A couple of Iraqi blogs that have provided optimism in the past shouldn’t be ignored now that they don’t have much in the way of good news to provide. Alaa of The Mesopotamian posted this about week ago:

The situation in Baghdad is deteriorating from day to day. I have warned about this long ago. The “insurrection” is lead by the Baathists, without any doubt, and they are converging on Baghdad and seriously bent on taking over. They are creating havoc in in the capital. Very soon, if this situation continues like this the city is going to be brought to a complete standstill and paralysis. The confusion and conflict between the Americans, the army and the Ministry of interior is producing a situation where the citizens don’t know anymore whether the security personel in the street are friends, enemies, terrorists or simply criminals and thieves. Everybody is wearing the same uniforms. Whole sections of the city have virtually fallen to gangs and terrorists, and this is sepecially true for the “Sunni” dominated neighborhoods. People and businesses are being robbed and the employees kidnapped en mass in broad daylight and with complete ease as though security forces are non-existent, although we see them everwhere.
…
Emergency measures have to be put in place immediately, otherwise as everbody in Baghdad knows, the whole city is going to fall soon. I regret sounding so pessimistic, but the alarm must be sounded with the loudest volume possible, since what is happening is Baghdad is something really awful.

Today I checked in on Iraq the Model and found Omar reporting that newspapers are impossible to find on the streets of Baghdad. The “mujahideen” have apparently decided that the flourishing free press isn’t doing them any good, and have threatened those involved in the distribution of newspapers with death.

Yesterday, Mohammed at the same blog posted regarding the power struggle in the Iraqi parliament. It’s impossible for outsiders to fathom how these politicians can fiddle and carp while insurgents and militias fill the leadership vacuum with death, but his post makes the point that some elements are holding out because they believe they can win an armed conflict with the others. So, why compromise?

Things are on a knife’s edge, clearly, and it’s in this context that Condoleeza Rice and Jack Straw made their unannounced visit. Let’s hope and pray for some positive results.

...................
Share this!

Posts which might be related to this one based on a mysterious algorithm:

• Waiting
• Big News in Baghdad
• Cairo Conference