Wednesday, February 28, 2007

It's looking brighter in Iraq... for some

The Houston Chronicle reprts that Iraqi officials say crackdown working:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Baghdad security operation has been under way less than three weeks, but it has already registered a success: a sharp drop in the number of bullet-riddled bodies found in the streets — victims of sectarian death squads.

The number of bodies found so far this month in Baghdad — most of them shot and showing signs of torture — has dropped by nearly 50 percent to 494 as of Monday night, compared with 954 in January and 1,222 in December, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
This news, coupled with the major weapons cache the U.S. found, which "includes parts for sophisticated roadside bombs that are believed to originate in Iran" would seem to herald good news for Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Paul Harris Show, for one, asks "Is Terrorism Threat Overblown?" which contends that:
The cost of that fear has been millions of dollars wasted on counterterrorism and an higher risk level assigned by the Department of Homeland Security than is necessary.This is an important perspective that is all too rarely heard amid the clamor of voices promoting the way the war on terror is being fought.

The Danes don't think so, as Little Green Footballs reports:
A Danish political party is risking the rage of the Religion of Peace by suggesting that parts of the Koran should be censored.
The report goes on:

A political party named SIAD (Stop Islamiseringen af Danmark-Stop Islamisation of Denmark) has demanded a censorship for parts of Quran, stating that certain parts ‘encourage violence.’

After caricature crisis and the attack on Muslim graves, Denmark has hit the headlines for the third time again with its anti-Islamist movements. A political party called Stop Islamisation of Denmark has claimed that verses of Quran are violating the 67th and 69th articles of the Danish constitution and the mosques across the country should be closed according to the 78th article of the Danish constitution. SABAH Newspaper has talked with the leader Anders Graves of SIAD; a party that has about 400 members. Graves said: “Denmark is our country. Some verses of the Quran are filing me with worries about the lives of my children and grand children.” Stating that they have no intention or expectation on banning the Islam religion across the country Gravers said people living in Denmark should obey the constitution of the country no matter what they believe in.

Of course, there is good reason to fear Islamic radicalization throughout Europe's muslim community. If Muslims cannot tolerate foreign tourists in their own country (Gulf News: cowardly attack against French tourists in Saudi Arabia came at a time when we all thought that the terrorism threat had been contained.), imagine how they must feel as a minority in Europe.

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