Baghdad car bombs near government offices kill 136

[DesertRat]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two suicide car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 136 people and delivering a powerful blow to the heart of the fragile city's government in the worst attack of the year, officials said.

While violence has dropped dramatically in the country since the height of the sectarian tensions, such bombings like Sunday's demonstrate the precarious nature of the security gains and the insurgency's abilities to still pull off devastating attacks in the center of what is supposed to be one of Baghdad's most secure areas.

Black smoke could be seen billowing from the frantic scene, as emergency service vehicles sped to the area. Even civilian cars were being commandeered to transport the wounded to hospitals.

"The walls collapsed and we had to run out," said Yasmeen Afdhal, 24, an employee of the Baghdad provincial administration, which was targeted by one of the car bombs. "There are many wounded, and I saw them being taken away. They were pulling victims out of the rubble, and rushing them to ambulances."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9BI5DE80

[jasi2006]

1. I don't care what anyone says...dispute the facts...

We did not make Iraq a better or safer place.

[MellowDem]

2. The future will only tell...

Over the long run, we've made some countries "better places", but usually not right away. South Korea comes to mind, but for the early part of its history we backed a dictator who was on "our" side who didn't treat his own people all too well. It usually takes decades to literally build a country, which is what we are basically doing, and it's a rather fragile process. Iraq has a lot less going for it than other places we have been as well.

[rfranklin]

6. We did not make Korea a better place...

The Koreans did it themselves. We would still be backing any dictator that favored us if the Korean people had not taken control.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

34. While I agree with that

I feel the need to point out that a country improving ALWAYS requires its people to stand up and take the initiative. Some things just can't be imposed by an outside force.

[MellowDem]

43. Yes and no...

some of it was the South Koreans themselves, but obviously if they had lost the Korean War then they wouldn't have had the chance to do so. Also, American influence there dictated that the leaders do what they could to keep a good relationship with the US, which curtailed the dictators there from taking really extreme measures to crack down.

[newspeak]

49. then, how do we explain Pinochet?

Pinochet was one of our friendly dictators and he sure didn't curb his bloodthirsty tendencies.

[MellowDem]

58. Most Americans were not aware of Pinochet...

he was mostly helped in fairly backdoor ways by us. The Korean War made South Korea a little bit more visible to the American public, to say the least. Having a huge military presence there helped compared to Chile and gave us even more leverage. In fact, we have one there to this day, which makes it a more similar situation to Iraq and Afghanistan in that we will probably have a big military presence there for a while to come, one that will keep the leadership there always looking to keep the Americans pleased as long as they need the forces there. Just look at Karzai being forced to do a runoff after the rigged election. If he didn't need all those American and international forces there, he wouldn't think twice about it.

It also helps that the South Korean dictators were for the most part all about industrializing their country as fast as possible, something that might not have happened in a democracy actually, but which helped set up nicely for democratic institutions down the road. And the threat of North Korea immediatly after the war left few people complaining about having a strongman who was willing to do what needed to be done to quickly build up the defenses of the country. In a way, Iraq and Afghanistan are in similar positions, but once the immediate threats to the government's existence are over, chances are that the luxery of democracy will start to creep forward with a huge American military presence and large sums of American money being sent to the country that is dependant on American happiness with the current regime.

[EFerrari]

11. Well, NOW it does. After we blew up their infrastructure. nt

[MellowDem]

44. I was talking more along the lines of...

religious extremism along sectarian lines.

[Stuart G]

3. In the U.S..because we have 12 times Iraq populaton this would be more than 1200 killed.

Very sad.

[NeoConsSuck]

5. +1

Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Feith, LIEberman and every contributor to AIPAC should have also joined Hussein on the gallows.

[NecklyTyler]

9. Tell me again

:sarcasm:

Tell me again how Bush won the war in Iraq

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

33. I would say this, the opportunity for Iraq to be a freer, safer country is there

...whether they'll seize it or not is up to them.

