The World
There is a 'Surge' in 'Insurgent'
The students at al-Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad might have been targeted because of television footage showing elated students celebrating the botched executions of two key henchmen of Saddam Hussein. Then again, it might have been because the respected university is located in a heavily Shiite neighborhood. Or maybe the bombers were just looking for a soft target. Whatever the motive, the double car-bombing that hit the university last week killed at least 70 people, wounded scores more—and seemed all the worse because many of the victims were young women lining up for the ride home after classes.
The double bombing was the deadliest attack in a series of blasts and shootings, which included the ambush-murder of American democracy-educator Andrea Parhamovich, 28. Insurgents—and Iraq's numerous sectarian militias—appeared determined to stage a show of strength in the wake of President Bush's widely publicized Iraq policy shift. The violence, of course, is nothing new. The United Nations estimated last week that more than 34,000 Iraqis died in violent incidents last year—an average of about 94 a day.
At the same time, Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is at pains to demonstrate a new willingness to confront the Shiite militias. He announced that some 400 fighters from Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army have been detained—along with a top aide to the radical Shiite cleric. If true, this would mark a reversal for the Iraqi government, which in the past few months has regularly freed Sadr's followers after they were captured by U.S. forces. Maliki also defended himself against a rising clamor in Washington blaming the lack of progress in Iraq on his government. "I wish we could receive strong messages of support from the U.S. so we don't give some boost to the terrorists and make them feel that they might have achieved success," he reportedly said, rejecting President Bush's criticism of his handlings of the recent executions. "It seems to me that Bush has given in to domestic pressure."
More Boots, and Soldiers in Them
The other war, that being the one in Afghanistan, is calling out for attention, too. New Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on his get-acquainted visit, came away talking about the need for more U.S. and allied boots on the ground to deal with a resurgent Taliban. For starters, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan wants to put off the scheduled spring departure of a battalion of the 10th Mountain Division until year end. Currently, there are some 24,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan—including 11,000 in a NATO force of 20,000 American and European soldiers (about 3,000 shy of what commanders sought and were promised).
Many U.S. troops operate along the Pakistan border, an area of Taliban supply routes and suspected al Qaeda hideouts. Supposed ally Pakistan got a new black eye last week when a captive Taliban spokesman was shown on video telling Afghan agents that hunted Taliban leader Mullah Omar is living safely in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta under the protection of Pakistan's powerful intelligence service. For what it's worth, Pakistan said that's not so.
advertisement
