Shia don't bomb Sunni markets

I think it's important to note that the Iraqi Shia have shown great restraint this year in the face of Sunni extremist terrorism directed at them. The Iraqi Shia showed similar restraint in 2004 and 2005, after hundreds of bombings killed and maimed thousands of innocent Shia and Iraqi ISF. Even at the height of the sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, Iraqi militia did not bomb markets in Sunni neighborhoods.

Even more remarkably, in my opinion, the Iraqi Shia did not bomb markets in Sunni neighborhoods before 2003. During the 24 years of totalitarian rule by Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, Shia rebels did not cause mass casualty bombings in markets or police stations in his home town or any Sunni neighborhood, maybe because the Shia knew that doing so would result in the deaths of innocent people. The Shia did not bomb markets or Saddam's security forces, despite Saddam's campaign of imprisonment, murder, and ethnic cleansing against Iraq's Shia that started in 1979. Nor do Shia bomb markets in Doha, Riyadh, or Amman. It is simply immoral and unjust to punish innocent Sunni civilians for the actions of Sunni extremists.

Western journalists have acknowledged the sectarian nature of the conflict in Iraq, but many still ignore the history of sectarian conflict in Iraq before 2003, and many Arabs continue to refuse to describe Iraq in sectarian terms. Even calling Saddam a "Sunni" dictator just two years ago drew condemnation from some people in the blogosphere. Where are those people now? How do they feel about the incredible violence that Sunni extremists continue to level at innocent Iraqis? They don't seem to be blaming America as much, but they don't blame the Wahhabi-influenced 3arab jarab either.

Perhaps western journalists are more objective than Arab journalists. But almost every day I read articles that assert the 2003 US invasion triggered sectarian violence in Iraq. From a Reuters article:

'The 2003 U.S. invasion triggered years of sectarian bloodshed between Iraq's once dominant minority Sunnis and majority Shi'ites, who stand to dominate any democratic vote.

Sunni Islamist insurgents such as al Qaeda consider Shi'ites heretics, and by bombing Shi'ite targets, they were able to spark a sectarian war that almost tore Iraq apart.

But more recent attacks on Shi'ites have failed to trigger a similar response, partly due to government crackdowns on Shi'ite militias, militia ceasefires, and reluctance of the Iraqi public to support sectarian causes after years of war.'

So was it the US invasion that triggered sectarian violence or was it Sunni Islamist insurgents? The US invaded Iraq in March, 2003, but Sunni extremists seemed more inclined to kill Iraqi Shia, Kurds, and Iraqi ISF than American soldiers, especially after Saddam was captured.

I have posted about the number of suicide bombings as a line graph before, but perhaps it is more explanatory as a bar graph with key events:



I find these numbers to be astounding and horrifying. But the Angry Arab and most Arab bloggers don't seem to be angered by the horror caused by the murderous 3arab jarab in Baghdad, and overall Arab bloggers don't seem to care as much about Arab terrorism as they do about occupation and "resistance".

I asked on KABOBfest today: 'Do any of our Arab "brothers" here give a shit about the seemingly unending Arab terrorism that continues to mass murder and maim innocent Iraqis?' Yesterday I asked an Arab American (on her blog) currently living in Cairo how Egyptians perceive Iraqis, and whether the Egyptian press has covered the deaths of 127 innocent Iraqis. She did not respond. Arab and Arab American apathy about Arab terrorism in Iraq is clear enough, but it's always good to get confirmation.