Interesting AP Article

Iraqi kids play make-believe war games
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Toting menacing looking toy guns, young boys swarm around an abandoned car, chanting battle cries of a Shiite militia and pointing their play weapons at the "terrorist" in the driver's seat. Outnumbered, the boy playing a would-be suicide bomber surrenders.

I read this first paragraph and thought, "Wow! This is great! This is like when I was a kid and we would play cops and robbers." Of course everyone wanted to be the cops, the "good guys," and the cops always won because the robber is the "bad guy." All young boys go through a stage where they see the world as being only a struggle of good vs evil, the good guys versus the bad guys, and almost every little boy wants to be the good guy who gets the girl, stops the bad guy, and saves the day.

That Iraqi boys are playing "soldier" vs "terrorist" has GOT to be good news, right? They are in the phase where they see the world as good vs evil, and the good side is NOT the terrorist. This is good news, right?

Well, the rest of the article talks about how horrible it is that children would want to play with toy guns and how this sort of behavior is likely to lead to more sectarian violence. So much for that story... but the first paragraph - I think - is a good sign.