Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Iraq, the unraveling (XXXIV): Bombing schoolchildren

I hope there is a special corner of Hell reserved for people who bomb schools, which happened today in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing at least seven students and wounding another 41.  In other news, there was renewed fighting in Tarmiyah, site of one of the more interesting battles of the Surge era in ...

By
575883_091207_RicksChildBomb2.jpg
575883_091207_RicksChildBomb2.jpg

I hope there is a special corner of Hell reserved for people who bomb schools, which happened today in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing at least seven students and wounding another 41. 

In other news, there was renewed fighting in Tarmiyah, site of one of the more interesting battles of the Surge era in Iraq. Nasty little town.

The U.S. Army

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tags: Iraq, Middle East and North Africa

latest

Is Soft Power Making a Comeback?

How to Get Chinese Elites to Support Democracy

South African History From Above

Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?

Who’s Afraid of Europe’s Big, Bad Wolves?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Why Everyone Is Courting Mauritania
  2. 2
    Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?
  3. 3
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  4. 4
    Russia and China Can’t Get Anyone to Like Them
  5. 5
    How to Get Chinese Elites to Support Democracy
  6. 6
    South African History From Above

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.

Trending

  1. No, the World Is Not Multipolar
    Essay
    Jo Inge Bekkevold

  2. The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  3. Is Soft Power Making a Comeback?
    Flash Points
    FP Contributors

  4. Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?
    Report
    Justin Ling

  5. Biden Takes Aim at Putin’s Soft Underbelly in Central Asia
    Report
    Amy Mackinnon