Bloodbath In Iraq

FROM HERE. 

Police spokesman Lt Col Dhurgam Mohammed Hassan said the first bomb went off in a freezer used to keep drinks cold. As rescuers and onlookers gathered, a parked car bomb exploded; 35 people were killed and 64 injured.Police sealed off the area where human flesh was scattered on the ground and bloodstained walls were punctured by shrapnel.Earlier this month, Iraqi political leaders announced they would begin negotiations with the US to determine whether to keep a small number of American forces in the country past December 31.All US troops must leave by the end of this year, but both Iraqi and US officials have expressed concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect the country.Theodore Karasik, a Middle East security expert at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analyst, said al-Qaida in Iraq is trying to disrupt the internal Iraqi political process and send a message to the Americans."It seems that al-Qaida in Iraq is playing a propaganda game at the same time it's trying to show that it can still carry out deadly violence," Karasik said. "If the US extends its military presence, al-Qaida in Iraq can use it as a tool by saying, `Look, the Americans have reversed their decision to leave and are staying on as occupiers.' They could use this as a justification for more attacks."