Posted on 07/09/2007 12:29:47 PM PDT by bnelson44
When context is other people’s children
As I write these words just a few miles from the graves I saw, the resulting controversy about whether what the man said was true, or whether his words should have been written if the writer couldn’t verify them, seems precious. There is no imaginary line of credulity that al Qaeda might cross should it go from beheading children to baking them.
No unnamed Iraqi stringer claimed that al Qaeda had taken over Baqubah. Al Qaeda said this through the press. I sit writing these words in Diyala Province just a short drive from where the self-proclaimed leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed by a bomb delivered by a US warplane. Al Qaeda: the organization that gleefully bragged about murdering roughly 3,000 people by smashing jets full of civilians into buildings and earth. Al Qaeda in Iraq: who proudly broadcast their penchant for sawing off the heads of living breathing people, and in such a manner as to ensure lots of spurting blood and gurgles of final pain, in some cases with the added flourish of the executioner raising up the severed head and squealing excitedly.
These are the same terrorists I often come face to face with: not on television or in magazines, but on bloodstained streets ablaze with human carnage. I remember the charred corpse of a small Iraqi boy. I remember the wailing Iraqi parents and countless other scenes that I am likely to see again and again. Back in 2005, terrorists here were intentionally attacking children. I shot the photo below on a day when they drove a car bomb through a crowd of children who had run out to American soldiers on patrol.
(Excerpt) Read more at michaelyon-online.com ...
I posted his article about the boy being cooked AND OH THE HUMANITY.. All the scoffers had their fun. I should summon them.
A couple weeks ago, LTC Fred Johnson told me a story about General Petraeus. Back when LTC Johnson was Captain Johnson, and General Petraeus was Colonel Petraeus, Colonel Petraeus was Captain Johnson’s new commander. They were doing a live-fire exercise at a range at Fort Campbell when a young soldier named Specialist Terrence Jones tripped and accidentally fired his weapon while conducting a live-fire assault. The bullet from Specialist Jones’ weapon struck Colonel Petraeus, slamming through his chest and taking a piece of his back on the way out. Petraeus fell to the ground, bleeding out of his mouth. He nearly died. We could have lost one of the most important and influential military leaders in generations to a mistake. To a professional misstep.
The best that Captain Johnson and Specialist Jones might have hoped for was a painless end to their military service. I asked LTC Fred Johnson about the story of his own soldier shooting David Petraeus, and I asked how it could be that Johnson was still in the military. Johnson looked me in the eye and said something like, “Mike. You know what Petraeus did?”
“What?” I asked.
“He gave me a second chance.”
Fred Johnson actually got picked up for promotion early.
“But what happened to the young soldier?” I asked, thinking surely there had to be a consequence. Conventional wisdom stipulates that for balance to be restored after accidentally shooting and nearly killing a superior officer, a sacrifice of some magnitude is necessary. A soldier just can’t shoot a commander in the chest and walk away. There is no such thing as an “accidental discharge.” Unplanned bullet launches are called “negligent discharges.” As in negligent homicide.
LTC Johnson answered something like, “Mike, you won’t believe how Jones was punished. Petraeus sent Jones to Ranger School.”
I couldn’t believe my ears! That’s a punishment that a lot of young soldiers dream about, even though Ranger School is a very difficult course. But after thinking on it awhile, I realized it probably explains why LTC Johnson sometimes says, “I believe in second chances.”
Fred Johnson said it just the other day. He said it to me, “When someone gives you a second chance, you should pass it along.”
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/second-chances.htm
Follow up story to the one I posted about the boys being cooked in Iraq.
ping
Bump for second chances...
Do you have a link for that story?
“When someone gives you a second chance, you should pass it along.”
Cool!
Carolyn
I'm starting to believe there actually are no terrorists.
It's all a figment of Yon's imagination.
The story of the boy who was baked and served to his family by al-Qaeda is here:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/baqubah-update-05-july-2007.htm
Thanks, bfl
I bet there aren’t even people called “Arabs”
Bump!
Lying liars and the lies they tell.
Michael Yon’s newsletter is worth every minute of photos and type. This man is going above and beyond, and he needs all the support he can get.
BTW: You don’t exist.
There are atrocities we know about and there are atrocities we don’t know about.
A thousand AlQaeda fighters...
They are capable of quite a bit.
Been there, done that. He’s worth all I could afford and more. It’s heartbreaking to know he has been there through all this, continues to stay, and is in the thick of it because of it love of freedom. If he EVER runs for POTUS, he’ll get my vote, for sure!
Howsy, Laz!
OK...Howsy = Howdy... dead thingers today...
I even offered book chapter and verse as per my Cousin,in the clergy there who listened to confessions of men who saw this crap and was kicked in the teeth .
The defense of doubters was..he told him and him told her and her told it and well, no eye witnesses so it BS......
I remember. One day the scoffers will find out the truth, I’m afraid.
These people are planning something big.
“These people”
Just out of curiosity, who are “these people”?
You have changed one iota, over the years, Laz. Good to see you.
I’ve been following Yon and this story for awhile now and there is one thing about AQ that is crystal clear to me...
