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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Rachel’s Mom Sez ’Investigate Some More!’ |
| 2004-03-18 |
| A YEAR AGO this week, my daughter Rachel Corrie was killed in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. She was run over by an Israeli bulldozer manned by two soldiers. The Israeli government exonerated the soldiers, closed the case, and refuses to release to the US government the complete report on the military police investigation into Rachel’s killing. You should close the case as well. No foul, one dead. Only the "conclusions" of the report have been released. In them, the soldiers are identified by their initials: Sergeant Y.F. and Sergeant E.V. Their initials are nearly all we know of them. I wonder about Y.F. and E.V. I wonder whether they will pause this week and remember. I remembered. I took a leak in Rachel’s honor. I am out of tears for murdering Islamists and for this little girl who made a conscious choice to risk her life for what she believed Rachel was an unarmed peace activist trying to prevent the demolition of the home of a Palestinian pharmacist, his wife, and three children. She believed that nonviolent direct action against the Israeli occupation would make Palestinians, and also Israelis and Americans, more secure. Rachel stood there to protect a home and family in Gaza because the United States and Israel rejected a UN proposal to send international human rights monitors there. International activists went instead. Rachel stood there protesting illegal home demolitions that the United States opposes on the record yet fails to stop -- destruction that we support with billions in annual military aid to Israel for bulldozers, Apache helicopters, F-16s, and more. Did she also happen to protest definitively illegal suicide bombings launched against Israel civilians, supply of which was coming through the area being cleared? No? Didn’t think so. Rachel wrote to me from Rafah: "This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop." Rachel chose Door Number Four. On March 17, 2003, President Bush spoke with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about Rachel’s killing. Sharon assured Bush that the Israeli government would undertake a "thorough, credible, and transparent investigation" and would report the results to the United States. Good enough for me. Despite promises of a transparent investigation, only two American Embassy staff members in Tel Aviv and my husband and I were allowed to "view" the full document. While it refers to evidence gathered by the Israeli military police, no primary evidence is included. Commenting on the report on July 1, 2003, Richard LeBaron, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Tel Aviv, stated, "there are several inconsistencies worthy of note." For our family, the report raises questions and fails to reconcile differences between Israeli soldiers who say they could not see Rachel and seven international eyewitnesses who say she was clearly visible. Despite lingering concerns, there has been no move by the White House, the State Department, or the Justice Department to initiate a US investigation. Some ask if a precedent exists for investigating in another country without being "invited." The Israeli government has apparently not extended such an invitation. Your international eyewtinesses most likely guided Ms. Corrie to her final reward. I hold the soldiers to more credibility than to your seven ’eyewtinesses’. An investigation has been done, Mrs. Corrie. The London Metropolitan Police, however, are now conducting inquests into the deaths in Rafah of British nationals Tom Hurndall and James Miller. In a seven-week period in 2003, Tom, James, and Rachel were all struck down in the same area, where the Israel Defense Forces are building a high steel wall and demolishing Palestinian homes. Remarkably, the London police recently transferred the Hurndall and Miller cases to one coroner, reasoning that a series of similar deaths in a short time could indicate "a more complex systematic problem" within the Israeli military. * Yawn. * Funny that: A wall your enablers are against is being built to prevent more lethal interaction between Palestinians murderers and Israeli soldiers. The ’systemic problem’ lies within ISM and their Islamic help in the west bank. That shooting was also investigated. My view is the soldier, who initially lied to investigators. should be cleared of the shooting but punished for lying, and returned to active duty. Hurndall’s shooting is a shame, but Hurndall knew he was buying into a lethal situation. He chose poorly. Close the case, and close the casket. Our family continues to call for a US investigation into Rachel’s death. As we wait, I still wonder about Y.F. and E.V. I wonder whether they, too, see images of Rachel lying before the bulldozer. I wonder whether they, too, are suffering, or whether March 16, 2003, was for them just another day on the job. I wonder. Once more: Rathel chose poorly and paid for her choices with her life, something she wanted to do anyway. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #19 ooohh..Planet Dan ...ouch! But you are right. That's why these parents look so hard for someone else to blame. They know deep down that if they had done their job properly, their children would not have been searching for meaning, but rather living a productive life. |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-19 8:14:16 AM |
| #18 Doc8 - that was a helluva lot more eloquent and graceful. thx |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-18 9:46:15 PM |
| #17 Our family continues to call for a US investigation into Rachel’s death. Sorry, the bitch got flattened on foreign soil, so the U.S. has no jurisdiction there. Call all you want until your face turns blue. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-3-18 9:39:28 PM |
