By Gina Chon
Although overall violence has ebbed here, recent days have served as a reminder that explosions, shootings and death are still very much a part of everyday life in Iraq.
Two car bombs went off today around 12:30 p.m. in Baghdad outside the compound of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of Iraq’s main Shiite political parties. But authorities believe it was a group of visiting “Awakening” leaders — Iraqis who have turned against al Qaeda — from Anbar province who were being targeted. At least 15 people were killed and dozens were wounded. I heard the explosions as I was sitting at my desk. They were so loud that we wondered if mortars had landed nearby.

And more than 50 people were killed yesterday in northern Iraq, with the worst attack happening in Balad, where more than 20 were killed by a suicide car bomber. The target was a checkpoint guarded by Iraqi security forces and local security volunteers.
The two-steps-forward, one-step-(or-five-steps)-back pattern here leads many Iraqis to feel apprehensive, as opposed to hopeful. There is an unease and much debate about what the current situation means for the future of Iraq. An Iraqi friend told me that he goes out to restaurants now, but he also noted that last week, on their first day on the job, local security volunteers clashed with Iraqi security forces in his Baghdad neighborhood. Another friend told me last week about how happy he is now that he can now stay out after the sun goes down. But the next day when I called him, he couldn’t talk because shots were being fired around him and a woman was screaming about her son, who apparently had just been kidnapped.
There is also a sense that certain tensions are getting worse. Arguments between Kurds and Arabs over the national budget, oil and other issues have intensified during the last few months. Iraqi security forces are clashing with U.S.-backed local security volunteers in turf wars and sectarian battles in Baghdad, Diyala and Anbar provinces. In the meantime, the local security volunteers are also being targeted by al Qaeda.
Of course, the U.S. troop surge has helped bring violence down in Iraq and many residents have turned away from supporting the insurgency. Talks are continuing between political parties on expanding alliances, and there may soon be a deal for Sunnis to rejoin the Iraqi government, after their departure in protest last August. But it’s still unclear whether 2008 will mark a turning point for Iraq.
On Sunday, U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said, as he has said at nearly every recent press conference, that security gains could be lost if basic services don’t improve. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today during a surprise visit to Baghdad that a scheduled troop drawdown for this summer may be put off because of concerns over the sustainability of the relative lull in violence.
Next month will mark the five-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. I asked an Iraqi friend today what he thought about that anniversary and how long it would take for his life to become normal. “Maybe in another five years,” he answered.
the surge is not working
Sounds like things are going slightly downhill. Stay safe Gina, we miss you.