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Iraqi Deserter Tells of Desperation
AP
| 3/31/03
| BRIAN MURPHY
Posted on 03/31/2003 11:49:06 AM PST by kattracks
click here to read article
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To: nicmarlo
Thanks ! This reminds me of the old
Naked City lead in.
There are 7 million stories in New York City. This is one of them.
I'm sure there are a MILLION stories in Baghdad like this soldiers.
Here is another thread that had a little snippet and my comment:
When I read some of these accounts, I can't help but feel sorry for these folks that have suffered under Saddams rule. . .even their 'military' troops have suffered tremendously. Or perhaps 'especially' is more appropriate a word.
Iraqi deserters who have sought safety with Kurdish forces say they endured backbreaking toil in Saddam's army and constant scrutiny by security squads. Deserters who are captured face execution. It's not clear how many have crossed over; some say it is close to 500.
"We decided it was either die from an American bomb or be killed by our own people," said one Iraqi foot soldier who staggered into Kalak on Monday. "It was better to run and take our chances."
The deserter -- who offered only one name, Ali -- said soldiers sleep in muddy burrows, are given meager rations and no information about the war or any chance to call home. There is no medical help; the wounded are left to die. He said morale was very low, and most are not motivated to fight.
"We were not really mad at the Americans," he said. "We just want to save our lives."
41
posted on
03/31/2003 12:52:16 PM PST
by
MeekOneGOP
(Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
To: nicmarlo
In fact, that actually might be the same guy (name given only as 'Ali' in both articles) . . .
42
posted on
03/31/2003 12:54:03 PM PST
by
MeekOneGOP
(Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
To: MeeknMing
Sounds the same to me, too; and I also feel sorry for these people....the evil ones, I want dead.
43
posted on
03/31/2003 1:01:32 PM PST
by
nicmarlo
To: kattracks
44
posted on
03/31/2003 1:13:21 PM PST
by
metesky
(My retirement fund is holding steady @ $.05 a can)
To: green team 1999
"history will show president bush was right,and the war was the right thing to do" But Ramsey Clark says that Saddam isn't brutal and it's all propaganda.
Ramsey Clark: Saddam Not Brutal
These stories will really have the Rats wringing their hands and poor Tiny Tom will be so disturbed he will be beside himself.
45
posted on
03/31/2003 1:13:51 PM PST
by
sweetliberty
("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
To: biblewonk
"What's wrong with the liberals in this country?" Unlike the Iraqi deserter who has enough presence of mind in spite of oppression to recognize when he was being lied to, the liberals in this country are drunk on the freedom they take for granted, spoiled in their lack for nothing and arrogant in the wielding of their presumptuous and condescending sense of superiority.
46
posted on
03/31/2003 1:20:38 PM PST
by
sweetliberty
("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
To: Aquinasfan
"Why can't the peaceniks understand this?" Because they choose not to. To them, this isn't about the Iraqi people. To the best of them, it is only about some nebulous and elusive ideal that cannot possibly be attained this side of heaven, and to the rest of them, it is about being anti-Bush and anti-American. To them, the "Iraqi people" is nothing more than an empty term they use to lend weight to their hollow protests, much like "for the children" justifies anything Hillary Clinton conceives in her diabolical mind.
47
posted on
03/31/2003 1:28:17 PM PST
by
sweetliberty
("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
To: CyberAnt
"The bombs fell across the river" I took that to mean that had he not escaped when he did, he would have died with the remaining members of his group who were likely in the line of fire.
48
posted on
03/31/2003 1:31:39 PM PST
by
sweetliberty
("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
To: sweetliberty
Okay - that's good. After all that effort, I wanted him to be safe!
49
posted on
03/31/2003 1:33:42 PM PST
by
CyberAnt
To: kattracks
``I can say now what I always felt: Saddam led to this war,'' Ali said.
Wish some idiots in this country could figure that out.
50
posted on
03/31/2003 1:34:51 PM PST
by
dyed_in_the_wool
(What do liberals have against a liberated Iraq?)
To: oldcomputerguy
The uncontrolled sobbing is indicative of the depth of buried emotion being released. Exactly. Also it's not unusual for a person who's been in an extremely stressful situation to fall apart once the source of the stress is removed.
To: kattracks
Poor bastard, I hope some human shield dies in his family's place.
To: redlipstick
``The people know that any uprising against Saddam now would mean terrible things to them and their family. They force them to chant `Down with America,' but not everyone means it. Saddam's people are afraid for the future.'' That's when he started to cry.
And yet ANOTHER story. It makes me nauseous that the libs are denying the desire and need of these people to be freed from this monster.
Chris Matthews yesterday on his network Sunday show was as smug as could be in his closing commentary. He stated that the Iraqis just might want "one of their own" as a leader no matter how inhumane, rather than to have us come in to help. I could slap Matthews' sanctimonious mug.
53
posted on
03/31/2003 1:37:57 PM PST
by
cyncooper
("Some of the Iraqis... 'told me they would commit suicide if American bombing didn't start.'")
To: kattracks
I'm sure the vast majority of conscripts - maybe the majority of troops - don't want to be there and would prefer almost anything to the hand fate has dealt them. Hopefully they can console themselves knowing their families will have better lives than they could dream of, thanks to this liberation.
54
posted on
03/31/2003 1:40:43 PM PST
by
PianoMan
(Liberate the Axis of Evil)
To: kattracks
``But we decided it was either die from an American bomb or be killed by our own people,'' he said. ``It was better to run and take our chances.'' All the more reason for all Americans to appreciate the freedom and blessings we have, and too often take for granted. God bless our president, and our troops.
55
posted on
03/31/2003 1:44:23 PM PST
by
BureaucratusMaximus
(if we're not going to act like a constitutional republic...lets be the best empire we can be...)
To: cyncooper
I am so sick of the Americans who turn a blind eye to the condition of the Iraqi people. Those who think it's so cute and clever to be cynical, like Chris Matthews, and those who are so busy fretting about mankind that they can't see the pain of one man, like most of the Win Without War idiots.
I'm emailing this article to HARDBALL...not that it will do any good.
56
posted on
03/31/2003 1:48:04 PM PST
by
EllaMinnow
("Dark days are coming for the Dark Side")
To: kattracks
``But we decided it was either die from an American bomb or be killed by our own people,'' he said. ``It was better to run and take our chances.'' I called this a few days ago.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/877588/posts?page=15#15
To: RJCogburn
Pretty soon the Iraqis are going to figure out they can die fighting us or they can fight Saddam's goons and have a shot at living.
15 posted on 03/27/2003 5:05 PM EST by finnman69
To: kattracks
I feel for this guy like so many others do but lets play devils advocate for a moment. How many deaths do you think this Iraqi soldier had a part in? If the situation were in reverse, do any of you believe that any sort of sympathy would be given to an American soldier? A week ago, I wouldn't even be thinking this way but when I am seeing our soldiers executed after surrendering, I tend to be a little less sympathetic and less trusting.
58
posted on
03/31/2003 1:48:58 PM PST
by
Arpege92
To: kattracks
Tugs at the heartstrings for sure. One cannot help but have great compassion for the majority of Iraqis.
Not in my wildest nightmare can I imagine fighting for a man I hated against an army that I did not wish to confront all because of the justified fear that I and/or my family will be tortured and killed if I refuse.
How different it is for our troops who fight for liberty and a just cause and with a Commander in Chief who respects them and cares for their lives and that of their families. How blessed we are to be Americans !!!
To: redlipstick
I'm emailing this article to HARDBALL...not that it will do any goodPerhaps not any good you will be able to see, but someone will read it and that's a start.
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