Is the suicide bicycle the next weapon of choice for al Qaeda? Alissa J. Rubin of the New York Times takes one out for a spin:Police training in the provincial capital of Baquba turned into a blood bath on Monday when a suicide bomber on a bicycle set off his explosive vest in the midst of policemen, killing 29, the local police said.You see that? A coordinated attack means extremists, but what would a single attacker with a suicide vest and a bicycle prove? Would that not be a sign that "extremists" were active? It's starting to get dizzy in here.
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The blast in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, also wounded 19 people, including 7 policemen who were in critical condition and a woman and her baby, provincial authorities said. Most of the police officers killed and wounded were members of the recently formed emergency police brigade in Diyala.
Wisam Wahid al-Majmaie, a policeman who lives in the Ghatoon neighborhood of Baquba, said that a few minutes before the blast he had been relaxing with his colleagues. “I lost 12 friends who were with me having tea 30 minutes ago,” he said.
The attack was one of the deadliest on Iraqi security forces in several weeks. No group took immediate responsibility, but the episode suggested that Sunni Arab guerrillas, who as recently as last spring controlled Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, continue to be able to carry out devastating attacks.
American military officials said they had largely cleared Baquba of militants during operations this summer, when a large force of soldiers swept through the city. But it appears that despite those efforts the city remains unstable, as does much of the rest of the province, where sectarian killings, bombs and kidnappings occur daily.
During the American and Iraqi offensive over the summer, many of the insurgents were able to flee north before the soldiers arrived, American officers said. Some Iraqis have expressed fears that when United States forces reduce their presence in Baquba, the militants will simply return.
Monday’s bombing in Baquba appeared to be part of a coordinated attack on the police force in the provincial capital. At about the same time as that attack, another suicide bomber attempted to strike the police station in Hibhib, on the northern side of the city, according to an American military official in the city. The attack failed because a policeman shot the suicide bomber. However, the coordinated assault suggests that the extremists are active again in the capital.
And it's amazing how American "officials said they had largely cleared Baquba of militants" and yet the city is still "unstable", with "killings, bombs and kidnappings" occurring "daily". It's incredible how "many of the insurgents were able to flee north before the soldiers arrived" and some "Iraqis have expressed fears that when United States forces reduce their presence in Baquba, the militants will simply return".
But -- as we can see from the coordinated attacks of the day -- the militants are already (or still) there! So how can they return when (or if) the American troops leave, if they're already there? It's a vexing problem, isn't it?
Fortunately the solution is at hand: Blame it on al Qaeda!
It's an amazing solution: as it turns out, it can be applied to virtually any problem, and it goes on nice and easy. Reuters shows how it's done, via the same New York Times:
A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 Iraqi policemen doing their morning exercises at their base north of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months.You see, once you get the "hallmarks", the rest is easy. You don't even have to enumerate the hallmarks.
The bomber entered the base in the volatile Diyala province and blew himself up amidst members of a rapid reaction force, said Major-General Ghanim al-Quraishi, the Diyala police chief.
A shopkeeper whose store is close to the base told Reuters he had seen a man riding a bicycle slip through a gap in the concrete wall surrounding the compound and heard a huge blast seconds later that threw a cloud of dust into the air.
"I saw many bodies covered in blood. Some were dying, some had arms and legs blown off," said store-owner Ali Shahine.
At least 20 people were wounded in the attack, including a woman and a child, police said.
No group claimed immediate responsibility for the Baquba bombing, but it bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda, which has often used suicide bombers in attacks on Iraqi security forces to devastating effect.
Was it a solo suicide bomber on a bike? Must be al Qaeda! Was it a suicide squad with a hijacked airliner? Must be al Qaeda!
See how it works? The methods are all alike.
Did they have a bomb? Must be al Qaeda! Did they intend to make a bomb? Must be al Qaeda! Was it one attacker or several? Must be al Qaeda! You see it now, don't you?
Amit R. Paley of the Washington Post explained why the terrorists attack Iraqi security forces:
Militants in Iraq frequently target police and others who cooperate with the Iraqi government or the U.S. military.In other words, members of the Iraqi police and army are being killed for collaborating with the occupying enemy.
Or as CNN reported:
Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in Diyala province, said, "This attack is typical of al Qaeda's barbaric and hateful ways, targeting Iraqi security forces who have been working to secure Baquba and enable progress."We're not supposed to ask what they mean by "progress", but it does appear to have something to do with transferring the nation's oil wealth into the hands of foreigners.
Imagine that!