I feel like I should qualify this by saying that I opposed the invasion from the beginning, however, we are where we are.

[newspeak]

46. So, are the Saudi's still coming over the border into Iraq?

Ya'll know those pals of ours or should I say *. I remember when Bill Moyer had a terrorist expert on his show who stated that a lot of civilian attacks were happening because of those coming into Iraq, especially from SA.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

52. It's my understanding that the tide of foreign fighters has largely been stemmed

The border isn't completely sealed, but things are much better than they were with regard to this issue.

[newspeak]

48. no, it really hasn't been up to them

Remember when * came down hard on their parliament because the parliament wouldn't pass certain legislation. What the American public didn't know is one part of the legislation was to privatize the oil fields, as Iraq's oil fields are nationalized. It's all about business interest at this point, they could give a shite if another Saddam ruled as long as the corps got their piece.

[roamer65]

37. Looks like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan will go up flames when we leave.

Even the Soviets couldn't master this "trifecta". Bush does it again, the fucking piece of shit.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

38. I don't know, I mean

Assuming there's no major crisis during the Iraqi elections, things there seem to be on a decent path overall.

Pakistan is definitely on a better path today than it was a year or two ago.

Afghanistan is still an ungodly mess though, however, what transpires in Pakistan could affect that to some degree.

[roamer65]

39. Parents of an Pakistani friend confirm otherwise on Pakistan.

They are expecting a military coup very soon. The Taliban attack on the military HQ in Rawalpindi was very shocking to them. It shows the extent of Taliban infiltration into the Pak military for them to be able to pull it off.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

40. Maybe, Pakistan's democracy is extremely fragile

and many of the military leaders would love to put an end to it. However, I don't think they'll do so without a way to ensure that American aid will continue to flow to them. I don't see that happening under Obama, but then again, you never know. As it stands right now, I'm not particularly concerned about a coup. If the military is driven back from South Waziristan again, that's when I'd start to expect trouble.

[saigon68]

4. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[johnfunk]

7. But... but... but... the surge is WORKING!!!1!

</sarcasm>

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

35. Attacks are down about 80% so there has been progress on this front

[saigon68]

8. Cost of War

$928,305,209,667.89

And the Present Occupant says "Push On"

Thats enough to give every college student Free tuition

Taxpayers in the United States will pay $929.1 billion for total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

149,481,138 Scholarships for University Students for One Year

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

[Fumesucker]

13. It's a lot more than that if you take all costs into account..

At least according to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=acXcm.yk56Ko&pid=20601103

Economist Stiglitz Says Iraq War Costs May Reach $5 Trillion

By Vivien Lou Chen and Thomas Keene

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz, author of a new book that claims the Iraq war will cost the U.S. more than $3 trillion, said the final tally is likely to climb much higher than that.

``It's much more like five trillion,'' Stiglitz said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. ``We were trying to make Americans understand how expensive this war was so we didn't want to quibble about a dime here or a dime there.''

His analysis comes as the Senate debates a Democratic plan to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. The 2001 Nobel winner's initial estimate of $3 trillion drew criticism from Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who said that the number ignores the price the U.S. would pay if Iraq became a terrorist state.

``Three trillion is a lot of money no matter how you look at it,'' said Stiglitz, 65, a former economics adviser to President Bill Clinton. The conflict has driven the nation's energy costs higher by adding $5 to $10 to the price of a barrel of oil, and may enlarge the national debt by $2 trillion in the year 2017, he said.

<snip>

More at the link..

[newspeak]

47. yeah, well ya know "you can't squeeze blood from a turnip."

If more and more people lose their good paying jobs, where are the war profiteers gonna get their moola? Maybe sell pieces of us to other countries?

[Altoid_Cyclist]

10. I posted this link earlier today.

With the rising death toll, I though that I'd remind people how we "improved" life for the people of Iraq.

