Pending Doom

Two minarets of the much-revered Shi’ite mosque in Samarra were badly damaged this morning in an attack. This was the same mosque that was attacked and terribly damaged last year, which sparked a wave of sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Baghdad will implement a curfew starting at 3:00 p.m. local time, just slightly more than one hour from now. The entire city is bracing itself for the inevitable reprisals by the Shi’a faithful.

The atmosphere reminds me the hurricane warnings that we used to get in Miami. People knew something potentially bad was heading their way and would begin to take the preplanned steps to protect themselves. It’s a mood of anxiousness coupled with pending doom.