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| Iraq |
| Officials await IDs on 3 Iraq bodies (BTB missing contractors) |
| 2008-03-26 |
| WASHINGTON - Authorities are awaiting identification of the remains of three bodies in Iraq, a U.S. law enforcement official said Tuesday, a day after the remains of two kidnapped contractors were identified. Four other kidnapped Western contractors have been missing for more than a year. The disappearances received new attention this month when the severed fingers of several men were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq. Several relatives had taken the discovery of the fingers as a hopeful sign but hopes dimmed Monday when the FBI said the remains of Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo., had been identified. A U.S. law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the identification process is ongoing, confirmed that three other bodies are awaiting testing. The other men still missing are Jonathon Cote, of Getzville, N.Y.; Paul Johnson-Reuben of Minneapolis; Joshua Munns of Redding, Calif.; and Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria. A finger from each was received by the military recently. Munns' mother says she has lost hope that her son is alive after hearing from the FBI that the remains of Withrow and Young had been identified. "I think at this point, because they already killed the others, (he) is going to be probably dead as well, that's just a mom's intuition," said Jackie Stewart, a resident of Ridgefield, Wash. Stewart, 45, hopes some good can come out of the story of her son's ordeal. "I was never seeking media attention, but if (it helps) somebody else get their kids back, and get this war over with," she said she would gladly "stand in the limelight." Cote's father, Francis, said he has not given up hope but expressed anger at the death of Young, one of his son's colleagues. "How could they hold someone and spend all the resources to keep them in captivity — feed them, clothe them, bathe them, retain them, provide security for them — and then finally decide, 'OK, that's it, we're going to terminate his life?' " said Cote, who lives in suburban Buffalo, N.Y. "I just don't understand how that can take place. I just don't have that kind of hatred in my heart. I never will, and I don't understand it." Johnson-Reuben's family, too, is hoping for the best. "We're still just praying for everyone involved," said Patrick Reuben, the missing contractor's twin brother. Patrick Reuben's wife, Jennifer Reuben, added that there are many hostages, and the three additional bodies could be the remains of any of those who have been captured. She said even if the bodies end up being the remains of the contractors, the fate of a sixth contractor is still unknown. "This is just really terrible," she said. The family will hold out hope for Johnson-Reuben until they learn otherwise, Jennifer Reuben said. "How can you not?" she said. In Parkville, Mo., north of Kansas City, Young's cousin, Melanie Gustin, told reporters Tuesday that her family can stop worrying about Young and move toward healing. "We don't lay awake nights anymore going, 'Is he cold? Are they hurting him? Is he hungry?'" Gustin said, her voice breaking. "That's not on your mind every single night when you go to bed and every morning when you wake up. No, this isn't the way we wanted it to turn out. But he's at peace now. And they can't hurt him anymore." "Remains of three bodies" Remember, if these are the missing contractors, the barbarians had them alive and the deaths were recent. Remember also that the kidnappers' primary demand was for the release of prisoners. Whatever savagery the terrorists inflicted on these helpless captives was directly incited by the media with their sensationalized and distorted propaganda about Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. AQ and Iranian-affiliated propaganda forces should be priority targets. This is a message from the Iranians and the Sadrists and was probably timed to coincide with the latest Sadrist uprising. Our special forces should retaliate in the most ruthless and terrifying manner possible and our troops should keep it in mind as they suppress the uprising. It is all these demons understand. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #5 Since the enemy and their agents will construe literally anything we do as an over-reaction, we must examine the details and the history of such interactions in that part of the world. The Turks and the British got good results with measures that would be outrageously provocative by current standards, so did Saddam for that matter. The trick, as you say Zebulon, is to act in the genuine interest of the people there. There are ways to do that. Individual provocateurs can be targeted, and complicit individuals eliminated. This may lead to displays of rage from terrorist supporters, but only because they know that sympathetic media will validate these charades. It is easy to distinguish between real reactions and media-generated posturing, we just have to avoid the common underlying assumption of media coverage, ie that Iraqis have the intelligence of chimpanzees and the emotions of children. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2008-03-26 19:56 |
| #4 The task has been somewhat trivialized as the 3 block war. The hard part for me is that post 911, we are there PROTECTING Muslims. I have to say that on 912, that was not my first impulse. Still, if protecting Muslims screws with Al Qaeda, it HAS to be a good thing. In any case, it does seem to be working. Maybe that's why Al Qaeda/Iran is seeing if they can provoke an overreaction. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Unomolet6509 2008-03-26 19:28 |
| #3 That's because our troops are amazing, Zebulon Unomolet6509, which of course you already knew. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-03-26 18:18 |
| #2 "retaliate in the most ruthless and terrifying manner possible" That's the real trick. To do that selectively while protecting the predominately Muslim population of Iraq from the terrorists. The concept is difficult; the execution almost impossible. And yet, everyday, our troops do it. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Unomolet6509 2008-03-26 08:24 |
| #1 "I just don't understand how that can take place. I just don't have that kind of hatred in my heart. I never will, and I don't understand it." The fruits of Islam, to understand it is to accept it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-03-26 01:16 |