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TechnoratiKiller of US Soldiers Becomes a Hero, Exposes Underlying Tensions
BAGHDAD - The recent killing of two U.S. soldiers by their Iraqi colleague has raised disturbing questions about U.S. military relations with the Iraqis they work with.
On Dec. 26, an Iraqi soldier opened fire on U.S. soldiers accompanying him during a joint military patrol in the northern Iraqi city Mosul. He killed the U.S. captain and another sergeant, and wounded three others, including an Iraqi interpreter.
Conflicting versions of the killing have arisen. Col. Hazim al-Juboory, uncle of the attacker Kaissar Saady al-Juboory, told IPS that his nephew at first watched the U.S. soldiers beat up an Iraqi woman. When he asked them to stop, they refused, so he opened fire.
"Kaissar is a professional soldier who revolted against the Americans when they dragged a woman by her hair in a brutal way," Col. Juboory said. "He is a tribal man, and an Arab with honour who would not accept such behaviour. He killed his captain and sergeant knowing that he would be executed."
Others gave IPS a similar account. "I was there when the American captain and his soldiers raided a neighbourhood and started shouting at women to tell them where some men they wanted were," a resident of Mosul, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS on phone. "The women told them they did not know, and their men did not do anything wrong, and started crying in fear."
The witness said the U.S. captain began to shout at his soldiers and the women, and his men then started to grab the women and pull them by their hair.
"The soldier we knew later to be Kaissar shouted at the Americans, 'No, No,' but the captain shouted back at the Iraqi soldier," the witness told IPS. "Then the Iraqi soldier shouted, 'Let go of the women you sons of bitches,' and started shooting at them." The soldier, he said, then ran off.
The Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni organisation, issued a statement saying the Iraqi soldier had shot the U.S. soldiers after he saw them beat up a pregnant woman.
"His blood rose and he asked the occupying soldiers to stop beating the woman," they said in the statement. "Their answer through the translator was: 'We will do what we want. So he opened fire on them."
The story was first reported on al-Rafidain satellite channel. That started Iraqis from all over the country talking about "the hero" who sacrificed his life for Iraqi honour.
The U.S. and Iraqi military told a different version of the story.
An Iraqi general told reporters that Kaissar carried out the attack because he had links to "Sunni Arab insurgent groups."
"Soldier Kaissar Saady worked for insurgent groups who pushed him to learn army movements and warn his comrades about them," a captain of the second Iraqi army division told IPS. "There are so many like him in the army and now within the so-called Awakening forces (militias funded by the U.S. military)."
One army officer speaking on condition of anonymity described Kaissar's act as heroic. "Those Americans learned their lesson once more."
Sheikh Juma' al-Dawar, chief of the major al-Baggara tribe in Iraq, told IPS in Baghdad that "Kaissar is from the al-Juboor tribes in Gayara -- tribes with morals that Americans do not understand."
The tribal chief added, "Juboor tribes and all other tribes are proud of Kaissar and what he did by killing the American soldiers. Now he is a hero, with a name that will never be forgotten."
Many Iraqis speak in similar vein. "It is another example of Iraqi people's unity despite political conspiracies by the Americans and their tails (collaborators)," Mohammad Nassir, an independent politician in Baghdad told IPS. "Kaissar is loved by all Iraqis who pray for his safety and who are ready to donate anything for his welfare."
Col. Juboory said Kaissar who had at first accepted collaboration with the U.S. forces "found the truth too bitter to put up with." The colonel said: "I worked with the Americans because being an army officer is my job and also because I was convinced they would help Iraqis. But 11 months was enough for me to realise that starving to death is more honourable than serving the occupiers. They were mean in every way."
Independent sources have since told IPS that Kaissar was captured by a special joint Iraqi-U.S. force, and he is now being held and tortured at the al-Ghizlany military camp in Mosul.
Despite a recent decline in the number of occupation forces being killed, 2007 was the deadliest year of the occupation for U.S. troops, with 901 killed, according to the U.S. Department of Defence.
Ali, our correspondent in Baghdad, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who has reported extensively from Iraq and the Middle East.
© 2007 Inter Press Service
65 Comments so far
Show AllLet the head ninny, AKA Commander in Chief,
also pay the price for warcrimes. Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz; and many other avaricious lice, are equally responsible.
RAY -- Yes.
We need more illumination (and with your name), please do beam on (to) America - and also do lighten up Ray of knowledge and truth. We need both humor and perseverance.
P.S. I believe that Raytheon, needs to be re-named to the much more appropriate Wraitheon.
¿ what do you think?
