The talk these days is all about Afghanistan. It's understandable. We paused for a day, or maybe two, to contemplate President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award, but that cannot take center stage, as there is too much killing going on. Not all of it is in central Asia. Horrific bombings are still routine in Iraq: on Sunday, three bomb attacks left at least 16 dead and dozens injured, officials said, in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in western Iraq.
A former stronghold of the jihadist insurgency, Anbar province has been rocked by several bombings in recent months. Last week, the explosion of a minibus killed nine people and another suicide bomber killed six other people.
On Saturday, some 200 people demonstrated in Baghdad to protest government policy in place, including demanding better public services. The Iraqi government is ill equipped to restore Iraq's infrastructure which has been the victim of years of neglect, corruption and insurgency attacks. Another demonstration took place in Basra in southern Iraq, where some 500 people gathered to support the highest ranking Iraqi Shiite leader, who is threatening a call to boycotting national elections scheduled for January if the voting is done by party rather than individual candidates.
Is our presence there really necessary? Sure, because we need the oil.
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