U.S. Marines in Iraq break pre-battle tension with chariot race

[CottonBear]

By Edward Harris, Associated Press, 11/6/2004 15:17
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP)

(snip)

Blowing off steam, hundreds of Marines took their cue from the 1959 Charlton Heston classic and gathered Saturday at a base near Fallujah for a slapstick chariot race featuring cobbled-together carts and confiscated Iraqi horses.

The Marine charioteers, wearing togas over their body armor, waved baseball bats done up as spiked maces and jumped into carts forged from cast-off vehicle parts. The makeshift chariots were pulled by Iraqi horses commandeered from looters in the area.

(snip)

''We're ready to go. I'm just ready to get this done. I want to go and kill people, so we can go home,'' said Lance Cpl. Joseph Bowman, 20, from North Zulch, Texas. ''Kill them and go home, that's all we can do now.'' But first, the Marines had a little fun with the horses. ''Friends, Romans, Marines: Lend me your ears for the rules,'' bellowed the master of ceremonies Capt. Jonathan Vaughn, 30, of Cleveland. ''If all horses die before the finish line, whichever makes it the farthest, wins.'' Vaughn's rule seemed prudent since some of the horses didn't look in prime racing shape, although none died. And the race didn't come off exactly as planned one steed turned on its charioteer in the first race and tried to bite the Marine who fended the horse off with a wooden trident, drawing loud cheers.

(snip)

A weapons team duo eventually prevailed in the final heat. The horse ran straight over the finish line, scattering Marine bystanders and slamming snout-first into sand-filled barriers. The horse was unhurt.

<http://www.boston.com/dailynews/311/world/U_S_Marines_in_Iraq_break_pre_:.shtml>

There is an awful picture by AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus of this brutal treatment of these horses: the horses are tied around their necks and have somehow twisted around to face the marines while still crudely hitched to the cart. The man is thrusting a huge trident spear into the terrified horses' faces. I couldn't find the picture on the web yet. The AP picture is in my local paper but not on the paper's website.

DU animal lovers and horse people: please help me protest the brutal treatment of these horses. In WWII, General Patton saved the Lippizzaners from extinction by cooperating with German veterinarians and the Spanish Riding School to evacuate the horses out of the danger zone. Now, we torture them. The horses in the picture look like Arabians. Horses are fragile creatures who can be easily crippled by this sort of barbaric treatment.

This story made me cry.

[Union Thug]

1. Coming up next, Muslims will be fed to the lions! Don't miss it!

[livinbella]

2. first a little 'fun' with horses

and then maybe a little 'fun' with women folk
before they kill all the men and go home
(But not before they have a little more 'fun' with horses,
and women folk!).

One more reason I do not support our troops.

[peekaloo]

3. Next up for the Christian Olympians: Cross dragging

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. You are missng the actual picture of what is going on

Those marines are now gladiators... and for gladiators life had no meaning, theirs or anybody elses.

This is the point of the story

Marines are years ahead of us on this one... and Rome. the new Rome is here... and behaving like ... Rome

[Poll_Blind]

7. Oh indeed. And they're eating it up. Matches the video games...

...most of them have been playing since childhood.

PB

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Exactly

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[CAcyclist]

11. You didn't see the picture then

They had some really bizarre jerry-rigged set-up for this "race" At least they didn't know how to put on a real bridle with a bit - they tried to attach rope to a halter to control the horse.

Those idiots have absolutely no notion of how to handle a horse and had no business doing this. Who do they think they are commandeering some citizen's horse?

Horses are delicate and one pulled tendon could doom a horse who's job is work.

[CottonBear]

16. Do you have the picture online? I couldn't find it.

I only have the copy of my local paper with the picture.

[Bucky]

6. Poor dumb bastards

"I want to go and kill people, so we can go home," said Lance Cpl. Joseph Bowman, 20, from North Zulch, Texas. "Kill them and go home, that's all we can do now."

Jeeze Louise, that guy's in for a wake up. He's really been led to believe there's a finite number of people over there that can be killed so as to end the war.

Q- How many Iraqis do you need to kill before you can go home?
A- About 25 million

Q- How come the little old grannies in Iraq aren't picking up guns and shooting at our troops?
A- They still have some young men left to do the fighting.

[okieinpain]

19. that was the sad part (besides the horses). he thinks he's going

to get to come home soon.

[Poll_Blind]

8. Anyone have a link to the Anja Niedringhaus photo the poster speaks of?

Thanks!

PB

[CottonBear]

13. I tried to find it but no luck so far.

I'm not a search expert. I'll try to scan and post my picture from the newspaper article.

[Bluebear]

10. "Blowing off steam", that's what Rush said Abu Ghraib was all about. nt

[Lorien]

12. Barbaric

even "confiscated" horses should not be put through such treatment. They belonged to someone, and the military was abusing that persons property.

these people are sick!

[CottonBear]

14. Didn't some soldier get arrested for commandeering

some Iraqi citizen's SUV?

[baby_mouse]

17. Good CHRIST

[CottonBear]

18. This link has the photo:

<http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=232244>

[okieinpain]

20. kinda of a metaphor for what's happening over there.

"Vaughn's rule seemed prudent since some of the horses didn't look in prime racing shape, although none died. And the race didn't come off exactly as planned one steed turned on its charioteer in the first race and tried to bite the Marine who fended the horse off with a wooden trident, drawing loud cheers."

sorry, folks but this not going to go well, no matter how all of the generals say we have the advantage. the insurgents just have to out last us, allawi will have elections, but in only parts of iraq, the bombing will continue, and the us body count will continue to rise. how long before the draft should be the real question.

iran will join in soon, because they are really going to push for a nuke or two now. all of that plant seeds of discontent in iran is going to get buried by the mullah's because they know they are next.