Terrorists are not insurgents

I keep reading articles that say (or quote people who say) "insurgents" detonated bombs in Baghdad and "insurgents" threaten more attacks on Christians. I just looked up the definition of "insurgent" in the Advanced English Dictionary (AED, iPhone app). According to AED, an insurgent is a "person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)." AED offers three synonyms: "insurrectionist", "freedom fighter", and "rebel". AED gives another definition of insurgent, with "guerrilla" as a synonym: a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment.

The people responsible for this week's massacres of Iraqis are NOT insurgents.

From Time:

'The bomb that destroyed the cafe near Abdullah's house in Baghdad's Almeen district was one of at least 12 explosives-laden vehicles that were detonated almost simultaneously by remote control in mostly Shi'a areas on Tuesday. The Ministry of Health reported 86 dead and more than 360 injured. Security officials have blamed Al-Qaeda in Iraq and claimed the terror group had support from unnamed regional countries. The U.S. military has been quoted describing the attacks as typical of the homegrown al-Qaeda groups.

The day before, gunmen overran a Christian church in the middle-class Karada neighborhood during Sunday services, instantly murdering the attending priest and an acolyte. In the hostage siege that followed, 52 people were killed and 73 wounded when attackers sprayed bullets and set off suicide vests. Officials said the gunmen were Arabic-speaking foreign nationals. Later, the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq released a statement warning of more attacks against Christians — another devastating blow to Iraq's milleniums-old Christian community.

...Says Joost Hiltermann, Midddle East director of the International Crisis Group: "I am far from convinced that the attacks were a game changer, but let's wait and see. They are part of a pattern of such attacks aimed at jump-starting civil war, modeled on the success of similar attempts in 2004-2005. Insurgents will be successful only if no government is formed, or if a government emerges that is not inclusive of all of Iraq's main communities." Hiltermann points out, however, that forming a government that placates each of Iraq's different communities, as was the case in 2005, has its drawbacks as well. "An inclusive government could be very good at maintaining security; however, it would not be particularly effective at governing," because divvying up a government among Sunni, Shi'a and Kurdish power brokers could leave the administration as hamstrung as ever as it tries to pass laws, distribute petrodollars and protect its citizens.'

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2029501,00.html#ixzz14LKhRD9c

I'm not even sure if the terrorists' primary aim is to incite civil war in Iraq. It seems the terrorists' primary aim is to punish the Iraqi population so that most Iraqis will condemn the current government. No need to kill Iraqis ya mujrimeen (murderers). The government in Baghdad is condemnable enough without your terrorism. The AQ-Saddamist alliance wants to show the world that Iraqis were better off under Saddam. They do this by terrorizing Iraqis.

Death toll rises to 76 in Baghdad

"Sixteen bombs went off across Iraq's capital on Tuesday, many at restaurants and coffee shops full of civilians. The death toll climbed to 76 in the first hours following the blasts, but that number could keep rising as rescuers comb through the debris."

Al Qaeda continues to mass murder innocents at Iraqi cafes and restaurants. Meanwhile in other Arab countries, citizens drink Starbucks and eat McDonalds without worry.

"Resistance" continues to kill Iraqis

"A bomb in a parked car ripped through a Sadr City neighborhood Wednesday evening, killing seven young people who had gathered at a nearby cafe to drink tea and play dominoes, Iraqi officials said.

The attack comes just days after a string of shootings and bombings convulsed the country in Iraq's worst violence so far this year. The violence appears designed to stir up sectarian tensions at a time when Iraq still has no new government after inconclusive parliamentary elections and as U.S. troops prepare to go home."

The "resistance" killed Iraqis at yet another cafe just two days after a suicide bomber killed 55 Iraqis at a textile factory in Hilla. Meanwhile the 3arab jarab continue to drink Starbucks without worry in Riyadh, Doha, Cairo, Amman, and LA.