Namaste … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Mahatma Gandhi … … … … … … … … … …
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world »
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Sometimes I wonder how it is that so many Americans can read this story and understand the fundamental problems created by invading and dominating another country. Among readers here, we seem to be in general agreement on things. So if all of you understand the problem, then why are we such a small minority in this country. How can we force the truth into the mainstream media so they have to report it? The reason people still support Bush isn't because they are as evil as him. It's because they only know what happened in the life of Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton yesterday.
LIBERATUS FUGIT -- Yes we're being gamed and played, in the service of corpofasicts greed and commitment to ever stronger dominance of all of the Earth's peoples.
The critters who choose to fight are not substantially different than those that stay at home and weakly protest their children's children paying for it.
Either end of the device being used to annihilate us all, into poverty and total subjugation of the richfilthiest & darkest.
There is an accounting being called for KARMIC JUSTICE, and it's coming due in 2010-12. Expect much hand wringing and drastic population reductions, and according to what I've heard, the dead 75% are going to be most of the DARK worshiping ones.
Near the end of the story, it is casually stated that he is being "held and tortured." No one can offer a "ticking bomb" defense in this case. It appears that torture has become a common practice. What an outrage. I can only hope that some day, President Bush will answer for all of these war crimes in the Hague.
My hatred and disgust at what our government is doing in the world, let alone Iraq, is beyond expression.
However, I cannot, in all conscience, tar all the military with the same brush. Just as in Vietnam, there are rednecks that look upon their tour as a chance to shoot ragheads and get a little pussy, but there are also guys who try their best to help the Iraqis where they can. I hope that is a majority, but it probably is not.
The stress of being in a land where eighty or ninety percent of the populace wishes you were either gone from their country or dead is enormous. You learn to trust nobody, to shoot first and ask questions later. To some, the nightmare is so bad they turn their weapon on themselves for relief.
The obvious solution is to get the hell out of the Middle East and quit killing and occupying! That would possibly remove the tie down wire from the safety valve and let things cool down before the boiler bursts. Since the Military-Oil-Industrial-Congressional Complex is running things, I don't see that happening.
So, sadly enough, the atrocities will happen, the Iraqis who love their country, or their tribe, or their people, will fight back despite labels of terrorist or insurgent, and they will die as martyrs, and the resistance will increase until, someday, the last helicopters will leave the American Fortress Embassy and it will once again be over, until we get another megalomaniac in power who desires something that belongs to somebody else. We the Sheeple will go along with it as we did the Gulf of Tonkin, 911, and other black ops calculated to inspire terror and anger.
Remember what Herman Goering said to Gustave Gilbert at Nuremberg, 18 April, 1946:
"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same for any country."
Sadly enough, that gets proved, over and over.
"If I saw foreign occupiers doing that, I would want to shoot the motherf*ckers too."
You'd be found-innocent due to 'mortal-defense of an innocent-other being permissible self-defense against an aggressor'. [This guy won't be so-lucky...]
Presently, Iraq (especially Baghdad) is under a military lockdown.
A prisoner may feel a bit safe in his or her walled neighborhood because its been ethnically cleansed.
Of course, the guards can come in at anytime and roust the prisoners (slug, kick and verbally abuse a pregnant Iraqi while dragging her by her hair).
On the ground, US soldiers function as guards. Above ground, unmanned drones fly the sky to keep an eye on the imprisoned population.
Increasingly, the prisons are filling, and the economy channels the un(der)employed, desperate Iraqis into the Awakening Councils, police or army (i.e., economic draft).
US guard soldiers are everywhere.
The US is finally implementing, in Iraq, a program similar to Israel's lockdown of the Palestinians.
Ehren Watada and other resisters are being proved right over and over again. Support US resisters and Consciencious Objectors here and in Canada.
If we don't take care of our dirty laundry or should I say cesspool known as the Bush Administration, the world will. Whether as a thousand paper cuts and/or large actions.
If this Iraqi soldier Kaissar Saady al-Juboory acted the same way in the US he would be hailed by the press as a hero. Imagine an unruly bar in, let's say Texas, a woman being brutalized by armed thugs.
"We" are in "Their" country. The permanent bases, the attempted wholesale stealing of Iraqi oil call out the lies of the Bush gang.
Until Americans realize that our government is sending our fellow citizens and anyone else they can con into going to Iraq are going to do brutal reprehensible acts because of the underlying reasons why we're there and that that it is WRONG, we'll continue to see more or the same. Or worse.
See Meeting Resistance when it comes to town www.meetingresistance.com.
I think this link may be relevant to this discussion:
www.uruknet.info?p=39923
Link: www.inthesetimes.com/main/print/3461/
best, j.
Good intentions????
Bad apples???
Where have you been?
More like a few good apples. Maybe.
