuesday, 16 more Iraqis were pointlessly killed in several bombings and shootings. The previous day was even more deadly, with a “wave” of bombings killing 58 and wounding 187. The death toll from sectarian violence has just passed 500 for this month alone. Iraq is, by any measure, one of the most dangerous countries in the world, far more dangerous than it was under Saddam. The United States and its allies have direct moral culpability for this state of sheer hell in which millions of Iraqis are living.Neither the Shiites, Sunnis, or Kurds are happy with the leadership of current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Ali Abel Sadah writes in his article, "Sadr Gives Maliki 'Final Warning'":
What did controversial Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr mean when he issued on May 27 “a final warning to the government to assume its duty of protecting the people"?Martin Kobler, the United Nations envoy in Iraq, said on Tuesday, "I once again urge all Iraqi leaders to do everything possible to protect Iraqi civilians. It is their responsibility to stop the bloodshed now."
Political observers in Iraq were expecting one of the most prominent Shiite leaders opposed to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to leave the Iraqi National Alliance, and [thus] end the political majority of the Shiite forces in the country.
Sadr's call came after a series of bloody acts of violence, including 10 car bombs that targeted Shiite neighborhoods in the capital and resulted in the killing of at least 70 people. Sadr said in the statement that "terrorism has influence and control in Iraq. They (militants) frequently step up their bombings, which are met by mere condemnation or silence by all parties."
He added that "the people are now without a government to protect them and are facing terrorism without help from anyone." The Shiite leader called on Iraqis to “eliminate hatred from the hearts, defuse sectarian rancor, and return to God."
"As for the government, it must prosecute and expel incompetent and disloyal members of the security corps who are only after power and recognition,” he added.
Source: AP (May 29).
