Iraqi Civilians Just Can't Catch a Break -- I wonder why?

Guns fired into the air.  Families, friends and neighbors poured into the streets.  Iraqi flags waved on pickup trucks as horns sounded and crowds cheered.  Moments earlier, Iraq's soccer team had defeated South Korea 4-3 on a penalty kick, giving Iraq a berth in the Asian Cup tournament final.

After this moment of triumph and celebration, several suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the crowd, killing at least 50, and wounding 130.  A number of Iraqi citizens tried putting their disbelief into words:

Qusai Bilal, a 35-year-old Sunni grocer in Ghadeer, was watching theunusual sight of a street party outside his store. Young people dancedand waved flags when tragedy struck.

"A huge blast occurred and, in a second, converted the glorious scene to a black one," he said.

Ahmed Sattar, who makes a living selling kebabs on a sidewalk grill in the district, asked what could motivate the attacker.

"I can't imagine what I had seen," said the 28-year-old Shiite. "Theterrorist changed the happiness to sorrow, sadness. The place of joywas converted to a massacre in a matter of seconds. I'm wondering why."

This was not the doing of al Qaeda.  It was the doing of different Sunni militants seeking revenge against Shiites.  Forget the fact that al Qaeda was not strong in Iraq until we invaded.  The fact is, in relation to this latest episode, we would not be seeing this kind of sectarian violence either had we not invaded.  The no fly zones in the north and south, installed after the first Gulf War, gave Shiites and Kurds cover.  No, it did not prevent every sectarian feud, but we were in control of the situation.  Both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell said it themselves. 

More than four years into the war, half a trillion dollars in treasury is missing, much of it not even included on defense appropriations bills.  Maybe more than one-hundred thousand civilians and nearly four-thousand U.S. soldiers are dead.  And our President wants us there at least until 2009?

Who are we, really?

Comments

[George]

"Forget the fact that al Qaeda was not strong in Iraq until we invaded."

you mean not in Iraq at all?

[granny]

Who are we really?

It's a question that has come up with the reading of every single story posted thus far today ~

Who are we really?