Jerusalem-on-the-Euphrates
Hey Baghdad, welcome to Israel:
Abd decided to reopen his fruit stand because the barrier erected around the market by U.S. forces had shielded him from harm, despite the huge explosion nearby. “This wall protected us,” he said.
New walls around markets and other public gathering places — one of the most visible features of the military push to stem violence in Baghdad — are meant to counter what U.S. commanders now consider one of the most lethal and psychologically devastating weapons in the insurgents’ arsenal: vehicles that suicide attackers pack with ever more powerful explosives.
…
The barriers and checkpoints have helped reduce civilian casualties by keeping vehicles away from markets, mosques and other places in Baghdad that draw crowds and limiting traffic to pedestrians, mopeds, bicycles and pushcarts. This has led some suicide bombers to detonate their vehicles in places with fewer people, U.S. military officials say.
But the fortifications have drawbacks as well as limitations. Too many roadblocks can choke off the business and community activities they are designed to safeguard.
I thought the media complained only when it was Israeli lives (be they Jewish, Muslim, or Christian) being spared from suicide bombers. I stand corrected.