Iraq is a fucking mess and the surge never worked. It may have tamped down violence a little for a short period of time, and fewer U.S. troops are dying, but the violence is still horrendous, and the political situation is as dire as ever. Yesterday, 35 Iraqi officials were arrested for plotting a coup against Maliki.
35 Iraq Officials Held in Raids on Key Ministry
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and TARIQ MAHER
Published: December 17, 2008
BAGHDAD — Up to 35 officials in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior ranking as high as general have been arrested over the past three days with some of them accused of quietly working to reconstitute Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, according to senior security officials in Baghdad.
The arrests, confirmed by officials from the Ministries of the Interior and National Security as well as the prime minister’s office, included four generals, one of whom, Gen. Ahmed Abu Raqeef, is the ministry’s director of internal affairs. The officials also said that the arrests had come at the hand of an elite counterterrorism force that reports directly to the office of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
And here's the daily round up of violence from McClatchy:
Baghdad
- A double explosion in Nahda in downtown Baghdad has killed 18 people and injured 52 others around 11 a.m. A car bomb detonated first targeting a traffic police patrol followed by a roadside bomb in a distance in a crowded area where the main bus station in Baghdad is located. Among the casualties, three traffic policemen who were killed and eight others were wounded in that incident
Mosul
- A magnetic bomb detonated under a civilian car in Thawra neighborhood in Mosul city yesterday night( on Tuesday). Two people were killed who were inside that car.
- A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Palestine street (south Mosul). Two people were killed and four others wounded including two policemen.
Kirkuk
- Gunmen kidnapped a citizen of Ulamaa neighborhood in Kirkuk city yesterday night.
- Gunmen opened fire on a civilian car in Sikanian (north of Kirkuk) injuring the driver on Tuesday night.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/212/story/58014.html