Has anybody else been following this story? The US military bombed a wedding party in Western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing 45 people, mostly women and children (26 of them being members of the same family). The Americans claim they were targeting a safe house for smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq, and while they may have believed that at the time of the bombing it has since been made apparent that this was not the case.
But the behaviour of US military officials in Baghdad has just sickened me to the core. I firmly beleive that these generals (the ones who have been defending the action) are the lowest form of scum on the planet. They are sticking to their mantra that it wasn't a wedding, but a terrorist safe house that they targeted, and the commander of the troops responsible is quoted as saying "I don't have to apologize for the actions of my troops" and calling anyone who believed it was a wedding 'Naive'. Never mind the fact that most of the dead were women and children. Never mind the fact that the most famous wedding singer in Western Iraq and several of his band members were among those killed. Never mind the fact that every single Iraqi witness to the event, every hospital official who treated the wounded and every Iraqi police officer who arrived on the scene after the event all say it was a wedding. NO NO, its simply not possible that the US military made a mistake, this was no doubt a safehouse for foreign terrorists and not a wedding.
Their evidence:
"two dozen men of military age were there". -- half the weddings on the planet are probably attended by two dozen or more men of military age.
"The wedding was held in an isolated spot miles away from the nearest city". -- The wedding was held at the family ranch of one of the people getting married. My wedding was held in an isolated spot miles from the nearest city too (where my parents live), I'm sure glad the US military didn't drop bombs on my reception.
"Cash, shotguns and rifles were found at the scene" --The cash (incidentally stolen by the American troops after the bombings) was a wedding gift. You could probably find shotguns and rifles in any house in Iraq these days.
I just got married last year and this event has sickened me to the bone. The people responsible deserve to be put behind bars for the rest of their lives. At the very least they could admit their mistake and apologize, but instead the American generals are just closing ranks and blaming the victims and labelling them terrorists. These men really do deserve to rot in hell as far as I'm concerned.
But the behaviour of US military officials in Baghdad has just sickened me to the core. I firmly beleive that these generals (the ones who have been defending the action) are the lowest form of scum on the planet. They are sticking to their mantra that it wasn't a wedding, but a terrorist safe house that they targeted, and the commander of the troops responsible is quoted as saying "I don't have to apologize for the actions of my troops" and calling anyone who believed it was a wedding 'Naive'. Never mind the fact that most of the dead were women and children. Never mind the fact that the most famous wedding singer in Western Iraq and several of his band members were among those killed. Never mind the fact that every single Iraqi witness to the event, every hospital official who treated the wounded and every Iraqi police officer who arrived on the scene after the event all say it was a wedding. NO NO, its simply not possible that the US military made a mistake, this was no doubt a safehouse for foreign terrorists and not a wedding.
Their evidence:
"two dozen men of military age were there". -- half the weddings on the planet are probably attended by two dozen or more men of military age.
"The wedding was held in an isolated spot miles away from the nearest city". -- The wedding was held at the family ranch of one of the people getting married. My wedding was held in an isolated spot miles from the nearest city too (where my parents live), I'm sure glad the US military didn't drop bombs on my reception.
"Cash, shotguns and rifles were found at the scene" --The cash (incidentally stolen by the American troops after the bombings) was a wedding gift. You could probably find shotguns and rifles in any house in Iraq these days.
I just got married last year and this event has sickened me to the bone. The people responsible deserve to be put behind bars for the rest of their lives. At the very least they could admit their mistake and apologize, but instead the American generals are just closing ranks and blaming the victims and labelling them terrorists. These men really do deserve to rot in hell as far as I'm concerned.