Starbucks in the Arab World

Over the years I have heard Arabs and Arab Americans calling to boycott Starbucks because its CEO (a Jew!) allegedly shares his wealth with Israel.  As Arabs and Arab Americans continue to preach "resistance" and hate the "puppet" government of Iraq, and as Arab terrorists continue to wage war on innocent Iraqis, often targeting small cafes, in nine Arab countries customers buy frappuccinos without worrying about terrorism or "resistance":  

• 24 Starbucks in Egypt, which has cooperated with Israel in stopping weapons smuggling into Gaza, and has been accused of strangling Gaza's economy.
• More than 90 Starbucks in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc), host to a US Air Force base. 
• 10 Starbucks in Qatar, along with Al Jazeera headquarters and a very important US military base called "CENTCOM". 
• 71 Starbucks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including 26 in Mecca (holy cappuccino!). In 1991 KSA hosted almost a million foreign troops, 73% of whom were American.
• 16 Starbucks in Lebanon. 
• 10 Starbucks in Jordan, home of Zarqawi and the deranged sons of Salt.
• 12 Starbucks in Bahrain, host to a US Naval base. 
• 7 Starbucks in Oman, which makes its military bases available for use by the US.  
• 72 Starbucks in Kuwait, which makes its air bases available for use by the US and is also host to a few US Army bases.  

And there have been more than 1,700 suicide bombings in Iraq.

PS: As an afterthought (again!) I thought I should explain that in 2007: 

About 45% of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians and security forces are from Saudi Arabia; 15% are from Syria and Lebanon; and 10% are from North Africa, according to official U.S. military figures made available to The Times by the senior officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq are Saudis, he said.

And in 2005: 

Who are the suicide bombers of Iraq? By the radicals' account, they are an internationalist brigade of Arabs, with the largest share in the online lists from Saudi Arabia and a significant minority from other countries on Iraq's borders, such as Syria and Kuwait. The roster of the dead on just one extremist Web site reviewed by The Washington Post runs to nearly 250 names, ranging from a 13-year-old Syrian boy said to have died fighting the Americans in Fallujah to the reigning kung fu champion of Jordan, who sneaked off to wage war by telling his family he was going to a tournament.

Since 2004, Iraq has been the only country in the Arab world that is ruled by Shia.

I had to revise this post a few times because I kept finding more Arab countries with Starbucks and it took some time researching the American military presence in each country.  Also I tried to read it from the perspective of somebody who has little understanding of the history and sectarian nature of the conflict.

Are the Arabs not the biggest hypocrites in the world?

United By Bombing

Iraqi leaders say bombing will unite them

By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Yara Bayoumy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Leaders from across Iraq's sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament on Friday, gathering under high security to condemn a suicide bombing that tore through the building the day before.

A senior government source said authorities had intelligence that militants were planning an attack on parliament before Thursday's bombing, which killed a member of parliament and wounded two dozen other people in the building's restaurant.

An al Qaeda-backed group, the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, claimed responsibility in a Web statement for the worst breach of security in Baghdad's most secure area -- the Green Zone that also houses government offices and embassies.

Three workers in the cafe had been detained, a top lawmaker from the ruling Shi'ite Alliance bloc said. The Interior Ministry said it would not give details of the investigation.

"We had prior intelligence that there would be an attack on the parliament," the government source told Reuters, without giving specific details of when the information had been received or what the nature of the threat was.

Security was heavy on Friday as parliament met. Vehicles and their drivers were thoroughly searched and mobile checkpoints set up. Police raided houses inside the sprawling compound.

The bombing came two months into a crackdown in Baghdad that U.S. officials hope will give the government breathing space to pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war between majority Shi'ites and once dominant minority Sunni Arabs.

Killing Kids

It's so sad to see kids get hurt like this. Terrorists continue to defeat the Americans and the Iraqi government by mass murdering and maiming innocent Iraqi civilians. To me it is incomprehensible, but not surprising when I consider what Saddam's regime and Al Qaeda have done to civilians in the past. See also Determined Pilgrims Prove Endurance of Faith

An Iraqi Shiite boy who lost his leg in yesterday's car bomb attack against pilgrims, rests at a hospital in the central town of of Hilla today. The death toll from a suicide attack on Shiite pilgrims in Iraq climbed to 117 today, amid fears any backlash

25 Killed in Coffee Shop Suicide Bombing

Baghdad, March 7, (VOI) – Main security developments in Iraq on Wednesday:

Baghdad- Iraqi security forces arrested on Wednesday 38 gunmen in a raid to Haifa street area in central Baghdad, a security source said.

