Iraq: Is it civil war yet?

[cali]

the analysts keep saying it's on the verge of civil war; they've been saying that for months. Looks to me like it's now in a state of civil war.

Just about every day, dozens are killed in violent attacks by varying factions.

today:

A coordinated wave of bombings tore through Shiite Muslim areas in and around the Iraqi capital early Wednesday, killing at least 58 and wounding many more, officials said. The blasts, which came in quick succession, targeted residents out shopping and on their way to work.

The attacks are the latest in a relentless wave of killing that has left thousands dead since April, marking the country's worst spate of bloodshed since 2008. They raise fears that Iraq is hurtling back toward the brink of a civil war fueled by ethnic and sectarian differences.

Insurgents deployed explosives-laden cars, suicide bombers and other bombs Wednesday and targeted parking lots, outdoor markets and restaurants in predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, according to officials. A military convoy was also hit south of the capital.

The northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah, home to a prominent, gold-domed Shiite shrine, was the worst hit. Two bombs went off in a parking lot in the neighborhood, followed by a suicide car bomber who struck onlookers who had gathered at the scene. Police said a total of 10 people were killed and 27 wounded in that attack.

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/28/iraq-attacks/2712163/


from a month ago:

What happens when you invade one stable nation, destroy its government and virtually its entire political and social infrastructure, and then a decade later stoke the fire of revolution in a stable nation next door without regard for the consequences? Well, take a look: that’s what the United States has done in Iraq and Syria.

The carnage in Iraq is escalating, even as the Islamist-led rebellion in Syria seems unending.

Let’s start this commentary by reviewing an editorial in today’s New York Times on Iraq, which warns that Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—having aggregated the most virulent part of the Syria revolt—is once again gaining momentum. Its stunning jailbreaks that freed up to 800 prisoners from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison and another in Taji have thrown fuel on the fire of renewed civil war in that country. As the Times notes, at least 700 Iraqis have been killed in July, adding to the thousands who’ve died there since April, when violence exploded again.

<snip>

http://www.thenation.com/blog/175498/al-qaeda-and-iraq-syria-civil-war#

from 2 weeks ago:

The Pentagon Wants To Sell $2.7 Billion In Weapons To A Country On The Verge Of Collapse

The Pentagon is looking to bolster its military options for Syria's civil war by sending $2.7 billion in weapons to Iraq, despite the country being on the verge of civil war.

The weapons deal would include 681 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and 40 truck-mounted launchers, as well as three Hawk anti-aircraft batteries with 216 Hawk missiles, according to Agence France Presse.

The sale is primarily viewed as a way to support a possible no-fly zone in Iraq, though it would also help to cut off Iranian supplies to Syria through Iraqi air space.

"This capability will provide Iraq with the ability to contribute to regional air defenses and reduce its vulnerability to air attacks and also enhance interoperability between the government of Iraq, the US, and other allies," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-selling-weapons-to-civil-war-iraq-2013-8#ixzz2dG1WAcx0

[steve2470]

1. I'd call it a civil war, yep. Duck, quack, etc nt

[cali]

2. what really steams me

is the report detailing the Pentagon flooding Iraq with weapons.

Despicable.

[steve2470]

3. agreed ! nt

[cali]

4. everything the U.S. does in the Middle East is in the looming shadow of Iraq

and that is as it should be.

More:

Cafes shut, sports fields empty as war returns to Iraq

In an evening in late June, Yasir al-Nuaimi draped an Iraqi flag over his shoulder and headed out to watch a soccer match being shown on television at a cafe in western Baghdad. The 20-year-old told his mother to pray for his team to win.

Later that night a bomb hidden inside a grocery bag tore through the cafe where he and other football fans had gathered to watch the Iraqi national youth team play against Egypt.

One minute the men were cheering for their team and the next screaming in terror and pain, witnesses said.

"Why did they kill my young son?" Yasir's father Ahmed said. In tears, he sat in the family home holding Yasir's Iraqi flag, stiff with his son's dried blood.

<snip>

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-05/features/sns-rt-us-iraq-violence-social-20130805_1_iraqi-flag-security-forces-war-returns

[cali]

5. over 1,000 killed in July in violence in Iraq

Iraq Death Toll For July Surpasses 1,000

More than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq in July, the highest monthly death toll in five years, the U.N. said Thursday, a grim figure that shows rapidly deteriorating security as sectarian tensions soar nearly two years after U.S. troops withdrew from the country.

Violence has been on the rise all year, but the number of attacks against civilians and security forces has spiked during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began early last month. The increased bloodshed has intensified fears that Iraq is on a path back to the widespread chaos that nearly tore the country apart in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Months of rallies by Iraq's minority Sunnis against the Shiite-led government over what they contend is second-class treatment and the unfair use of tough anti-terrorism measures against their sect set the stage for the violence.

The killings significantly picked up after Iraqi security forces launched a heavy-handed crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija on April 23. A ferocious backlash followed the raid, with deadly bomb attacks and sporadic gunbattles between insurgents and soldiers – this time members of the Iraqi security forces rather than U.S. troops.

<snip>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/iraq-july-death-toll_n_3688443.html

[morningfog]

8. Wow, that is worse than I realized.

[cali]

10. oh, it's very bad indeed.

I've posted several times about this in recent months but the threads just sink.

Iraq is in our rear view mirror-

until it rear ends us in the near future.

[cali]

6. kick. we hate to talk about Iraq

I think this should be in our faces.

[Mnemosyne]

7. K&R nt

[malaise]

9. Who cares as long as Western interests control the oil

Isn't that what it's always about - Western interests. It has never mattered how many black brown yellow or any other color people die as long as the Western imperialists control the planet's resources.

[cali]

11. Oh, we'll care when the blowback smacks us upside the head

which should be quite soon.

[malaise]

12. No they won't care until the Iraqis blow up the oilfields

Trust me on that

[cali]

13. if you're only talking about those exploiting for oil, yeah, but

it's more complex than that.

trust me on that. I do actual research.