The Iraqi Dead

[I Like Beer]

I saw the very touching thread started by ViolaLee on honouring all the troops in Iraq and it gave me an idea.

Why don't we do something similar to honour the dead Iraqi civilians whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

If you believe in the justness of this war - you should see what the war has wrought.

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

Iraq Body Count is an ongoing human security project which maintains and updates the world’s largest public database of violent civilian deaths during and since the 2003 invasion. The count encompasses non-combatants killed by military or paramilitary action and the breakdown in civil security following the invasion.

Data is drawn from cross-checked media reports, hospital, morgue, NGO and official figures to produce a credible record of known deaths and incidents.

Here are the deaths of civilians for Friday, Oct 5th.

Friday 5 October: 33 dead

Baghdad: 4 bodies.
Kifil: 2 bodies.
Basra: lecturer is shot dead.
Kirkuk: civilian killed in bomb explosion.
Jizani al-Imam: 25 reported killed (7 of them children) in US raid on village.


For today, let's pick one individual.

Sachir, nephew of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha
Age 15
Killed near Ramadi on September 13th, 2007

[JohnnyAwake]

Hats off to "I like Beer" (not just cause I like beer either!).You've made a very valid point. We always hear about our own. Which is indeed disheartening. But people fail to realize our troops had more of a choice than the innocent Iraqi Citizens ever had.
I'd take a court marshal if it meant my fellow world citizen wouldn't have to take death. But then again, I never joined the services. The pen is always mightier than the sword.

[I Like Beer]

I'd take a court marshal if it meant my fellow world citizen wouldn't have to take death.


I couldn't agree more!

[ViolaLee]

That's a good idea I Like Beer. They are harder to find, but they also deserve our respect and mourning. I'll help you post their names and stories.

ASSAD ABDUL HUSSEIN, 20

Assad Hussein was an infantryman in the Iraqi Army. He was a Shia Muslim, whose family lived in a corrugated iron shack in the sprawling Baghdad slum of Sadr City. He was shy and quiet, and enjoyed reading and playing soccer.

Assad was conscripted into the Iraqi Army when he turned 18. As the U.S. invasion approached, he could not afford to pay the bribes that would have kept him out of the frontline. He was killed by a U.S. cluster bomb while serving in Kirkuk.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/25/193144/999

Rest in peace Assad.

[jafar00]

Thanks to you for your compassionate understanding.

[I Like Beer]

Hadia ALi Hassan

An adult female Killed by gunfire. Her daughter was wounded in the attack.

Near Al Zihaidiay, Haweeja.
September 13th, 2007

May you Rest In Peace.

[NDNdancer]

Thank you for this thread.

[I Like Beer]

Fadhel Mohammed al-Dulaimi, 38

He was shot on his way home from work in the industrial area, near the used-car lots in Hawija district, to the south of Kirkuk.

September 4, 2007

My condolences to your family for their loss.
Rest in Peace, Fadhel.

[ViolaLee]

MOHAMMED SALEEM, 18 months

Mohammed Saleem and four family members were killed in Baghdad when U.S. forces opened fire on their car, on the night of 5-6 June 2004.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/25/193144/999

Rest in peace Mohammed.

[I Like Beer]

Colonel Hussein Alwan, protection force police officer

Kirkuk, Sept 14, (VOI)- An armed group killed on Friday an Iraqi officer from the protection force of the Tikrit health department in front of his house in southern Kirkuk, a police source said.

“A group of gunmen opened fire on Friday afternoon against Colonel Hussein Ulwan Mehemad in front of his house in southern Kirkuk, killing him instantly,” the source, who preferred not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“The colonel was working for the protection force of the Tikrit health department,” he added.

Kirkuk lies 250 km northeast of Baghdad.

September 14, 2007

RIP Hussein

[ViolaLee]

Two Iraqi women were killed today, October 9, by some unknown security mercenaries.

The victims were identified by relatives and police as Marou Awanis, born in 1959, as Geneva Jalal, born in 1977.

Awanis had three daughters.

Awanis' sister-in-law, Anahet Bougous, said the woman was using her car to taxi government employees to work to help raise money for her three daughters.

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/International/WireStory?id=3707413&page=2)

Rest in peace Marou and Geneva.

[ViolaLee]

An Iraqi man saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians when he intercepted a suicide bomber during a Concerned Citizens meeting in the town of al-Arafia Aug. 18.

