One word. Tribes. 6000 years. Cradle of civilization ? Ya'll may not believe in biological evolution but it should be apparent to anyone that societal evolution works in some parts, not in others. For example, here, DU. America, Persia.
That's right. Not everyone in Mesopotamia likes the idea of violence. Most probably oppose it. Unfortunately it is taking violence to suppress violence, so it is hard to make ethical judgements. Maybe impossible if you look too close.