The specter of renewed violence continues unabated a little over a week after the final United States combat brigades have left Iraq. Today, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malaki appeared on television to tell his fellow citizens of the dangerous threat that armed militants still pose, signaling there are great fears that a new wave of deadly strikes will be carried out within the coming days.
The fact that Maliki would get on state television to warn of these possible attacks seems to hint that Iraqi security forces have been overwhelmed by the recent surge in violence and are not organized well enough to put their full potential into effect. Within the populace of Iraq there is a great stigma associated with the security forces, as many soon-to-be bombers are easily able to pass through security checkpoints before they detonate their payloads. It is thought that the use of a bomb detecting device that has proved to be deficient may be a reason for the relative ease with which terrorists are able to sow destruction. Yet because of bureaucracy and other reasons the mechanism has not been phased out of service.
With this warning and what may follow, an Iraqi populace that has already braved over seven years of war will again be subjected to a gruesome fate. Although it is said that the insurgency is at its ebb, this being a last desperate attempt by militants to throw Iraq back into a sectarian war, the daily violence that takes place would make many iraqis shun this suggestion. As one Iraqi put it succinctly, “You just don’t know anymore, the person next to you could kill you.”