Insurgents Attack 13 Iraqi Cities

This can’t be good: Iraqi insurgents hit 13 cities and towns throughout the country in a series of coordinated attacks, ranging from car bomb blasts to hit-and-run shootings to roadside mines. The death toll was estimated at about 51, but the attacks also helped underscore last week’s departure of the last American combat forces. President Barack Obama will deliver a speech Monday about the war, during which the mission will then be renamed “New Dawn.” U.S. officials have insisted the troop reduction will eventually lead to local police and security forces taking over the fight against insurgents. Wednesday’s attacks hit some of the largest battlefields of the war: Mosul, Basra, Fallujah, Ramadi, Tikrit, Kirkuk, and Karbala. Despite constant military announcements about the American withdrawal, it has gone virtually unnoticed in Iraq.