Dozens Killed in Bomb Attacks in Iraq

At Telegraph UK, "Iraq gripped by sectarian crisis as 63 killed in wave of bombings."

At least a dozen separate blasts hit mostly Shia neighbourhoods of the Iraqi city, though some Sunni areas were also affected. The attacks ranged from "sticky bombs" to fully-loaded car bombs, some doubled up to ensure emergency crews were caught by the second blast, a common tactic of Sunni insurgents.

At first sight, the blasts are likely to be attributed to Sunni groups, in response to the hard line taken by the Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the days since American forces observed President Obama's promise to withdraw by the end of the year.He has issued a warrant for the arrest of the Sunni vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi, accusing him of running a hit squad, and called for a vote of no confidence against his own Sunni deputy, vice-premier Saleh al-Mutlaq.

The worst single incident this morning was a suicide attack near a government office in which a stolen ambulance packed with explosives was detonated by its driver, sending debris into the air and into the grounds of a nearby kindergarten. Police said at least 18 people were killed in that bombing alone.

The series of attacks was on course to be the most lethal since at least August. Police suggested they were designed to instil fear rather than to hit specific targets. "They didn't target any vital institutions or security positions," the Baghdad security spokesman, Major General Qassim Atta, said. "They targeted children's schools, day workers, the anti-corruption agency."

Also at Washington Post, "Baghdad explosions kill at least 63 in 1st major violence since U.S. pullout."

As Last Troops Exit Iraq, Obama Spikes the Political Football

At Black Five, "Gloating About Something He Had Little to Do With":

Remember, this is someone who voted against funding for our soldiers in combat in Iraq. Also remember that this plan that has now been executed, i.e. our withdrawal from Iraq, was one negotiated by the previous administration before he ever took office.

But that doesn’t at all keep him from using the event as a campaign ad.

All in good taste, of course.

I wrote on this earlier, "War in Iraq Officially Over."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "As last U.S. troops exit Iraq, they leave a troubled land behind." It's a good piece, despite the typically negative headline.

Progressives Demonize Christopher Hitchens Upon His Death

You see, Christopher Hitchens committed the ultimate sin for the neo-communist left: Once one of them, he turned on progressives with a vengeance in his denunciation of the left's treasonous and enormously self-serving opposition to the Iraq war.

Progressive asshat John Cook has this at Gawker, "Christopher Hitchens’ Unforgivable Mistake." It's a bilious screed that simply ridicules Hitchens without substantively rebutting his arguments.

And also Glenn Greenwald, "Christopher Hitchens and the protocol for public figure deaths" (via Memeorandum).

And progressive hate master Thers, at Pile 'o Shit on Fire:

Hitchens seems to have had a gift for making anyone who ever met him personally forgive him for talking horseshit. Well, fuck him anyhow.

Stay classy, Thers, you f-king idiot. And that goes double for your morally impaired buddies at LGM.

Bonus: DougJ at Balloon Juice almost quit the blog after John Cole issued a fatwa against "ugly corpse-kicking bullshit in this thread." Thers obviously didn't visit the thread.

Senator McCain Slams Obama's Leadership on Iraq

At Weasel Zippers, "McCain Shreds Obama After He Takes Credit For Success of Iraq War: “History Will Judge His Leadership With The Scorn And Disdain It Deserves”…"

This is why I backed McCain in 2008. Good to hear him smack down the administration. We need to hear it.

PREVIOUSLY: "War in Iraq Officially Over."

War in Iraq Officially Over

The main story is at New York Times, "U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over." (At Memeorandum.)

Also, the president's speech at Fort Bragg is at the video here. I watched it. It's ceremonial and symbolically important.

What's bothersome is that Barack Obama, during his time in the U.S. Senate and as a candidate for the White House, held more outright hostility to the war than any other Democrat at the time --- and that's quite an achievement, given the extreme antipathy to the mission in Iraq among the shitwad hate-America dirtbags, murderers, and rapists who did everything in their power to sabotage the deployment. Screw these people. At the video above, Obama in 2008 chirps all the far-left talking points on the war. None grates more obnoxiously than the claim that the "failed" and "mistaken" mission in Iraq was "detracting" from the war in Afghanistan. No sooner did Obama come to power than the stab-America-in-the-back progressives start clamoring for an end to the Afghanistan war. Yes, we can claim we won in Iraq --- and that's what the president did Wednesday in North Carlolina --- but it's an especially triumphant victory given that we beat our foes on the ground in combat and our political foes here at home. The left's war on the Bush administration's national security policy was a treasonous display of hatred that is literally unforgivable for any decent citizen who recognizes the costs of the mission for the country, and especially for those who have fought it. I am not, however, joining the bandwagon of those criticizing the administration's withdrawal. The White House botched negotiations for a continued troop presence --- and no doubt Iran will be increasing its influence in Iraq and across the region by the day --- but our support will continue in other ways, such as the continued deployment of stand-by forces throughout the Persian Gulf theater of operations.

We always find a way to prevail despite the treacherous agenda of the domestic enemies at home.

See also American Glob from last year: "Let Me Be Clear: Obama Deserves ZERO Credit For Iraq."

RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "U.S. military formally ends mission in Iraq."