Wars and Rumors of Wars,
When America pulls out of Iraq and the government destabilizes and eventually falls, I wonder, did we learn anything at all about War...,
When we finally admit defeat in Afghanistan because it is a War no one will win, will we admit it was a waste of time as we never had a real objective but a quasi lets do the Drug War dance...,
Weren't we in Columbia before..., and Back we go again...
Iran we were in bed with the Shah and in so short a time I see two regime changes and we act like we know what we are doing....,
I wonder, Do you really think we are Right, or just to big to fail?
War is NOT our long term success stories obviously....,
The end is coming fast, I hope you realize how soon it is as these No Win wars are getting closer and closer and closer together...,
When Iraq falls, sorry, I won't be surprised, we are repeating ourselves again....,
Michael James Stone
Bomb attacks in Iraq kill dozens
Dozens killed by Iraq car bombs
A series of bomb blasts in Iraq have killed more than 40 people and wounded at least 200.
Two truck bombs exploded in a Shia village near the northern city of Mosul, killing at least 28 people and injuring more than 130.
Meanwhile, Baghdad was hit by a string of bomb attacks that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 90.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has warned of an upsurge of violence ahead of next January's elections.
Insurgents "will try in any way they can to give the impression that the political process is not stable", he said in a televised news conference.
But he said the government was doing all it could to "deny them a safe environment for [the] planning and implementation of further attacks".
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The BBC's Natalia Antelava in Baghdad says the Iraqi government is keen to show its troops are fully in control and capable of doing their job without the help of US forces.
But many Iraqis say this wave of violence is what they feared would happen when US troops pulled back from Iraqi cities a month ago.
Few believe the country's army - perceived by many to be corrupt - is capable of protecting them, our correspondent says.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but one minister said they bore the hallmark of al-Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents in Iraq.
Al-Qaeda stronghold
Truck bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in the village of Khaznah, 20km (13 miles) east of Mosul, at about 0400 (0100 GMT) on Monday.
 | ANALYSIS  Natalia Antelava, BBC News, Baghdad This string of attacks seems to be well co-ordinated, well organised and it certainly sends a very powerful message to the government of Iraq. The big question now is can the government handle the security situation? They say they absolutely can. There are forces in Iraq though that don't want this violence to stop. And for more and more Iraqis the confidence they have in their government to protect them is decreasing. Many see the Iraqi security services as corrupt and many fear the violence will escalate. |
The blasts were so powerful they completely destroyed at least 30 houses and left a 7ft (2m) crater in the village, which is home to the tiny Shia Shabak ethnic group.
Witnesses spoke of scenes of chaos as people searched through piles of bricks, twisted metal and rubble for buried family members.
"I was sleeping on the roof and I woke up as if there was an earthquake. After that I saw a plume of smoke and dust spreading everywhere," resident Mohammed Kadhem, 37, told the AFP news agency.
"A minute later another bomb went off, knocking me off the roof on to the ground. I was struck unconscious by shrapnel and stones.
Ethnically-mixed Mosul - Iraq's second city - is considered one of the last strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and still sees frequent attacks despite a decline in violence elsewhere in the country.
Deadly blasts
However, despite security gains in Baghdad, at least three bombs went off in separate parts of the capital on Monday.
Two of the blasts appeared to be targeting labourers who were gathering in the early morning looking for work.
One of the bombs was hidden in a pile of rubbish when it went off in the western district of Hay al-Amel, killing at least seven people and wounding 46.
| KEY ATTACKS AFTER US PULLBACK 7 August: A car bomb outside a mosque in Mosul kills 30 people. Six people die in attacks in Baghdad 31 July: At least 27 people die in a string of attacks outside five mosques in Baghdad 9 July: 50 killed in bomb attacks at Talafar (near Mosul), Baghdad, and elsewhere 30 June: Car bomb in Kirkuk kills at least 27 people 30 June: US troops withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities  |
Minutes later a second bomb went off in the northern area of Shurta Arbaa, killing at least nine people and wounding 35.
