"It is a mistake. We didn't mean to kill the child...."

[sabra]

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1205/289112.html

Violence Defies Reason for Many in Iraq

<snip>

Eissa's birthday came two months before he died.

"He was about to enter school. I had just finished his paperwork," said Abbas. The photos she took for his school application now grace the walls of her house in Baghdad's eastern Shaab neighborhood.

"I look at them a lot," she said. "Eissa was beautiful. He was beautiful. He was chubby. His eyes were big. His hair was long. I liked to spoil him."

"He was always with me. He went to the market with me," she added. "Now, I feel lonely."

The last time Abbas saw her son, he was excited about traveling with his father, a driver, on a work trip to Syria.

"Dad will take me to the amusement park," he told her.

"I felt like he's not coming back to me. It's the feeling of a mother, but he was happy," Abbas recalled.

Abbas said she did not know what the U.S. troops were firing at when they hit her husband's car as he was driving in the Abu Ghraib area in western Baghdad.

"Eissa was sleeping in the arms of his brother. The bullet hit him in the head," Abbas said. "He died in his sleep. There was no time for him to wake up or move a muscle."

When she saw her son's body, Abbas slapped her face, beat her chest and ripped off her flowing robe. She wailed and sobbed as U.S. troops tried to calm her.

"It is a mistake. We didn't mean to kill the child. We will do anything you want," she said they told her. "They apologized, but I didn't accept their apology."

She never heard from them since, she complained. She wants the U.S. military to pay her money in compensation.

Queries to the U.S. military about the case went unanswered after an initial response that they would look into it.

Ali, her other son, was wounded.

"He is now like a mad person. It's like something got into his head. He stopped going to school," she said of Ali, 16.

Her husband stopped working and the family now lives off its savings, she added.

Abbas said she cannot forgive those responsible for Eissa's death.

"I feel like I want to drink the blood of those who killed my son," she said. "I want to kill them the way they killed him and killed me."

[saigon68]

1. Winning "Hearts and Minds" one CORPSE AT A TIME

BY THE COWARDLY CHIMPANZEE

[AirmensMom]

2. Another family ruined ...

brought to us by the "family values" folks. :cry:

[Mabus]

3. not to mention the toll on our troops

Imagine being one of the guys who was apologizing to her. I'm sure more than a few of them haven't forgotten either.

on edit: my dad is a veteran of the Korean Conflict, he still has nightmares and regrets about what he lived through.

[AirmensMom]

8. No one is arguing that.

Families on both sides of this are being destroyed, as they are in all wars.

[tblue37]

12. I know a vet who had to kill a twelve-year-old who

was shooting at him. He has pretty much been destroyed by it. Two lives destroyed: the child he killed and my friend himself.

Of course, if BushCo had not illegally put him in that situation where he would be shot at by 12-year-olds, he would not have been returning fire and killing a child. In his case, it was self-defense, not just a mistake. But it doesn't matter to him. He cannot get past what he did, epecially since his own son is 11.

[YourBrother]

17. bushco put him in that situation?

didn't they decide long ago it wasnt enough for people to say they were just following orders?

it isn't self defense in your friends case, the boy was defending his nation from an invading army

it is coldblooded killing and nothing else besides

[TankLV]

28. Riiiight. So the soldier should just drop his gun and let himself be

killed?

I don't agree with your assessment of the situation at all.

Damn fucking REPUKES who got us into this awful situation.

[YourBrother]

34. hmm

yes, damn them

but the republicans aren't the biggest problem facing america today

the silent complicitness and willingness to follow orders without thought is

without unthinking henchmen, they can't follow through

and i hate to be the one to point it out, but it hasn't really mattered whether it was a republican or democrat in office ... the CIA/FBI has it's own agenda and has continued to support and enfranchise terrorist networks throughout the world with your tax dollars

so cut the holier than thou shoot

americans only seem to be able to find one solution to any problem

hit it down the middle with everything you've got ... then go see if it was dangerous ...

[YourBrother]

37. possibly ...

or maybe he should have turned to his colleagues and said "hey man these are fucking kids im having no part in this and neither should you, i dont need that shit on my conscience this war is bullshit from top to bottom and im not risking my ass out here for some corporations/Israel's gains"

nah .. that's just asking too much i guess

peace

[TankLV]

43. and he would have been shot - dead.

Sorry, I can't agree with you there.

Glad to see you don't support the troops, but support anybody but our own.

Nice.

