Tuesday, May 04, 2004

    ((( Anybody But Bush Update: Iraqi prisoner
    prefers Saddam's torture )))

    May 03, 2004


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    http://www.anybodybutbush.info/archives/000224.html



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    by ttagaris
    Mon May 3rd, 2004 at 02:37:09 EST

    I really wish this headline came from The Onion,
    or maybe Mad Magazine,
    but it doesn't; the article comes from the
    Associated Press.

    When I read quotes like this, I begin to worry:

    "Al-Shweiri said that while jailed by Saddam's
    regime, he was
    electrocuted, beaten and hung from the ceiling
    with his hands tied
    behind his back.

    "But that's better than the humiliation of being
    stripped naked," he
    said. 'Shoot me here,' he added, pointing between
    his eyes, 'but don't
    do this to us."

    read
    the associated press article



    Diaries :: ttagaris's diary ::

    Now, I was in the United States Marine Corps, and
    I really don't want
    to pass judgement on anyone committing these acts
    against Iraqis,
    whoever they may be.

    In my eyes, the vast majority of people that I
    served with were great
    people, some of the best I have ever met in my
    life, and I am proud to
    have served with each and every one of them.

    What gives me pause, and makes me sad above all
    else, is the
    transformation many of our men and women must
    have gone through since
    arriving in Iraq. The people I served, I could
    not fathom
    participating in acts such as these.

    While I have never served in combat, I know we
    have all heard from
    friends, relatives, or accounts on television and
    through conversations
    on-line about how you come back a changed person.
    The experience of war
    and death up-close is so powerful, that it
    demands a mental
    transformation as a defense mechanism.

    I can't help but shake the feeling that these
    troops that tortured
    Iraqis are not just a few bad apples, but these
    are just a small
    handful of the good apples that have have gone
    rotten after exposure to
    the horrors of war.

    I can't speak for the friends that I served with,
    maybe they wish to
    stay in Iraq. The last I heard they were digging
    graves every day from
    the time they woke up, until they were done for
    the day. I can't
    imagine that job doing any help for the fragile
    mind of a young man
    10's of thousands of miles away from home,
    watching death up-close
    every day. I would like them to come home.

    Tim

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