Iraqi Woman Critically Beaten in Calif. (Has Died); Threat Note Left at Scene

[Nanjing03]

63. Not Likely An Honor Killing

I don't think so. Honor killings are seen more in backwater tribal areas like Afghanistan and Pakistan --truly worlds away from Iraq. Besides, the woman was 32 years old and had a 17 year old daughter. I was in and out of Iraq prior to and during the surge. Many Iraqis helped us in the positions of interpretors, State and Defense Department foreign nationals serving in a number of positions and even as cultural and language instructors for our armed forces and foreign service personnel. Likely, what happened here was that a valued and welcome naturalized U.S. citizen was murdered by a local thug. I had a fleeting thought that al-Qaeda could have been behind this -- since they are certainly capable, but they would have been crowing about it by now.