Baghdad restaurants refuse to serve Iraqi police--fear of getting bombed

[rainbow4321]

Uh-huh..freedom..on the march...the people/community that these police are there to PROTECT don't even want to be in the same room as them.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/13586624.htm

Most restaurants would be happy to have police officers as regular customers, grateful not only for the business but also for the presence of law and order. Not in Baghdad. Not when Iraqi security forces are the target of insurgents' bombs. In many restaurants, Baghdad's finest are politely, albeit reluctantly, requested to walk out the door the minute they walk in.

It's an awkward conversation that can end unpleasantly, yet restaurant owners and workers said they had no choice but to protect lives and livelihoods. The bombings, while sporadic, are too frequent and devastating for restaurants and their civilian customers to ignore.

Some diners quickly finish eating when police walk in, said Emad, the restaurant manager. Others ask before entering whether police are inside, explaining that they "do not want to dine with the Prophet Muhammad," a gallows-humor reference to the possibility of being blown to heaven mid-meal.

The situation has contributed to hard times for restaurants, another blow on top of the nightly curfew and other security concerns that deter Iraqis from eating out. Emad said receipts had plummeted by 40 percent since the insurgency began, and that the family had considered selling the business and leaving the country.