Diwaniya – Unknown gunmen killed a police officer along with his 10-year-old son in a drive-by shooting in Diwaniya, 180 km south of Baghdad, a police source said on Wednesday.

Basra- A gunman was wounded by British forces when he attacked along with an armed group a British base in the city of Basra, 550 km south of Baghdad, the spokeswoman for the Multi-National forces in the southern Iraq said on Wednesday.

Baghdad- At least three Shiite pilgrims were killed and ten others were wounded on Wednesday when unknown gunmen ambushed them in southern Baghdad, a security source said.

Diala- A joint Iraqi and U.S. force arrested the senior leader of an al-Qaeda Iraqi cell in Muqdadiya town, Diala province, 57km northeast of Baghdad, a police source said on Wednesday.

Dujail- Four civilians were killed and another one was wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire at their car near al-Mushahda district, a police source from Shiite Dujail in Salah ad-Din province, north of Baghdad, said on Wednesday.

Baghdad- Seven gunmen were killed and 120 suspected militants were arrested by Iraqi security forces in several areas in Baghdad, during the past 24 hours, under the Baghdad law-imposing plan, the Baghdad operations command said on Wednesday.

Falluja- A group of unidentified gunmen on Wednesday waged an attack on an Iraqi military base in the city of Falluja, Anbar province, while four bodies were found in the city, a security source said.

Kirkuk- Two Iraqi policemen were wounded on Wednesday when an explosive charge went off near their police vehicle patrol in Kirkuk, 250km northeast Baghdad, said a police source.

Baghdad- At least eight people were killed and 20 others wounded on Wednesday when a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb near a police checkpoint set up to protect Shiite pilgrims in southern Baghdad, a police source said.

Diala- At least 25 civilians were killed and 20 more were wounded on Wednesday afternoon when a suicide attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body inside a coffee house near Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, a police source said.

Mosul- A gunman was killed on Wednesday in clashes with Iraqi soldiers in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a security source said.

Suicide Bombings in Iraq since 2003

I found this list of suicide bombings in Iraq on Wikipedia, and every time I look at it I'm amazed by the growing number of bombings and the total number of people killed. Most of the victims have been civilians, and I wonder what these bombers hoped to accomplish by killing innocent civilians.

Suicide bombings in Iraq since 2003

2003

• March 29: Iraqi soldier Ali Hammadi al-Namani kills 4 US soldiers in a suicide car bombing near Najaf, the first such attack.
• August 19: Canal Hotel Bombing, in Baghdad, kills 22 people (including the top UN representative Sergio Vieira de Mello) and wounds over 100.
• August 29: Car bomb outside Imam Ali Mosque, in Najaf, kills more than 80 people, including SCIRISayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. leader

2004

• February 1: 109 Kurds are killed in 2 suicide bombings in Arbil.
• March 2: Ashoura Massacre: Suicide bombings at Shia holy sites kill 181 and wound more than 500 during the Ashura.
• April 21: Basra bombs kill 74 and injure hundreds.
• July 28: "70 killed, 56 wounded" by a suicide car bomb "next to a line of police applicants."^[3]
• September 30: "42 dead, 35 of them children,... as U.S. troops handed out sweets in western Baghdad."^[4]
• December 19: "54 killed... amid a funeral procession in Najaf."^[5]

2005

• January 13: The Associated Press reports that of 181 car bombings since the creation of the Iraqi interim government at the end of June, 68 were suicide attacks.^[6]
• February 28: About 125 people are killed by a suicide car bomb outside a medical center in Hilla, south of Baghdad.
• July 16: A suicide bomber blows up an oil tanker in the predominantly Shiite town of Musayyib, killing 98 people.
• August 31: About 1000 people died in a stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad, after warnings of an imminent suicide bombing.

