49 New Iraqi Army Soldiers Shot to Death

[Bluebear]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Forty-nine soldiers in Iraq's new army have been found shot to death, police said Sunday.

Gen. Walid al-Azzawi, commander of the Diyala provincial police, said the bodies were discovered Saturday about 30 miles south of Baqouba.

They were laid out in four rows each, with 12 bodies in each row, he said.

"After inspection, we found out that they were shot after being ordered to lay down on the earth," he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041024/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716

[aquart]

1. Executed for trying to earn a living. Executed as traitors.

Was anything Saddam did as bad as what we are doing? (And yes, let's include the rape rooms and the tortured athletes.)

[Bluebear]

2. I am wondering how much news is getting out, too

It seems there is a blackout of news from Iraq these days. Not many reports from anywhere besides the quaratined "Green Zone".

[radwriter0555]

16. the rape rooms and tortured atheletes are myths, they didn't happen. that

was all just part of the hate-saddam propoganda...

[w4rma]

21. No, that was true also. (nt)

[ButterflyBlood]

41. oh give me a break

It was quickly discovered several "professional rapists" and the Iraqi soccer team's account are well documented. I was opposed going in too, but it's not because Saddam was a kind or benevolant ruler. He certainly wasn't.

[sandnsea]

3. Iraqis are dying too

Is it just me, or is there a sudden uptick in the number of Iraqi troops dying??? :tinfoilhat:

[Bluebear]

4. Not just you. And they think they can have elections in January?

Bush and his fans are living in a dream world.

[LivingInTheBubble]

18. many possible reasons.

I saw a report from an iraqi security officer who survived a car bombing - he said a car drove in and the US troops moved away from it and then it exploded.

In short I think the US troops try to leave the dying up to the iraqis wherever possible.

[snippy]

5. I am pleased with the progress in Iraq. Bring 'em on. n/t

[Guaranteed]

6. Absolutely horrible.

Just messed up as hell.

[maddezmom]

7. not much has changed since Saddam was ousted

just different people pulling the trigger.........

[radwriter0555]

15. oh no no no! the bush/allawi regime is far, far worse than ANYTHING that

has been pinned on saddam.

[teryang]

8. Victory is right around the corner

Election in January, right!

[saigon68]

9. The Quisling puppet Allawi will win in a landslide

They are counting the votes as we speak. There are a few hanging Chads but no big deal. Its those pesky machines sent from a warehouse in Florida where they were stored for a while.

Work most of the time.

LOL

[screembloodymurder]

10. In rows?

Like stars on a flag?

[radwriter0555]

14. whoa, good catch.

dang.

[lostnfound]

45. As a matter of fact, Al Jazeera says "50"

The headline and the lead of the story says 50, although a direct quote later in the article says 'around 50'.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/05F121E5-0EBD-4B71-931A-A0AC04F681EA.htm

[Laelth]

11. Complete Incompetence

Look at this:

"There was probably collusion among the soldiers or other groups. Otherwise, the gunmen would not have gotten the information about the soldiers' departure from their training camp and that they were unarmed," he said. "In the future we will try to be more careful when the soldiers leave their camps. We will provide them with protected cars that can escort them home."

How can the Iraqis ever trust us if we won't defend them. It's painfully obvious that we don't give a rat's ...

New leadership is required.

-Laelth

[Cocoa]

12. this shows the enemy is desperate

freedom is on the march, the enemy is scared of democracy, etc.

[radwriter0555]

13. NO, this is Mossad style.

Totally their modus operandi.

