The country known today as Iraq — formerly called Mesopotamia — lies in the Middle East, with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers running through it. The region has been called the “Cradle of Civilization” because of its ancient culture.
But we have been reminded over many centuries — and most tragically in the recent years of U.S. military involvement in the Iraq war — that that area is not always particularly “civilized.”
The most recent reminder came as domestic bombings and coordinated attacks killed at least 70 people and wounded hundreds more — just last Monday.
The astonishing attacks occurred in well over a dozen cities in that troubled country!
We are sadly aware that there are enemy factions, as well as outright terrorists, among the Iraqis. But what are indiscriminate explosions in the midst of civilian populations gaining for any of those factions? What are their aspirations?
What can they possibly hope to achieve — except, perhaps, to gain control over the country through the force of sheer terror?