Insurgency In Iraq
This column was written by CBS News Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith.
It's been just over a month since the Iraqis announced their new government April 28th.
Since then more than 800 Iraqis have died in various suicide attacks. Kimberly Dozier our correspondent based in Bagdhad says there were 69 suicide bombings in April and 90 in May. Iraqis are dying by the hundreds -- an estimated 12,000 civilians dead in the last year and a half. Quibble with that number if you must, though it comes from the Iraqi government. It's all too staggering to really comprehend.
Dozier told us on the Evening News last night that American military commanders have said they're seeing signs bomb makers may be running short of delivery men -- more remote triggered bombs and drivers actually chained to their cars.
Then our National Defense Correspondent David Martin relayed the story of devious car dealers and mechanics in Baghdad installing remote controlled bombs in the vehicles of unsuspecting motorists. Get a tune up, drive off in a weapon.
The insurgency ebbs and flows. It's like a science fiction monster, that when wounded, seeks shelter for a while, mutates and comes back even deadlier than before. This movie is dying for a happy ending. but it feels more like the middle than the end.
That recent push by the Iraqi military has resulted in more than 700 arrests and 28 killed insurgents. Maybe we will see a change in the days ahead. But, don't hold your breath. The plot in Iraq just keeps repeating itself. In May, 77 Americans died trying to write a new one.
By Harry Smith