Hitler had kids dressed up in adult soldiers uniforms, too, and they were shooting at us.

I would not have hesitated to shoot back and try to stop them, if that was the only way. The fault lies with hiding behind the children, not with OUR troops defending themselves.

Of course, we shouldn't be there in the first place, but that is not the crux of the question of the moment, is it.

[FreedomAngel82]

47. Yes

It's such a hard and horrible thing. I don't like any of it. :( The neocons shouldn't have even been there in the first place. :cry: I don't see how these people can live with themselves! They're destroying everyone involved! :cry:

[michreject]

51. Last I checked, we had a 100% volunteer force

No one was drafted. You don't join the military and then say you're against the military. It don't work that way.

[tblue37]

52. He didn't say he was against the military.

He joined the Reserves to get money for college. He was in Gulf War I (and got TB from it, since he was a medic and worked with refugees during that war).

This time, his skills and education (a different skill set) got him sent to work at the Oil Ministry. A Reserve soldier with his skills does not expect to be riding shotgun on convoy in the frontlines of a battle zone. Everyone is frontline infantry to this administration. Car mechanics, truck drivers, cooks, supply agents, chaplains--everyone. Even sailors are pulled in off ships to walk the front line in the desert with a gun.

[michreject]

58. In times of armed conflict

All personnel are combatants. Cooks, clerks and anyone who thought that they were going to be REMP's (rear echelon military personnel) only.

[Straight Shooter]

54. There was a time when someone joining the military had an expectation

that they would not be used as a mercenary for Halliburton. So the 100% all volunteer army is a bogus argument.

If this were a genuine "noble cause," there would be no shortage of soldiers. Most Americans aren't hesitant to die for their country, if that's the true nature of the conflict, but who the f*ck wants to die for Halliburton or its puppet, bush?

[michreject]

59. It's not a soldiers job

to question his objectives, just do it. I know this sound harsh, but it's the way the military operates. The politicians start the wars but the generals run the day to day operations of the machine itself.

I marched in protest marches for the Viet Nam war in the late 60's. I don't care for war, BUT, I am a vet. US Army 70-72, and I want my brothers to do what they need to do to come home alive and in one piece.

[Thtwudbeme]

55. Oh how cool! ANOTHER omniscient poster on DU!

I swear, you guys amaze me with your comments...it's almost as if you were there!

I stand in awe of you-

Stephanie

[sabra]

5. this part really hurts:

Ali, her other son, was wounded.

"He is now like a mad person. It's like something got into his head. He stopped going to school," she said of Ali, 16.

I fear she will lose her other son, as a result of this horrific incident :-(

[AirmensMom]

9. I agree.

Will another terrorist be born out of this tragedy? You betcha! The cycle of violence continues. :cry:

[YourBrother]

38. terrorist?

how dare you

these people are freedom fighters from an oppressive occupying regime!

how does a young man avenging the slaughter of his innocent younger brother become a terrorist in your eyes?

because its too hard for you to look in the mirror and see yourself for what you really are?

sure, label them terrorists .. if it makes you feel better

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

if you use their language ... your perpetuating the myth

peace

[AirmensMom]

40. I should have used quotation marks.

As in "terrorist". Save your lecture for someone else.

[YourBrother]

41. if you use their language

you perpetuate their myth

does it make you feel better to portray them as the bad guys?

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

break the cycle

peace

[AirmensMom]

50. Oh, brother!

:eyes: Are you too ignorant and stupid to know that violence creates more violence? You completely missed the point of my post.

[The Straight Story]

60. playing devil's advocate here:

If he goes out and kills the person who killed his brother that would be vengance (and something I am sure we all agree we should do more of here at home). If he goes out and kills someone who had nothing to do with it because the color of their skin he would be what?

I guess the question(s) we need to ask ourselves is - do we support the death penalty by individual to redress their grievances? Sure one can be against the war - but why do we expect people 'over there' to act in ways we here condemn? Are they just not evolved enough?

Now all that said, my ass would be out with a gun hunting the bastard that ever laid a hand on my kid - and I say that as a human being. Nothing against our troops, america, et al - from a purely fatherly point of view I would kick booty. But I will note - I would not just kill someone randomnly, that would make me like the one I was angry with - and I would then lose myself and my child.

[FreedomAngel82]

48. Yep

I remember not long ago reading about how this guy was joining Al-Quida now because of what happened to a brother or some sibling of his getting killed. So I'm sure various terrorist groups like Al-Quida are growing every day.

