A harsh reminder of who we are at war with.

[radioguy]

ID Clues Rare in Mass Graves in Iraq
Dec 14, 5:03 PM (ET)
By KIM GAMEL

Excerpt

BAGHDAD (AP) - The red-and-white identification card was faded. But the name was legible and the picture of the man with the necktie and tidy mustache was clear.

Rashid Aboud Awad, who worked in a medicine storage facility in Ramadi, was last seen alive by his wife and children when he went off swimming in nearby Lake Tharthar, once Saddam Hussein's favorite fishing spot and more recently part of an al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold west of Baghdad.

Awad's remains were discovered last week in a mass grave along with more than 20 other bodies near the manmade lake surrounded by rugged and sun-bleached scrubland.

More than 150 bodies have been unearthed in recent months from mass graves around Lake Tharthar. It's seen as the grisly legacy of al-Qaida control of Iraq's western deserts until being ousted early this year in an uprising by local tribes. The revolt was spurred - at least in part - by their claims of extremist brutalities.

Each mass grave uncovered around Tharthar and elsewhere in Iraq - so far at least 12 burial sites - appears to offer more evidence of the fate of Iraqis who challenged al-Qaida and its backers.

Al-Qaida is not alone in being accused of atrocities following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Shiite death squads and others have taken thousands of lives in Iraq's sectarian meltdown.

But the mass graves now turning up in former al-Qaida territory help explain the decision by Sunni tribal leaders to fight back. U.S. and Iraqi commanders say the groundswell helped drive al-Qaida from the belts around Baghdad and forced extremists to hunt for new havens in northern Iraq.

Awad's Health Ministry ID card, which expired April 1, was a rare solid lead to confirm the name of a body found in a mass grave.

His relatives recognized pieces of his clothing, a hospital official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. It was unclear when Awad died, but experts said it appeared to be less than a year ago - suggesting he was killed early in 2007.

Of the 23 sets of remains in the grave, authorities were able to identify only Awad and two others. That's typical in Iraq, where officials usually lack such forensics aids as DNA and dental records.

In the vast majority of missing person cases in Iraq, families are left guessing forever about what happened.

Whenever she hears that a mass grave has been found, Madiha al-Ani, a 75-year-old resident of Fallujah, dispatches relatives to the hospital to search for signs of her son who vanished en route home from Baghdad in February 2006. She always hopes they will come back empty-handed so she can maintain the belief that he's alive.

"I am an old woman and Ali was my only son. I have the feeling that someday he will return to his mother," she said.

Sajad Majid, a 16-year-old who lives south of Baghdad near Youssifiyah, said his uncle disappeared more than two years ago while returning home from his barber shop. Five months later, Majid's father went to investigate a report that a mass grave in nearby Radwaniyah could contain his uncle's remains - only to be kidnapped himself.

"I have not seen them since," the teenager said. "We have lost any hope of finding them alive. The only thing we can hope for is to bury the bodies."

Iraqi security forces have taken advantage of recent security gains to step up patrols in areas previously considered no-go zones, leading to the discovery of bodies near Lake Tharthar as well as in the volatile Diyala province and the Baghdad neighborhoods of Dora and Fadhl.

The mass grave found Dec. 2 near Lake Tharthar was one of 12 unearthed since May containing the remains of at least 287 people, according to an Associated Press tally based on police and U.S. military reports.

Full Story (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20071214/D8THFSDG0.html)

Now who will be the first patriot to ignore the brutality of these barbarians and turn this into another "blame America" thread?

[Lovelynice]

How they do they have any idea who did the killing really? After 4 years of fighting...

Blaming "Al Queda" seems like an easy scapegoat if you ask me...

[Islam Rocks!]

How they do they have any idea who did the killing really? After 4 years of fighting...

Blaming "Al Queda" seems like an easy scapegoat if you ask me...I seriously doubt that this was Al Qaida's work.

Think about it. Al Qaida is made up of fighters. Not grave diggers.

To bury that many people would require a lot of shovel work or a bulldozer. Plus they would have to be out in the open to dig the holes.

Also, when insurgent fighters shoot people they aren't worried about burying the bodies or hiding them.

Burying large numbers of bodies is an act that sounds more like something either U.S. forces or the Iraqie army would do.

[Independent Harry]

Sounds like bullshit to me, kinda like the last 7 years. Lots of bullshit, I can't wait until this fucking guy is out of office. I really can't...

[Cat slave]

Yes, that will be a good day and its growing closer each day. This is not to
say that our soldiers are capable of doing such a thing and I do not believe
America is responsible for lets see now, there was the little ice age, the black
death, the potato famine in Ireland, the flu in 1918, all starvation all over the
world and any murders committed by anyone in the world. America is not
evil nor to blame for every frigging thing!

NOT in defense of Bush but in defense of our soldiers, Bush nor we as a country
are responsible for everything bad on the face of the earth. Theyve been
killing each other for century over there. Dont be so eager to jump our
soldiers.

[disrupter]

Let's all jump to radioguy's uninformed opinion, yeah?

