The following article was written by Ben Lando, founder and bureau chief of Iraq Oil Report, a Baghdad-based information service, and contributing editor for Platts. His story is reproduced here with his consent.
Insurgent violence in Baghdad is not new for Iraqis. On the afternoon of January 25, three teams of suicide attackers staged coordinated, vehicle-born bombings of three popular capital hotels. By the morning of January 26, shattered glass was being swept from nearby storefronts and new window panes were being installed.
The Iraqi resolve is born of constant siege. On the morning of January 26, as lives torn apart the day before were being stitched back together, an investigations directorate of the Ministry of Interior was bombed, killing at least 17. Any investor in Iraq has to expect such instability -- both seemingly random and utterly predictable.
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