Folkiedave the comparison holds good with regard to number of bomb attacks being made.

Whatever you do pleased do not quote numbers and imply that Northern Ireland was anything like the lesser conflict, the numbers killed in Northern Ireland were relatively low but that had nothing to do with the paramilitaries lack of trying for far higher counts. What kept the numbers down was the service to the community as a whole provided by the Police, the Security Services and the Emergency Services.

The point I am making is that Al-Qaeda in Iraq must be really flush with volunteers fully prepared to take on the foreign invader if it has to kidnap, or con, the mentally challenged to perform the role as "Suicide Bomber" (Martyr as dianavan terms it). Hells teeth the brave and gallant Jihadist bastards who set them up didn't even have the guts to steer them towards what ever they could describe as a legitimate military/Police target.