There were also reports of a roadside bombing in the southern suburb of Saidiyah, killing at least two people and wounding 14.
This is the latest in a series of deadly blasts in Iraq since US troops pulled back from Iraqi cities at the end of June.
A car bomb exploded outside a mosque in Mosul during a funeral service last Friday, killing 30 people.
Three bombs killed six people returning from a pilgrimage in Baghdad on the same day.
'Billions lost' to corruption in Iraq
| By Natalia Antelava BBC News, Baghdad |
As the sun disappears behind the dusty horizon and the air begins to cool, a group of men gather near a butcher's shop in the Karada neighbourhood of Baghdad.
They sip sweet tea, play dominoes and debate which Iraqi ministry is the most corrupt.
"For sure it's the trade ministry," one says.
"No, it's the interior ministry, because the police are the worst of all," another argues.
The list of suggestions grows longer, till one of them waves all arguments off: "They are all equally corrupt."
The verdict is in line with a recent report by Iraq's anti-corruption committee, leaked to the Western media, which reveals the magnitude of the problem facing the Iraqi government.
The report, which is a result of the committee's investigation into some 12,000 complaints of government corruption, says that that among the worst offenders are - in no particular order - the ministries of defence, interior, finance, education and health.
One of the cases, says a defence ministry official, involves tens of thousands of dollars made by illegally charging young recruits up to US $500 each to join the army.
|  The report does not even scratch the surface of what goes on. Millions, billions of dollars are being stolen  Alia Nusaif Iraqi MP |
"The report does not even scratch the surface of what goes on. Millions, billions of dollars are being stolen," says Alia Nusaif, an Iraqi MP and member of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee.
After she publicised evidence of corruption in the trade and defence ministries, Ms Nusaif says that both filed law suits against her. Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Maliki has recently called on his government to declare a war on corruption. But Ms Nusaif says for her it has been a lonely battle.
"He made the same promises last year. The problem is that senior officials are never punished in Iraq," she said.
Trade not aid
In the bustling Shorja market in Baghdad, corruption is on display as some stalls sell government food rations that many Iraqis depend on.
The ministry of trade is accused of making millions by selling the food aid to traders instead of giving it away.
In late April the anti-corruption committee sent a police unit to deliver arrest warrants for senior trade ministry officials, including the minister's two brothers.
| Under Saddam things were bad, but now they are worse... what frightens me most is the effect this will have on the security situation Former dissident |
But the police were greeted by shots fired into the air by the ministry's own guards. During the brief shoot out that followed, the officials, including the brothers, escaped through a back gate.
One of the brothers has since been caught, but the minister denies allegations of wrong-doing.
"Is this what you call democracy? Government officials are getting rich off the back of our misery," one buyer in Shorja market said.
"This would never have happened under Saddam," added another. "We may have had our problems, but we were not being robbed."
Corruption and security
Even some of Saddam's former opponents are making similar comparisons.
"Under Saddam things were bad, but now they are worse," said a former political exile, who did not want to give his name. After 30 years living in the UK, he returned only recently, full of hope and optimism for the future of Iraq.
"I was astonished by the levels of corruption. And what frightens me most is the effect this will have on the security situation."
While the streets of Baghdad are safer than before, violence is still part of daily life. Many Baghdad residents worry that once the Americans leave the city at the end of June, their safety will be in the hands of the police and army that are accused of being seriously corrupt.
"Millions of dollars are being stolen, and some of this money is going to terrorist groups. The government cannot win the war against the insurgency if it does not fight corruption first. And the war against corruption is much harder to win," said the former dissident.
Some believe the government has already lost this war. According to the anti-corruption group Transparency International, Iraq is one of the most corrupt places in the world, third only to Burma and Somalia.
The problem is that fighting corruption in Iraq is not only difficult, it's also highly dangerous. Last week one of the members of the committee that put together this anti-corruption report was shot dead in the streets of Baghdad.
