Day of violence hits Iraqi cities-48 people killed so far - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Just after the United States completed its drawdown of combat brigades in Iraq, militants Wednesday launched a wave of bombings across the country mostly targeting security forces. At least 48 people died and at least 286 others were wounded in 13 cities. The locations included Baghdad, the capital, and large towns in the northern, western, and southern quadrants of the nation. The only region that appeared to be spared the onslaught was the three-province Kurdish autonomous region in the north. Investigators don't yet know whether these strikes were coordinated, but a similar series of strikes that occurred in May bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq. On that day, 85 people died and more than 300 others were wounded in coordinated shootings and bombings across six provinces. The latest attacks come as the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has now fallen below 50,000 -- the lowest level since the U.S-led invasion in 2003. The U.S.-led combat mission formally ends August 31, and the remainder of American troops will train, assist and advise the Iraqis. But the American residual force -- comprising what is to be called Operation New Dawn on September 1 -- is combat-ready. While it has a different mission, it has the same capabilities as combat troops. If requested by the Iraqis, these soldiers can go into combat and can deploy these skills for self-defense. All American troops are scheduled to pull out at the end of 2011, but the Iraqi government could request that some of them remain. The departure of the U.S.-led combat mission is a seminal moment in a country that wants to see whether Iraqi police and soldiers can effectively handle the kind of insurgent activity that periodically erupts in this turbulent environment. Overall violence in Iraq has declined considerably over the past two years compared with the height of the sectarian war between 2005 and 2007. But there has been a recent campaign of bombings and shootings in Baghdad targeting traffic police, Iraqi soldiers and local leaders, and tensions across the country have been exacerbated by a political crisis -- the failure of Iraqi lawmakers to form a government nearly six months after national elections. Wednesday's attacks reflect the challenges the indigenous police and soldiers face. The deadliest strike occurred in the Wasit provincial capital of Kut, a city southeast of Baghdad. At least 20 people were killed and 90 others wounded when a car bomb targeted a police station. A suicide car bomber hit a police station in northeast Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and wounding 57 others, the Interior Ministry said. The strike damaged the Qahira police station building and several buildings and houses nearby. According to eyewitnesses at the scene of the Baghdad suicide attack at the police station, U.S. troops were there. Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, U.S. military spokesman for Baghdad, said American advisers and trainers and forensic support are available to Iraqi forces at their request. In this instance, an American adviser accompanied Iraqi forces, a practice that has been routine. In Anbar province's capital of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, five people died and 13 were wounded when two car bombs exploded near a passport office. In Muqdadiya, in northern Diyala province, at least three people died and 18 others were wounded when a car bomb targeted an Iraqi police checkpoint. A parked car bomb exploded in a busy street in the Allawi commercial area in central Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding seven others. In the holy Shiite city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, a car bomb targeting a police station killed one person and wounded 30 others. A roadside bomb explosion in central Falluja, west of Baghdad, targeted an Iraqi army patrol, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding eight people, including three soldiers. In Kirkuk, the tense ethnically diverse city in the north, a car bomb targeted a police patrol, killing one person and injuring eight others. Other attacks left people seriously injured. A car bomb exploded outside Dujail police station just north of Baghdad and wounded 20 people, including five police officers. At least 13 people were wounded in Tikrit in a double roadside bomb attack that targeted an Iraqi Army patrol. They were five soldiers, six civilians and two policemen. A bomb explosion outside a police station in central Basra in the country's south wounded 10 people. The chief of Facility Protection Services in Samarra was seriously hurt when two bombs went off in quick succession as his convoy passed by in the northern city. The service is in charge of providing security protection to government institutions. In Baghdad, three roadside bombs exploded, and eight people were wounded, including three soldiers. In Mosul, in the north, a suicide bomber driving a car tried to attack an Iraqi army security checkpoint but security forces shot and detonated the car. In the Diyala province town of Buhriz, in the north, bombs left outside five homes wounded at least four people, police said. Four policemen and an electoral commission official lived in the dwellings. The violence underscores the anxiety in Iraq over the tenacity of the insurgents and the progress of the Iraqi security forces. Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq Gen. Ray Odierno told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that "there's still terrorism that is occurring here," such as last week's attack on a recruitment center, but he says "the insurgency is suppressed" and progress is being made. "It's moving forward along every line. It's moving forward a little bit economically. Its security forces are improving. Its diplomatic efforts are improving. Its governmental functions are improving. So they're headed in the right direction," he said. "Did we have a successful terrorist attack the other day in the recruiting center? Yes. We did. But I continue to see overall improvement in the security forces, in protecting the people," he said. He noted that in a large country like Iraq, "you have many things that go on, thousands and thousands of things that go on every single day. And if you have an individual who's willing to blow himself up, willing to do anything possible to get access, it's very difficult to defend against. They are working this. It is not easy." Analysts warn that the Iraqi conflict will be persistent for years. Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote last week that the conflict "is not over" and "is at as critical a stage as at any time since 2003." Iraq, he says, continues to grapple with a "serious insurgency," ethnic tension and great economic challenges. "Regardless of the reasons for going to war, everything now depends on a successful transition to an effective and unified Iraqi government, and Iraqi security forces that can bring both security and stability to the average Iraqi. The creation of such an 'end state' will take a minimum of another five years, and probably ten," he wrote. [/QUOTE] Source- [url]http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/25/iraq.violence/index.html?hpt=T1#fbid=6AYnxaIG1NL&wom=false[/url]

