"Baghdad’s blast walls to be removed; Iraqi government seeking to restore sense of normalcy" by Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press | August 6, 2009
Although the walls in Baghdad helped reduce violence, they are now unsightly, towering reminders of strife for residents. (Samir Mizban/Associated Press File/2004)
BAGHDAD - All blast walls designed to protect the streets of Baghdad will soon be taken off major thoroughfares, the Iraqi military said yesterday, the latest in a government push to restore a sense of normalcy despite persistent bombings in the capital.
And then the bombings began again, cui bono.
The removal of the ubiquitous concrete walls - which have for years been a bleak feature of daily life in Baghdad - would ease the flow of traffic and improve the appearance of the streets.
And they called it liberation.
But amid continued violence, security concerns remain.
In the latest attack, a roadside bomb killed five police officers patrolling in a mainly Sunni area in southern Baghdad on Tuesday. Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, the spokesman for the city’s operations command center, said all blast walls on Baghdad’s main and secondary roads will be removed within the coming 40 days....
What the hell does AmeriKa and her mercenary armies do all day? Sit on their thumbs?
The removal of the walls is seen as an effort by the Iraqi government to demonstrate it has control of the security situation in Baghdad now that US troops have withdrawn from urban areas.
Even though we are still on patrol.
US troops left Iraq’s cities more than a month ago and plan to leave the country altogether by the end of 2011.
Yup, sure, MSM: Occupation Iraq: 2012 and Beyond
The Iraqis already have removed blast walls and reopened some streets in Baghdad, including the renowned Mutanabi book market, and the government is eager to shore up public confidence ahead of national elections scheduled for January. The US military, which erected most of the walls after the US-led invasion in 2003, said it had not yet received a request to take them down but expressed confidence in the Iraqi security forces, referred to as ISF....
Then they ain't coming down!
I'm sure the MSM of AmeriKa will get back to us on this.
The walls, which weigh more than a ton apiece and stand about 12 feet tall, are designed to absorb the impact of bombings and rocket attacks and protect against gunfire. There are thousands in Baghdad alone, lining the highways, the streets to the international airport and surrounding important government offices, embassies, banks, hospitals, and other potential targets.
What is such a stark juxtaposition is that even in the darkest days of Saddam THIS NEVER HAPPENED!!!
They also have sealed off entire areas, including the mainly Sunni neighborhoods of Dora and Azamiyah and the Shi’ite district of Sadr City, causing critics to complain it was a form of segregation.
Some would call it APARTHEID (I plead guilty).
It was uncertain how those walls would be affected, as the Iraqi military statement only mentioned roads and did not elaborate.
There has been a dramatic decline in violence nationwide over the past two years, but worries remain that Iraqi security forces do not yet have a handle on the situation. Last week, while insisting that the blast walls must come down, authorities in May quietly installed about 100 metal gates in the heavily policed Kazimiyah district along streets and alleyways leading to a major Shi’ite shrine. Security cameras were also being installed at the gates of the double-domed complex....
Oh, yeah, you are getting AmeriKan "freedom" aren't you?
Outside the capital yesterday, attacks were reported in the restive northern city of Mosul and in the western province of Anbar.
And, MSM? WTF??
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