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Posts tagged with: Iraq
Apr 6, 2010    |       57 comments

US are Collateral Murderers in Iraq … and they wouldn’t do that in Pakistan, will they?

Yesterday [April 5th 2010] WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad — including two Reuters news staff.

The video, shot from an Apache helicopter, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded, left to be taken to a local hospital

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0[/youtube]

One of the helicopter crew is then heard saying that one of the group is shooting shooting back. But the video shows there is no shooting or even pointing of weapons. The men are standing around, apparently unperturbed. The lead helicopter, using the moniker Crazyhorse, opens fire. “Hahaha. I hit ’em,” shouts one of the American crew. Another responds a little later: “Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards.” The ruthless murders then open fire on a van that drives up to pick up a wounded. [Transcript]
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Oct 24, 2009    |       8 comments

David Rohde’s Insights Into What Motivates the Taliban: Held by the Taliban

David Rohde writes about the seven months he was held hostage by a group of extremist Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan and conveys this observation about what motivates them:

My captors harbored many delusions about Westerners. But I also saw how some of the consequences of Washington’s antiterrorism policies had galvanized the Taliban. Commanders fixated on the deaths of Afghan, Iraqi and Palestinian civilians in military airstrikes, as well as the American detention of Muslim prisoners who had been held for years without being charged. Apparently, when we drop bombs on Muslim countries — or when Israel attacks Palestinians — that fuels anti-American hatred and militarism among Muslims. The same outcomes occur when we imprison Muslims without charges in places like Guantanamo and Bagram.

One of the most astounding feats in propaganda is how we’ve managed to take people who live in a country which we invade, bomb and occupy — and who fight against us because we’re doing that — and call them “Terrorists,” thereby “justifying” continuing to bomb and occupy their country further (“We have to stay in order to fight the Terrorists: meaning the people who are fighting us because we stay”).

Dec 17, 2008    |       23 comments

Humor: Send Your Smelly Old Shoes to George W. Bush!

The shoe journalist is now being celebrated world wide to have served George W with a splendid adios, a Facebook group has taken shape asking for participants to send their old smelly shoes to the out going president as a farewell gift.

In solidarity with and in support of the brave Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zeidi, we are organizing a flood the White House with your Smelly Old Shoes campaign. From today until his last day in office, we should send Mr. Bush every smelly old shoe that we can find at home or in the street to express our true feelings to a “Job Well-Done”! With his shoes Muntazer al-Zeidi spoke for millions of people and he stands as a hero for speaking Shoes to Power. Below is the address and make sure to send it immediately.

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Dec 15, 2008    |       42 comments

Bush ‘shoed at’ in Iraq – Hilarious

The electronic media is abuzz with reports of an Iraqi journalist who threw two of his shoes at President George Bush who was in Iraq addressing a press conference with the Iraqi President.

The Iraqi television journalist Muthathar al Zaidi threw both of his shoes at and later yelled “This is a farewell kiss, you dog,”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uIj0YvDBKE[/youtube]
Considering what the Bush administration has done with the world at large, I must admit this was really satisfying specially coming from an individual in Iraq. On a lighter note I might also fear that America could now be heading towards implementing a ‘Shoe-less’ travel policy

Nov 5, 2008    |       14 comments

Come Tuesday a Victory of Hope Over Rovesque Fear

Will the US be ever the same again?

Since life is all about flux, we continuously change, therefore any questions of change can be rhetorical in nature.

Yes, caution is advised and one must never underestimate the shenanigans of the neconzix, but the looming victory of Barack Hussein Obama (according to these pundits and this study of polls by Nat Silver) to come November 4, 2009 will be a global watershed event.

The last time the US was this polarized was in 1960 over Kennedy’s Catholicism. And the next time would perhaps be over a woman or a Jew candidate.

The Bush Presidency has managed to drag the US popularity downward throughout the world. He lied and misled the US – a Mass Deception over WMD and led an offensive against Saddam Hussain’s Iraq without a credible exit strategy.
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Sep 17, 2008    |       8 comments

Pakistan troops ordered to Open Fire if US raids continue

Pakistan’s military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said – APP. This order comes in light of the recent incursions by the US Army’s unmanned drone aircraft which has continued to make bombing runs into Pakistan. Though I doubt our ammunition will come at par to even be a threat to these aerial unmanned highly sophisticated aerial attacks but that said its still a positive step to taken by the Pakistan Army to at least have the gutts to stand up and say no, to their US paymasters

“The orders are clear,” Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said in an interview. “In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire“

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Sep 2, 2008    |       7 comments

Self flagellations, a religious practice or child cruelty, a critical analysis

Guest Post by Amjad Malik

Message of Imam Hussain, the grandson of last Prophet of Islam of sacrifice is greater in spirit and is held very dear by billions of Muslims across the globe and the message is remembered zealously during the first month of Islamic calendar Muharram. The Ashura ceremony takes place during this month to commemorate the courage & sacrifice of Hussain, a central figure of the Shia faith and his disciples in many Muslim countries adopt various means to express their grief which include holding processions, reading and listening to the tragic events as they unfolded during that month in the battlefield of ‘Karbala’, chest beatings as well as self flagellation. In order to express extreme solidarity a small percentage use five bladed whip attached to a chain and a wooden handle to carry out the matam called ‘Zanjeer Zani’. The practice has been on going for centuries.

In January 2008 during Ashura, a devout Shia Muslim first flogged himself and later considering it part of his religion allowed two under-16 boys to use the bladed whip to flog themselves until their backs bled during a shia religious ceremony. He was charged upon a complaint of the mother and statements of the boys that they were forced and he was later convicted by a Jury upon a trial at Manchester Crown Court on two counts of Child cruelty in August 2008. He will be sentenced this September. This is a land mark case carrying serious repercussions on religious practices of a Muslim minority and critics view this prosecution as a tip of the iceberg and consider this policy decision will trigger more cases in future. This incident has initiated a debate where self flagellation as a religious ritual is up against the child protection laws.
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