Iraqis Stomp, Mutilate Americans' Charred Bodies

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 3/31/04 | Susan Jones

[kattracks]

(1st Add: Updates nationality of contractors.)

(CNSNews.com) - The videotape was too graphic for cable news channels to air: Cheering, jeering Iraqis in Fallujah, mutilating the charred bodies of four contractors who worked for the U.S.-led coalition, trying to rebuild Iraq.

All four contractors were Americans, the State Department said. The four contractors, traveling in two civilian cars, were ambushed on a main road by Iraqis described as "guerillas" by one newswire. After setting the cars on fire, a mob mentality set in among onlookers, the videotape shows.

One charred body was kicked and stomped; another dragged down a street; another doused with gasoline as it lay burning on the ground.

"This is the fate of all Americans who come to Falluja," Reuters quoted one Iraqi as saying.

A White House spokesman called it a "horrific" attack by the "enemies of democracy."

The spokesman for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority said the people who attacked the contractors did it to stop the progress that's being made in Iraq every day.

"The people who pulled those bodies out and engaged in this attack against the contractors are not the people we are here to help," said CPA spokesman Don Senor.

"They are people who have a much different vision for the future of Iraq than the overwhelming majority of Iraqis. They are people who want Iraq to turn back to an era of mass graves, of rape rooms and torture chambers and chemical attacks. They want to turn back to the era of Saddam Hussein.

"Those aren't people we're here to help. And it is not surprising that they are engaging in attacks as we increasingly make progress and we increasingly move along to handing over sovereignty...Those are people we have to capture or kill so this country can move forward."

[lonevoice]

ping

[Centurion2000]

Couldn't agree more with you. IF Fallujah were... ohhhh... let's say... uninhabitable for the next 40 years, that would be just fine by me

I was thinking more on the order of 10,000 years with a cobalt jacketed enhanced strategic nuclear subsurface burst.

It's desert .... F#$% these savages.

BTW, lookup 'salted nuclear weapons' on google for the effects of cobalt around the bomb.

[WOSG]

We live in an age too 'civilized' for that response to this act of barbarism. We let the terrorists hide because of the collateral damage is not acceptable, but in truth the *people* of this town did this.

It's almost a pity.

But back in the Roman days, that's what they would do:

Destroy the town, reduce it to rubble.
People can take out only what they can carry on their backs.
Anyone wants to stay, can die with the town.

[Justa]

"are not allowed to be armed and are only (for the most part) escorted by third-world soldiers."

Not exactly. Some are in fact armed, others have body guards and the rest go in convoys w/military personnel (any nation). These people went without military escort through Fallujah of all places. Not to speak ill of the dead but whoever thought that was a good idea either has the IQ of rock salt or wanted them dead imo. Any Westerner in civilian clothes is the #1 target in Iraq, even in military convoys. US troops are smart enough to put them behind armored doors and/or have them travel in DCUs. Sorry to say it but these people were just dumb.

[daybreakcoming]

agree. Fallujah is harboring terrorists. Now....what was it our President said about those harboring terrorists? I love that man but I am going to be very disappointed in him if he blows by this.

[WOSG]

To do the same as Saddam is to become Saddam, though.

If we are fighting for civilization and freedom, we have to act as freedom-fighters, not genocidal tyrants.

It's very tough because I am afraid this behavior shows that too many of this people are cowards, killers, and evil pigs and bigots. They really hate us. But we cant hate them back or lash out against civilians.

Strong, tough, determined, but principled, fair and directed towards the goal.

If some of this is on videotape, I have no problem with going door to door in Fallujah to find the perps and lock em in jail for a long long time. I have no problem with prosecuting people for murder and executing on such judgments.

[weegee]

But I thought "they" (CAIR and others) told us that muslims wouldn't take delight in the death of others. That there was no dancing in the streets on 9.11.2001.