Baiting and Sniping children, raping women of any nationality including other us soldiers, chemical weapons (White Phosphorous) cover up after cover up, they are not isolated incidences…. media coverage of them is isolated, its happening all day long….. Fallujah is the worst war crime against humanity in my life time.
We make Saddam look like mother Teresa.
Don't expect morality from militarists. They've been beaten into believing sociopathic obedience is righteousness.
I look for this to be the first of many incidents just like it! If it doesn't inspire more Iraqi's to take back their own country in the same manner. Just open fire on wrong-doers and kick ass like George would. Iraqi's are fed up with our brutal treatment. Who can blame them? I would not tolerate it for a second either. The above incident reminds me of stories I have read in history books about the same kind of brutal treatment Jews received at the hands of German's after Poland was invaded. But, in a lot of ways it doesn't surprise me much! The type of attitude Bush and Company have had toward Moslems is bound to trickle down through the ranks of the Army and infest its behavior.
bligh The dehumanization of and condemnation of ALL the troops for the purported actions of a few from the posters on this forum is a new low. Some of you need to try to control your glee over the killing of the captain and others for some unproved allegations.
Look I know all the troops over their aren't bad apples but you need to talk to and listen to some of the stories from some of the troops that's been over there. Immoral acts by our troops are really very common.
Reaper "The barbaric savages in the Middle East should be thankful we are there."
That is exactly the kinds of sentiments that makes our troops act like barbaric savages.
Our troops follow orders because that is what a true soldier does. Unlike the lawless chaos that has beset much of the Islamic world.
A trooper has the right to disobey any order that is against the law or is immoral.
Keep defending the islamofascist murderers over there you anti-American scum. How spineless does a person have to be to condemn the very people that protect that person's freedom? Very spineless indeed.
Nobody on this board has defended any murderers but you have attempted to label a group of people who did nothing to deserve this war as islamofascist murderers. That is truly a definition of sick thinking. The war in Iraq has done absolutely the opposite of protecting our freedoms. The war in Iraq is destroying the very foundations (principles) this country was founded on. The war in Iraq is destroying the very morals this country is supposed to have.
The biggest problem I have with Christians is very few of them practice what they preach. It is my understanding that most of our soldiers are Christians.
"Support the troops" is now equivalent to saying "I don't approve of the policies of Adolph Hitler, but I support the S.S." When are Americans going to get it? They blindly support murder and genocide and vote for assholes who publically announce they are going to continue with the program.
Reaper:
You write : 'Iraq may have been a mistake, but our troops go with good intentions and help many people. The barbaric savages in the Middle East should be thankful we are there. Our troops follow orders because that is what a true soldier does. Unlike the lawless chaos that has beset much of the Islamic world.'
I don't know when you were last in Iraq, but on numerous pre-invasion visits, I used to walk through Baghdad, in the pitch dark, to file copy at 3 a.m., on the basis that in the all night phone and fax centre, a few lines would be available, as most were not using the phones in the middle of the night. For years, due to lack of parts, there were jst a handful of international lines (and lights off due to spare parts vetoed under the embargo, ditto parts to repair the telephone system - 1990 until the 2003 invasion. ) I did not even look over my shoulder, it was so safe. Try that in a US or UK city.
This was a country where a woman alone could hire a car and drive north, south, east, west, without a thought of fear. (The car came with a driver simply because of the paperwork involved in entering different governorates, easy if you know how, but impossible and time wasting if you didn't.) There was no 'lawless chaos', just many voices who said 'welcome, welcome', or 'welcome back, welcome back'. The chaos in Iraq was brought in with the US troops and their militias.
As for Saddam, Iraqis said 'if we don't mess with him, he doesn't mess with us', the invasions had killed, nmaimed, displace in orders of magnitude that make even Amnesty's worse estimates if Sadda, pale into insignificance.
There is lawless chaos in Palestine now, caused by Americas ally Israel demolishing Palestinian homes, building illegal settlements, shooting school kids, refusing all needed to sustain life in Gaza and letting patients die by refuding them entry to necessary treatment in Israel or in Eqypt or Jordan - and bombing crowded residential areas with F16's provided by the US.
Pakistan's recent upheavals lie squarely at the feet of US interference covert and overt. There is plenty to read on this. 'Barbaric savages' are those who illegally attack others. 'Barbaric savages' R us (US.) Yesterday these barbaric savages attacked a mosque in Baghdad, arrested and killed and stole the money that the Iman had toprovide for the poor in his parish. This is an ongoing story. They also went from house to house, stealing and smashing every item of funiture. In the US or UK, they would be considered the lowest of the low and face the wrath of the law. Being poor or ill educated is no excuse, the world is full of poor, ill educated people who are real gentlemen and women in the real sense of the word.
