Just another day in the life and death of Iraq XXII

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Life, death, and kidnapping:

Armed men in Iraqi police uniforms and driving police vehicles kidnapped as many as 150 people from a government agency on Tuesday, and several senior police commanders were arrested in connection with the abductions, Iraqi officials said today.

Thankfully, all the hostages were released or freed by police. Prime Minister Maliki said that the kidnapping was "the result of disagreements and conflict between militias belonging to this side or that," but the truth could be much worse. The Guardian notes the obvious: "[T]he episode, one of the biggest mass kidnappings since the 2003 war, raised pointed questions about the reliability of the Iraqi security forces." Not that Maliki (or Bush) will say that publicly.

Regardless, the story and its happy ending have dominated news out of Iraq today. Which means that the ongoing violence has gone even more underreported than usual (if not largely ignored). Consider this horrific report of "deadly incidents" from the AP.

Seriously, READ THIS. For this is the reality of today's Iraq.