They're all just a bunch of violent fucks. Leave and let be I say.

In the middle east, it is a mortal sin to eat the flesh of an animal after having sex with it.

Will Iraq ever be a good place? For the past years it's been a total shithole.

[QUOTE=Mobzor;24342496]They're all just a bunch of violent fucks. Leave and let be I say.[/QUOTE] As terrible as the thought of leaving the innocents to perish among the worthless savages, it's been made painfully obvious the world and no matter how many military superpowers you throw at them all it will do is take some of our countries young lives as well. We can [b]never[/b] make a difference in that country. Fucking depressing world we live in hey.

[QUOTE=ShootEvryRapper;24342621]In the middle east, it is a mortal sin to eat the flesh of an animal after having sex with it.[/QUOTE] Don't you even dare get it started. I don't want this thread to turn into a fucking debate.

[QUOTE=A Dead Guy;24342654]Don't you even dare get it started. I don't want this thread to turn into a fucking debate.[/QUOTE] Not trying to be a dick here, but you should have thought about that before clicking 'New Thread' This is Facepunch.

[QUOTE=BBKF;24342646]As terrible as the thought of leaving the innocents to perish among the worthless savages, it's been made painfully obvious the world and no matter how many military superpowers you throw at them all it will do is take some of our countries young lives as well. We can [b]never[/b] make a difference in that country. Fucking depressing world we live in hey.[/QUOTE] And yet we keep on trying and trying in our idiotic attempt to "spread democracy". It's seriously like bashing your face on a brickwall, then being confused why your nose is broken and bloodied.

[QUOTE=BBKF;24342695]Not trying to be a dick here, but you should have this about that before clicking 'New Thread' This is Facepunch.[/QUOTE] But we've had these. Again. And again. And again. And again. Every Single Goddamn Thread. And to tell you the truth, I am really sick of it.

[QUOTE=booster;24342638]Will Iraq ever be a good place? For the past years it's been a total shithole.[/QUOTE] More like to ask if it'll be a good place after the US leaves. Though this is probably a negative sign for it, we still have to give it time. Not that it matter to the US anymore. I highly doubt that they'll send forces in again if it destabilizes.

[QUOTE=A Dead Guy;24342743]But we've had these. Again. And again. And again. And again. Every Single Goddamn Thread. And to tell you the truth, I am really sick of it.[/QUOTE] do you not know what the word forum means?

Well considering the amount of troops drops to just below [b]50, 000[/b] and this is already starting. I'd say in a years time the countries gonna be worse than it was before. :sigh:

[QUOTE=thisispain;24342799]do you not know what the word forum means?[/QUOTE] I do know what it means, but this was debated in here so many times, often completely derailing the topic of threads and it always ends with- A)Someone getting banned for being a dick or B)Both sides being complete dicks to each other. If you want to debate something, debate the fucking topic.

