Iranian Pilgrims

As if we didn't have enough problems in Iraq these days, now we have a new one -- Shi'ite pilgrims crossing the porous border from Iran, trying to get to a couple of Iraqi cities which are considered holy in their belief.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/07/international/middleeast/07PILG.html?8hpib

This seems to me to be just one more reason why we should never have gone into Iraq in the first place. Our Western minds -- especially the minds in control in this country -- have no comprehension of Islam and all its meanings. The fact that American officers say they can't understand why these people are making this trek reveals abject ignorance of the culture.

We have made an awful mess, and we continue to make it worse every day.