A Dangerous Weekend

Well, it was a deadly weekend. Sunday saw the worst bombings in Baghdad this year, destroying key ministries and leaving at least 160 dead and over 500 wounded. As elections approach, renewed violence may be predictable, but unwelcome. The tendency to declare Iraq pacified and stable may have been a bit premature.

Meanwhile, weekend clashes on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, while less bloody, are a worrisome escalation of tensions in the Holy City. Rumors seem to have sparked Muslim protests, but the growing tensions are real; the most intransigent elements on both sides — the settler movement and hard-core Islamists — are spoiling for a showdown. Not good.