Iraqi Parliament Bombed

A group of militant Islamists affiliated with al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Iraqi parliament cafeteria within the Baghdad Green Zone. While initial reports indicated 8 killed and 23 wounded, it appears now that only one Iraqi PM has been confirmed killed, with 22 others wounded..

In terms of the number of casualties, this attack was relatively small compared to other recent bombings, however the New York Times article linked above captures the effect this attack will likely have on the Iraqi people:

At a time when Iraqis are increasingly questioning the government’s ability to protect them, the bombing raised the troubling possibility that it could not even fully protect itself, although the zone is at the wellspring of American and Iraqi military power in the city.

This serious breach of security will likely call into question the effectiveness of the new "surge" security plan in the minds of Iraqis. This reality underscores the difficult position U.S. forces and the Iraqi government are in -- no matter what gains they may make in securing areas of Iraq, it is virtually impossible to stop all attacks, and in many cases, one strategic suicide bombing can seem to undo weeks of hard work. It is of course much harder to maintain peace than it is to foment violence and chaos, and this is exactly how Iraqi insurgents have managed to halt progress throughout the country.

While such an attack was in a sense bound to happen eventually, that doesn't change the symbolic value it could have as a representation of the failure of the Iraqi government to provide the most basic service of security for Iraqis. Just as the attack symbolizes the broader failures of the Iraqi government, it also shows how politically savvy the terrorist and insurgent groups in Iraq have become.