What has been wrought in the name of the US in Iraq, will go down in history with the pogroms the Holocauast and the Spanish Inquisition. As for PTSD - try being an Iraqi.
The dehumanization of and condemnation of ALL the troops for the purported actions of a few from the posters on this forum is a new low.Some of you need to try to control your glee over the killing of the captain and others for some unproved allegations. Just plain sick.
Americans in positions of power and their supporting stooges believe that only they are human. It is easier when the only good Indian is a dead Indian, uh Gook, uh towel head, uh Communist or is it terrorists this time? Whatever!
Hey Paris and Brittany AND her sister are on the news. Wow that is important information for my life. Good thing the corporate media sticks too the important stuff and stays away from facts and government policies.
just one more incident in the litany of crimes committed by america's bravest.
USA troops have no valid reason to be occupying Iraq, I will be proud of them when they become savvy enough to resist the illegal bloody orders they get, they should
just go on strike until they're sent home.
Yes the Iraqi who defended the women is a hero, if the shoe were on the other foot and an Americano shot some of his Iraqi compatriots he'd get perhaps 3 months in the brig and a discharge (not honorable or dishonorable); I'm sorry to hear this hero has been captured alive to suffer torture and a fate where he ends up begging for death.
My prayers go out for him and his family..
Well, I'm sure we will not hear the reason behind this
shooting on any of our "news" stations. We will however
get all the details on Britney and her pregnant sister.
We must try to remember that not all American soldiers
are a*&holes. There are good people and bad people in all
walks of life. When you give some folks a gun and tell
them the rules are out the window, you can expect them
to get crazy. Bush and his crew made this possible when
they decided that the rules of war didn't apply. The
damage this administration has done to our image in the
rest of the world will take years to repair. (If ever)
The US is the number one threat to world peace, not the
"axis of evil" countries that Bush named. I think Ron
Paul is right, if we would mind our own business and
stay out of other people's affairs the world would be a
better place.
"Most US soldiers are not the monsters some of the writers of the comments have portrayed them as."
Tell you what RedRaider : You go to your local neighbourhood recruiter tommorrow , sign up , ship out and if you make it back bring us the list of US soldiers that are not monsters . By definition any soldier that signed up after ,to everyone except you that the occupation-rationale was a lie ,is a monster and an extremely dumb one to boot.
It's not even my definition ; it's Hollywood's
A monster is an evil thing that can't think.
RedRaider January 7th, 2008 5:17 pm:
"These soldiers didn't start the war that they are fighting in...."
==========================
It blows my mind to see how ridiculous the justifications for finding excuses can get. What's wrong with you guys? Can't you see that our troops are complicit? They made this illegal war of aggression possible. And on top of this they went volunarily
Don't support out troops.
RedRaider "These soldiers didn't start the war that they are fighting in"
These soldiers weren't drafted.
Sorry for the double
Thanks PJD.
When I hear people saying this would be an isolated occurance and 'most' American soldiers are
descent I would like to slap those people left and 'right'.
american Forces = State Sponsored Terrorists In Uniform. The whole of the american Forces needs
to be put on that ominous list of terrorist organizations and financially dried out. Remember when
the Fuehrer told us that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are a State Sponsored Terrorist Organization?
As of today I have not heard of Iranians or Iraqis or Afghanis or Pakistanis (correct me if I am wrong)
to beat up pregnant women.
But I do remember what my Grandma told me about the Nazi Wehrmacht. Those people would rape
every Polish woman or girl in sight and beat them before they would kill them, being 'resistance fighters' (insurgents). So the american forces act in good tradition of the Nazi Wehrmacht. Ask me how many people told me when I lived in Germany, that the Wehrmacht soldiers were mostly descent
guys, with some exceptions. The same shit.
No, the best thing that can happen to this planet is a meteor that takes out North america.
'I am The Decider, I am the Genocider, I am america's nightmare' (You can hear him singing,
dancing around the push button for the nukes).
Immediate Global Disarmament
Or
Busted
Thanks PJD.
When I hear people saying this would be an isolated occurance and 'most' american soldiers are
descent I would like to slap those people left and 'right'.
american Forces = State Sponsored Terrorists In Uniform. The whole of the american Forces needs
to be put on that ominous list of terrorist organizations and financially dried out. Remember when
the Fuehrer told us that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are a State Sponsored Terrorist Organization?
As of today I have not heard of Iranians or Iraqis or Afghanis or Pakistanis (correct me if I am wrong)
to beat up pregnant women.
But I do remember what my Grandma told me about the Nazi Wehrmacht. Those people would rape
every Polish woman or girl in sight and beat them before they would kill them, being 'resistance fighters' (insurgents). So the american forces act in good tradition of the Nazi Wehrmacht. Ask me how many people told me when I lived in Germany, that the Wehrmacht soldiers were mostly descent
guys, with some exceptions. The same shit.