| #16 Doc8: Your pain must be devastating. The death of your child appears, based on your comments, to have been unavoidable, regardless of action taken or not. I'm so sorry for your loss. In contrast, I have only contempt for the parents of Rachel Corrie, who seem to not understand or accept the role they played in her death. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-3-18 9:17:56 PM |
| #15 Why don't they get those master detectives from the PLO security forces to check this out for them? At least then they'll get the answers they want to hear. You know, Zionist murderers, Rachel was blameless, blah, blah, blah... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-3-18 9:13:45 PM |
| #14 Where is that soapbox? Oh, here comes one now. . . To my everlasting sadness, I understand the crushing pain of the loss of your child having experienced it first hand. Words can't explain it to those who haven't experienced it - trust me on this one. After my tour was over I thought I would never cry again. I was wrong. My experience gives me the right to say this - Ma and Pa Pancake fight so hard for the 'rightness' of their daughter's cause because to think otherwise would necessarily mean they failed to teach their child what is important and how to be a decent human. To die for killers and a morally and intellectually bankrupt cause is not noble no matter how many times you say so. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Truth is not relative and does not depend on one's point of view. After months of concentrated thought, I have developed a process that would have saved her. All together now, 1) Step sideways; 2) do it again. There - Problem solved. pancake had a choice and she chose wrong. My son never had that choice. off soapbox |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-3-18 8:42:53 PM |
| #13 Why is this still news? Why do these people still get their "time in the sun"? They've already proven they have a moral IQ somewhere just above the freezing point of water, they've proven their daughter is a fruitcake crumb from the main block, and they've wasted an awful lot of time, energy, newsprint, and just plain space that could be used for better purposes. The best way to handle this mess is to quietly walk away, never turning your back, and getting the he$$ away from these idiots before whatever they have might transfer. Leave them to their misery - they seem to enjoy it. Let's just let them do it in private, and not make a big deal out of it. Because it's not. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-3-18 8:36:04 PM |
| #12 rachel corrie is dead......BIG FUCKING DEAL!! I'm sure ara"fucking"fat really appreciates her worthless sacrifice. What I want to know is; Why don't her sorry ass parents show us an encore of her performance. |
| Posted by: Danny 2004-3-18 8:25:48 PM |
| #11 Why do people like Mama and Papa Pancake, who hate this country so much, continue to live here? I should think they'd be a lot more comfortable in Spain, or France, or Greece. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-3-18 7:45:10 PM |
| #10 I think the conclusion should be: A 150lbs woman should not wrestle a 64 Ton D-9. So Mrs Corrie, what about the innocent women and children who are being deliberately targetted and murdered by your buddies in the PA? Do you and your family every stop to think about them? Do you ever stop to think what their mothers and fathers feel like? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-3-18 7:37:59 PM |
| #9 something she wanted to do anyway Interesting observation! I think it entirely possible that she deliberately killed herself after being around death cults so long. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-3-18 7:37:36 PM |
| #8 I'd like to be the heartless one to say to the parents: you raised a severely f'ed up child with no moral guidance, little value for human life, and a hate for the country that a)taught her freedom and the ability as a woman to be educated, equal and speak out, b) allowed her to travel without approval of her male betters, and c) didn't kill her for burning our flag. In return, your spawn burned the flag spat on the American ideal and the Joooos, helped perpetrate horrendous crimes against children, women and men of Israel (including innocent Israeli arabs). I think the investigation should start at home, and I find you guilty of being absolutely disgusting people who raised a child in your own image. (/rant) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-18 7:28:39 PM |
| #7 Yes it's all the fault of the JOOOOSSSS. Poor child rearing = Bad decisiions. Too bad because I bet her and Jihad Johnny would have made a really cute couple. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-3-18 6:57:38 PM |
| #6 As a parent, I sympathize. But, Rachel was baby killer by association. That was her choice. Some with live with poor choices, some die with poor choices. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2004-3-18 6:55:13 PM |
| #5 BH-LOL! To that same tune: Before I put another notch in my D-9 cage... |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-3-18 6:54:55 PM |
| #4 The panel has investigated and concluded she's *still* dead. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-3-18 6:53:35 PM |
| #3 If I were her, I'd spend a little more time investigating my child rearing practices. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-3-18 6:53:11 PM |
| #2 Spake St. Pancake: I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. Do you think she had "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" going through her mind at the time? |
| Posted by: BH 2004-3-18 6:53:07 PM |
| #1 Rachel was an unarmed peace activist trying to prevent the demolition of the home of a Palestinian pharmacist, his wife, and three children. Well, she's certainly unarmed now. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-3-18 6:50:20 PM |