It is impractical to think that centuries of behavior and attitudes are going to change in a mere 3 years. We’ve seen the results of the last several decades of realist approach to the ME and perhaps we might agree that policy was ineffective to say the least.
It will take decades if not longer to start changing attitudes there. If you don’t have the patience or stomach for the long-term stabilization effort, and desire to revert to old policy then don’t be surprised at the results.
From what I've been reading, this behavior has only been happening for the past three years, since we "liberated" the Shiites and other fundamentalist Muslims from the tyranny of Saddam's secular government. He was a cruel sadist, but he directed his cruelty against the Islamic fundamentalist zealots. They were kept down during his dictatorship - Sharia law, for example, wasn't allowed. Today, in many parts of the country, from what I've read, things are different. The mullahs have been "liberated" and they're imposing their fundamentalist ways on the countryside.