[leftchick]

17. WARNING! Very Graphic photos of the Dead in Rows.....

There are actually quite a few at this yahoo link. Very disturbing...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/iraq/082701iraqplane&a=&tmpl=sl&ns=&l=1&e=11&a=&t=&prev=10





Rebels killed 49 unarmed army recruits in one of the bloodiest attacks on Iraq (news - web sites)'s nascent security forces and, in a separate attack on October 24, 2004, killed a U.S. diplomat in a mortar strike near Baghdad airport. The bodies of 37 recruits shot dead on a road northeast of Baghdad were found Saturday and 12 were discovered Sunday. This video grab shows bodies of recruits found northeast of Baghdad on October 24, 2004. Photo by Reuters Tv/Reuters They said 37 bodies had been recovered on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday morning on a road near the village of Mandali, near the Iranian border. REUTERS via REUTERS Television



Soldiers of the Iraqi National Guard stand by the bodies of fellow Iraqi soldiers in Mendeli, north-east of Baquba, Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004.The bodies of about 50 Iraqi soldiers were found on a remote road in eastern Iraq, apparently the victims of an ambush as they were heading home on leave, Iraqi authorities said Sunday. (AP Photo/str)


I wonder what the symbolism is...

[pinkpops]

26. He's the most powerful man in the world and all he wants

to do is make sure I'm safe, that I'm OK."

[leftchick]

30. and that has to be THE SICKEST thing....

I have ever seen... :puke:

[MisterP]

31. who said that about the worthless chimp?!

[pinkpops]

34. http://www.ashleysstory.com.

http://www.ashleysstory.com

[DoveTurnedHawk]

19. Very Sad

This shows a very high level of coordination and numbers, unfortunately. Iraq is FUBAR. :-(

DTH

[leftchick]

20. wtf? CNN just reported that the soldiers...

WERE UNARMED!!!! omg... this is soooo FUBAR!

[maddezmom]

39. yup, UNARMED

Elizabeth Edwards talking about it right now on CSPAN.

[OKNancy]

22. Kick

:kick:

[reprobate]

23. Are we sure it was insurgents? A story from Seymore Hersch:

This is from a speech by Hersch on University of California TV given Oct. 10, 2004, And I'm paraphrazing. My fault for not recording it.

Told to him by a platoon leader. The platoon was partnered with a platoon of iraqi guardsmen, and as good people will, they were becoming friends. Suddenly another platoon from the same american company started shooting the iraqis from a distance. snipers targeting them as individuals. The platoon leader protested to his company commander but nothing was done. He asked the platoon leader of the snipers what this was all about and was told: "body counts". Sound familiar?

The Lt. asked Hersch what he should do about it. Hersch said: "Just shut up and keep your head down. Or you'll just add to the body count"

This will not remain a secret forever. Every member of that platoon knows about it cause they witnessed it. They will likely tell their friends and families.

Saigon68, does this remind you of anything?

[MisterP]

32. here's the quote from UCBerkeley news

"There was more--rumors of atrocities around Iraq that to Hersh brought back memories of My Lai. In the evening's most emotional moment, Hersh talked about a call he had gotten from a first lieutenant in charge of a unit stationed halfway between Baghdad and the Syrian border. His group was bivouacking outside of town in an agricultural area, and had hired 30 or so Iraqis to guard a local granary. A few weeks passed. They got to know the men they hired, and to like them. Then orders came down from Baghdad that the village would be 'cleared.' Another platoon from the soldier's company came and executed the Iraqi granary guards. All of them.

"'He said they just shot them one by one. And his people, and he, and the villagers of course, went nuts,' Hersh said quietly. 'He was hysterical, totally hysterical. He went to the company captain, who said, "No, you don't understand, that's a kill. We got 36 insurgents. Don't you read those stories when the Americans say we had a combat maneuver and 15 insurgents were killed?"

"'It's shades of Vietnam again, folks: body counts,' Hersh continued. 'You know what I told him? I said, "Fella, you blamed the captain, he knows that you think he committed murder, your troops know that their fellow soldiers committed murder. Shut up. Complete your tour. Just shut up! You're going to get a bullet in the back." And that's where we are in this war.'"

[reprobate]

38. Thanks MisterP. This is truly becoming Iraq Nam.

I was going strickly from from memory of the broadcast watched at 2AM. Missed some details, but in general the idea was right.

The idea that american troops could knowingly do something like this is the truely shocking thing about it. And none of the troops involved said anything to their families or friends? But on the bright side, with Hersh talking about it and the University paper printing it, there should be some legs on this story before long.

