Iraq Update: Update on the attacks in Iraq and Government crackdown

Here is the latest on the insurgent attacks in Iraq, that I wrote about the other day.

These reports come from a Blog called “Iraq The Model” which is a great blog that is written and owned by two fine gents in Iraq.

First who was behind it:

Special Groups acting on orders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were behind Wednesday’s indirect fire attacks against government targets, Azzaman reports.

The newspaper says security sources in Baghdad revealed that a Special Group led by a person named Haji Mehdi al-Kinani was responsible for firing rockets and mortars at the Green Zone and other government targets yesterday. The group reportedly operates from the Hay Ur district in northeastern Baghdad.

Now this does not surprise me at all. Iran has always wanted to see disunity in Iraq. They have much to gain from it.  It would not surprise me to see a invasion of that Country from Iran, once our forces leave. Although, considering what is happening in Iran right now internally, I do not think that it will be anytime soon.

Second, the fallout:

Prime Minister Nourai al-Maliki announced that there would be new measures to improve security following last Wednesday’s tragic bombings. “We defeated the terrorists, and Ramadan is a great chance to eliminate them once and for all”, Maliki said. He described the purpose behind the attacks as “They target the government which represents the political process and national unity, which they hate”. Here Maliki is clearly referring to some Shiite parties that attacked him over his active non-sectarian approach and increasingly stronger relations with Sunni Arab powers.

It can be seen from Maliki’s words that he is determined to move forward with building his diverse political alliance and ignoring the calls for rebuilding the Shiite alliance (UIA). There has been pressure from Iran and Najaf to reconstitute the UIA to enter the elections as one great mass.

[…..]

In tandem, Baghdad is exploring the possibility of signing regional security protocols with its neighbors. MP Abbas Bayati, member of the parliament’s defense and security committee said Iraq seeks to establish protocols that enable the sharing of intelligence and mutual tracking of terror cells. Bayati named Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Jordan and Turkey as the countries with which Iraq seeks to establish security protocols. Through these protocols, the government will most likely try to facilitate the exchange of wanted individuals suspected of leading or financing militant groups in Iraq.

Meanwhile, foreign minister Hoshyar Zibari was a little more pessimistic about the situation and expected “greater security breaches in the future”. However, he echoed Maliki’s call for strict measures to contain the security breach.

“We must all refrain from making useless statements. We must expose the facts that stand behind the setbacks in security. This was a clear and dangerous setback, and so security preparations must match the magnitude of challenges” Zibari told reporters. Another source quoted him as saying that he does not “rule out the possibility of collusion between security forces and terrorists to deliver the car bombs to those sensitive locations.”

Some would dismiss this as political posturing, but one must realize, that there is a bitter struggle for one group to be the majority in Iraq. It will be a long hard battle for equality. This is well beyond the scope of the American forces; this is something the Iraqi’s must do themselves. One cannot establish a true Government at the end of a gun. It most be done by diplomacy.

What I do know is this;  that it will be a long hard process, there will be failures; but the Iraqi’s must not lose faith. I wish them well. May God be with them.