Iraq continues to boil . . .

Item:

Iraqi forces have arrested an MP, killing his brother and five of his guards during a raid on his home in the western city of Ramadi.

Ahmed al-Awlani, a member of the Sunni community, had backed protests against the mainly Shia government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and was reportedly wanted on terrorism charges.

Police said Mr Awlani's guards opened fire as officers arrived to detain him.
Another 18 people were wounded in the ensuing skirmish, an official said.

BBC story.

We think of the war as over, but in fact there is more sectarian violence in Iraq than when the U.S. pulled out. On the one hand, al Qaeda extremists are targeting anyone working with the government, and recently staged some prominent attacks in Baghdad. On the other hand, the Shiite-dominated government is widely viewed by Sunnis (and some Shiites) as being a puppet of Iran. It all makes for a bloody mess.

What's interesting in this "arrest" - besides the possible unconstitutionality of it - is the fact that it took place in Ramadi, a city that saw a great deal of fighting during the American occupation. (We touch on a small part of the battle in American Sniper.) Ramadi was immediately declared a success of American kumbaya policy* - more a pr a statement than something factual.

Nation-building was mostly bullshit; the heavy lifting was done by American bullets and bombs. Once the Americans left, the fighting resumed and will undoubtedly continue to escalate.

* After the folk song where everyone joins hands around the fire and lives happily ever after.