Banned in Baghdad

Now banned in Baghdad:

• falafel
• goatees
• mayonnaise (made in Israel after all)
• smokes
• shorts (a tennis coach and two of his players were murdered for wearing shorts)
• T-shirts with English writing
• ice (no, really)

So what is the takeaway here? Is it

1. Islamist extremism has grown so fanatical and resistant to the modern world that it is not remotely compatible with any other system of belief or governance. Like to wear shorts? You die.
2. Or… The war in Iraq has done nothing to stop terrorism and now we’re seeing muderous, Taliban-style fascism in Baghdad.

June 13th, 2006