I often think of Iraq as NRA-land. In Iraq, every male over 10 has at least one automatic rifle. (Who makes all the money from that?) Therefore, according to the NRA, Iraq is a paradise on earth, where each man is his own master and personally responsible for his own defense. In Iraq, men do not cower under desks — they shoot!

Curiously, the NRA doesn’t crow in public about this paradise. As strangely, they say nothing about how Iraq also shows the other face of the NRA: the government wants your weapons. There is no question that in Iraq, the government has tried to confiscate weapons. Worse, US soldiers play a major role in this round-up of a freedom-loving people’s last defense against a tyrannical government. How can the NRA remain silent and look the other way? How does the NRA know those soldiers won’t come home and take your weapons next? mjh

Gunmen kill 43 in northern Iraq by Thomas Wagner, The Associated Press

BAGHDAD – Gunmen shot and killed 23 members of an ancient religious sect in northern Iraq on Sunday after stopping their bus and separating out followers of other faiths, while car bombings in the capital killed at least another 20 people.