Shooting death angers Iraqi family

[Snazzy]

Shooting death angers Iraqi family
US tactics in raid raise concerns
By Thanassis Cambanis, (BOSTON) Globe Staff | June 21, 2004

BAGHDAD -- American soldiers stormed into Sajid Kadhum Bouri al-Bawi's house three hours after midnight on May 17, breaking two doors and rousing the dozen children who live there.

An hour later, family members recalled, the soldiers led a hooded man from the house and told the family they were arresting Bawi. Only after the soldiers left with what appeared to be a prisoner did Bawi's brother find his bloodied body, shot five times and stuffed behind a refrigerator underneath a pile of mattresses.

The US Army is investigating the shooting, and admits that Bawi was shot and killed by an American when, according to the soldiers involved, he tried to seize a soldier's weapon.

Bawi's slaying during the kind of routine night raid that is the military's bread-and-butter counterinsurgency tactic raises questions about the control and supervision of soldiers on those raids, and the reliability of the local informants whose tips are often behind the arrest lists.


....


More creepiness:

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/06/21/shooting_death_angers_iraqi_family/

[seemslikeadream]

1. sons who were disappeared

A woman displaying pictures of her sons who were disappeared by the US military after they raided her farmhouse. The soldiers used explosives to blow up her door, and then came in and arrested her sons. She still does not know their whereabouts.

[UpInArms]

2. reminded me of this story

http://slate.msn.com/id/2093154/entry/2094579/

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004, at 12:47 PM PT

excerpt:

Marwan told me his story with a mixture of misery and diffidence. On the table in front of us was a photograph of him and Zeidun. They were inside a car, and Marwan, big and chubby, was laughing at something with his mouth open and his eyes merrily screwed up. The man in front of me had a different face altogether.

"They just stopped us and put us in their car. It was five minutes before curfew. Usually, missing curfew just means detention for a short time. We didn't feel strange, we had no weapons, they had just checked us. We had no idea why we were being taken."

He says they were driven to the edge of the bridge.

"We pleaded. We said we didn't know how to swim. My cousin tried to hold onto one of the soldiers. He was just laughing as he pushed him in. Two of them were pointing rifles at his forehead and chest. Four of them pushed me off toward the dam, toward the current. I only had my nose and mouth sticking out of the water. I could see the Americans standing there, pointing their guns. They wanted us to die, but I survived to testify against them. My mind was in chaos, but I remember I was very concerned about my cousin. We shouted back and forth to each other. I did as much as I could, but it was God's will. I tried to swim to him. I got hold of his hand, but he slipped away in the current. Everything moved so fast, I don't know how long I was in the river. From the shock I didn't even feel the cold."

Nezar, the lawyer, wore a navy blue three-piece suit, a blue tie, and large steel-framed glasses. He spoke for the family. He told me, as he had told Lt. Col. Gonzalez, commander of the nearest forward base, Silo, "The son of our blood cannot be compensated for."

I asked him what the family wanted. "Justice according to the laws of America and the Geneva Convention. I am a lawyer, and we don't want to go through this process as a means of revenge, but for justice."

Zeidun's father was quieter. He said he felt bitter about the American occupation even before the death of his son. "The way they treat people on the street, the way they break down shops. They come at night and put dynamite under the doors and go into the houses. They are trying to provoke people. Even those not with the resistance will join the resistance."

[NNN0LHI]

3. Kick my door in at midnight, kill my daddy, and there would be retribution

This is a sure fire way to create more Resistance fighters. What does the UN got to say about this shit? They don't say nothing.

Don

[Kagemusha]

4. You know, EVERY dead unarmed guy tried to seize a weapon.

Whether it's a cop, or a soldier..

[leftchick]

5. reminds me.....

of nazis...

[Barkley]

10. reminds me ...

of LAPD

[Sabriel]

6. Love the media word choice

An incident like that "angers" them? That's like the Iraqis who are "irritated" by our presence in the palace. Yeeeesh. Who are these headline writers? Talk about trivializing and ameliorating the effect of everything the US does over there!

[Frangible]

8. Some jews reported to be mildly irritated about holocaust, study shows

Yeah, angered is a bit of an understatement.

[lumpy]

7. The military is inbedded

with cowardly killers on the rampage. The tactics used without hesitation are indeed the same as used against the Jews in Germany. The military tries to subdue, cover up and in many cases deny that these beastly events even occur. It is so transparent that the powers- that- be want to subject the iraqi people using the most inhumane ways to bring them to their knees. There have been too many events like this to deny that these atrocities are happening. Bushco has brought out the inherent evil that 'lurks in the hearts of man'.

[struggle4progress]

9. kick

:kick: