I think it’s fair to say that one of the main barometers for the effectiveness of the surge and Baghdad security crackdown Bush has imposed on the nation is the safety of government officials in Baghdad. For the second day in a row, an attack in Baghdad has targeted a government official. Today, the target was the highest ranking Sunni Muslim in the government, the Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubai. Mr. Zubai was among 15 wounded in the attack, in which 9 people died. Not only does the attack cast doubt on the American troops’ ability to control Baghdad, it also deals a major blow to the Iraqi government’s legitimacy to lose one of its precious few Sunnis.
Learn more on Mother Jones‘ Sunni/Shiite cheat sheet and primer on Iraqi political parties (including Zubai’s Accord Front).