2006

• January 2: A suicide bomber kills 7 people on a bus in Baquba. [7]
• January 5: A suicide bomber in Ramadi blew himself up outside a police station[8]
• January 6: More than a hundred people are killed when a suicide bomber detonated near a Shia holy shrine[9][10]
• January 8: A suicide bomber targeted an Interior Ministry patrol, and one policeman was killed in the explosion which wounded 7 others [11][12]
• January 23: A suicide bomber kills 3 people and injures 7 others near the Iranian embassy in Baghdad. [13]
• March 10: A suicide truck bomber kills eight and wounds 11 at a checkpoint in Falluja. [14]
• March 27: A suicide bomber kills 30 to 40 people at a security-forces recruitment center in northern Iraq [15]
• April 3: Ten die and 38 are wounded during a suicide truck bomb attack near a Shiite mosque in northeastern Baghdad [16]
• April 7: Three suicide bombers target the Baratha mosque in Baghdad, killing 81 people and wounding 160. [17] [18]
• April 11: A suicide bomber kills an American soldier in Raweh. [19]
• April 17: A suicide car bombing in Ramadi wounds one U.S. Marine. [20]
• May 2: Ten people die and six are injured when a suicide bomber explodes near a convoy carrying the governor of Anbar in central Ramadi. [21]
• May 3: Suicide bomber kills 16 and wounds 25 at a police recruitment center in Falluja. [22]
• May 6: Suicide bomber kills three Iraqi soldiers at a base in Tikrit. [23]
• May 7: Suicide bomber kills five and wounds 18 in Karbala. [24]
• May 9: A suicide car bombing kills 20 and wounds 37 in Tal Afar. [25]
• May 21: A suicide bomber kills 13 and wounds 18 in a restaurant in central Baghdad. [26]
• June 11: A suicide car bomb explodes at an Iraqi Army checkpoint in Baquba, killing three Iraqi soldiers and wounding six.
• June 16: A suicide bomber slips into a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing 11 and wounding 25 during Friday prayers. [27]
• June 20: A suicide bomber kills two and injures two in a senior citizens' home in Basra. [28]
• June 26: Two Iraqi police commandos die and four people are injured when a suicide bomber explodes at a military checkpoint in western Baghdad. [29]
• June 29: A suicide car bomber kills five and wounds at least 31 during a wake for an Iraqi soldier in Kirkuk. [30] [31]
• July 12: A suicide bomber blows himself up in a restaurant in southern Baghdad, killing seven and injuring 20. [32]
• July 16: A suicide bomber strikes a cafe in Tuz Khurmatu, killing 23 to 26 people. [33] [34]
• July 18: A suicide car bomb kills 53 to 59 people and injures more than 100 at a market in Kufa. [35][36]
• July 23: 32 to 34 are killed and 65 to 70 are wounded when a suicide bomber driving a minibus blows it up near a market in Sadr City, Baghdad. [37] [38]
• August 1: A suicide car bomber kills at least 10 people and wounds 22 near an Iraqi army convoy in central Baghdad. [39]
• August 4: A suicide bomber in a pick-up truck blew up in an athletic field in Hadhar, killing 10 and wounding 12. [40] [41]
• August 6: A suicide bomber attacks a funeral in central Tikrit, killing 15 people and injuring 17. [42] [43]
• August 7: Nine soldiers die and 10 civilians are injured due to a suicide truck bomb in Samarra. [44]
• August 10: A suicide bomber struck a checkpoint near a shrine in Najaf, killing 35 and injuring 122. [45][46]
• August 15: A suicide truck bomber killed nine people and wounded 36 outside the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Mosul.[47]
• August 28: In Baghdad, 11 people died when a suicide car bomber attacked a compound of the Iraqi interior ministry.In Baghdad, dozens of people were injured in the mid-morning blast outside the interior ministry. The ministry complex has been frequently targeted in the past and is heavily guarded. At least eight policemen are reported to be among the fatalities. The Baghdad bomber struck as UK Defence Minister Des Browne was in the capital for talks with Iraqi officials.[48]
• November 1: A car bomb blast ripped through a wedding party in north Baghdad yesterday, killing 15 guests -- including four children -- and wounding 19 more, a security official said.
• November 13: A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up inside a bus Monday in northeastern Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding 17 others, emergency police said.
• November 18: Bomb kills 20 people in city of Hilla: A suicide bomber in a minivan killed 20 people and wounded 46 after detonating the explosives near a crowd of day laborers in a southern Iraqi city, police said.