[QUOTE=BBKF;24342812]Well considering the amount of troops drops to just below [b]50, 000[/b] and this is already starting. I'd say in a years time the countries gonna be worse than it was before. :sigh:[/QUOTE] It'll stabilize eventually, either way. Whether the current government cements itself, or another group takes over.

[QUOTE=A Dead Guy;24342906]I do know what it means, but this was debated in here so many times, often completely derailing the topic of threads and it always ends with- A)Someone getting banned for being a dick or B)Both sides being complete dicks to each other. If you want to debate something, debate the fucking topic.[/QUOTE] hey guys i heard 48 people were killed in iraq yup okay cool, next thread

[QUOTE=A Dead Guy;24342906]I do know what it means, but this was debated in here so many times, often completely derailing the topic of threads and it always ends with- A)Someone getting banned for being a dick or B)Both sides being complete dicks to each other. If you want to debate something, debate the fucking topic.[/QUOTE] well you already derailed your own thread

[QUOTE=thisispain;24343116]well you already derailed your own thread[/QUOTE] Yup, just realized that. Wait, by replying does that mean that I am derailing it even further? OH SHI-

These past few years have made Earth a blood bath. :frown:

[QUOTE=Mikesword221;24343200]These past few years have made Earth a blood bath. :frown:[/QUOTE] By "past few years", you mean the past 10,000 or so, right?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24342762]More like to ask if it'll be a good place after the US leaves.[/QUOTE] Well considering we [I]are[/I] leaving, and as we do the terrorist attacks start to pick up again, I'd say no, it's still a shithole and is going to be for a very long time, and there is nothing anybody but the men responsible can really do about it.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;24343408]Well considering we [I]are[/I] leaving, and as we do the terrorist attacks start to pick up again, I'd say no, it's still a shithole and is going to be for a very long time, and there is nothing anybody but the men responsible can really do about it.[/QUOTE] This attack does not represent what [I]will[/I] happen in the next 2-5 years. Its a possibility, but in no ways a certainty.

[QUOTE=thisispain;24343116]well you already derailed your own thread[/QUOTE] Holy fuck you're back.

How ironic that what was once the of cradle of civilization, is now a festering, violent craphole. Civilization started in what is now Iraq.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;24343642]How ironic that what was once the of cradle of civilization, is now a festering, violent craphole. Civilization started in what is now Iraq.[/QUOTE] Civilization has had a bloody history since its start, I don't see it ironic at all.

There might have been rape and pillage, but nobody 2000-3000 years ago was capable of destroying so much in such a small timeframe.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;24343723]There might have been rape and pillage, but nobody 2000-3000 years ago was capable of destroying so much in such a small timeframe.[/QUOTE] To be honest, there wasn't that much really to destroy compared to today :v:

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24343753]To be honest, there wasn't that much really to destroy compared to today :v:[/QUOTE] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isin[/URL] [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kish_%28Sumer%29"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kish_%28Sumer%29[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_Empire[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruk[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippur[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari,_Syria[/URL] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo[/URL] :eng101: The list goes on.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;24343971] :eng101: The list goes on.[/QUOTE] I meant in size of population and infrastructure, sorry

Frankly, Lives (population) are irrelevant, people are easy to make, hand built masonry is not. On terms of scale, Mesopotamia is quite a bit more impressive in what they accomplished for the number of people they had; but that`s beside the point. Its ironic because Iraq as a whole is probably in it`s worst (long term) state that its been in for 4000 years, and to some extent the war itself marks what will be a slow decline in civilization in the years to come among the entire world. Ergo: Irony. If that's not irony to you, then you may as well not even note that civilization ever started because you're thinking on too broad of a scale.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;24344307]Frankly, Lives are irrelevant, people are easy to make, hand built masonry is not. On terms of scale, Mesopotamia is quite a bit more impressive in what they accomplished for the number of people they had; but that`s beside the point. Its ironic because Iraq as a whole is probably in it`s worst (long term) state that its been in for 4000 years, and to some extent the war itself marks what will be a slow decline in civilization in the years to come among the entire world. Ergo: Irony. If that's not irony to you, then you may as well not even note that civilization ever started because you're thinking on too broad of a scale.[/QUOTE] Ah, I see your point now.