Remembering Iraq (Nov 14 – 20)

Stagnation continues – problems are already being reported in the Iraqi government’s handling of Awakening Council payments.  But of course the big news this past week out of Iraq was the cabinet’’s approval of an agreement that will keep US troops in place through 2011. (We have yet to see what happens in the parliament.)  It seems like a decent agreement.  I’ve read the Arabic version – although one should keep in mind that nothing is set in stone – there are loopholes, especially in the event of renewed violence.  

Although the number of US casualties rose past 4200, there was not that much violence this past week (relatively).  At least 61 Iraqis were killed in different incidents.

Nov 14: Another calm Friday with no major acts of violence reported. But that didn’t stop the US ambassador to the UN from reminding us about Iran and Al Qaeda. Despite the Friday lulls, one can’t help but wonder how often this happens without making headlines.

Nov 15: A car bomb in Tal Afar killed at least 10 and wounded over 30; Baghdad was rocked by another one that killed at least three people and wounded dozens more. In Mosul, a roadside bomb wounded a child and his mother, and another man was shot dead in a drive-by. Meanwhile, US and Iraqi negotiators agreed on a draft agreement to keep Americans troops in Iraq. In another possible sign of things to come, Arabs took to the streets to protest remarks made by the Kurdish leader.

Nov 16: The same day the Iraqi cabinet approved a deal to keep US troops in their country for another three years, at least 18 people were killed in separate attacks.

Nov 17: A bloody day… While most media outlets were busy speculating about the future of the US role in Iraq, bombs were going off all across the country and dead bodies were being discovered. In addition to victims of security operations, at least 23 people were killed in some sort of explosion.

Nov 18: Different incidents resulted in the deaths of several militants and one innocent civilian. An Iranian ‘agent’ was also arrested (by US forces) in Baghdad’s international airport. Meanwhile, the Iraqi cabinet decided provincial elections would take place at the end of 2008, and the Prime Minister pleaded with his constituents…

Nov 19: A relatively calm day… About ten people injured, in addition to some small victories for the Iraqi security forces.

Nov 20: Same as the day before, except for the five members of the same family that were gunned down in their home.