Okay, It Is Getting Worse

Yesterday I wondered if the bombing of the Jordanian embassy represented a change in tactics/strategy and if it meant things were going to get worse in Iraq. Still unclear, but an article in the NYTimes reflects some of my concerns:

The car bomb that ripped apart the Jordanian Embassy today has brought terrorism to the heart of Iraq's capital and presented the American-led occupation with a new and unpredictable threat.
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Nobody claimed responsibility for today's blast, and it was unclear who was responsible. But in recent weeks, it has become clear that the enemy the Americans are fighting is multifaceted and diverse.
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The American authorities appear to be unsure whether Al Qaeda has established a presence here. But American military officials say Qaeda-like fighters - militants from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other countries - have infiltrated Iraq from Syria.
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The embassy bombing comes at a time when the American authorities here are hoping that the Iraqis' newly established police force and embryonic security forces can take on greater responsibility for maintaining order at home, including the protection of infrastructure and other important sites.
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The bombing today caught the Iraqis off guard, caused many in the city to wonder if this is just the first of a wave of terror attacks, and raised the question whether the planned transfer of more authority to Iraqi security forces would prove feasible in the short term.

Wasn't this supposed to be a big battle in our perpetual war on terrorism? And now we're not sure if AQ is in Iraq? Just as with the disappearance of sealed nuclear material, this just further illustrates that all the unheeded warnings about this invasion are proving prophetic. Rather than helping in the fight against terror, we've just sown more seeds and provided fertile ground for them to grow.

The attack itself certainly does seem to be a shift for whatever enemies we face in Iraq. I think they realize they don't necessarily need to attack heavily armed US troops to make our position there untenable. All they really need to do is destabilize the situation, prevent us from establishing good security, and the Iraqis will see us as ineffective. Combine that with further delay in handing their country back and eventually we'll lose the consent of the governed. That window of opportunity is closing.

ntodd  ¶ 9:00 AM