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

[DesertRat]

12. That body count number is staggering

:(

[Altoid_Cyclist]

14. Between that and the cost of war in dollars link, it's a depressing Sunday.

Here's hoping that the people responsible are made to account for their actions someday.

That includes the Cheney/**** thugs, Tony Blair, the Iraqis using ethnic cleansing to gain power............. HELL! The whole thing is so tragic and criminal and just plain inhuman that there are too many people to blame in one post.

:grr:

[maddezmom]

15. Baghdad blasts 'kill at least 25'

Source: BBC

Baghdad blasts 'kill at least 25'

At least 25 people have been killed and 40 wounded in two large explosions in central Baghdad, reports say.

The blasts came in quick succession at 1030 local time (0730 GMT), followed by sporadic gunfire.

Large plumes of smoke were seen rising near the Green Zone, close to several ministry buildings.

These are largest attacks since August, when two truck bombs hit two ministry buildings, correspondents say. Iraq then blamed foreign fighters.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8324546.stm

[Solly Mack]

16. K&R

[SpiralHawk]

17. "Wait. We Republicons already won this war. Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[SpiralHawk]

18. "It's all Obama's fault. Sneer." - xVP Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney (R)

[Le Taz Hot]

19. Wait! I thouht we voted for change!

:mad:

[saigon68]

20. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[cqo_000]

21. Car bombs targeting Baghdad government kill 91

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writer
Oct 25, 8:44 AM EDT

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Two powerful car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 92 people in a powerful blow to the heart of the fragile city's government, Iraqi medical officials and authorities said.

...

The explosions were just a few hundred yards from Iraq's Foreign Ministry which is still rebuilding after massive bombings there in August killed about 100 people. The bombings were a devastating blow for a country that has seen a dramatic drop in violence since the height of the sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[saigon68]

28. A country cobbled together by the Foreign Map office in London

http://www.amazon.com/Churchills-Folly-Winston-Churchill-Created/dp/0786713518

A Cesspool of intrigue, crime and religious hooliganism

[boomerbust]

26. Beautiful

Keep it up, Saigon.

[joeycola]

22. nytimes: Over 100 Dead in Suicide Car Bombings in Baghdad

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/middleeast/26iraq.html?ref=world

[Hissyspit]

23. CNN Says 130

CNN Breaking News

-- More than 130 killed in twin car bombings in central Baghdad, the deadliest attack on civilians in Iraq this year.

[Botany]

24. This can not be true because last spring and summer the surge worked ..

.... so well and everything is fine over there ...... After all the New York Times had a long
story about the bold new direction of the wonderful leaders in Iraq.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

36. I don't think anyone has been pretending attacks have ceased all together..

[maddezmom]

25. up to 136 now

:(
A reporter in the country says he expects the number of people killed and wounded to grow and says civilians were warned of an escalation in violence due to upcoming national elections in the country.


http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091025/Iraq_bombings_091025/20091025?hub=TopStoriesV2

[Botany]

27. Thanx W

“Freedom is on the march in this world. I believe everybody in the Middle East desires to live in freedom. I believe women in the Middle East
want to live in a free society. I believe mothers and fathers want to raise their children in a free and peaceful world. I believe all these things,
because freedom is not America’s gift to the world, freedom is the almighty God’s gift to each man and woman in this world.”
Speech in Pennsylvania, October 22, 2004

http://thankw.com/george-bush-a-leader/

[llmart]

29. No.......

carnage is America's gift to the world thanks to Bush/Cheney, the yellow-bellied cowards.

We had no business starting a war in this part of the world. None.

[Botany]

30. Fun fact

What did Saddam do to al Qaeda people he found in Iraq?
Answer: He shot them

[ConcernedCanuk]

32. Yup - Good thing the USA went in there and stopped THAT atrocity . .

.
.
.

USA has done SO much good in the ME lately . . .

Why are they so ungrateful?

Don't they like DU?