No, the best thing that can happen to this planet is a meteor that takes out North america.
'I am The Decider, I am the Genocider, I am america's nightmare' (You can hear him singing,
dancing around the push button for the nukes).
Immediate Global Disarmament
Or
Bust
I still support our troops because mostly they are poor kids looking to better their lives or go to college and they are dropped into these unbelievably high stress situations and expected to act like gentle men and women?
No, it's a clusterf***. And it's GWB's fault. I'll always blame the policy makers before the troops who are our brothers, sisters and neighbors.
And as long as the republicans own the "We support the troops" mantle they own too much. We need to take it back. Libs and Dems need to make friends with the enlisted men and women and f*** the policymakers.
The troops are doing an incredibly hard job whether they agree with the policy or not.
They have it hard enough, coming back with PTSD, Broken marraiges, etc....
SUPPORT THE TROOPS BY BRINGING THEM HOME TO THE HEALTHCARE AND BENEFITS THEY NEED AND DESERVE.
VOTE EVERY LAST CHICKENHAWK REPUBLICAN OUT OF OFFICE
IMPEACH CHENEY
VOTE EDWARDS OR OBAMA (if possible both together!)
Ever notice how ever since Custer, those most responsible for our military stupidities are least likely to suffer any harm?
anney January 7th, 2008 7:38 pm
"..Nobody trained these troops in the treatment of civilians, and of course they know nothing about midEastern values.."
===================
Nobody has to be taught any values, American or mid eastern, to know that what the US soldiers were doing is not appropriate - unless, of course unless, you are an invading army and must fear for your life, even from pregnant women.
So, support our troops anyone?
Come on - where is the "support our troops" crowd? Haven't seen them for a while here in CD. Or have I been not looking closely enough.
Nobody trained these troops in the treatment of civilians, and of course they know nothing about midEastern values, not even American values.
Bush's plan to have American troops "train" the Iraqis isn't working out so well.
... U.S. soldiers beat up an Iraqi woman. When he asked them to stop, they refused, so he opened fire.
She was pregnant and the 'soldiers' said "we can do what we want" in response to the request to stop. MSM says "for reasons unknown." We know. This appears to be the first time our war criminals have tasted justice - the survivors should be court martialed.
When you have an amoral president and vice president,
What the helll do you think is going to happen when put a young man in charge with a machine gun and no "adult" supervision? Torture is o.k. says dumbsfield, so the entire Army is just as amoral as it was in Vietnam, the last time a texas governor became president (Johnson.)
Because of our genetic predisposition for organized violence, homo sapiens, throughout recorded history have raped and killed. It is what we do when we allow government to keep the people fearful instead of the other way around. The US used to have a War Secretary, because war was inevitable. Our history is full of hundreds of military engagements.
The world's oldest profession will never go away, and war will never go away. This is the lesson of historical human nature.
Our only hope in reducing it's frequency is in shunning the media who tells us we must "fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them here." Let's boycott everything the corporate/military complex pumps. Quarterly earnings is all they see.
It is the only way.
"Despite a recent decline in the number of occupation forces being killed, 2007 was the deadliest year of the occupation for U.S. troops...." -- now, you tell me, how can this be? How can you have it both ways?
Torturing him? Oh, yes. They'll get the confession they need to hide behind.
RedRaider January 7th, 2008 5:17 pm:
"These soldiers didn't start the war that they are fighting in, so overall resentment at the war shouldn't be dropped on the shoulders of mid-level officers such as this captain."
Actually, RedRaider my friend, I think you will find that these soldiers did start the war. And no they don't look like monsters any more than Stalin's soldiers did, or Mussolini's. What they have done, though, are monstrous criminal acts, acts that in a democracy would be punishable under the law. We can wait to learn more about this incident but what we already know is that they marched into a country and have killed over a million people.
spartacus jones January 7th, 2008 5:48 pm:
"But then, I'd like to think that an AMERICAN soldier would step up to prevent these kind of abuses once in a while, too."
You say you are a veteran. Perhaps you could enlighten me on something. In many democracies, the laws of war and the Geneva conventions are at least introduced to soldiers as part of their training. From stories like this one, I'm inclined to believe that this is not the case in the US. In other words, do American soldiers even know of the existence of US laws against murdering whole families in their homes? Or do they know and simply disregard them?
In another article on this site a soldier (who has just murdered a large family in their home) states:
"I was following my training that all individuals in a hostile house are to be shot" from The Fog of War Crimes-Frida Berrigan
Defending a woman from armed mass murderers, this I can understand as something that a decent, honest and brave person would do. Shooting an entire family in their house because you were told to do it? This I cannot understand.
Women are collateral damage for petro-patriarchy. Keep the people dumb and dependent, Hillary.
Hip, Hip harray that cowardly yankee had to pay.
We'll get no more lip from that dip$hit.
This is a sad story, from every angle. But this is what you get when you unleash the hell of war. Soldiers under lethal pressure, especially in a Vietnam situation of unidentifiable combatants, will do bad things in the heat of the moment. And that is what they are trained to do. They are not policemen. They are warriors, and are trained to destroy the enemy, as they will be killed by the 'enemy' otherwise, and were in this case. So who in Iraq is the Iraqui enemy? We are.
This is why War is not to be taken lightly. This is why Bush and Cheney must be impeached. They started this war with knowingly-false causes. This war is Illegal under the UN Charter written and ratified by the US, under the Nuremburg Precepts laid forth by the US, under US law on starting and aiding foreign wars without a declaration of war, and in the 'good public opinion' of the world. There was no attack by Iraq, and no impending attack. The war is STILL ILLEGAL even though Republicans and apologists now say, well, we're there now so let's not talk about how we got there. Kind of like saying, well, forget about that murder you did, that was then, what are you doing now to help the family of the murdered?
War is Hell, and innocent people will die. That is certain. Soldiers will be mean to the enemy. That is certain. Soldiers will die. That is certain. Acts like this will happen in war. That is certain. So, when a president launches a war, he better be damned certain that it is worth the cost to the nation, to the psyches of the soldiers, and to the people being attacked. As this is an ILLEGAL war, it is an unjust war, and that is the true tragedy. Bush must be impeached and then tried as a war criminal. This incident and the crime of this entire illegal war is on his head.
American soldiers abusing women?
Not exactly big news.
From Sand Creek to Vietnam to Iraq, it's a great American tradition.
Hell, even AMERICAN women are being raped/abused BY THEIR FELLOW SOLDIERS in disturbing numbers! What do you think "enemy" women can expect?
As a veteran myself --- going just on the information in the article -- I find the story told by Kaissar, prima facia, far more plausible than the old "he was an insurgent mole" fairytale. Or maybe you think that every guy who fragged a blood-thirsty 2nd Lt in Vietnam was a brain-washed communist dupe, and not simply a decent guy who couldn't just stand by and see more innocent people tortured or killed.
I'd like to think, in Kaissar's place, I'd have done the same.
But then, I'd like to think that an AMERICAN soldier would step up to prevent these kind of abuses once in a while, too.
Just my opinion.
Liberty & Justice,
SJ
www.spartacusjones.com
I think the criticism of the dead American soldiers should be tempered until more is know about the incident. These soldiers didn't start the war that they are fighting in, so overall resentment at the war shouldn't be dropped on the shoulders of mid-level officers such as this captain. Most US soldiers are not the monsters some of the writers of the comments have portrayed them as.
devils !!!
robinea , who could forget that atrocity..it made me vomit. what happened to the soldiers ? did they get even slapped on the wrists ? i have heard that the mercenaries showed our regular armed forces , how to do it . i hear u.s. soldiers are still getting away with abusing female iraqi prisoners , a poster here , and i think he was a soldier , said so . everything that has been done in iraq , is pure hell on this earth , compliments of bush(bush is a collective noun) you know , they pump all the soldiers full of aggression drugs.....it ought to be against the law.
Sending American troops to Iraq is an atrocity-producing situation. They are not "starting" to abuse women, it has been reported by the alternative press before.
Amy Goodman interviewed an "anti-war" soldier without, apparently, listening to what his complaint was. He was upset that when a fellow soldier was shot, his unit wasn't allowed to kill everyone in sight. Shades of Vietnam. And, of course, American troops have been punishing everyone in sight when they feel threatened. You could look at the destruction of Fallujah, a city of 250,000 destroyed in late 2004, as collective punishment for the deaths of 4 Blackwater mercenaries in April, 2004.
>>>
If the US enforced its existing war crimes legislation, the American officer might have been less inclined to attack Iraqi girls.
>>>>
The American troops understand that rules and orders are usually accompanied by a tacit 'wink and a nod'. We've got a President who insists that we don't torture prisoners; but everybody knows that's just bullsh*t. Bush knows that the troops know this...and the troops know that Bush knows it. The results, as we have seen so often (particularly during the past 7 years), are a total contempt for ALL laws.
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"The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example."
-- George W. Bush, June 26, 2003
Now, US soldiers will have to think twice before they abuse an Iraqi woman in broad daylight. After the child Abeer of Mamudiya was gang-raped and murdered, together with her mother, father and little sister, by a wolf-pack of depraved American soldiers, three of their unit were captured by Iraqi resistance and killed - at least one soldier's body was mutilated and burned. This caused a soldier with knowledge of the event to come forward and denounce the rapists - out of the guilty knowledge that their atrocity had led to their comrades death. Unfortunately - to paraphrase the colonialist minds when discussing the 'Arabs' - 'Some Americans only understand force', appeals to justice and civilized behavior are useless. Our so-called soldiers and their so-called officers may have to rethink the issue of 'impunity' - while the Armed Forces justice system has repeatedly exonerated the worst abuses against civilians and prisoners, the Iraqis are not so willing to 'look the other way'. Maybe if our so-called 'Military Justice system' was actually capable of functioning as a civilized, disciplined body enforcing rules and meting out punishment for war-crimes, fewer Iraqis and others would have to take matters into their own hands and the 'occupation' (Wolfowitz' 'cake-walk')of Iraq would be less stressful.
There are also reports that soldier Al Jabouri shot the US soldiers because the woman they were beating was pregant. So after Abu Ghraib, Falluja, the gang rape of little Abeer Al Janaabi, one and a half million dead in under five years, five million orphans, one million widows and four million displaced, and atrocity after atrocity, the US finest now beat women. This on top of the 'supreme international crime' of an illegal invasion under the Nuremberg Principles - plus house trashings, terrorising and thefts beyond counting of moneys and valuables in raided homes. Will America and Britain ever recover the shreds of their reputation, in millenia??
See:
© Copyright Hussein Al-alak, The Iraq Solidarity Campaign , 2008
The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7732
I was listening to an AM radio show this summer - Christian station - and a female personality suggested that 'boys' didn't need to learn things like poetry or art, in fact such things were a waste of time. They needed vocational training, etc. I am not performing a blanket condemnation of Christianity - I know many Christians who would disagree with the woman's viewpoint, but I did find it interesting that it morphed into the boy / girl traditional roles that have played such havoc throughout the world. Point being - we learn humanity through the arts; we leaqrn to nuance situations, see shades of gray, interpret and analyze for ourselves - all those qualities that are frightening to any tyrant. what was one of the first things Hitler did? Control the arts.
Until we have a real educational system in this country we can never expect to have any other type of government than the one that now exists.
Isn't this event characterized as "friendly fire" ?
Doesn't every patriotic American know that "friendly fire" is going to occur in any war?
Nice to see a real patriot stand up to brutal invaders, too bad there wasn't another 10,000 like him
There would be no war with more people like him.
That is the best soldier story I've heard.
Its up to the people with their fingers on the trigger to make the right decision. If they did, things would be very different.
I wish the American soldiers would take a page out of that book.
Hooray Kaissar Saady al-Juboory
This sad event could have been avoided if the US was a law-abiding democracy.
If the US enforced its existing war crimes legislation, the American officer might have been less inclined to attack Iraqi girls.
If the US observed the UN treaty it has signed, American soldiers wouldn't be in Iraq to commit crimes in the first place.
Since Americans leaders are (apparently) ignorant of the German experience in 1940's France and similar blunders and are equally unable to uphold their own professed democratic ideals, how long do you think it will be before they take a page from Hitler's playbook and announce that for every soldier killed, a civilian will die as well, then ten, then a hundred, then a thousand.
I don't know the principals in this story but if I, as a human being, can understand the hatred that much of the world feels for Americans, it doesn't surprise me that those who are suffering the most from twenty first century fascism are reacting in this way.
Chalk up another one for the Surge ...MCain!
This new surge strategy to pay the enemy to be on our side ...until the suitcases of Franklins runs dry.. it gave us Noriega, Saddam. The Shah, Osama and scores of past CIA Tools.. but when will They ever Learn ???
OK Pete... the answer is
When the money runs out!
Follow the Money...
The title of this article is misleading and gives an impression that the life of an American is more valuable than that of an Iraqi. American soldiers butchering Iraqis, women, men, and children, seems to be acceptable than vice-versa. The last paragraph in the article (where only the number of American deaths are mentioned, but not the deaths of innocent Iraqis at the hands of murderous Americans) justifies my "reading" of this article.
Only when writers like Dahr Jamail stand against the dominant powers like the US and stand/identify with the victims, instead of trying to please the oppressor and exploiter (through titles like the present one or reporting an oppressor's narrative), I do not see any difference between Fox News/CBS/NBC/ABC and Dahr Ismael.