All I can say is this is not the same America I grew up in in the 50s. With all the repug talk of morality, our leaders are now supporting the dark side. Someone, in fact the entire chain of command involved in attrocities like this MUST be held accountable and tried by the international court.

It's now easy to understand why * is so opposed to the international court. They were planning things like this all along. Winning has become not the most important thing, but the ONLY thing.

God help america.

[reprobate]

40. Link to above story:

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/10/11_hersh.shtml

[leftchick]

42. Well this clears up why they were....

Unarmed! God what a mess!

[DS1]

24. They must be running out of Americans to slaughter

:eyes:

[ismnotwasm]

25. 49 dead Soldiers

With wives, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, family and friends. So much grief and pain. It seems to go on and on. God my heart is sad.

[Chicago Democrat]

27. 49 Dead in one attack!???? They are infiltrated completely.

:cry:

[vs the introvore]

28. still a mere concept to my virgin eyes

man, i was scared once this YEAR when i heard gunshots right by my house, yipes! and i WAS in the us army. but i try to even conceive what any iraqi citizen/resident must FEEL to bust back against this antagonist pressure coming from every different direction, man, i cannot... americans are sometimes, PRETTY defensive and easily enraged. then even the SOFTEST dairy-queener from the EZchair can remotely summon the furious & desperate anger and divulge the lascivious URGE to kill. but that's just due to our own WANING beliefs in ANY subjective reality and, for my purposes here, as a wanderer-of-thoughts, exposes my chasmic dissonance with NOWHERE reality. These soldiers/insurgents/rebels/defenders, in FACT any living resident of iraq must be subject to constantly conflicting feelings of passively ACCEPTING their personal communities or actively responding, in KIND, to the threatening forces, no? i cannot even imagine if i were in iraq, which sides i would be on.

[maddezmom]

29. and of course, the boogie man has taken responsiblity for the slaughter

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20041024/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_ambush_claim

notice the newest term: rebels????

[MrPrax]

33. Update Zarqawi group claims recruits attack

*rather than duping, the original poster might want to add this to the original*

Zarqawi group claims recruits attack

DUBAI (Reuters) - A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Iraqi army recruits, according to an Internet statement.

Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, the new name of Zarqawi's group, said in a statement posted on a Web site often used by militants that it killed 48 "apostates" in the attack.

"The sons of Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq succeeded in killing 48 members of what is known as Iraq's idolatrous guards after they left a base in Kirkush ... on their way to the south of the country on a vacation," said the statement whose authenticity could not be verified.

"The mujahideen killed them all, stole two vehicles and the salaries they had just received from their masters," it said.
etc...
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=608377§ion=news

[number6]

35. inside job

our military in ee-rack can trust no one ...

[d_b]

36. These are the kinds of headlines

that make me hate Bush.

[Chicago Democrat]

37. CNN is calling it a Massacre of Unarmed Soldiers

http://www.cnn.com/

[maddezmom]

43. they were sitting ducks

what is the US thinking sending them out unarmed or atleast escorted. :(

[monobrau]

44. 50 unarmed soldiers?

It sounds like common sense was massacred a long time ago. Just how is it that 50 soldiers in the Iraqi army would be unarmed in the first place, much less assembled for a convenient slaughter?

[Chicago Democrat]

47. They were on leave going home...without weapons

Jeez..

I hope they give them pistols at least now.

[Malva Zebrina]

46. this war has been lost

there is nothing but desperation left and revenge for all we have done to murder the families of the Iraqi people. There is no sense in continuing this--although I think that Halliburton and others who have been the war profiteers, would certainly encourage the use of our kids to continue so they can shore up the security around their investments in Iraq.

Not to mention, the destruction of their museums and the looting of their antiquities, their museums and all that reinforces their ancient culture. One of the first.

We have done a murderous deal here. I am ashamed of my country.

We have lost this war and it is about time someone with some sense toward humanity admitted it.