Focusing on the Suicide Bombing Targets

What is one supposed to make of the terrorist attacks against funeral proceedings that have killed scores of people, or the attacks on recruits for Iraqi security forces?

For starters, targeting a funeral procession suggests that the terrorists are scraping the bottom of the barrel. They've found that attacking US forces does little except draw massive firepower on the terrorists command and control (and whatever remains of those), the terrorists' remaining infrastructure, and the general ire of Iraqis who are increasingly realizing that the terrorists are all about nihlism and nothing else.

Attacking a funeral procession is not about making a political statement, but about inflicting more death and despair on people already grieving over the death of another person. It is an attack on a clique or a clan of people, but the effects are opposite that which the terrorists intend. Instead of cowering, Iraqis show their resilience and redouble their efforts.

In fact, the attacks on Iraqis lining up to join Iraqi security forces have not deterred Iraqis one bit. They're far more resilient than the Leftists in this country who would cut and run at this critical juncture. And they're increasingly showing their displeasure with the terrorists by calling them out by name. As Confederate Yankee notes:

The media breathlessly covers the moment-to-moment carnage of the day. They cannot understand, nor provide context to, the courage of a growing, increasingly tough anti-insurgency movement in Iraq. It is one thing to talk tough, but another thing entirely to stand for your beliefs.

And it is quite another for the media to accurately reflect this in their ongoing coverage. For example, Ron Kuby (on 77WABC in NYC) will breathlessly state that while President Bush said that 2005 was a turning point and things are going well in Iraq though there will be setbacks from time to time, the recent suicide bombings killing more than 100 people gives lie to what Bush said. None of the context is provided, nor the courage that Iraqis display daily by showing up for these queues for security jobs. It's a myopic view that distorts and shades every bit of coverage coming from Iraq through the big media sources (tv, network news, and traditional media outlets).

The view from the boots on the ground shows something quite different than Kuby in his comfy chair at WABC sees from reading wire reports, though Iraq the Model is showing signs of pessimism given problems that have cropped up with the election results, the two major suicide bombings, and a feeling that the current crop of politicians in Iraq aren't capable.

Bill Roggio reports that while the New Year's Day offensive didn't go as planned for al Qaeda, their follow on efforts have been deadly successful. The terrorists are targeting Shi'a, Sunni who are working with the US and coalition partners, and the oil infrastructure. Bill writes:

al-Qaeda and the insurgency can still dispense death and disrupt services in Iraq. These attacks increasingly come in spurts as al-Qaeda does not seem to have the capacity to maintain a long term bombing offensive. The attacks are grouped together and designed for media shock effect, and directed at the morale of the American people and government. But the terror attacks have little real effect on the Iraqi people.

It would seem that Bill hasn't read Iraq the Model's comments - that the attacks are starting to wear on the Iraqi people, though I think it's more a function of frustration over the election process than the attacks, though even there, negotiations for forming a government continue.