The cuffed and blindfolded boy together with the two cuffed and blindfolded adults are residents of Karbala they were arrested today Thursday May 11th, 2006 by Iraqi police for “suspected insurgent activity.” In the second section of the graphic which I’ve made by simply joining the the two original photos together in sequence he is seen being led away to whatever fate awaits him.
He is, according to Reuters, a teenager. Well if so he’s only just barely a teenager. It can be hard to tell the age of young Iraqis from photographs, so many of them have grown up chronically malnourished because of the sanctions imposed upon Iraq by the UN at America’s behest that they’re often very small for their age.
For the purposes of this posting I’m going to make a very big assumption.
I’m going to assume that there was some reasonable grounds for the arrest, some evidence, and not as so often happens in Iraq under the American occupation an informant meeting his quota.
I don’t actually know whether that’s the case or not, I’m just assuming it for the purposes of this posting. I do know that he’s going to be brutalised either by Iraqi interrogators and/or by their American “handlers”, I do know that he will terrorised either by Iraqi interrogators and/or by their American “handlers” and I do know that while he may not be a fully fledged “insurgent” now that he damned well will be one and with bloody good cause for it if he ever gets out. That’s the inevitable result of what I know is going to be done to this boy . Even when there are valid grounds for arrest, even if he’s as guilty as the day as long of attrocious crimes and not just of being unlucky as to who his relatives were (how much choice do you think a boy that young has? - Just asking.) The treatment that will be meted out to this boy by Iraqi jailers and interrogators and/or by their American “handlers” is guaranteed to fill him with a burning rage and hatred, particularly of Americans whom he will rightly blame for what is going to be done to him.
So I confidently predict that if and when he gets out. The first thing he’ll want to do is to kill or maim an American or one of their Iraqi sidekicks but an American, any American, would be better, more satisfying, more just, and that in the blood soaked hell that is the Iraq created by the USA he’s very likely to get lots of chances to do just that.
There’s something else I know and it leads me to make another prediction all his relatives know what sort of revolting treatment is going to be dished out to him by his Iraqi jailers and interrogators and/or by their American “handlers” and they’re not going to wait ’til he gets out before striking back.
There is nothing nothing that America can do to make things better in Iraq. America is the problem in Iraq everything else is a symptom, an effect, not a cause.
Leave.
markfromireland
Indexed under: Children, Editorials, Karbala, Women and Children
I don’t care what Reuters says this ‘teenager’ is just a boy who should be out and about playing soccer - certainly not blindfolded and handcuffed!
You’ll get no argument from me on that and I very much doubt that such a suspiciously well staged and photographed arrest would have been for anything major.
As I said in the posting a lot of the arrests are made on the basis of a tip off by informants who have quotas to meet (or they don’t get paid if they don’t get paid they don’t eat)
The US itself admits that what its doing in Iraq is proving a hotbed for breeding terrorists. For creating them. I know damned well what’s going to be done to that kid and as everyone can see he’s just barely a teenager. My guess is that it’s not all that long since he had his 13th birthday.
There are lots of kids like him who’ve had their lives wrecked and who want to pay some of it back.
I don’t care what he did - if anything at all, can you imagine what kind of a life these kids have - but yes you know only too well. I think we should have our own reality show and send Rumsfeld’s grandchildren over to Iraq and see what would unfold!
Oh God Grania if only.
I’d send the whole crew out .. the Bush spawn .. the Cheney spawn .. the Rumsfeld spawn … and I’d make bloody sure that they didn’t get REMF jobs either.
Ha Ha Ha I can hear the whining already- night night -G
My opinion is that torture is as much (if not more) about putting information in as it is about getting information out.
What’s the bet these Iraqis are being subjected to mind control stuff. Great place to try out new techniques.
I read once (and as a survivor of torture, I agree) that the object of the torturer is to replace God in the life of the victim.
The occupation is seemingly doing absolutely everything it can to destroy these people and their culture and reduce those remaining to hopelessness.
Now whom do you know that wants to dominate Arabs and Muslims to that extent?
“By their fruits, ye shall know them”
God Griffon sounds like you have had some nasty experiences - more power to you for being so compassionate!
Grania, I replied earlier but it seems to have been eaten by Blogger. If it turns up later, please excuse the duplicate:-
Thanks, Grania. I’m not as noble as it might sound, though. Trying always to exercise compassion (I fail as much as most people BTW) is about self preservation. The Dalai Lama calls it supremely selfish!
Anger is necesary at times to bring about change. But hatred is problematic as it inevitably leads to exploitation. And exploitation, not hatred, in my view, is the opposite of compassion. They are mutually exclusive.
If you exploit someone, then you are in some way bending them to your will. You are inserting yourself into the a province that belongs to that person and God. You are attempting to replace God to some extent both in that person’s (victim’s) life and in your own. This is deluded thinking and actions based on that deluded thinking (unreality) must end in tragedy.
For me, exercising compassion is an antidote or tonic against the myriad stimulae about us to exploit our fellow man, be it in our day to day commercial dealings or going to war, that leads us into deluded thinking, unhappiness and if you pursue it eagerly enough, madness as seen in characters like Bush and Rumsfeld. No peace there!
I mentioned my history (but would take it back now if I could!) to add weight to what I believe is a very important point that most people misunderstand the purpose of torture. It is used as a catalyst to provoke ongoing destruction both in the lives of the tortured and the lives of the community that they come from and possibly return to.
If I were to give free rein to the rage within me and not attempt to ameliorate it with thoughts and acts of compassion, then my torturers win. And I will NOT give them that victory just as some of the Iraqi leaders and people will not give that victory to the neo-cons.
So it’s both sane and selfish. Thanks for reading this far and sorry if it sounds like a lecture.
No no it’s not a lecture Griffon and makes total sense. You have a lot of wisdom there to offer us all. I hope I haven’t reopened any old wounds by commenting on it.
You’re very kind, Grania.
And no harm done!