Examining the reasons behind the recent violence in Iraq

Three suicide car bombings killed dozens in Iraq this weekend. Though no one has taken credit for the attacks, which targeted foreign embassies, Rod Nordland, foreign correspondent for The New York Times says it’s widely believed that al Qaida of Mesopotamia is to blame.

Rod says that the violence may have served several purposes: to retake the initiative after years of retreat, to undermine the confidence in Iraq’s security forces, and to protest Iranian influence on the development of Iraq’s nascent, independent government.

Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies at Columbia University, lays out a plan for a future power sharing between the divergent interests in Iraq. The only problem? Peace may come at the sacrifice of American diplomacy, a sacrifice we seem unwilling or unfit to provide.