They’re asking questions over at MoA. Questions I like to think upon:

Suicide Bombing in Iraq continues unabated:

A suicide bombing Wednesday in the city of Baqouba killed seven people and wounded 22, police said, while authorities increased the death toll from a Baghdad suicide attack at a funeral the previous day to 36.

Could just be me, but it seems like the SCLM has made a very concerted effort not to speak about Iraq. Good, bad, schools painted…no, forget all that. We’re told, daily, that “Iraq is no longer the #1 issue to voters.” Right. Because ’the voters’ are too stupid to understand that 1/2 trillion Over There = a shitty economy over here. Whatever.

The wikipedia list of suicide attacks in Iraq ends in October. There were more than one bombing every two days throughout 2007 except for October where only 11 are listed (October may be incomplete.)

The bombings are usually attributed to ’Al Qaida in Iraq’. At the same time:

[A] spokesman for Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Saturday that U.S. and Iraqi forces had destroyed 75% of the Al Qaeda in Iraq network

This begs some questions:

If ’Al Qaeda in Iraq’ is diminished, why is the number of suicide attacks constant or increasing?
How effective are the ’Concerned Citizens’ paid to fight ’Al Qaida in Iraq’ really?
Why is there (still) a constant stream of volunteers?
Where are these from?
What does this mean for the overall and future situation in Iraq?
I don’t have answers to these questions. Please let me know your ideas on this in the comments.

I have been told by military folks that “Al Qaida” in Iraq is under 10% of the fighting opposition to our forces there. That may have changed in the last year, I’d have to check. Still, I always laugh when the military claims it’s “Al Qaida” responsible for this or that in Iraq. That sounds to me much like “we fucked up but can’t tell you the facts due to domestic political pressures.” If you think I’m being too relaxed about the threat, you can start by defining, specifically, who and what “Al Qaida” is and how it is you know of them. And then I’ll tell you about the Easter Bunny.

I think B is being silly with some of the other questions. As he and others have asked, “if they are our allies, why do we have to pay them to fight?” Our money is utterly wasted in Iraq, in large part because the only people getting it, and guns and Officializing Paperz, are cronies and crooks who don’t give two shits about ’the Iraqi people.’

People volunteer because they’re hungry. I’ve read all about the (relatively speaking) well-off in Iraq leaving, moving to Europe or better cities in the ME. But the poor? Their options are the same as the poor have here. A) Join a gang/religious organization/thug posse 2) join the national military/merc forces/people who kill for money and/or III) hope to shit you don’t get shot while trying to hawk/pimp/steal things of small value in your bullet-ridden hood.

As to where people fighting in Iraq are “from,” well- at this point is that even relevant? I mean, haven’t we proven that the whole notion of “national identity” and concepts like “freedom” are just words tossed around by politicians, when it comes to Iraq? Who fights in Iraq? Those who must, and those who are paid (in cash or social capital). It’s not about “where they are from.” Some of from Iran, some are from the US, some are from South fucking Africa- hey, are the Kurds still “Iraqis?” Does it count when the person killed is the neighbor of a jealous, greedy person taking advatage of a lawless state in which ratting on people results in payment and torture? War is always chock full of meaning at the beginning, and always an utterly senseless catalogue of horrors towards the end. We’ve long passed the “For the Cause” moment in our efforts there. It’s all Heart of Darkness, or Anus of Petroleum- soaked Meth, over there right now.

Anyway, blogging is a great distraction when you need one, innit?