Proving Nothing is Sacred, Bomb Blast Hits Funeral in Baghdad
Christmas Eve Masses, New Year’s celebrations, funerals…apparently nothing is sacred to those who have been perpetrating bombings throughout Iraq and the Middle East in recent months. Yesterday, a car bomb exploded just outside a funeral tent in Baghdad and killed at least 48 people, shedding further light on the Iraqi government’s inability to provide security for its citizens. As if the blast and subsequent deaths weren’t enough, young men threw items at security forces when they arrived – too late – to help with the mayhem. Those actions led to arguments and mild violence between protestors and security forces.
Noted Kamil Nassir al-Zaidi, the head of the Baghdad provincial council, “The terrorists are carrying out these bombings now because they are angry over the successful formation of a new government and they want to try to foil the Arab summit. But the summit will be held as scheduled despite all these bombings.” While leaders have urged patience and vowed to continue their work, terrorists continue their attacks. Yesterday’s, in addition to leaving 48 dead, left another 121 wounded.
The results is that the people of Iraq are angry, and justifiably so. A witness to the bombing who was uninjured noted, “I blame the neighborhood security officials for letting this car bomb enter the area without being checked. When I saw people hurling stones at the security forces, I said to myself, ‘They deserve that.’” In the U.S., meanwhile, any pressure to keep U.S. forces in Iraq were put to rest in President Obama’s State of the Union Address, in which the president noted, “This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq.”
