When is this going to end?

wolfgang

wolfgang

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Did not expect to see this collection of photos in the BBC website.
Quote,
US soldiers in Iraq approach a car after opening fire when it failed to stop at a checkpoint. Despite warning shots it continued to drive towards their dusk patrol in Tal Afar on 18 January.
Chris Hondros a photographer with Getty News was on hand to record these pictures.

WARNING: This gallery contains graphic images

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/middle_east_shooting_in_tal_afar/html/1.stm
 
When the USA realises that it actually doesn't have the divine right to impose its particular version of democracy on other people. I don't expect this to happen any time soon - as someone pointed out to me yesterday, the last time anyone listened to a bush, they spent 40 years wandering in the desert (Ex.3, Deut.1:3).
 
The little boy in picture 4 looks not much older than my son. The expression on his face says it all. His world shattered. I'm sitting here with tears rolling down my cheeks. Oh, the horror.
 
I, like so many of you, do not think the US/UK should be in Iraq.

However I feel the, now dead, parents should have known better. When there is an army of occupation in control of your streets, and you must know that car bombs have been used to kill these occupiers, just what did they think would happen?

Flame me all you like, I just don't think common sense was used on the part of the parents.
 
I think Lee does have a valid point. In all seriousness would you drive a car at a military road block in an occupied country, when you know the sodiers are watching for car bombers?
 
perhaps the familky was more afraid of what the soldiers would do to them if they did stop. with all the hoo-hah going on about soldiers abusing suspects and prisoners in iraq i'm not sure i would have stopped if i was in their situation if i had loved ones in the car with me. maybe they weighed up the risks of a) being shot at or b) being raped, beaten, humiliated and then shot at. and decided on the first.
the war in iraq is now wrong and is briniging out the worst in humanity just as most wars do.
cheers


julian
 
the photographs really stuck in my mind and I havent been able to shake them either, especially the photo of the boy with the blood of his dead parents on his hands.

I was dissapointed to hear Bush's Inaugeration speech yesterday. It hinted at possible future conflicts. The tone of the speech was that of a crusader following ideals. It's going to be a dangerous term of presidency. I just hope no more conflicts are started.
 
Even if Bush has Iran in his sights there's no way he'll be able to do anything there. He'll get zero suppport for it. Never mind the UN, not even Blair would back him up on that little adventure. Secondly, I doubt he'd find much support for it amongst the US people. They know he lied about WMD in Iraq so he won't be able try such a flimsy excuse again. Whilst Iran is hardly a model of a democratic and free society it's a veritable Utopia compared to Saddam's Iraq so the "getting rid of a tyrannical regime" excuse won't really wash either and besides, I doubt the US people could really give a monkeys about Iran. Thirdly, I don't know if the US military could really handle adding a 3rd poorly defined conflict (in addition to Afghanistan and Iraq) - the costs would really start to escalate even more than they already are. And lastly, this is Bush's last term in office and he'll want to leave a good legacy. Two failed and unfinished wars is bad enough - he'll want to make sure that they are both at least superficially sorted before steaming into another one.

The Iran rhetoric is likely to be just that, rhetoric.

Michael.
 
Hopefully Bush will remember (or someone will tell him) that the last time someone attempted an invasion of Iran (one S. Hussein, Esq., when he thought he could benefit from the internal confusion following the downfall of the Shah to own both sides of the Shatt al-Arab waterway), the said someone got a bloody nose and was only able to save his hide by using chemical weapons on the battlefield before Basra.

It is also worth mentioning that the aforementioned S. Hussein had considerable assistance from the USA in this conflict. How times change...

Iran has three times the population of Iraq and is very mountainous. Moreover, the people are reasonably united, and would stand united again, as they did against Saddam. No, Bush wouldn't be that stupid - would he?
 
Christ it's a mess isn't it. The world is pretty fubar at the moment. Its so easy for us westerners to imagine that the world is nice and safe as we sit in warm offices and go and potter about of a weekend or an evening without facing any hardship.
Hearing Bush's inauguration stuff on the radio made me feel awful. Everything he says about 'depraved' terrorists just sounds so much like description of himself and his office with all his ââ'¬Å"putting a stop to oppressionââ'¬Â type talk. It comes across as propaganda on a major scaleââ'¬Â¦its not hard to see the parallels between the anti Jewish propaganda of Hitlers office and the spoutings of the US about the axis of evil. Frankly it's frightening.

Looking at those pictures the worst thing is knowing that those kids will all grow up knowing that US soldiers killed their parents for no reason. Whether or not dad should have stopped the car won't matter to them, and it shouldn't matter to us. Of course we must remember this isn't an isolated incident. A war screws up the civilian population without exception, which makes George's speech even harder to swallow for the innocent victims of his 'war on terror'.

You just gotta love those laser guided bombsââ'¬Â¦so good for righting wrongsââ'¬Â¦.
 
michaelab said:
Even if Bush has Iran in his sights there's no way he'll be able to do anything there. He'll get zero suppport for it. Never mind the UN, not even Blair would back him up on that little adventure.
Click to expand...

You sure about that? The US could quite easily take us out - just like that. Blair knows this. Let's face it - they've got the guns AND the numbers...

Anything can happen, and that's the worrying thing.

As for this incident - shocking photos, but wot Julian sed; if you're driving full tilt at a blockade and refuse to stop, well, you've only got yourself to blame. It's enforced Darwin awards time for those parents I'm afraid. ...but well done US - another new recruit for Al Queda as soon as he can hold a gun.

Bush by name c*nt by nature.
 
dom,
it was lee who said that. i adopted a slightly contrary viewpoint regarding the morality of the soldiers over there and the abuses (allegedly) taking place influencing the man's wanting to stop. would you stop if you thought your 7 year old son would get a kicking and your wife would be raped? or would you take a chance?

i agree that bush is a c*nt though, if he's the cure, i prefer the disease.
cheers


julian
 
if you're driving full tilt at a blockade and refuse to stop, well, you've only got yourself to blame. It's enforced Darwin awards time for those parents I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

FFS! this should hardly be the main point of discussion here. If its a problem they should have better fkin roadblocks. God knows they spend enough money on dropping bombs on markets and schools I'm sure they could spend a bit on flashy lights and barriers...after all a roadblock is supposed to stop a car as the name suggests. Note from the photos thats its nearly dark and also there was no mention that they were speeding...how fast do you think they were going in a family saloon with 2 adults and 5 children it it!??...its hardly a fukin A-Team van is it.

Darwin awards indeed..shame on you, have some respect for a devastated family .

God, or whoevers up there will be issuing this planet with the Darwin gold medal after we completely fck it up.
 
When Saddam & his administration was toppled I remmember seeing the Iraqi People on TV saying "Mr Bush thank you - We love Mr Bush & America".

How they soon forget. There is always a price to pay.

Perhaps we should have done a deal with Saddam - We will let you continue to let you Torture, Murder & Generally abuse your own people, if we can have your Oil.

Ungrateful & Selfish springs to mind.

 
Mark67 said:
.

Perhaps we should have done a deal with Saddam - We will let you continue to let you Torture, Murder & Generally abuse your own people, if we can have your Oil.

Click to expand...

I believe the same deal works well in Saudi Arabia.
 

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