Who let any Al Qaeda into Iraq?

Not Saddam,

The United States of America did.

Most these guys who claim to be 'Al Qaeda' are just Iraqi guys hanging a label on themselves in a place where fear & intimidation rule the day.
We are all so cowed by the term Al Qaeda with really nothing more than a vague notion of what exactly that means.

Who is the person who confirms who exactly is & is not Al Qaeda? Do they have ID cards?
I am sure the US military would not try to justify its presence in Iraq by pumping up the 'Al Qaeda' numbers in Iraq, would it?

It isn't like radioguy is naive & gullible about US military propaganda.

[Islam Rocks!]

How they do they have any idea who did the killing really? After 4 years of fighting...

Blaming "Al Queda" seems like an easy scapegoat if you ask me...
Here's the way it works:

19 year old Ahmed finds out that American soilders killed his Uncle Ali at a road block when he didn't stop fast enough.

Ahmed then buys an AK47 and walks down the street to join the insurgents and avenge his Uncles death.

He is spotted by an US Army patrol sniper and shot dead.

The Army patrol radios HQ and reports the incident. The report is passed on thru the Chain of Command. By now it is has become 10 insurgents killed in a large scale fire fight.

The General wires the Pentagon with the news that an all day battle was waged involving dozens of foriegn insurgents supplied with weapons from Iran.

The news is sent to the White House where it is announced that a major victory has taken place, Almost a hundred Al Qaida foriegn fighters were defeated and killed by a joint task force of US Army Rangers and Iraqie Army troops.

Bush them makes an announcement that the surge is working based on this recent Al Qaida defeat, and he asks Congress for several more billion dollars to help achieve victory.

Ahmed's family buries the body. Now Ahmed's 4 brothers and 2 cousins all go buy weapons and join the insurgency.

[radioguy]

If there is a way to blame America, you libs will surely find it.

I knew you all wouldn't let al qaida down... Way to go!

[Jesse Hemingway]

ID Clues Rare in Mass Graves in Iraq
Dec 14, 5:03 PM (ET)
By KIM GAMEL

Excerpt

BAGHDAD (AP) - The red-and-white identification card was faded. But the name was legible and the picture of the man with the necktie and tidy mustache was clear.

Rashid Aboud Awad, who worked in a medicine storage facility in Ramadi, was last seen alive by his wife and children when he went off swimming in nearby Lake Tharthar, once Saddam Hussein's favorite fishing spot and more recently part of an al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold west of Baghdad.

Awad's remains were discovered last week in a mass grave along with more than 20 other bodies near the manmade lake surrounded by rugged and sun-bleached scrubland.

More than 150 bodies have been unearthed in recent months from mass graves around Lake Tharthar. It's seen as the grisly legacy of al-Qaida control of Iraq's western deserts until being ousted early this year in an uprising by local tribes. The revolt was spurred - at least in part - by their claims of extremist brutalities.

Each mass grave uncovered around Tharthar and elsewhere in Iraq - so far at least 12 burial sites - appears to offer more evidence of the fate of Iraqis who challenged al-Qaida and its backers.

Al-Qaida is not alone in being accused of atrocities following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Shiite death squads and others have taken thousands of lives in Iraq's sectarian meltdown.

But the mass graves now turning up in former al-Qaida territory help explain the decision by Sunni tribal leaders to fight back. U.S. and Iraqi commanders say the groundswell helped drive al-Qaida from the belts around Baghdad and forced extremists to hunt for new havens in northern Iraq.

Awad's Health Ministry ID card, which expired April 1, was a rare solid lead to confirm the name of a body found in a mass grave.

His relatives recognized pieces of his clothing, a hospital official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. It was unclear when Awad died, but experts said it appeared to be less than a year ago - suggesting he was killed early in 2007.

Of the 23 sets of remains in the grave, authorities were able to identify only Awad and two others. That's typical in Iraq, where officials usually lack such forensics aids as DNA and dental records.

In the vast majority of missing person cases in Iraq, families are left guessing forever about what happened.

Whenever she hears that a mass grave has been found, Madiha al-Ani, a 75-year-old resident of Fallujah, dispatches relatives to the hospital to search for signs of her son who vanished en route home from Baghdad in February 2006. She always hopes they will come back empty-handed so she can maintain the belief that he's alive.

"I am an old woman and Ali was my only son. I have the feeling that someday he will return to his mother," she said.

Sajad Majid, a 16-year-old who lives south of Baghdad near Youssifiyah, said his uncle disappeared more than two years ago while returning home from his barber shop. Five months later, Majid's father went to investigate a report that a mass grave in nearby Radwaniyah could contain his uncle's remains - only to be kidnapped himself.

"I have not seen them since," the teenager said. "We have lost any hope of finding them alive. The only thing we can hope for is to bury the bodies."

Iraqi security forces have taken advantage of recent security gains to step up patrols in areas previously considered no-go zones, leading to the discovery of bodies near Lake Tharthar as well as in the volatile Diyala province and the Baghdad neighborhoods of Dora and Fadhl.

