Here's the Times take on the horrific bombing in Baghdad:
"Bomb at a Market Shatters Lull for Baghdad" by STEPHEN FARRELL
BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 — Last Friday, the Ghazil animal market was a crowded bazaar in a city willing itself into recovery. Cautious but hopeful parents led fun-starved children by the hand to show them parakeets, tropical fish and twittering chicks painted in bright, improbable hues.
As Baghdad’s relative lull in violence had extended from weeks into months, Sunnis and Shiites alike made the calculation — one shared by this reporter — that the Ghazil market was safe enough to risk walking around on a sunny Friday.
It was. But one week later, the market in the shadow of the Mosque of the Caliphs was a scene of carnage, a cruel reminder that the decline in violence in this city is relative and may not last.
Oh, so we were lied to about the whole success shit! God damn it!
And CUI BONO, readers? WHO REALLY BENEFITS from this carnage?
I refuse to believe that Muslims do this to each other, especially when this is front-page material(?) in the lead Zionist War Daily.
RED FLAG! BLACK-OP!
Fish tanks lay where they had exploded into the faces peering into them, twisted bird cages were hurled across the street, and human and animal blood was being hosed off the streets by well-practiced firefighters.
Good Lord!
When the smoke cleared from Baghdad’s worst bombing in months, the Iraqi police said 13 people were dead and 57 wounded, although the American military put the death toll at 8. Witnesses told the police that two homemade bombs had been hidden inside a bird box, with air holes drilled through its sides.
Bombs in a bird box caused all this?
How big could the bombs have been?
Somethings a-stinkin!
Ghazil — at least before the Feb. 14 start of the Baghdad security operation that has put thousands more American troops into the capital — had been a regular target.
Operating only on Fridays, it had just begun to recover from a deadly series of attacks. The worst, in January, was identical in execution and scale and killed 15 people. Three died in a mortar attack last December, and four were killed by a twin bombing in June 2006.
Resilient after years of violence and reassured by blast walls, Iraqi police checkpoints and decreased car traffic, customers had begun trickling back to one of Baghdad’s most popular attractions in ever-greater numbers.
Last Friday, chatting beside rabbit hutches, their voices sometimes drowned out by the chirping of birds and barking of puppies, shoppers cited the same factors identified by Western journalists to venture out more onto the streets in recent weeks: an increase in American and Iraqi firepower since the Baghdad security plan reached its peak in June; Sunni tribal chiefs’ turning against the shadowy Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia; and a six-month cessation of attacks declared by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
Fathers said they were relieved to get their children out of the house, and fish-sellers laughed. Some even said they were confident that the worst was behind them.
In a sign of changing times, the presence of a visibly Western reporter and photographer fazed no one, a trend apparent in recent months on streets where most were once too scared to be seen talking to foreigners.
Which means we are and were getting a lot of dogshit reporting, right?
Military handouts as "news?"
As his young son gazed at a cage full of turquoise, yellow and azure-colored birds, Jawad, 40, a car maintenance worker, said he felt safer than before, which was why he had given in to his son’s persistent request to get out of the house.
“We haven’t seen anything good since the end of the war, till now and especially this kid,” he said. “He tells me, ‘We see people taking their kids outside, why don’t we go?’”
Ghazil, for hundreds of years a weavers’ market near the east bank of the Tigris until it became an animal market in recent decades, sprawls across several hundred square yards, covering a major highway and tiny back streets beside the equally ancient spice market.
Yeah, and ONLY WHEN WE ARRIVE does the place start BLOWING UP!
Dating back to the ancient Islamic Caliphs who gave their name to the nearby Khulafa mosque, it lies within a mixed but mainly Shiite area where posters of Mr. Sadr’s father, Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a revered cleric, adorn shop fronts and the blue-and-white blast walls where the police block cars from entering.
Anytime there is a bombing Sadr's area, I automatically suspect "Al-CIA-Duh" or its Saudi adherents!
CUI BONO, readers?
However, the bomber on Friday managed to get past police checkpoints and tight security to sneak the explosives into the market, the blast heard across the city shortly before 9:30 a.m.
Well, that just STINKS!!!!!!!
Haidar Ali, 30, a store owner: “There were many casualties. I was standing here in my shop, 30 meters away from the explosion. I saw a head resting on the sidewalk, guts and limbs. I just collected guts and put them in a plastic bag.”
Oh, god, the horror!
Lashing out, some vendors accused the police of failing to check the countless boxes and crates around which customers had clamored for a bargain or a curiosity.
With hindsight, some said the recent lull seemed to have been a tactic by the insurgents, intent on tricking Baghdadis into a false sense of security.
Oh, come on now!!!! After I was told it was surge success?
Waad Khalef, 49: “Last week nothing happened and the week before nothing happened. So they let the people feel safe. When they saw the families start to come here, they used this opportunity.”
The American military said such indiscriminate strikes only strengthened Iraqis’ will.
Say what?
Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a military spokesman: “Attacks like this, against innocent Iraqi citizens, are one of the greatest reasons we see the populace making a stand against criminal elements.”
Now they are just criminals? I thought they were terrorists?
Certainly many animal sellers were back plying their trade to willing customers even as the remains of their colleagues and friends were being hosed away.
Yet the mood had changed. Dogs were snarling, and the Iraqi police were jittery.
Ali Kadhum, 34, a government employee and resident: “We expected such thing to happen despite the security improvement that has been achieved. Three months ago, the situation was calm until a bomb attack occurred. I don’t think the situation is becoming better.”
I am only being lied to; can you imagine living this shit, readers?
Others were more optimistic.
Abdul Salam, 50, a carpenter from Baghdad’s Shaab neighborhood, said he had decided to visit the scene after hearing about the explosion, bringing his young son:
“If we are still afraid, there is no life any more. We would have to silently stay at home.”
The Times then carried this on their web site:
"Market Bomb Blamed on Iran - Backed Groups"
BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.S. military on Saturday blamed the deadly bombing of a pet market in Baghdad on Iranian-backed Shiite militants, raising concerns that escalating activity by Shiite extremists could jeopardize a relative calm that has offered new hopes for Iraqis after years of turmoil.
Oh, you gotta be kidding!!! It was IN A SHIITE NEIGHBORHOOD, assholes!!!!
Oh, I AM TIRED OF THE PROPAGANDA and LIES!!!!!!!!
The bomb, which was hidden in a box of small birds, exploded Friday morning as Iraqis were strolling past animal stalls and bird cages at Baghdad's al-Ghazl market. The market had recently re-emerged as a popular venue as security has increased, raising hopes for calm in the capital after years of turmoil.
All that destruction from a box of SMALL birds?!
I don't like the smell of this one bit!!!
Police and hospital officials said at least 15 people were killed and 56 wounded, including four policemen, making it the deadliest in Baghdad in more than two months.
U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said the bomb was packed with ball bearings to maximize casualties, and bore the hallmarks of a so-called special group, the military term for Shiite militia fighters who have been trained by Iran and have broken with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who called on his supporters to stand down in August.
I'm just not buying the Zionist lies anymore, readers. I'm just not!
He said the military believes the Shiite extremists were hoping al-Qaida in Iraq would be held responsible for the attack so Iraqis would turn to them for protection.
How would they know the motivation, readers?
And you already know what "Al-CIA-Duh" is, so...
C'mon, reader! OUR BOYS DID THIS!
If Iraq calms down, then we must depart! CUI BONO?
Smith, at a news conference: ''In raids overnight, Iraqi and coalition forces were able to identify and detain four members of a militia extremist group we assess as responsible for this horrific act of indiscriminate violence. Based on subsequent confessions, forensics and other intelligence, the bombing was the work of an Iranian-backed special groups cell operating here in Baghdad.''
Even though they haven't found one Iranian fighting in the insurgency!
"Al-CIA-Duhs" Catch-and-Release Program
However, he stressed he was not blaming Iran for the blast, saying it remained to be seen if Tehran was honoring a pledge to halt the flow of weapons into Iraq. U.S. military commanders have said they continue to find Iranian munitions in Iraq but cannot be sure if they have been recently sent or leftover from previous shipments.
Smith: ''I'm not saying that yesterday Iran ordered the bombing of the pet market. [But the attack had the] fingerprints' of a group that had been trained, equipped and facilitated through Iranian connections]."
I'm tired of the lying propaganda, general! Stop it!
The allegation followed recent statements from U.S. commanders expressing cautious optimism about a decline in Shiite violence along with claims that Iran has begun limiting its support of Shiite extremists and al-Sadr's cease-fire order. Tehran denies charges it is fomenting violence in Iraq, saying it is trying to help stabilize its fellow predominantly Shiite neighbor.
The prospect of renewed Shiite violence underscores fears that al-Sadr may renege on his pledge as the U.S. military and the Iraqi government face anger over recent raids against supporters in the Shiite southern heartland, particularly in the volatile city of Diwaniyah.
Sadrist cleric Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammedawi said Friday during his sermon in the Shiite holy city of Kufa, an al-Sadr stronghold:
''There have been detentions and aggressions committed against the Sadrists and these acts should be stopped. We give our last warning, the raids should be stopped and all detainees should be released, otherwise for any actions there is a reaction.''
This is like a broken record over there, I swear!
You know, Shiites are the most patient people in the world, I swear!
Thousands of al-Sadr's followers rallied in the capital's main Sadr City district on Saturday in support of the youthful cleric. Men lined up to have their fingers pricked so drops of their blood could be used for a sign pledging allegiance to al-Sadr.
I'm impressed and touched by their love and loyalty!
Too bad AmeriKa didn't have someone who rises to the deserved level of commitment Sadr does!
The U.S. military has credited al-Sadr's cease-fire order, along with a troop buildup ordered by President Bush and a surge in anti-al-Qaida sentiment among Sunnis, for what it says is a 55 percent decline in violence nationwide since this summer.
Is this an AP piece? It IS! There is that "55% drop in violence" tag line again!
But it is unclear how much control he wields over disaffected followers angry at being taken out of the fight.
Sigh! I get sick of this lying shit, reader!
Yup, EVERYBODY IS A GOD-DAMNED ENEMY -- and if they ain't, we'll make 'em one!
Smith said the military was maintaining a ''reserved optimism'' about the decreased levels of violence but reiterated warnings that extremists from both sides of the sectarian divide remain a serious threat.
So all that surging was for nothing, huh?
No better than we were a year ago, and in fact, it's worse!
Been the worst year for American deaths since the war began!
Smith, at a news conference: "While Iraqi and coalition forces continue to make sustained progress against these terrorists, al-Qaida and other militia extremist groups remain a dangerous enemy of Iraq.''
At least 54 people killed or found dead Friday, the deadliest day this month, in attacks including the bombing of a police checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul.
Holy shit!!! 54 dead yesterday!!
That's a BIG JUMP from the usual teens number they give!
Oh, yeah, Iraq is real better!
Smith said the Mosul attack was a double suicide bombing and blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, saying 21 people, including 10 civilians, were killed, eight more than the initial figure provided by local police.
Yeah, it was "Al-CIA-Duh," I'm sure!
Smith: "Yesterday in Mosul, al-Qaida in Iraq conducted two suicide attacks against Iraqi police, the first against a checkpoint and the second against first responders.''
With the outbreak in violence, Smith issued a cautious note on media coverage of Iraq:
''There are good stories to tell here in terms of returning Iraqis. There are economic developments that are occurring that need to be reported. But I would do it in a measured pace.''
Now he is telling the media how to report the story!
So sell it positive when they want you to, and sell it negative when they want you to, butt-propping MSM!
I, for one, am TIRED OF BEING LIED TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, imposed a daylong curfew in the northern city of Kirkuk and surrounding areas as security forces launched a major offensive against militants in the oil-rich area.
The silent offensive in Kirkuk, huh?
Kirkuk has seen a recent rise in violence that authorities have blamed in part on insurgents who fled security crackdowns in Baghdad and surrounding areas as well as an argument over the city's status as Kurds seeking to incorporate it into their semiautonomous zone.
Moved the terrorists there, did we?
Bet the Kurds are all giggles about that!