[laststeamtrain]

31. From Times Online: Baghdad car bombs kill at least 136; more than 600 wounded

From Times Online
October 25, 2009
Baghdad car bombs kill at least 136 in deadliest attacks for two years
Oliver August in Baghdad

Twin car bombings in central Baghdad killed at least 136 people today in what looks like the start to a blood-drenched election campaign.

The attacks - the deadliest in two years - occurred along a road thronged with traffic and destroyed three government buildings, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Works and the Baghdad governor's office, where ten members of parliament were attending a meeting.

The bombs exploded within two minutes of each other at around 10:30 in the morning, First came a smaller bomb outside the Baghdad governorate, driving pedestrians north along Haifa street towards a ministerial complex 500 metres away, where the second and larger bomb went off.

Hospitals overflowed with more than 600 wounded and columns of brown smoke hung over the city for hours. Haifa Street, which runs north from the fortified Green Zone, was flooded several feet deep with water from burst mains. The water turned red in places with the blood of the dead and injured.

"Where were the security forces?" screamed Mohammed Radhi, who was searching for his sister, a ministry employee.

The attack was most likely carried out by Sunni extremists, linked to al-Qaeda or the former regime of Saddam Hussein, who are trying to undermine the current government. Iraqis are meant to elect a new parliament on January 16 but a row over election rules could cause a delay. ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6889476.ece

[Amonester]

42. At the very least, they've got 'free' healthcare.

We're paying for it, and many other things, like bombs.

Darth cheneyous opened his traitorous clap again.

Must be one of the reasons why.

[newspeak]

50. I like that Sunni extremists linked to Al Quaeda

Saddam wouldn't let Al Qaeda step a foot in Iraq without killing them. And, now it looks like they're trying to blur "sunnis" and "Al Qaeda. Oh look! The piece seems like it's attempting to join "Al Qaeda" and "Saddam Hussein" together. Isn't Al Qaeda shiite and Saddam Sunnis? How does this even mesh? More likely to me it's an extremist group coming from the border-Shiite extremist group, maybe Wahabe?

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

51. Actually

Al-Qaeda is Sunni.

And some Sunni extremists in Iraq are linked to them, so...

[newspeak]

53. I thought OBL was shiite

I thought Saddam was Sunni. Am I wrong? Do I have it the other way around? I thought SA was predominantly Shiite with more ties to Iran than Iraq. And, that Saddam was Sunni. Isn't AQ more shiite with a Wahabe extremist faction involved?

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

54. Both were/are Sunni

Saudi Arabia is mainly Sunni and has a somewhat tense relationship with Iran, which it feels is trying to dominate the region.

[unkachuck]

41. "...killing at least 136 people..."

....this is sad, very sad....136 innocent people killed and it's far from over....I think our surge in no longer surging and civil war is inevitable....

....thank you bushco, corporate America and all who voted for this war of profit and choice....are you still proud to be an American considering the loss of life and treasure this debacle has cost?

[Blue_Tires]

45. very sad...how many more must die over this??

[clear eye]

55. More info here:

Car bombs kill 147 in Iraq as militants target official buildings ahead of election

• More than 700 wounded in second attack since July
• Sunni militants suspected of being behind violence

The attacks had been both feared and anticipated after an almost identical strike destroyed the finance and foreign ministries, in roughly the same area, just over two months ago. Sunday's explosions were blamed on Sunni militants, who had claimed responsibility for the devastating summer explosions and pledged to wreak further havoc in a bid to destabilise the fragile government ahead of a national election planned for 16 January.

One truck bomb, just before 10.30am, destroyed the justice ministry, housing many of the city's judges, lawyers and court rooms, while minutes later a second badly damaged the Baghdad governorate, around 300 metres away.

[conspirator]

56. Saddam was a saint. He kept things in order with a lot less casualties nt

[lefty369]

57. just one isolated incident

should not take away from the job Obama is doing. After all, he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize for nothing.