Posted on 06/20/2006 6:26:39 AM PDT by areafiftyone
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi military official said Tuesday that the bodies of two missing U.S. soldiers showed signs of torture, and that men appeared to have been killed "in a barbaric way." Also, the umbrella group for Iraqi insurgents claimed responsibility for the soldiers' deaths.
"We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders," said a statement in the name of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which groups five insurgent organizations including al-Qaida in Iraq.
At a news briefing, U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell declined to identify the two men until their families could be notified.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., disappeared after an insurgent attack Friday at a checkpoint by a Euphrates River canal south of Baghdad. Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed.
The checkpoint was in the Sunni Arab region known as the "Triangle of Death" because of frequent ambushes there of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.
The three men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
"The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family," Menchaca's uncle, Ken MacKenzie, told NBC's "Today" show.
He said the United States should have paid a ransom for the two soldiers from money seized from Saddam Hussein.
"I think the U.S. was too slow to react to this," MacKenzie said. "Because the U.S. did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid with his life."
The director of the Iraqi defense military's operation room, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, said the two bodies were found on a street near the town Youssifiyah, close to the scene of the attack. The U.S. military could not confirm that account.
Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said details of what happened to the two missing soldiers and about the bodies found would be released later Tuesday after the families of the soldiers were informed.
"Until we know the families have been both briefed and have been fully informed ... it would be inappropriate," he said.
A search involving more than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops turned up nothing over the weekend, but troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven U.S. servicemen wounded, Caldwell said.
A farmer claiming to have witnessed the attack told The Associated Press on Sunday that insurgents swarmed the checkpoint, killing the driver of a Humvee before taking two of his comrades captive.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah said three Humvees were manning a checkpoint when they came under fire from many directions. Two Humvees went after the assailants but the third was ambushed before it could move.
He said seven masked gunmen, one carrying a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle and took the two other U.S. soldiers captive. His account could not be verified independently.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari also said the soldiers appeared to have been taken prisoner by insurgents.
The military said Saturday that soldiers at a nearby checkpoint heard small-arms fire and explosions during the attack at 7:15 p.m. Friday, and a quick-reaction force reached the scene within 15 minutes. The force found one soldier dead but no signs of the other two.
I believe that every single day. I thank God that Bush was in office on 9/11. Who knows how many more there might have been. My heart just breaks for the families of these 2 brave men. And I hope the TROP is brought to its knees.
This enrages me. Prayers sent to the US troops and the families involved.
Fixed it.
Yes, close it. Put the jihadists in the basement and slowly pour concrete in..
Amen! Nothing else will suffice..
Indeed!
I believe that one general said of the eneny, "Grab them by the b*lls and their hearts and minds will follow!"
It was in 1979, when Knomeini took over Iran. The Soviets were released after four days.
Stay safe. Don't lose your head...........
"There is no "Allah" but Satan" and Mohammed is his Beast!"
You have to deal with people on their own level - that's the only way that's effective.
Treating savages like choir Boys produces results like this one.
So does speeeches like John Murtha's and Dick Durbin. EVERY speech given by EVERY politician opposed to this war has provided the savages who did this with the hope, inspiration and energy to commit acts like this in the not unreasonable expection they will generate even more dissent from the Fifth Columnists in the Criminal anti-war movement.
In the war against terror, like WW1 and WW2, free speech should end when American boots hit the enemy ground.
What are the muslims tied to? Cannons?
"I am morphing into a type of person that I don't want to become, but with our own countrymen brainwashed or deranged enough to write the things I read over there, I am thinking really bad things right now."
Don't be ashamed. Americans too long have tried to insulate themselves from the realiities of the world.
When fighting a war with gentlemen - conduct yourself like a gentleman.
When fighting a war with savages, conduct yourself like Genghis Khan.
It is a good thing to shed the blood of brutal enemies and to revel in it.
So....why wasn't the driver also mutilated and included in the story? He was killed outright during the firefight.
We all would prefer your scenario true, but it's probably not.
The photo is of an execution of mutinous indigenous troops.
Sepoy Mutiny, India, 1857
Thanks...I hadn't scanned down further to see your explanation.
And while it would be a terrible thing to do to the families, I think that the media SHOULD broadcast the details of what happened to these soldiers, and show pictures in great detail of what happened to them, in order to really demonstrate exactly what we're fighting against. It's woul be a horrible thing to do to the families, but it might just unite the country in this war. Of course, that's the last thing that the media and leftists in this country would ever want.
Mark
I'm not... We all know how short the "memory span" of the public is, and don't forget how the media has done all it can to "sanitize" the events of September 11. How many times have we seen the photos of people leaping to their death from the towers. Or how many times have we seen body parts on the streets below. Frankly, I never saw either of these, except on the web. The MSM has NEVER shown the direct results of the attacks. And more importantly, they've NEVER mentioned that this could have been far worse. Had the planes struck at around 11:00am, or between 2:00 and 4:00pm, and had the towers come down immediately, a death toll greater than 50,000 would probably have been the final count. Even more had the subway and PATH tubes been flooded (which nearly happened).
Again, this is the sort of thing that would have whipped up anger and support for the war, and that's the last thing the media wants.
Mark
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