[NanceGreggs]

4. Hearts & Minds ...

"I feel like I want to drink the blood of those who killed my son," she said. "I want to kill them the way they killed him and killed me."

And who can blame her for her anger, her desire for revenge?

Think about this child's parents, grandparents, siblings, extended family, neighbours and friends -- who all probably have the same feeling towards Americans now. Then multiply that number by the number of innocent Iraqi deaths.

Now tell me how we can ever 'win' this war ...

[Cults4Bush]

11. .. and that my friend is the long and short of it, there is no win here.

There is only this kind of incident over and over again. No matter how many schools we build, this is what the people of Iraq will remember.

[Evergreen Emerald]

15. she is talking about us. We killed her son.

I wonder in 50 years if my daughter will wonder why I didn't do more to stop it all--not just the war but the destruction of America. It is our responsibility to do something.

[NanceGreggs]

21. My point exactly ...

American soldiers, as would any military in this situation, are not being seen as individuals, but as representatives of their country.

I doubt there are many Iraqis around who looked at the Abu Ghraib photos and said, "Yeah, probably the work of a few bad apples. I'm sure US civilians are wonderful people ..."

Hard to imagine that we, as a nation, have come to this. Just as the right-wingers in this country talk about Muslim terrorists and how they're all out to kill us, so the Iraqi population must be talking about us here at home.

[saracat]

33. Oh but only Natalee Holloway's mother has the right to express such rage!

The mothers of the iraqi children we killl have no such rights. They are all "insurgents" and "terrorists". That is what Fox News and the Admin. tells us!

[Karmageddon]

6. Everything's going great in Iraq. Making great progress, don'tcha know?

Winning hearts and minds, delivering freedom and spreading democracy.

It's a shame our asshat president will never read something like this, since he doesn't read anything beyond The Pet Goat. Then again, the heartless psychopath wouldn't give a rat's ass anyway.

[Greyhound]

7. And another generation of 'terrorists' is born...

[YourBrother]

20. im glad

you put the word "terrorist" in comma's bro

this government would have you think the rebel jesus was one

for a little more insider info on who's behind all the bombings around the world try this in google>>> Michael meiring

http://www.voxfux.com/archives/00000105.htm

http://www.unknownnews.net/030820minda.html

then ask yourself why no american news stations have reported it?

[Greyhound]

23. Thanks for the links. I hadn't heard this one yet (surprise, surprise)

but it is typical of how we have operated since WWII.

[YourBrother]

24. i am hoping

the winds of change are about to run through DC

let's make it happen bro ;)

[UpInArms]

45. Here's one from the Manila newspaper

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics02_sept20_2005

Tit for tat: Lawmakers probe US spying in RP

Opposition lawmakers yesterday hit back at the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the issue of espionage.

They said the United States government has been spying on both the government and opposition leaders even before Michael Meiring, a Central Intelligence Agency operative, was arrested in May 2002.

<snip>

The militant lawmakers said Meiring was “snatched” by the FBI despite a hold departure order issued against him by the Davao City Regional Trial Court.

Meiring, who was billeted at the Evergreen Hotel in Davao City, was seriously wounded after a bomb exploded inside his hotel room.

Meiring was suspected of involvement in the series of bombings in Mindanao.

...much more...

[Raksha]

31. Brother, thanks for the links.

I'm another one who never heard of the Miering incident until today. Very suspicious indeed, especially the fact that I am just now finding out about it.

[YourBrother]

35. hey bro

you never will from the US media

a media blackout was ordered and all inquiries "will be stonewalled" .. thats the whitehouses words, not mine :D

cats out of the bag ;) lets feed it and breed it!

[MountainLaurel]

10. "I feel like I want to drink the blood of those who killed my son"

Yep, we're sure as hell winning their hearts and minds, aren't we?

[JuniperLea]

13. Tip of the iceberg

I'm sure there are dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of horror stories like this.

My heart aches for the moms. Nature gives us a special bond with our young to insure the best of care, but when a child is taken away, and regardless at what age, you may as well rip the mother's heart out and crush it.

Damn you all to hell, BUSHCO!! Fucking monsters!!!

[hopeisaplace]

49. exactly, "you may as well rip the mother's heart out and

crush it"..you said it perfectly. My kids are the air I breath,
the reason I live, and I cannot imagine this kind of suffering.
My youngest is 5 and he leaves me little notes around the house
"I love you mommy"...so you see I feel for this woman so much, and it
doesn't matter that she's halfway around the world. I don't understand
war, guns, hate, and greed. Oh, it's a part of this earth, fine, ok..but
I don't understand how basic decency, intelligent leadership, and
compassion for our fellow man cannot be the fundamentals of this planet.