What is that needed today is: the voices of the victims-individuals, families, communities and the nations-must be heard and acknowledged. Victims must be given space in which they may speak for themselves. The "story" of the victims shared by the victims must be heard. The poem of Antjie Krog, who reported the painful experiences of victims during the South African Truth Commission, clearly expresses this: "Beloved, do not die. Do not dare die! I, the survivor, wrap you in words so that the future inherits you. I snatch you from the death of forgetfulness. I tell your story, complete your ending – you who once whispered beside me in the dark."
For this to happen, it needs commitment, and will and passion to stand for justice and to pay the price (because the dominant powers will seek that person's end). Identifying with the dominant powers may "fetch" many "rewards". However, identifying with the victim- the poor, marginalised, exploited, and oppressed- gives meaning and value to one's existence in this world.
I read the MSM description of the event and, in not in one instance, was there an account of what might have provoked the shooting.
Nor was there any indication concerning the Iraqi's response to the shooting.
I only gained the above information by reading today's post.
Goddam. Can you imagine what our view of the world would be if we could only depend of the MSM version of current events?
The sad thing was that the MSM framework stole my mind. I didn't ask myself questions like: What provoked the shooting? How was it viewed by Iraqis? What does the Iraqi response say about their view of the US and US occupiers?
Fooled again.
The surge is working!!!!! Good PR for Bush. . the USA should get off this nonsense and get out perhaps Obama will do this but if you don't listen to the military there is a good chance they will kill you through the CIA.
If one wanted a good comparison of the Republican frontrunner mentality and the Democratic is was there to see, only the candidates who are last Kucinich and Ron paul want immediate withdrawal. With military behavior like this the USA is certain to keep winning the hearts and minds. . . .yes the hearts and minds of who certainly not the American electorate. But they have been lulled into a state of just 26 soldiers killed this month. If this isn't enough reason to get out of Iraq there are not many more. The American military are stupid. . .I say this as having spent three years in the US Army.
Follow the war from the beginning from Bush to Dumsfeld to the numbers of good military commanders who were fired. There are a few but they rarely run the field operations. This episode will destroy months of pacification. . .it was the same in Nam.
A failed war a failed and failed countries foreign policy. If the time is not now for a change in USA thinking it never will occur Obama holds some hope but don't hold your breath. He like most will have to confer with the military. The USA is a militarist regime and its paranoia breeds the very thing it fights against and the hatred of American values. The comparison to the Roman empire can not be avoided complete with its change through Constantine to Catholic belief. We have had the opening of a new Crusade with this failed administration.
The the spread of US democracy indeed.
Support these troops? I get sick thinking about it. There is no greater form of sociopathy than these marauding racist white thugs in another peoples' land.
The US military has zero credibility, and its past behavior makes this incident all too believable from the Iraqi POV. I'm surprised more of this hasn't occured already. Might this spark an Iraqi Sepoy Rebellion?
I am 'shocked' somebody wasn't 'on the ball', and this Kaissar wasn't "killed during capture" or dead shortly-after. Now, there will be International&local "hell to pay", to be-sure.
So...was it a 'mistake' to let him live and become an 'Issue', or did we want more hate/killing/division to offset all the "happy news" lately, from our new Suzerainty?
[Your guess is as good as mine (so much phony-baloney out of Iraq, to date) -- but I'm pulling for the Iraqi's...gotta love the 'underdog' and 'salt of the Earth', right? American's wouldn't recognize 'morality and sacrifice' if it bit-them-in-the-ass, as it apparently just may-have.]
This will surely-snowball and 'grow-legs' (wonder if that's the 'intent'?).
I miss the 'good old days' when most 'news' was about stuff 'real' (if 'lurid'), and few Stories were planted-bullshite with intent to 'propagandize'...don't you?
When American troops kill Iraqis, when they rape Iraqi women, when they cover up these crimes, they are still treated as heroes. War is an atrocity. Acts committed in wars are, to normal people, crimes, but they become "heroism" in conflict. It's long past the time when humanity, if it were a rational, moral species, should have banned war. The fact that we haven't simply proves how far from civilisation we still are.
It is at times truly saddening; the comparisons that can be made to an army that once occupied Europe.
IF the report above is correct, then the Iraqi shot the captain and others because they were abusing Arab women; ho hum, what we have here is a story about an Iraqi national shooting occupiers who were abusing the locals. If I saw foreign occupiers doing that, I would want to shoot the motherf*ckers too. My only question is: why didn't he double-tap tne remaining three who were only injured (as that is what an American soldier would do)? Could it be that those two crackers and the interpreter weren't abusing the women, and so he didn't feel the need to kill them?
Kaissar is a hero in America, too. When that penetrates through the hypnotic spell of the Support the Troops Cult, the war is over.
He comes from a tribe "with morals that American {troops} do not undertand." That would be any and all morals.
"They attack us because we're over there." --Ron Paul