Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Dujail, 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad September 12, 2008. The car bomb killed 30 people and wounded 47 others outside a police station in Dujail, a predominantly Shi'ite town north of Baghdad on Friday, Iraqi police said. Picture taken September 12, 2008. REUTERS/Str (IRAQ)From Yahoo News/AP:
BAGHDAD - The U.S. troop surge did what it aimed: Calm Iraq down. But now, an increasing number of U.S. officials are worried that the hard-won drop in violence may be only temporary.
The fear: that Iraq may squander this period of relative calm, failing to reach the difficult political deals the surge was designed to allow — and thus setting the stage for another round of violence some day.
The worry is behind U.S. military leaders' constant warning that Iraq's current calm may not endure. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was the latest, saying this week that U.S. military commanders do not yet believe "our gains are necessarily enduring."
Their concerns were underlined by a car bombing Friday night in the mainly Shiite town of Dujail, 50 miles north of Baghdad. The blast, which Iraqi officials said killed more than 30 people and wounded scores more, was the latest in a series of attacks in areas north of the capital.
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My Comment: I strongly believe that Iraq's leaders will come to some compromise. There is too much at stake. Too much to lose.
The driving force for this accommodation will come from Iraq's constituents and voters who will demand through the ballot box a change. After decades of war, I am sure that the majority of the people in the country want to just now have peace.
