One People Can
11/16/04
It's getting bad in Fallujah. Really, really bad.
An NBC cinematographer has caught on tape video of a US Marine killing an unarmed and wounded Iraqi prisoner in a mosque in Fallujah.
From Democracy Now...
The Marine is heard on tape claiming the Iraqi was faking his death. A marine can be heard saying on the pool footage provided to Reuters,
"He's [expletive] faking he's dead. He's faking he's [expletive] dead."
The marine then raises his rifle and fires into the man's head.
The Marine involved in the shooting has been removed from the field and was being questioned by the US military.
The NBC correspondent on the scene said the shot prisoner "did not appear to be armed or threatening in any way".
(Video).
The NBC reporter, Kevin Sites, said the Iraqi who was killed was one of five Iraqis that were injured after the Americans raided a mosque in Fallujah. An additional 10 Iraqis had already been killed in the raid.
Ironically, this shooting occurred on the exact same day that another US soldier was charged with murdering an Iraqi detainee in Baghdad.
NBC did not show the video due to its graphic content but the footage of the shooting was aired by CNN and on Al-Jazeera television.
Iraqis interviewed in Tuesday in Baghdad harshly condemned the killing.
"It is something forbidden in Islam, an American killed an unarmed Iraqi prisoner inside a mosque."
--Abdul-Sattar Naji, Iraqi citizen.
"It is a criminal act" that indicates the cowardice of the soldier who did that. The injured should be treated according to the law of wars."
--Tariq Ali, (Historian, Novelist) currently in Baghdad.
U.S. and Iraqi commanders say gunmen frequently use mosques as refuges or fire on troops from the buildings.
The behavior caught on tape appears to be a violation of the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners of war.
"Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat (out of combat) by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely."
A number of our troops seem to be going crazy in the insanity and chaos of Iraq. Any time something like this can go on in front of a camera, it makes you wonder how prevalent or common this practice may be. Over 100,00 Iraqis have been killed, the media utterly refuses to cover it, no one wants to talk about it--soon no one is going to even be allowed to talk about it.
For many of us it is very difficult to see a way out. We can cry 'war crimes' all we want but who's going to prosecute? The US refuses to participate in the International Criminal Court. Impeachment is highly unlikely given the Republican stranglehold on the House, the Senate and the Courts.
And Bush has just been re-elected. (I'm sorry, I know we're supposed to be moving on but I think I've relapsed).
What is so astonishing to many of us is the realization that so many Americans support the Bush agenda of war, terror and division. Friendships have been altered or abolished at alarming rates over the last four years as the uniter continued to divide the entire country. It appears there is nothing we can do to get out of this mess but we've got to bring an end to this. We cannot allow this administration to continue representing America this way.
Bush claims his 51% presidential election win as a mandate. He says this has given him political capital to use and he's going to use it. The global peace movement is considered the other super power in the world today and this last election has also given us political capital to spend as well.
So Bring It On!
"None of us know all the potentialities that slumber in the spirit of the population...or all the ways in which the population can surprise us when there is the right interplay of events, both visible and invisible."
---Vaclav Havel, Czechoslovakian Playwright
Much to the dismay of Karl Rove, we will not give up our fight especially not when we are at our most organized.
No longer will we ignore the long and unsuccessful swing to the right by the Democrats over the past few decades. It's killing us--literally. It is time for a consistent and sustained protest movement.
Protest movements change consciousness because they focus of principles that both parties typically avoid. It was protest movements that ended the Johnson and Nixon administrations, brought us Civil Rights and helped end the Vietnam War.
Through teach-ins, marches and mass demonstrations we can hold the Bush Administration accountable for all his impeachable offenses. We have the power to bring and end to this. It is up to us to save country by saving our soldiers, our reputation, our democracy and ourselves. No one person or no one party is going to save us, but one people can. A galvanized progressive protest movement is our best and only hope of rescuing and restoring the founding principles that made America a great nation.
Activism
::
Anti-War
::
Criminal Acts
::
Iraq
|
Link
The Marine was apparently shot in the face by the 'enemy' the prior day. Do not rush to judgement on this particular individual as you have no idea what you would do after being shot in the face by the 'enemy'.
I put quotes around the word 'enemy' because the Iraqi population was not our enemy until this administration made them so.
Indeed, it is George W. Bush who bares the responsibility for this atrocity.
In any event, the soldier may be charged with war crimes. Keep that in the back of your mind if a presidential candidate appears in 30 years that claims 'atrocities' occurred during Bush's occupation of Iraq.
The buck stops with George Fucking Bush!
Quite true Alex. Although, I have a brother and a several friends who have been involved in the war in Iraq, I cannot begin to imagine what it is like for a soldier or a civilian over there.
It may provide 'justification' but it is small comfort to know that the Marine's actions may be in retaliation from being shot in the face by the 'enemy'. That 'enemy' could very well be 'retaliating' against 'the American enemy' currently occupying their country. And so forth...(It also seems strange that a soldier who was shot in the face a day earlier would even be on the front line fighting the very next day and not in the infirmary.)
Like Abu Ghraib, instead of primarily punishing soldiers, who are more often than not following orders, responsibility must be held to the commanding officers.
The Iraqi death toll keeps rising and the more it is ignored and overlooked, the more devastating the effects will be when they are finally realized. I fear we may be getting to a point where we can't objectively look at or comment on what may be atrocious or illegal actions of our military. All life is precious--not just American life. The day we begin to become silent about them, we're doomed.
As you mentioned, the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of Bush. It is he that should be charged with War Crimes.
Your point is well-taken, though, as most people cannot begin to imagine the harsh realities of war.
Sites did also mention in a video dispatch that it was hard to tell due to the situation at that moment. It's quite possible that the only person who knows is the soldier involved. I'm sure it can go either way. There also are reports of miscommunication of the nature of the mosque and it's defenders.
It's amazing how much we struggle to disbelieve that which we don't want to believe. (My God, there are still people claiming that Abu Ghraib was just one wild night!)
Ok, the mystery of what happened doesn't appear to be some unsolvable crime here. There were several people there other than the soldier when it happened. Namely the NBC correspondent. I'm sure they can also tell us what happened.
Also anyone who thinks that these kinds of things don't go on in war is deluding themselves. They happen all the bloody time.
I read an article a while back that said 6 out of 10 of the soldiers coming back from Iraq will suffer PTSD and/or other forms of mental illness. This is another reason why this war must be stopped--to save the lives of our soldiers. George W. Bush is the war criminal. The soldiers, like the innocent women and children being killed, are collateral damage.
What about his comment after he shot him...why isn't anyone talking about that...."Well, he's dead now!"
Hmm. More context would be nice.
I was disgusted by this story when it first broke, too. But... and this is a big "but", I have never been in combat and it's hard for me to judge the emotions that must have led to the act. In war, it's kill or be killed... I don't know...
Certainly it is not comparable to Abu Ghraib, however. There was plenty of time for those soldiers to think, and they weren't in a volatile situation at the time they "offended". Indeed, they knew they were the only ones in the joint with weapons.
What mainly concerns me about this is that these "insurgents" may once have simply been ordinary Iraqi citizens.
Upon reading your full post, I am in turmoil once again.
I know a young marine who went AWOL after indirectly causing the death of a child. At the moment, he's an alcolic who can't sleep. I hope that'll be the worst of his problems, but I doubt it. Yes, it is Bush's fault that some of our soldiers have become masochists and others are crazy, dead or maimed. That is the bottom line. This didn't have to happen.
Do we even have a say any more?
Seems not. Rove is better at what he does than the millions of us are at what we do.
Not that I've given up, mind you...
