It occurs to me that the events in Iraq really do need blanket, constant live coverage, especially in this instance: this morning, a suicide car bomber killed at least 26 people… most of them children.
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.
… 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.”
Some of the dead were inside two nearby houses that were destroyed by the explosion. Neighbors said an entire family was killed in one of the homes.
If there was ever an event to galvanize the civilian population of Iraq — and potentially Muslim communities everywhere — to denounce and defeat terrorists, this is it. Where in the Koran or any other holy book for any other religion does it sanction the murder of innocent children? How can any sane person look the other way when a horrific, disgusting attack like this is planned or takes place? If the Iraqi media — such as it is — reports that terrorists are targeting civilian children and families, how will the Iraqi people respond?
The Post article goes on to point out that a similar attack in September killed 35 children who were accepting candy from American soldiers. The image of soldiers making friends with kids is heartwarming, but I wonder if it isnt best at this point for our soldiers — as targets of attack — to remain at a distance from the kids?
