Dead US soldier hung on public display

The Age ^ | 4/1/2003 | AFP

[sjersey]

US Marines moved into the southern Iraqi town of Shatrah today to recover the body of a dead comrade which had been hanged in the town square, officers said.

Hundreds of troops were dispatched on the operation after intelligence reports indicated the body of a dead American, who was killed in a firefight last week, had been paraded through the streets and hanged in public.

"We would like to retrieve the body of the marine but it is not our sole purpose," said Lieutenant-Colonel Pete Owen, of the First Marine Expeditionary Force.

Military sources said another part of the operation was to arm local militias to fight against members of the ruling Baath party loyal to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Shatrah is some 40 km north of Nasiriyah, where Iraqi forces have been harassing US supply lines and putting up tough resistance for more than a week.

[mylife]

but that piece of trivia might enlighten others as to their mind-set.

There's the "wild card" in bringing freedom to the middleast.
But the alternative (leaveing things alone) hasnt been workin.

[Hibernius Druid]

And @#%*ing ABC News in all its TV and radio coverage is hand-wringing about the Iraqis who wouldn't halt at the checkpoint -- while these atrocities are being committed against our warriors! Whose side are Jennings & Co. on? (asks he rhetorically)

[VMI70]

"If I were a soldier right now, with all respect ... I may lose my mind and shoot all :incoming enemy ..."

I would hope you would "shoot all the incomong enemy".

I think what you meant to say is that you would indiscriminately shoot people for revenge. You wouldn't. If you were a soldier, your training would stop you.

[Humidston]

Tonight I can honestly say I'm grateful I'm getting old and will die soon. I don't think I want to see what you younger ones will see in 10 more years. They're so unspeakably evil..

[Howlin]

I love you for calling me a "young one," but I know exactly what you are talking about.

Remember back when Iran had our hostages and every single night we saw those nasty people in front of the embassy gates?

I said then that you can't argue with that kind of fanaticism.

IMO, we should have started THEN. It just may be too late now, if you're watching international news now.

[soozla]

MOAB

[Brad’s Gramma]

The Battle of Babylon....as Michael Savage put it tonight. That keeps EVERYTHING in perspective (for me).

[harpo11]

If President Bush were to ask me what to do to help our troops gain victory, I'd proudly tell him to send the embeds home and unleash our dogs of war on the Iraqi thug vermin soldiers.

PC should mean Pulverizing Combat, imho.

[razorbak]

You're right. Pres. Carter pulled the rug out from under the friendly regime of the Shah of Iran because of his less than pure record on human rights. This led to Arab fanaticism capturing Iran and the hearts and minds of the whole Arab middle east, and brought about a thousand times as many human rights abuses. That plus Clinton's do nothing policy after the first WTC and Cole attacks, and the Mogadishu pull-out. Saddam's regime thinks that a larger scale Mogadishu would scare the American soldiers and the American public and cause us to slink away. The truth is that the American public would have backed a U.S. President to the hilt for going after the baddies full force in Somalia. Of course since Clinton ordered the Op and refused requests for adequate armor, he wanted it swept under the table. The Japanese miscalculated the same way the Saddamites have done. It is just making our military, our President and our fellow Americans more determined to wipe this regime off the face of the earth.

[dr_lew]

That is what separates us from them. We are human. They are demons.

We are human and they are human. What distinguishes us from them is that we are a just and mighty nation, as Yamamoto counciled.

[Howlin]

I agree with every single word you wrote. Every one of them.

I am sick of hearing the "we backed these despots" argument. We did, but now we KNOW better. Where does it say we cannot correct errors made in the past.

And I bet there are more than a few "leaders" in the world today who are shocked that George Bush meant what he said.

[F.J. Mitchell]

"Don't read very well, do you?"

So you excuse your poor skills of communication by blaming the readers compremension?

[jwalsh07]

IMO, we should have started THEN

Yes we should have and I wish we had. We postponed it more than a generation.

[Humidston]

Where does it say we cannot correct errors made in the past.

It brings to mind ol' Charlie Bengal the other night, saying our boys are bombing women and children. God, we have so much work to do - right here at home! ...Breathtaking!

[proudofthesouth]

War isn't fair and can't be fought fairly. We're Americans. We ARE better than they are. How many more American lives would have been lost in the Pacific if President Truman hadn't made the decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan? Would you have rather that war continue for godonlyknows how much longer and forgone the chance to end the war as quickly as it did?

[drq]

Never Forget

[Howlin]

In fact, I believe we could have "stomached" it back then if Carter had done the right thing, do you?

I'll never forget being at a party one night and realizing the people there -- our friends, boomers -- were all saying we should nuke them.

I was never anti-war. Ever. But it was quite a shock to me that my peers who supposedly came from that generation were ready to go to war.

[Poohbah]

Well... What rules are there? Is the DAMN U.S still fighting a PC war? I am telling you this is got to stop. Get the damn "BIG ONE" and finish this bastard off. Let nothing live in IRAQ for 50 years. I can handle that. Get the game over with .!!!

He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

[Poohbah]

Thats why I may never get into the Militery. I may not be able to handle it

Then kindly STFD & STFU, and leave this to the people who actually have the temperment for doing a dangerous job, and doing it well. Kindly stick to playing Doom.

[stlnative]

WORTH REPEATING...

Ok we already are bombing the hell out of every little rathole we suspect Saddam of hiding in. We have already altered the ROE because of the milita and we paid for it today by killing 7 women and children. We played into Saddam's hands on that one. If you were a soldier and had that "kill 'em all" mentality and you were in my squad, I'd take away your weapon and put you behind a desk. I AM a soldier. I have seen what an enemy without morals or a conscience can do. I think about it everytime I look at the video of friends, DEAD friends I had who died in Somalia. When they got killed, did it make me want to personally put a bullet in Mohammed Aideed's skull? You bet. Did it make me wanna unload my ammo clip into every Somali I saw? HELL NO. Because as a soldier I had and still have discipline! You get the ones who did this and let the innocents carry on. Revenge is a dish served cold. The Marines will "get some" for this heinous act. But they'll get the ones who did it. Not everyone who comes into sight.