If it wasn't crystal clear before who was the force for good and who was the force for heartless evil in the struggle for Iraq, today's bombing in Western Baghdad should put the debate to rest:
BAGHDAD, July 13 -- A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. military patrol Wednesday morning in east Baghdad, killing at least 26 people, including many children and an American soldier, and wounding more than 50, police said.
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The suicide bombing occurred at about 10:50 a.m. when a driver detonated a car bomb next to two Army Humvees in the capital's New Baghdad district, according to witnesses. The Humvees were stopped, and American soldiers were handing out candy and toys to neighborhood children, the witnesses said. "Many Iraqi civilians, mostly children, were around the Humvee at the time of the blast," the statement said.
"The terrorist undoubtedly saw the children around the Humvee as he attacked," Maj. Russ Goemaere, a military spokesman, said in the statement. "The complete disregard for civilian life in this attack is absolutely abhorrent."
If the insurgents think they can convince the Iraqi population that the Americans are the evil ones here, then they are sorely mistaken. Killing children is cowardly and disgusting and should only strengthen the resolve of the Iraqi people to oppose the killers in their midst.
Unfortunately I think our efforts in Iraq face another obstacle from the Iraqi people. Some no doubt see these kinds of attacks and think, "these terrorists are killers, but if the Americans were not here my child would be alive." I think this view is probably more prevalent than we would like to think. It's not necessarily a sympathy for the terrorists, but it comes from a sense of desperation and a basic desire for security. Right now, in the eyes of many Iraqis, the American presence is allowing for greater instability. This is why when we first went in you heard some Iraqis bemoan the loss of the "stability" of the Saddam era. It is from this same sentiment that you'll see a stunning silence from the Iraqi people in response to horrific events like this. Few will stand up and see the obvious good that the Americans do and say no to the insurgents. Right now, I think there is a simple desire for peace - however it may be. As sad as that is, it is the result of decades of low expectations. That is what we are really fighting against.
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