In the Zone

In yet another suspected suicide bombing, Baghdad's highly fortified International Zone or "Green Zone" (scroll to bottom) was penetrated and an explosion set off inside the Iraqi Parliament building today, killing eight and injuring over twenty. Perfectly timed, the suicide bomb was detonated inside a cafe right after morning session had adjourned. Only a few hours before, in sync with rush hour, a truck bomb went off on the 60-year-old Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris River, killing six and destroying the structure.

These two attacks, but especially the one occurring inside the Iraqi Parliament building, are huge blows to the security surge, especially since it is strongly supported by American forces. Instead of addressing the issue that people can enter and exit the Parliament building freely despite supposedly tight security, officials denounced the acts as cowardly. President Bush and claimed the acts showed an enemy so relentless that it was willing to attack democracy, but then, everything happening in Iraq today seems to be that way . . .