We must not forget...

Amidst the violence between Hezbollah and Israel, we must not forget that the situation is disastrous in Iraq. MSNBC reports today that a combination of a car bomb and a mortar barrage in Baghdad killed at least 31 people and injured more than 150.

According to the article:
British Ambassador William Patey said the security problem was made worse because Iraqis have lost confidence in the police. Speaking on BBC Radio "Today" program, Patey said evidence suggests some members of the police are linked to Shiite militias and Sunni insurgent groups.

"Undoubtedly the Iraqi people have lost confidence in the police," he said. "You move from optimism and pessimism. It's a fine dividing line."

The body count in Iraqabatingabbating- in fact, if anything, it's getting worse. In a recent post I referred to comments by our own military that insurgent attacks are on the rise- up approximately 40% resulting in approximately 100 deaths per day. It is unclear that moving troops around in Iraq, as the President has said he will do, will have much impact. The troops moving to Baghdad will not be new troops resulting in a net increase, but only troops moving from elsewhere in the country.

Additionally, it is not clear at this point that troops can have any impact anyways- the sectarian violence cycle has begun to turn so fiercely that I am concerned that there is greater commitment to killing each other than to any potential political solution. Our military presence cannot overcome that commitment. (MSNBC has an article related to this issue here.)

Between the situation in Iraq and in Lebanon, it would appear that forces are in motion that the US may not be able to influence in any significant way. Unfortunately, in Iraq those forces are the fault of US policy.

GP