An Eye for Eye leaves everybody blind.


edit: spelling

[JuniperLea]

56. Although my kids are adults now

26, 23 & 21, I still have that same maternal feeling. Each of them will always be that five-year-old to me.

How sad that we teach our children compassion only to throw them into a world where the leaders have none.

[SammyWinstonJack]

53. Make that giggling monsters!

:grr:

[cantstandbush]

14. This is exactly how an occupation grows an ensurgency! n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. We're creating terrorists faster than we can kill them.

Right there in that family we have created 3 more "terrorists." When will this stop? How many innocent little Eissa's have to die?!:cry::cry: Dammit!

[YourBrother]

25. i think youll find

the people your reffering to as terrorists are actually "freedom fighters" from an oppressive regime, yours

a song to make you think ... :D

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

all the best bro :D

[in_cog_ni_to]

29. Oh good heavens...I know they aren't terrorists.

THEY (the idiot's regime) calls them "terrorists"/"insurgents"...NOT ME. They, IMCPO, are people who are fighting to defend their country which has been invaded by a rogue regime, THE U.S.. No, no, no....I don't EVER call the citizens of Iraq terrorists. I was quoting a bumper sticker I've seen and should have used a sarcasm tag, I guess?

all the best...bro....BTW, I'm a sis ;)

[YourBrother]

32. cool

it doesn't help when you use their nasty words to describe "people" sis ;)

in effect that means they win

if we don't use their language ... none of it makes sense, if none of it makes sense, we win :D

biglove and peace to you and yours over the holidays ... sis ;)

[pocket]

18. mistake my ass

this is what they are there to do

[IndyOp]

30. I am with you pocket -

A soldier's job is to go to war
The job of a soldier in a war zone is to kill
I cannot support the troop's mission - any mission

I want the military dramatically reduced in size; all remaining troops pulled back onto US soil.

[YourBrother]

39. hmmmm

maybe "The job of a soldier in a war zone is to kill"

but are you saying that overrides his responsibility to be a thinking human being?

[IndyOp]

44. The OP was about a soldier saying they didn't mean to kill the child,

Pocket said, "that is what they are there for" (soldiers are there to kill)

I was agreeing with Pocket "the job of a soldier in a war zone is killing"

I am confirmed pacifist: Being a thinking, moral human means not allowing oneself to have the job of being a soldier in a war zone. You have can't a job of 'killer' and be moral.

I do believe in self-defense, if attacked it is moral to defend oneself. (Being a soldier means acting offensively, so there is no such thing as a soldier that kills in self-defense).

[ClayZ]

19. .

:cry:

[DIKB]

22. Sadly

when people try and paint a positive picture in Iraq, stuff like this comes to mind.

Every time freeptards try and e-mail pics of A troop with a couple of smiling Iraqi children, I hit them with stories like this.

[Tedddy]

27. you're cool

you're cool, buddy

[earthboundmisfit]

26. "We didn't mean to kill the child...." So --- did they just mean to kill

his also-innocent brother and father?!??

What a fucked-up thing, and you know it's happened hundreds of times over.

[YourBrother]

36. yep

those or his mother

after all, everyone knows people who were towels on their heads have bombs up their bums ... right?

must be true .. saw it on the telly!

[ShaneGR]

42. Out of curiosity....

Do you call the suicide bombers in Iraq, or for example, Jprdan, freedom fighters? By no means did I support the invasion, but how far does your opposition go? Is it ok to blow up innocent civilians to get the US out? Do you complain that US troops killed this poor boy, but then cheer when anti-US forces blow up the same kinds?

[FreedomAngel82]

46. It's so sad

:( :cry: All the pain. Damn the neocons.

[journalist3072]

57. I posted this and talked about this on my blog last night, AND

the reaction of one of the freepers who frequents my blog was simply amazing.

The freeper did not express one ounce of sympathy for the parents of this boy.

He tried to turn the conversation to abortion.

He told me that I really didn't care anything about this child, but basically that I was posting the story for political convenience. And said that if I really cared about children, I would finally explain what abortions I am against!

I told him I would not allow him to change the conversation from the real issue at hand.

Here's the exchange here:

http://progressiveminds.bloghi.com/2005/12/27/culture-of-life-shoot-now-ask-questions-never.html