We haven’t seen a lot of news out of Iraq lately, but that may be about to change. This is from AMN:

 The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in central Baghdad on Thursday that killed more than 30 civilians and wounded 100 more.

The article notes that it has been more than a year since ISIS has carried out attacks inside the capitol of Iraq.  Here is video of one of the explosions.

This video shows the moment the second bomb went off in a local market in Iraq's Baghdad. The death toll has risen to at least 28 pic.twitter.com/9teCUwqDz2

— TRT World (@trtworld) January 21, 2021

That begs the question of “Why now?” Is this another test of the boundaries of the just installed President Biden? ISIS probably remembers President Obama’s thoughts on their rise in the Middle East. Here is his quote in the New Yorker:

“The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama said, resorting to an uncharacteristically flip analogy. “I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.

Some may think this is just the second coming of the Obama administration. It is easy to think that when you look at his cabinet appointments.

As President-elect Joe Biden crafts his Cabinet and White House team of advisers, he has pledged to make it the most diverse team in history. But in his picks so far, there is one thing that most of his team will have in common: service in the Obama administration.

I don’t think we have heard many thoughts from the new administration about the Middle East yet, but I’ll bet that when we do, it will all seem familiar.