Thread: ‘Last gasp' of Iraq's violent extremists or new beginning?

It will be interesting to see how :democracy: pans out after the withdrawal , but IMO Iraq will go back to what it was ,but even more bloody . I hope im wrong and the people who gave their lives did not die in vain .

Originally Posted by Robert W

... unless the USA is going pick a side we might just want to get out of the way...

With so much oil reserve in Iraq, the US would of course care about whether the winning side is a friendly one, and which neighboring country is going to have a strong influence over it.

This is one of the basic reasons for keeping to the Obama withdrawal plan. Only time will tell whether this proves to be correct, or at least until next year.

'US presence in Iraq favors Qaeda'

17 Apr 2009 Iraq's Defense Ministry rules out any change in the US withdrawal plan despite concerns over rising al-Qaeda attacks targeting security forces.

In an interview with AFP on Friday, Iraq's Defense Ministry Spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, warned, "al-Qaeda is trying to regain power through terrorist operations aimed at proving its existence and raising its spirits ahead of the withdrawal of US forces from the cities."

Askari said a prolonged US military presence in the country would paradoxically favor al-Qaeda by giving the militants enough excuse to justify their terrorist acts.

"It would be good for al-Qaeda if US forces stayed in Iraq, because they could justify their kidnappings, bombings and killings," he noted.

Under a US-Iraqi security pact signed in November -- far later than an expected time in summer -- the 140,000 US troops currently stationed in Iraq must leave all cities and major towns by June 30 and fully pull out of Iraqi soil by the end of 2011.

The remarks follow almost 11 days after a sharp rise in explosions and bomb attacks in major Iraqi cities, targeting Baghdad above all. ...

At least 86 have been killed since the start of the month, in what is seen as al-Qaeda-linked violence across the country.

From Iraq we got some good news and some bad news. First the good news, if this news is really correct.

Iraq Al-Qaeda boss Abu Omar al-Baghdadi 'is captured'

23 Apr [Times] Iraqi forces said today that they had arrested one of the most wanted al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, even as his suicide bombers killed more than 70 people in attacks in and around Baghdad.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a leader of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, was held in the capital after a tip-off, said Major General Qasim Atta, Baghdad’s security spokesman.

The Islamic State of Iraq is a shadowy, al-Qaeda-linked, Islamist umbrella group that in 2006 declared an independent caliphate in mainly Sunni West Baghdad, as well as in areas to the north and west. Modelled on the Taleban in Afghanistan, it murdered and intimidated anyone who did not adhere to its strict Islamist rulings.

Iraqi security forces have reported al-Baghdadi’s death and capture on several different occasions in the past, ... Some intelligence sources ... claimed that they are fronts either to throw the security forces off the scent or, in the case of al-Baghdadi, to give the terrorist network an Iraqi face. ....

Now this below is the bad news.

Bombings kill more than 70 in Iraq

1 hr ago BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Suicide bombers in Iraq launched two deadly attacks Thursday, killing at least 45 people in Diyala province and at least 28 in Baghdad, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

An attacker set off a suicide vest at a restaurant in Imam Wais, a Diyala provincial security official said. The area is about 43 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Baquba, capital of the sprawling province that is north and east of Baghdad.

The Diyala bombing, which targeted Iranian pilgrims, also wounded 28, ... the pilgrims -- who had been visiting Shiite shrines -- stopped for lunch at the restaurant when the attack occurred. .... the restaurant collapsed after the bombing, ....

In central Baghdad, a bomber clad in a suicide vest attacked a crowd of national police, killing 28 police and civilians and wounding 52. Police had been helping the Red Crescent distribute aid to displaced families in the Karrada district.

Despite the declining levels of violence in Iraq over recent months, the latest strikes reflect what appears to be a slight uptick from March to April of assaults on civilians, U.S. and Iraqi security forces, and the U.S.-backed militias called Awakening Councils or Sons of Iraq. ....

Apparently the two incidents are related. The bombings are likely in retaliation to the reported capture of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq.

Iraq: dozens killed following al-Qaida leader capture

24 Apr [Guardian] At least 83 people were killed across Iraq yesterday in four bombings that swiftly followed the apparent arrest of the country's most wanted man, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq. ....

Major General Qassem Attar of the Iraqi army later said Baghdadi had been arrested around noon in Resafa district, not far from the scene of the second explosion, in what he described as a "heroic operation" by Iraqi forces. He said the bombings were likely to have been al-Qa'ida's response to the arrest.

The announcement of his capture was treated cautiously by American and British military officials who now have less access to details of Iraqi military operations than they did last year. But several officials last night described the announcement as credible. ....

After these increase in bombing attacks, and one month before the US withdrawal date, Clinton made an unannounced visit to Iraq.

Clinton in Iraq amid new violence

Hillary Clinton has landed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for her first visit to the country as US secretary of state.

Her visit comes in the wake of two days of suicide bomb attacks on Baghdad and other Iraqi towns which killed at least 155 people and wounded many others.

Mrs Clinton said she wanted to help identify how to counter the violence.

President Barack Obama, who visited Iraq a couple of weeks ago, has committed the US to withdrawing troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June.

All combat brigades are to leave by next summer.

Violence fell sharply in Iraq in the last year.

But because of the recent attacks, there will be a lot of head-scratching about whether the timetables should be stuck to or whether they should be flexible, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says.

The attacks do not yet seem to be a sustained trend, but they seem to be starting to take on a rhythm which is truly alarming for the Iraqi government and for the Americans, our correspondent says. ...

At the risk of sounding cynical: wake me up when the car/truck/suicide/roadside/market/Mosque/xyz-bombings drop off to pre 2003 levels.

Then we shall discuss the "last gasp".

William

On the one hand, Clinton while visiting Baghdad, pledges to keep troops in Iraq if violence escalates.

But back home, I feel the US public is already having an Iraq fatigue. They seem to be hoping not to delay the troop withdrawal, see below. They feel it is not their concern if the Iraqi fight among themselves.

Clinton pledges to keep troops in Iraq if violence escalates

26 Apr [Guardian] The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, made a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday to reassure Iraqi leaders that the Obama White House would refrain from withdrawing its troops from urban areas if renewed violence continued to worsen.

Clinton's visit, her first since being appointed in January, followed a sharp surge in attacks over the past three days that left as many as 155 dead and prompted fears that recent security gains could unravel.

The attacks, which have mostly taken place in and around Baghdad, have sparked concern that the planned US drawback in July could destabilise areas which the withdrawal was meant to consolidate. .....

Hefty support for Obama's Iraq withdrawal: poll

7 Apr WASHINGTON (AFP) — More than two-thirds of Americans support President Barack Obama's plans to withdraw most US troops from Iraq, a new poll said Tuesday as Obama paid a surprise visit to Baghdad.

A total of 69 percent backed the withdrawal plan while 30 percent were opposed, the poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corp. said.

In February Obama announced he was pulling most combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010, although a force of up to 50,000 will remain until the end of the following year. The current deployment is more than 140,000.

A military accord signed last November between Baghdad and Washington requires all US forces to leave the country by the end of 2011. ...