The mass grave found Dec. 2 near Lake Tharthar was one of 12 unearthed since May containing the remains of at least 287 people, according to an Associated Press tally based on police and U.S. military reports.

Full Story (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20071214/D8THFSDG0.html)

Now who will be the first patriot to ignore the brutality of these barbarians and turn this into another "blame America" thread?

Guess what dumb fuck maybe those fucking people were THINKING about joining Al-Qaida and Saddam cleaned his fucking mess up before it grew?
You are one dumb fuck RG.:lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2:

[Little Red Dog]

Here's the way it works:

19 year old Ahmed finds out that American soilders killed his Uncle Ali at a road block when he didn't stop fast enough.

Ahmed then buys an AK47 and walks down the street to join the insurgents and avenge his Uncles death...

He is spotted by an US Army patrol sniper and shot dead.

... Ahmed's family buries the body. Now Ahmed's 4 brothers and 2 cousins all go buy weapons and join the insurgency.

No, dude, you have it all wrong. They LOVE us over there. They welcome us a liberators, doncha know. And they want us to stay for ever and ever.

You really gotta accept what retardguy and frankie keep trying to get you to understand. Because they're the only ones who know the real truth.

You're obviously getting your information from the Bush-hating liberal media controlled by Michael Moore.

[Little Red Dog]

If there is a way to blame America, you libs will surely find it.

I knew you all wouldn't let al qaida down... Way to go!

Still, you have to admit... it's funny how al Qaeda wasn't doing any of this mass grave stuff while Saddam Hussein was around. Being as how they were BFF and all.

Must have had something to do with the fact that al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq before we let them in.

The Iraq war was the recruiting and training tool al Qaeda had been wishing and hoping for for years. So who's supporting who? Seemes like the Bush administration is supporting al Qaeda by granting their wish.

shhhh... don't tell the Iraquis...

[disrupter]

If there is a way to evade or rationalize crimes radioguy & other war mongers will do it.

You are a criminal, defending crimes & criminal actions.

You are nothing but an outlaw.

Liars using every available device at hand to rationalize your psychopathy.

You are the low-life end of humanity.
the gradient of humanity will probably, arguably necessarily, always include that element,
but don't live in denial, and DON"T expect us to buy your excuses for what you are.

granted there are Iraqis & males of every make & type [and some females] who are just inherently, effectively psychopathic.

it's real, but not an excuse.

[Yirmeyahu]

If there is a way to blame America, you libs will surely find it.

I knew you all wouldn't let al qaida down... Way to go!

Well, radioguy, it happens to be a matter of fact that al Qaeda is only in Iraq today as a result of the US invasion.

But if there is a way to excuse or attempt to justify an act of aggression which created the violence occurring in Iraq today, you, radioguy, will surely find it.

We knew you wouldn't let us down... Way to go!

[Yirmeyahu]

Well, looks like a few others beat me to similar observations. ;)

[LadyMod at scam.com]

Well, looks like a few others beat me to similar observations. ;)

It bears repeating.


Radioguy and his ilk always twist and change the FACTS to suit their warped thinking.


Lady Mod

[Lovelynice]

I seriously doubt that this was Al Qaida's work.

Think about it. Al Qaida is made up of fighters. Not grave diggers.

To bury that many people would require a lot of shovel work or a bulldozer. Plus they would have to be out in the open to dig the holes.

Also, when insurgent fighters shoot people they aren't worried about burying the bodies or hiding them.

Burying large numbers of bodies is an act that sounds more like something either U.S. forces or the Iraqie army would do.

I agree. They need a bulldozer, and we already know that the USA's military has often gone out of their way to bury & hide evidence, or blame it deaths on someone else.


.

[LadyMod at scam.com]

I agree. They need a bulldozer, and we already know that the USA's military has often gone out of their way to bury & hide evidence, or blame it deaths on someone else.


.

Sometimes they don't even bother to go out of their way to hide it.

They certainly didn't have problems with it when U.S. allie, Israel, ran over Rachel Corrie.

http://www.themiddleeastnow.com/corrie.html

There is no reason to believe the U.S. wouldn't sanction the same behavior in Iraq.


Lady Mod

[Jesse Hemingway]

George W. Bush can call anyone he wants a terrorist and kill them with out any investigation then what did Saddam Hussien wrong? :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2:

That's right george w.bush never lies he let fools like you do it for him right Radio Guy.

The liar said it was true so it must be right isn't that correct Radio Guy I am being generous calling you a stupid fuck.

[Frankg]

George W. Bush can call anyone he wants a terrorist and kill them with out any investigation then what did Saddam Hussien wrong? :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2:

That's right george w.bush never lies he let fools like you do it for him right Radio Guy.

The lair said it was true so it must be right isn't that correct Radio Guy I am being generous calling you a stupid fuck.

Jesse

It helps to learn how to spell before you call someone else a "stupid fuck"

[Jesse Hemingway]

Jesse

It helps to learn how to spell before you call someone else a "stupid fuck"

Fang your a real stupid fuck too. :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: