Two massive explosions on the same day this week in different parts of the world caused widespread devastation and many deaths. The first blast, in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, was so huge it was actually seen in space. Scores of people appear to have died and hundreds more have been injured. So great was the force of the explosion that the shockwave took out windows several kilometers away. Many serious injuries have been caused by shards of glass. By contrast, the second blast, some 6,300 kilometers almost due west in a crowded Baghdad marketplace, was not visible from space. Close to 60 people were blown to pieces and around 100 maimed. The cause of the Tianjin disaster has yet to be revealed, but the suspicion is that a weapons shipment stored in a warehouse somehow blew up, seconds later triggering a far more serious explosion in a neighboring chemical store. Pictures of the devastation taken when daylight came show horrific scenes. No less awful are the images of the aftermath of the truck bomb in the Jameela market in Sadr City, Baghdad. Grim-faced rescuers in the Iraqi capital are shown sifting through the wreckage looking for body parts. Herein lies a difference between the two disasters. Iraqis are no strangers to this type of carnage. Terrorist car bombs are part and parcel of everyday life, particularly in Baghdad. In Tianjin, however, there is widespread shock and anger that such an appalling incident could have occurred. The authorities in Beijing are already mounting an urgent investigation. How could safety precautions have been so obviously flouted so that two highly dangerous cargos were stored side by side? However, the two horrendous explosions also have something in common. Put plainly - life goes on. In both Baghdad and Tianjin, the cleanup is already underway. Shattered buildings will be repaired or replaced. Damaged infrastructure will be fixed. Those fortunate enough to have suffered only minor injuries will recover and return to their daily round. The destruction in both cities needs to be taken in context. In North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and in Germany and Britain during the Second World War, high explosives rained down from bombers causing far greater damage to cities and the civilian populations who lived in them. In each country the spirit of the populations was not broken. If anything the devastation strengthened the will to fight on. Looked at this way, the depravities of terrorists in Iraq and Syria are actually mere scratches. For the victims and their families, the consequences are of course shattering. But life goes on for everyone. The vast majority of Iraqis want peace and stability. They look upon the terrorists and their perverted ambitions with complete contempt. Al-Qaeda, Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) and their demented minions simply cannot win. They are completely outnumbered by a majority of decent folk. It is not just that the security forces will hunt them down but that they have no chance of victory. In their sick minds, they may regard the mass slaughter of a marketplace crowd, which included women and children, to be a victory. But this just demonstrates that they exist on another planet where human values are entirely absent. Within months, a visitor to Tianjin or Sadr City will see little evidence of the disasters that have taken place his week. The resolute human spirit will have returned both places to normal and in Baghdad this will mark yet another defeat for the terrorists.