Iraqis dance near a burning car in Fallujah where four civilian contractors, three of whom were confirmed by the coalition to be American, were shot dead.(AFP/Karim Sahib)

[WOSG]

I am disgusted with whiners who complain about the almost textbook victory in Iraq and the understandable problems in the midst of a stunningly successful prosecution of a war, liberation of a people, and change in direction of the mideast. The liberation of Iraq was good, was necessary and was worthwhile.

"Didn't this administration's leaders learn anything from the war in Vietnam? " The real lesson of Vietnam is this: What you win on the battlefield can be lost on the homsefront by anti-American nitpickers trying to undermine our will to win! WHY HASNT KERRY, DEAN, THE LEFT ADMITTED THIS? WHY WONT THE ANTI-LIBERATION-OF-IRAQ PEOPLE ADMIT THIS?!?

btw, MOABs that dont bring us closer to the goal of a free, democratic Iraq are of no use. Attacks by us on Iraqi civilians is one sure way to turn that whole country against us and to lose everything we've gained there. We have been doing the right thing overall. I am really DISGUSTED BY THE LACK OF SUPPORT TO OUR PRESIDENT AND OUR TROOPS IN THEIR TIME OF GREATEST NEED!

[WOSG]

But not by nazi extermination tactics. Certainly. It's stooping to their level of thinking to suggest in ANY way that indiscriminate response is appropriate. Only those who instigate violence should be held accountable.

I do like the idea of giving people 24-36 hours to leave without weapons. Then we level the place. Don't you think, "old bean?" Even this would be viewed as shockingly harsh by the world. Remember we were 'brutalizing' the gitmo terrorists because we made them wear orange. Only socialist tyrants like Zimbabwe's Mugabe are allowed to engage in this "get out in X hours or we torch the place" attitude.

Here's a modest alternative proposal: Circle the town with barbed wire; checkpoint every entrance and exit. bring in enough marines for 24/7 guard duty in the whole town. Lock it down, remove every single weapon. It will be like one huge camp. Continue intensive patrols and a real in-your-face presence. Any resident who gives so much as a bit of lip to a grunt - arrest and ship to prison. Cordon the whole town and go house-to-house, searching. Get a marine on point on every street corner. Make this a super-occupied town.

Meanwhile, make a public memorial to the defeat of saddam. Be as in-your-face about the new Iraq as possible. Anyone who doesnt like Americans will feel so oppressed they will "pop", give an oppty to pop em off or arrest and cat them away. Within a month, the bad guys will be either gone or totally whipped.

Just an armchair-general thought.

[Snickersnee]

Buck up! This is a robust discussion forum and we are not always, every day, going to be the blend of Cicero/Demosthenes/Sam Adams/Tom Paine we wish we were. Tomorrow will be better! If we didn't honestly believe that we'd be over at DU rending our garments!

[DCPatriot]

I disagree with your acute PCS (political correctness syndrome).

There is one thing that your enemy will respect about you, though grudgingly. That is your willingness to show non-proportional deadly force.

There is a reason why Saddam Hussein didn't suffer these types of terrorist hits by what our mainstream media affectionately call, "Guerillas". He didn't hesitate to use WMD on perceived enemies.

I understand he wasn't a practicing Muslim and believed in Secular Government. That's why the USA was a likely ally in his war against Iran. It is going to take a MONSTROUS event to quell this hit and run murder that is getting more brazen. With European and Muslim Media panting at the chance to feed the hatred of the United States, it only exacerbates the matter.

If I were President I would seriously give thought to leveling Falluja with not a second's prior notice.

I am only saying that I look in the mirror and realize I'd be quite capable of being seen by certain peoples as a Genocidal Maniac. My anger at this "death by a thousand cuts" is deep.

There is no way these are "civilans gone wild". They are former soldiers in Saddam's military having fun riling up unemployed hooligans.. of which I'm sure are plentiful.

Okay...give me absolution and penance and let me go!! ;^)

[DCPatriot]

I totally agree.

Yes, we would be accused of being no different than Saddam Hussein or Pinochet...or Milosovic, in terms of mass killings.

Plastic Shredder probably meant you didn't have to lock your doors at night....truth be told.

