Bombings are chaotic and leave great destruction. Monday
in Basra, a mostly Shi’ite city 420 km from Baghdad, a bomb went off at a
sandwich kiosk. It was one of two in the city and many more were in Iraq. Reports
say that dozens of bombs went off in markets, mosques, and bus station. There
have been 95 deaths and over 250 wounded. Yet, these bombings are only the most
recent in a bloody time in Iraq. While it is unknown who is responsible for the
bombings, some believe that domestic and political rifts are the first cause.
The Shi’ite majority has conflicts with the Sunni minority. Stephen Wicken who works for the Institute for the Study of
War in Washington, D.C. says, “You often hear people saying, Is it 2006 again…Other
people are saying, No, it’s 2003 again, which is probably closer to the mark,
actually, in terms of security forces acting as bullet magnets in the way that
coalition forces did a decade ago.” This spring has proven to be a bloody one
for the nation and there is little optimism. The future looks very grim
overall. Wiken said, “Any situation in which there is a high level of tension
and where there are people pointing weapons at each other, it’s a magnet to
groups like al-Qaeda to come in and destabilize things or provoke people to go
over the edge.”
Nate Rawlings starts with a personal story about when he
witnessed the carnage from a bombing. His story was sad and gives a glimpse on
the tragedies. The story also establishes credibility because he was there and
has experience in the country as well as situation. Rawlings uses tallies from
the Associated Press along with a few other findings. A bit of past information
is given to remind the reader of past evens.
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