There’s been another suicide bombing targeting the UN in Iraq:
“This incident today once again underlines that Iraq remains a war zone and a high risk environment, particularly for those working to improve the lives of the Iraqi people,” Kevin Kennedy, the senior U.N. official in Baghdad, said in a statement read out by Paradela at the scene.
Paradela said U.N. staff did not know why they were being targeted. “It’s not really for lack of security that this happens,” she said. “If people are willing to kill themselves there’s not a lot we can do.”
After the last attack, the general consensus was that the UN was targeted because it was a “softer” target than the American military bases. But now, the bombings almost seem calculated to deter the UN from getting drawn into an expanded role in Iraq, as the US has been encouraging it to do. Even if that wasn’t the intention, it may very well be the result.