printIf my daughter was being looked over or even chatted up by frustrated foreign soldiers out on patrol, I would be worried. The image of this stunning, fragile, Afghan girl, dwarfed by the obviously “attentive” military men, conjures the fate of Abeer Qasim Hamza. (At least in the mind of this mother.)
Naturally, Republican deadheads like Laura Ingraham and James Hirsen railed against Brian De Palma’s depiction, in “Redacted,” of the girl’s rapists and killers.
“‘Redacted’: De Palma Tells The Truth”” serves as a reminder of the hazards to Their Children of Our Occupation:
“… A mop of hair, a delicate face and big black eyes: The only image we have of her is the one plastered on her Iraqi ID card. It was taken when she was a two-year-old tot. She lived with her mother, father and three siblings in the village of Yusufiyah near Mahmoudiyah.
Unfortunately for them, their farmhouse was situated near an American traffic checkpoint. The neighbors later said soldiers would watch the girl go about her chores, and gesture lewdly. The culprits, led by ringleader Pfc. Steven Dale Green—a school drop-out with a police record; recruitment standards are being lowered to fill quotas—would stage mock raids on the family’s home during which Green fondled Abeer.
Finally, Green, accompanied by Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, hatched a scheme to rape Abeer. In they went, shooting and killing Abeer’s parents and sibling, and then gang-raping her. When they were through with Abeer, they summarily executed her with a shot to the head.”…
In “Portrait Of An Occupied Country,” Al Jazeera intelligently analyzes how NATO (read the US) is rapidly replacing and usurping local Afghan societal structures.
UPDATE: Remember little, innocent Abeer and her family, who died a horrible death at the hands of American soldiers. May the family rest in peace; may the murderers be put to death for their crimes.
Have Christians no idea of what they will suffer in eternity for harming one child? We should not be there in the first place.
It’s My Lai all over again.
Just like Afghanistan is Vietnam all over again.
William Calley, the only one convicted of the My Lai Massacre, had flunked out of junior college. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/08/28/74546/commentary-regrets-for-my-lai.html
You must understand that war is big business. I know this as a native of Washington, D.C. This is why there is permanent war. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/29/98337/obama-seeks-to-expand-arms-exports.html#storylink=omni_popular
And the Army has had to lower its standards because the imperial forces are spread thin.
But you can’t say so.
Because you will be mau-maued by the chicken hawks, the warmongers, the phony patriots, the brownshirts and the war profiteers.
And called unpatriotic.
Or worse.
1. Well, if I channel my inner Gerson, our troops probably only abuse women 20% as often as the Taliban or our friendly Uzbek-Tajik thugs in the Northern Alliance. And then there are the pathetic COLONIAL SEPOYS known as the Afghan police and the Afghan army that make the South Vietnamese ARVN look like an elite unit of the Wehrmacht.
2. The occasional abuse, atrocity or “collateral damage” typical of warfighting might be tolerable if this war was truly NECESSARY to defend American lives. However, Al Queda is long gone from Afghanistan and yet the mainstream Republicrats/Demoplicans cling to lame excuses like liberating women, rebuilding the nation, and “TRAINING” the Army – so far, 9 years of training – one can go from High School to Surgeon in 9 years!
3. The US takes a country with a GDP of perhaps $ 20 billion and floods it with Federal Reserve Counterfeit “aid” worth multiples of that! ANY country (even a Netherlands or Sweden) would be completely corrupted being flooded with such external largesse. The US/NATO has turned Afghanistan into a collection of Blagojeviches and Taliban fanatics fighting it out with BOTH sides funded by America.
The incomparable cynic and Vietnam War Marine, Fred Reed, gets it on target once more:
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Wikileaks.shtml
Have Christians no idea of what they will suffer in eternity for harming one child? We should not be there in the first place.
I am not sure why you are singling out Christians.
Our occupation of this sorry country defies description, logic, and morality. That criminal thugs dressed in camouflage and carrying automatic weapons can wipe out a family and gang rape a girl is emblematic of all that is wrong with our presence there.
The fact that Obama is a Peace Prize winner should disgust us all. He, and those who have supported, voted, and funded this misbegotten adventure, should be ashamed.
Maybe those two trops were just studying that girl to make sure she wasn’t carrying a bomb to blow them up.
I write on the basis that what was described as having taken place with Abeer and her family is factual since I am unaware of it. My thoughts are as follows: 1. This action is inexcusable and the perpetrators, if found guilty by Military Tribunal, should be executed. 2. Is that action limited solely to U.S. troops? I doubt it, so, investigation into all participants should take place. 3. More light should be shone on “pederasty” (sp?) by Afghan men on young boys; on “Honor Killings” within the Afghan society at large; and the culture of violence upon infidels, apostates, dhimmis, enemies, foreigners, and inter-tribal disputes. Remember that when countries go to war, atrocities are perpetuated…that does not make it morally correct, but it is a reality. Finally, wars are initiated by those in political power who can “vote” or “declare” them. I am not a pacifist nor a war-monger but, if threatened or attacked, I will actively defend myself and family. Please carefully evaluate your voting options this year keeping in mind the nature of man, the desires and goals of politicians, and the behavior of nations throughout history. Each of us can make a difference, but we must be realistic as well and not “Pollyannas”. Good Bye & Good Luck to all.
Derek,
I recall my pastor being passionate about the “millstone” scenario, wrt those who might consider harming a child (better to have a large millstone tied about his neck and thrown into the sea, than to harm the least of these). Not singling out Christians as potential perps, although I did not make this point clearly.
DENNIS – America was NOT attacked by the Pushtuns or Talibans. We were attacked by (mainly) Saudis with the inspiration and help of Al Queda who were RESIDING in Afghanistan. They are long gone as has our justification for being there.
No doubt that both the corrupt “friendly” Afghans and the fanatical “enemy” Afghans commit atrocities – but that is THEIR country just as Burma, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Haiti, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, and many more are hell on earth and victimize their own people. But it is NOT AMERICA’S PROBLEM to straighten out the planet – and we do an extremely bad job every time we try.