The adventures of Lady Emma: Worried Kurds, happy marsh Arabs, and more

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 7:32 AM Share

In case you missed it, Baroness Sky of Mesopotamia had a good article the other day on Foreign Policy about her recent travels (and fishing trips) in post-American Iraq.

Meanwhile, a big bomb killed or wounded nearly 200 pilgrims in Basra. And the police station in Ramadi was attacked, with 21 dead. And a bomb went off in Mosul. And there was a big roundup of “AQ” in Kirkuk. Yow.  Perhaps most damaging of all, Iraqi police officials are arresting innocents and then demanding bribes to release them, reports Ghaith Abdul-Ahad of the Guardian (U.K.).

Emma Sky

EXPLORE:ARAB WORLD, IRAQ
 

DILNIR

1:06 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Business As Usual

A bomb or two here, a shooting or two there. Allegations of corruption. Horror stories by the cart-load. The overal impression sought, or so it seems, is that the Free Iraq graciously bequeated to an ungrateful lot is all of a sudden going to the dogs. Or to somewhere, at any rate. Remember, none of all this happened before US forces 'left.'

There is a campaign for an Iraq Spring to overthrow the current government and in the background, but still entirely discernable, are familiar figures, beginning with Iyad Allawi curently described as the post popular politician in Iraq. As for foreign media, who but CNN could have the gall, frankly, to call up the Prime Minister's Office and ask why such-and-such a local journalist working for Obama Network News had been duffed up?

Obama apparently believs that his talent for empty mouthings can influence Iraqi politics more than the attempts of his predecessor.

 

MIKE FEW

2:51 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Violence Begets Violence

Perhaps it is time to stop trying to counter colonial insurgencies and start understanding revolution?

 

MIKE FEW

2:52 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Occupy Baqubah

is swarming to occupy Basrah and Anbar

 

WHISKEYPAPA

2:57 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Bush 43

"Perhaps most damaging of all, Iraqi police officials are arresting innocents and then demanding bribes to release them, reports Ghaith Abdul-Ahad of the Guardian (U.K.)".

Meanwhile we can surmise that Bush 43 is having a non-alcoholic beer (him being an alcoholic and all) on the veranda at home.

Walt

 

TYRTAIOS

7:18 PM ET

January 17, 2012

The reincarnate of al-Khatun?

You have to admire Emma Sky’s zeal for adventure, I especially liked the picture of her “fishing with a 9 mm pistol on the Tigris,” (a women after my own heart).

It is interesting that another adventuresome British women, Gertrude Bell had a major role in drawing-up modern day Iraq, carving-out various modern states from the Ottoman Empire.

As I recall, Gertrude Bell was referred to by the Arabs in Mesopotamia as al-Khatun . . . Or, a lady of the court who keeps an open eye and ear for the benefit of the state. . .which state has never been quite clear to me, however. : )

 

JWING

9:53 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Jan's 2012 violence mirros Jan's 2011

I just wrote a piece about it, but this month's violence is almost exactly like violence one year ago in January 2011. Each year insurgents launch a whole bunch of attacks upon Shiite pilgrims celebrating Arbayeen. This just provides too many targets as thousands and thousands walk and take buses to Karbala and to a lesser extent Basra. That along with one or two attacks upon the security forces means that January is always one of the deadliest months of the year for the last several.

You can read the details here:

http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2012/01/insurgents-pick-up-attacks-in-january.html

 

WALKING WOUNDED

4:14 AM ET

January 18, 2012

So you're saying...

...that it's not an unravelling? Sorry, but the question had to be vocalized.

Since you have research skills Joel, what is the collatoral picture re civilian Iranians in these murderous bombings? Also, how do the Sunnis view the movement of Shiite militiamen in the pilgrmages?

My personal guess is that, given continuing annual mass bombing of pilgrims, a Shiiite gov't in Baghdad will eventually go back to the 2006 policy of clearing (Sunni militias from) a corridor between the shrine sites and routes, from Samarra, Najaf etc, thru Baghdad.

 

JWING

11:45 AM ET

January 18, 2012

Bombings of Shiite pilgrims

Walking Wounded

This year no Iranians were killed, but last year 1 Iranian was killed and 8 wounded in a blast against their bus heading towards Karbala on 1/23/11. There are thousands of foreigners that go to Karbala during this time from across the Middle East and Asia (Indians and Pakistanis for example), yet they don't seem to be targeted.

Each year the security forces also deploy thousands to try to protect all these people, but there are just too many. Plus a lot of Iraqis walk to Karbala during this time and that means there's just no way to protect them from all these terrorist attacks, most of which are small bombs planted along roads.

I don't see it as an unravelling, because insurgents do this every year. There are just too many targets for them to pass up. Yet, there is no retaliation by either the government or Shiite militias. The result is that there are a lot of complaints against the authorities and security forces, and they promise to do better next time. There's really no calls for revenge.

 

HUNTER

8:23 AM ET

January 18, 2012

ACKKK!

The Ur ziggurat! Cool place, but I'll be happy to never see it again. Let's cross our fingers...

 

RONSONDRISCOLL

3:56 AM ET

February 13, 2012

Allegations of corruption.

Allegations of corruption. Horror stories by the cart-load. The overal impression sought, or so it seems, is that the Free Iraq graciously bequeated homeimprovementblog to an ungrateful lot is all of a sudden going to the dogs. Or to somewhere, at any rate.

 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008.

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