In the Wake of al-Sadr and Maliki's Announcements, More Than 170 Dead

Less than a day after cabinet members loyal to Shi’ite cleric Moktada al-Sadr removed themselves from service in favor of non-partisan representatives who will work toward Iraqi independence, and after a pledge from Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that Iraq would be in control of its own security by the end of this year, the most devastating attacks since U.S. operations began tore through Baghdad. Over 170 are dead and 200 more wounded. This attack could be seen as retaliation to the political moves by al-Sadr and Maliki, as the suicide and car bombs exploded in predominantly Shi’a districts; it could be seen as symptomatic of U.S. military failure in Iraq or just another sign of the country’s devastating and persistent instability. More than anything, this attack should be proof that something—though it’s unclear what-- in Iraq needs to change before hundreds of more lives are destroyed.