On the premise that we're serious about fighting an actual WAR on TERROR, the circumstances of the quality of life for all the world's citizens (at least in the developed world) call for a swift and deadly response.

We need to get on with electing a President, and adjusting to the Global Economy. We need the keep gasoline below $2 a gallon. We need to expose Liberals for what they really are. A disease that ultimately will mean the loss of your Freedom and desire to be the best you can be....not necessarily in THAT order. '^)

Destroying Falluja will have the same effect on the Iraqis as Saddam's Plastic Shredder did. Make no mistake. OPEN will open the pumps.

And innocently it will get George Bush relected in a Landslide too!

[Joe Hadenuf]

Surround Fallujah and bomb it into the Paleozoic, so as to be instructive to other jihadists. Use B52s and dumb, cheap bombs. repeat on other jihadists as necessary.

To hear it from a few, they make it sound like Fallujah is just a small desert town. It has almost a *MILLION* people in it.

[DCPatriot]

I think it's unfair to accuse him/her of The Holocaust similarity.

"Final Solution" is the name of a movie too ya know?

Lighten up. He/She just meant that it was time to kiss Falluja goodbye and then ask, "Who's Next?"

[mwl1]

This must be a huge mistake in news reporting. After all, John FFFFFFFFFFF Kerry has just told us that the threat of terrorism is greatly exaggerated. :sarcasm

[DCPatriot]

They're not all terrorist. Many are former soldiers in Saddam Hussein's retreated army.

[ought-six]

We should tell the Iraqi leaders of Fallujah that they have 48 hours to arrest the members of this mob and turn them over to US troops. If not, Fallujah will be leveled.

[WOSG]

I resent being called PC, but I do want to be a voice of reason against 'kill em all, God will sort em out' attitudes in response to the barbarism of the Fallujah rioters.

I believe that cutting and running *or* killing indiscriminately would be a victory for the other side. MOAB the place etc. just wont happen and if it did it would be a *huge victory* for the terrorist. they will say to 1 billion muslims "see, they are just like us, and they want to kill all muslims".

But other ideas bandied about make some sense:
- find the perps that were cheering, and quietly off them, or arrest and jail them.
- my idea is to 'lock down' fallujah hard. So hard that the anti-american types would 'go postal' and we can take them out. 24/7 continued intensive presense. forbid large assemblies. get out guys in the mosques and arrest any imam with a hateful message, etc.

I think your comment: "Kinda makes me appreciate the kind of ethnic cleansing Milosovic and Hussein dabbled in."
... is wholly unwise and uncalled for. It's not imho "PC" to point out how wrong that is.

our goal is a democratic and free Iraq. If we violate basic human rights or act like tyrants that are up on crimes against humanity, we lose not just a 'moral' high ground but we lose strategically. The forces against democracy will have a stronger claim against it and against us.

so we have to clearly avoid any deliberate or negligent injury non-combatants. It is true, though, that any perp we can find, we need to jail or terminate.

"There is one thing that your enemy will respect about you, though grudgingly. That is your willingness to show non-proportional deadly force."

Yes, but only to combatants. It's well-known that the best way to win guerilla-type wars is a carrot ('hearts and minds') and stick ('lethal force against the perps'). Such a policy leads to victory because it separates the evildoers from their 'constituency'.

As the marines say:
NO WORST ENEMY, NO BETTER FRIEND.

BTW - The reason dictators dont get hit with terrorism is because terrorism is only of consequence in democracies.

Here's your penance, my friend: Continue to support the victory over terrorists. Support the troops. Support the President. We cant let the WTC victims, or these people, die in vain. We WILL Win. It is a matter of WILL and doing the RIGHT thing.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Time for a final solution to the Falluja problem.

And what would that be? Do you realize that this city has a population of almost one MILLION people? According some here, the people of Fallujah are our enemy, and the rest of Iraq are our good loyal friends.

Since these fanatics brutally murdered American's in broad day light with no one lifting a finger, when do you think Bush going to kill everyone in Fallujah?