Article

2004-01-08 Iraq

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Posted by Fred Pruitt 2004-01-08 22:58|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 ...have a community or tribal leader act as a âguarantorâ for their conduct,

That's an interesting leveraging of local customs. How likely is it the tribal leader suffering any ~~real~~ punishment if Mahmoud gets caught with an RPG?

Posted by Raj 2004-1-8 12:08:42 AM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com] 2004-1-8 12:08:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 I'd recommend keeping his testicles in a jar next to a claw hammer, but they probably won't do that, will they?

Posted by Fred 2004-1-8 12:36:50 AM|| 2004-1-8 12:36:50 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 I hope Bremer knows what he's doing.

Posted by Rafael 2004-1-8 8:05:48 AM|| 2004-1-8 8:05:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 US amnesty for 500 Iraqi prisoners

This current administration seems to have some kind of love affair with "amnesties".

Before they are freed, the prisoners must sign a statement renouncing violence and have a community or tribal leader act as a âguarantorâ for their conduct, Bremer said.

Oh, puhhhlease. Someone give Bremer a good whack with the Clue Bat&trade.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-8 9:53:43 AM|| 2004-1-8 9:53:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 B-a-R, not so fast. This is a good idea. Taking an oath is a useful thing for us if not for them: if we catch them in the future with a hand grenade, we have the oath as a reason to really drop the hammer on them.

And having the chief vouch for you in a tribal society is clever. Chiefie-boy loses face if his underlings pick up the wrong hobby. I think this has merit, but of course it bears watching.

Posted by Steve White 2004-1-8 1:49:23 PM|| 2004-1-8 1:49:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 I think Steve is correct. I had to LIVE with that sort of $#!t courtesy of my father's family, an extremely tribalistic Basque family. Mom (Scotch-Irish) had to take extreme measures to seperate Dad from his parents, and they STILL tried to pull that "You are not an individual, you are a limb of the tribe" crap on us.

So, yeah, IF they can get a tribal chief to go on PUBLIC record (preferably videotape!) as having promised to vouch for the ex-prisoner's good behavior, it's a strong weapon to use in the future. Face means a lot to these people, and the head of a tribe stands to lose a LOT if he's publically embarrassed.

This means that the chief in question will NOT allow any fun and games to be pulled by the ex-prisoner in question if there is even the slightest chance that he'll be caught. Chief might let OTHERS in the tribe pull some stunts, but he won't risk his word and his face.

It's not a fool-proof plan, but it is a sturdy one, and useful, while still being inexpensive.

Ed.

Posted by Ed Becerra 2004-1-8 4:24:21 PM|| 2004-1-8 4:24:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Strange... you'd don't sound Basque. Lived next door to transient Jhali (still can't spell it) players for a number of years. Good folk, but very, very serious about everything. They liked Hatfield, Hatfield liked them. Goldies know everything.

Posted by Shipman 2004-1-8 5:02:36 PM|| 2004-1-8 5:02:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 I think this has merit, but of course it bears watching.

What's important is that in the event that an ex-prisoner is found to have gone back to his old ways, the bastard "gets it", and the tribal leader is held responsible in some manner. My suspicion is that this so-called carrot-and-stick approach is going to be all carrot and no stick.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-8 10:26:48 PM|| 2004-1-8 10:26:48 PM|| Front Page Top

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