I think the U.S. role in the coordinated bombing attacks in Iraq is noteworthy. As this report in The New York Times notes, the U.S. role was remarkable not because the U.S. did too much, but because U.S. troops did nothing, as per our agreement with the Iraqi government:

Insurgents struck at the heart of the Iraqi government on Wednesday in two huge and deadly bombings that exposed a new vulnerability after Americans ceded control for security here on June 30. Nearby American soldiers stood by helplessly — despite the needs of hundreds of wounded lying among the dead — waiting for a request for assistance from Iraqi officials that apparently never came.

“As much as we want to come, we have to wait to be asked now,” said an American officer who arrived at one site almost three hours after the blast and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters. At one blast site, American soldiers snapped pictures of the devastation before ducking out of the streets.

I can’t help but wonder if there will now be calls for a revision of our agreement to turnover security in the cities to Iraqi forces. If it has been shown that they are not up to the task, should we intervene? The video below from MSNBC offers an emphatic “no” to that question, while this commentary in the Guardian offers grounds for optimism that Iraqi security forces will be able to step up and meet the challenge while noting that there will necessarily have to be limits to our restraint.

Photo Credit: Times Online