Al-Qaida plants flag, burns bodies in Iraq attack

BAGHDAD (AP) - Militants flew an al-Qaida flag over a Baghdad neighborhood Thursday after killing 16 security officials and burning some of their bodies in a brazen afternoon attack that served as a grim reminder of continued insurgent strength in Iraq’s capital.

It was the bloodiest attack in a day that included the deaths of 23 Iraqi soldiers, policemen and other security forces across the country who were targeted by shootings and roadside bombs.

The mayhem serves as a stark warning that insurgents are trying to make a comeback three months after their two top leaders were killed in an airstrike on their safehouse, and as the U.S. military presence decreases day by day.

The complex attack began when militants struck a checkpoint in the largely Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah, once a stronghold of insurgents that in recent years has become more peaceful. Then the militants set it on fire, burning several of the soldiers’ bodies, according to an army officer who was on patrol in the neighborhood. Minutes later, attackers detonated three roadside bombs nearby.

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Al-Qaida plants flag, burns bodies in Iraq attack

According to Global Security there have been, to date, 4,287 combat deaths in Iraq since we began the faux pas known as Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to The Cost of War we have currently spent over $736 BILLION in the prosecution OF Operation Iraqi Freedom. And those numbers are climbing rapidly as you read this.

Some sources say that close to 32,000 troops have been wounded or injured. I can’t verify those numbers and I am not stating them as FACT, but those are the numbers I have at this time.

The truth of the matter is, not ALL combat injuries are easy to see. The number of U.S. troops that have suffered mental wounds is yet to be known. As is the full impact OF those wounds.

Then there’s the dead and injured contractors. KBR workers, PMC guys, Soldiers of Fortune, only God knows who else or how many of them have perished or suffered injuries.

Please tell me these deaths, injuries and unbelievable monetary expense hasn’t been in vain.

An hour before the Azamiyah attack, Vice President Joe Biden predicted there would not be an extreme outbreak of sectarian violence in Iraq as all but 50,000 U.S. forces leave the country at the end of August. He said the American troops left behind would be more than enough to help Iraqi forces maintain security.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I’m willing to bet everything that there will be no such explosion,” Biden said on NBC’s “Today” show. He was speaking from Ft. Drum in upstate New York where he and his wife were welcoming troops home.

The 2nd most stupid person in the U.S. government needs to keep his mouth shut! Do you remember when Bush told em, “Bring it on!”, and they did?

Still, the Obama administration is keeping a wary eye on Iraq’s security. White House officials said Biden is sending two of his top national security advisers to Baghdad this weekend to help push along Iraq’s stalled political process in a sign of impatience and concern that sectarian tensions could escalate as the Americans forces withdraw.

Here’s the thing that George W. Bush didn’t get, and obviously the Obama regime doesn’t understand either; Iraq doesn’t give a DAMN about our impatience, a supported government, how many Americans have died in Iraq, how many BILLIONS of American tax dollars were spent or anything else. All they care about is the U.S. being OUT of Iraq.

Right about here is where you need to pay very close attention, I told people that Iraq was a bad decision on the part of the Bush administration. I told folks that Iraq was going to bankrupt the American taxpayer. I posted, on this blog, numerous times, the day we are OUT of Iraq, I am firmly convinced that a civil war of unprecedented intensity will erupt and won’t be over until there is another strongman dictator, one much like Saddam Hussein, emerges and takes over Iraq and rules with an iron fist.

Whether you agree with my analysis of this or not, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I have called this BS in Iraq for what it is since it’s inception, and I have been right in in my analysis on at least 95% of my posts, maybe a bit more. Find an analyst that’s hitting it right more often than that.

That’s a hell of a lot better average than the Bush or Obama administrations can tout, even if you combine them. You see, I don’t tell you what you WANT to hear, I tell you the truth, and in most cases, that is NOT what a POTUS wants to hear.