Al-Qaida is setting the All Time World Gold Standard for UTTERLY INSANE SAVAGERY. They make clinically insane people look ‘quirky’. They make Nazi’s look like school boys. They are a textbook example of how religious extremeism can lead to the most unholy behavior imaginable.
This is going to get worse before it gets better.
Michael Yon is a great writer...you read his stuff and you’re right there with him. I get paid this week, so will send support...he deserves every penny and more.
The Jihadis
Cool, I like that term better than AQ myself.
“They are a textbook example of how religious extremeism can lead to the most unholy behavior imaginable”
But they’re not being extreme. They’re just following their religion’s dogma.
Qur’an 5:33 “The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and make mischief in the land, is to murder them, crucify them, or cut off a hand and foot on opposite sides...their doom is dreadful. They will not escape the fire, suffering constantly.”
Tabari VIII:122
Ishaq:515 “The Prophet gave orders concerning Kinanah to Zubayr, saying, ‘Torture him until you root out and extract what he has. So Zubayr kindled a fire on Kinanah’s chest, twirling it with his firestick until Kinanah was near death. Then the Messenger gave him to Maslamah, who beheaded him.”
Bukhari:V4B54N487 “The Prophet said, ‘The Hell Fire is 69 times hotter than ordinary worldly fires.’ So someone said, ‘Allah’s Apostle, wouldn’t this ordinary fire have been sufficient to torture the unbelievers?’”
Bukhari:V4B52N260 “Ali burnt some [former Muslims alive] and this news reached Ibn Abbas, who said, ‘Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet said, “Don’t punish with Allah’s Punishment.” No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet said, “If a Muslim discards his Islamic religion, kill him.”’”
Qur’an 48:27 “If the Muslims had not been there, We would have punished the unbelievers with a grievous torture.”
Qur’an 9:5 “When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, torture them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.”
Ishaq:550 “The Muslims met them with their swords. They cut through many arms and skulls. Only confused cries and groans could be heard over our battle roars and snarling.”
Qur’an 5:37 “The [Christian] disbelievers will long to get out of the Fire, but never will they get out there from; and theirs will be an enduring torture.”
Tabari IX:6 “The chief sheep tender sent out spies to obtain intelligence. But they came back with their joints dislocated. When he asked what had happened, they said, ‘We saw white men on black horses. Before we could resist, we were struck as you see us now.”
Ishaq:595 “The Apostle said, ‘Get him away from me and cut off his tongue.””
Ishaq:312 “Umar said to the Apostle, ‘Let me pull out Suhayl’s two front teeth. That way his tongue will stick out and he will never be able to speak against you again.’”
Ishaq:316 “Following Badr, Muhammad sent a number of raiders with orders to capture some of the Meccans and burn them alive.”
Qur’an 8:12 “Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: ‘I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.”
Tabari VII:133
Ishaq:387 “When Muhammad saw Hamzah he said, ‘If Allah gives me victory over the Quraysh at any time, I shall mutilate thirty of their men!’ When the Muslims saw the rage of the Prophet they said, ‘By Allah, if we are victorious over them, we shall mutilate them in a way which no Arab has ever mutilated anybody.”
Tabari VIII:96 “A raiding party led by Zayd set out against Umm in Ramadan. During it, Umm suffered a cruel death. Zyad tied her legs with rope and then tied her between two camels until they split her in two. She was a very old woman. Then they brought Umm’s daughter and Abdallah to the Messenger. Umm’s daughter belonged to Salamah who had captured her. Muhammad asked Salamah for her, and Salamah gave her to him.”
The term “Jihadi” has many advantages, the biggest one is not requiring the standard disclaimer when discussing Muslims.
Yep!
You make a good point! Sometimes I forget that Islam is extreme without any special interpretation.
WOW! What a commander!
Michael Yon’s update ....on skeptics of last dispatch.
I sent Yon the $30.00 for his autobiography to help support his work; it is a pretty hefty hardcover. It took two days of reading and was very interesting. This guy has lived some hard days; I have no doubt about the honesty of his reporting or his willingness to be in harm’s way.
/
The Iraqi people had better put aside their differences and kill off all these miserable bastards soon. They don’t have to join the army or police. Just point out where the goons stay, and let those that can and will kill them do what must be done.
Thanks for the follow-up pacelvi. I hope Yon can somehow get the military to confirm this mass grave (from the article.) It’s a necessary step in the process. Without it, few will believe it, some will remain skeptical, while others won’t believe it at all.
Alqeda did it in Yugoslavia. Milosevic was charged with it.
We know he did it because Clinton convinced us he did. /sarc
Quadrant, I understood what you said.....and then I read this. Just in case you missed this....enjoy!
This is one of Micheal Yon’s best. I just wish we had the same leadership in the Senate that we find in General Patreus. Hopefully you won’t mind that I pinged you.
I think Ernie Pile was reincarnated as Micheal Yon. This is a most excellent dispatch!
Amazing, just amazing
Micheal Yon is at his very best. Please find some time to read this latest dispatch. I found it interesting and then very moving. Leadership, it seems, we have in spades in the Military and lack so dreadfully in the Senate. MSM is too stupid and traitorous to even mention, yet I just did.
I thank you for the ping. Incredible story, and a great read.
Thanks for the ping.
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