This weekend saw a spate of violence, with terrorist attacks in Iraq, Turkey and India. These attacks remind us of the terrible appeal of nationalism and extremism. American foreign policy should focus on containing and providing alternative outlets for these forces. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration’s invasion of Iraq and its ill-conceived foreign policies have often done more to exacerbate the problem than address it.

Separate bombings kill 43 in Baghdad and Kirkuk. On Monday, bombs exploded during a Shi’a pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish rally in northern Iraq, killing at least 43 and wounding many more. In Baghdad, a roadside bomb and three suicide attackers exploded in quick succession among Shi’a pilgrims making their way to a shrine. According to police and hospital officials, the bombs killed at least 28 people and wounded 92. In a separate attack at a Kurdish rally in the northern city of Kirkuk, a bomb killed at least 15 people and wounded 170 others. The rally was held in protest of the draft provincial elections law because the Kurds were against the power-sharing formula in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The law was vetoed by the Iraq’s Kurdish President, Jalal Talibani. [AP, 7/28/08]

Bombings in Turkey leave 17 dead. Two Sunday evening blasts in eastern Istanbul left 17 people dead and more than 150 wounded. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, the deadliest in the country since 2003. However, Turkish police are carefully looking at the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for any involvement in the attacks. [Reuters, 7/28/08]

Two waves of attacks shook India this weekend. A series of bombings killed 49 and wounded more than 200 in Bangalore and Ahmadabad in India Friday and Saturday. A group calling itself the Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the attacks. The attack on Ahmadabad, capital of the western province Gujarat, consisted of as many as 20 small coordinated explosions. The weekend attacks underscored the high level of violence in India. The National Counterterrorism Center in Washington concluded last year that from January 2004 to March 2007, 3,674 people had died in India from terrorist attacks, second only to Iraq during the same period. [The Economist, 7/28/08; NY Times, 7/28/08]

Quick Hits

The LA Times examines the Bush administration policy shortcomings towards Pakistan and how the next administration will inherit a highly volatile situation there.

Turkey’s ruling party, the AKP, a moderate, Muslim, Democratically elected party, may be outlawed by Turkey’s highest judicial body, striking a major blow to Turkish democracy. The decision would also ban the AKP’s leading figures, including the current Prime Minister and President, from government for five years. The ruling will carry enormous implications for Turkey’s stability and global prospects for Islamic democracy.

The New York Times Magazine investigated Afghanistan’s flourishing opium trade.

The Washington Post is running a series on energy security this week entitled “Oil Shock.” The New York Times also has a piece today on the effect of energy subsidies.

Congress approved a major housing bill on Saturday designed to help homeowners and mitigate fluctuation in the global markets, which shook last week following fears of a Freddie Mae or Fannie Mac collapse.