Chaos and Death Stalk Iraq

The farcical story of non-existent Iraqi hostages has taken a grim twist, with dead bodies suddenly turning up all over Iraq.

More than 50 bodies have suddenly been pulled from the Tigris River. Iraq's interim president wont say where the bodies were found, but he says he has the names of all the dead (how?) and also the names of all those who killed them. Talabani says the discovery of the bodies proves his government's claims that hostages were abducted.

The Guardian has this interesting comment:

As summer approaches and temperatures start to rise, bodies have been floating to the surface, said Dr. Falah al-Permani of the Swera district health department. He said some 50 bodies have been recovered over the past three weeks. But it was not clear whether they were the bodies referred to by Talabani.

Northwest of Baghdad, meanwhile, another 19 bullet-riddled bodies were found slumped against a bloodstained wall in a soccer stadium.

This is on top of the "usual" daily carnage, which yesterday killed at least nine Iraqis and two Americans, wounding another 21. The attacks included four suicide car bombs (one targetting Allawi's convoy), a roadside explosion, and a blast that sent smoke billowing over the Green Zone.

This "hostage" drama is a big story across Iraq, where it is spouting all manner of conjecture. Even Riverbend has something to say. Predictably, people like Omar and Mohammed Fadhil think the Iranians are behind this, while others like brother Ali blames alSadr. Most Iraqis, however, see it as evidence that their much-hyped government - which still hasn't been able to even assemble itself - is becoming a tragic farce.

But dont expect to hear too much analysis of complex hypotheses in Bush's USA. Even though most US citizens now think the Iraq War was not "worth it", the media's attitude seems to be "Yes, Iraq is fucked, but that's old news". Besides, it's embarrassing to the President and potentially unpatriotic. It's becoming like the old Fawtly Towers routine: "Don't mention the war!"

Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan, the Finance Minister is complaining that NGOs are running the country:

The functions of government have been taken over by others.. Our own resources are absolutely inadequate.