The incident occurred while Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, were talking with members of the al-Arafia Concerned Citizens, a volunteer community group, at a member’s house.

"I was about 12 feet away when the bomber came around the corner," said Staff Sgt. Sean Kane, of Los Altos, Calif., acting platoon sergeant of Troop B, 3-1 Cav. "I was about to engage when he jumped in front of us and intercepted the bomber as he ran toward us. As he pushed him away, the bomb went off."

The citizen’s actions saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians.

Kane felt the loss personally because he had met and interacted with his rescuer many times before the incident.

"He was high-spirited and really believed what the group (Concerned Citizens) was doing," Kane said. "I have no doubt the bomber was trying to kill American Soldiers. It was very calculated the way the bomber tried to do it. If he hadn’t intercepted him, there is no telling how bad it could have been."

Kane believes the citizen is a hero.

"He could have run behind us or away from us, but he made the decision to sacrifice himself to protect everyone. Having talked with his father, I was told that even if he would have known the outcome before hand, he wouldn’t have acted differently."

Capt. Brian Gilbert, of Boise, Idaho, the commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, currently attached to 3-1 Cavalry, echoed Kane’s sentiment.

"I spoke with the father," Gilbert said. "He said he has no remorse in his son’s death because he died saving American Soldiers."

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,146880,00.html

Rest in peace, unnamed heroic Iraqi man.

[I Like Beer]

Aziz Bewei

Adult Male.

Aziz Beiwi was assassinated at 9:00 p.m.on Monday by a sniper bullet that pierced his eye while he was heading home.

September 3, 2007

RIP Aziz

[Deadshot]

I think this thread shows part of the problem with the war in general. Does the American public actually care about the Iraqis, who are supposed to be our allies, killed in the crossfire or by "friendly fire"?

I think, by and large, that we don't. I don't have a link or study to prove my thesis. I just know that if a city or region of America or Europe was experiencing Iraqi type of violence on a daily basis I think our country would be up in arms. But since it's in Iraq, I just don't see the outrage...:shame:

[I Like Beer]

I think this thread shows part of the problem with the war in general. Does the American public actually care about the Iraqis, who are supposed to be our allies, killed in the crossfire or by "friendly fire"?

I think, by and large, that we don't.


We've spent so much time dehumanizing them so Americans can overcome, what Reagan and Guiliani adviser Norman Podhoretz called, "the sickly inhibitions against military force". He knew that it's harder to convince people of the need for military involvement if civilians see the "enemy" as real human beings.

I believe Iraqi's are still seen as 'less than human' and certainly not equal to Americans.

[Deadshot]

We've spent so much time dehumanizing them so Americans can overcome, what Reagan and Guiliani adviser Norman Podhoretz called, "the sickly inhibitions against military force". He knew that it's harder to convince people of the need for military involvement if civilians see the "enemy" as real human beings.

I believe Iraqi's are still seen as 'less than human' and certainly not equal to Americans.



Sadly, I'm forced to agree with your logic. Just look on this site where people have called for MUSLIMS, not terrorists, to be punished and killed. :unreal:

I don't know if we'll get out of this quamire in my life time. I can only hope that the Democrats, in '08 and beyond, will begin to heal the world of their hatred for America.:peace:

[I Like Beer]

Sadly, I'm forced to agree with your logic. Just look on this site where people have called for MUSLIMS, not terrorists, to be punished and killed. :unreal:

There seems to be little distinction between Muslims and terrorists from some on the right - the crimes of a relative few are now being visited upon 1.1 billion people.

[Deadshot]

Sadly, I'm forced to agree with your logic. Just look on this site where people have called for MUSLIMS, not terrorists, to be punished and killed. :unreal:

There seems to be little distinction between Muslims and terrorists from some on the right - the crimes of a relative few are now being visited upon 1.1 billion people.


My point exactly! Not ALL the Right, but enough to help drive the wedge farther down. I think if you took a poll, especially from a heavily Red state that you'd be shocked to find that many people, maybe as high as 30%, would answer "NO" to the following question "Is there a difference in being Muslim or being a Terrorist?"

It's sad when stupidity leads...thank God Bush is gone soon :ecstatic:

[ViolaLee]

I think it would be higher than 30%. In fact I think polls show a large majority of red states still believe Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and that Saddam had WMD.

Some people just can't stop believing the lies.

[I Like Beer]

Dawood Salman Qadir, council member

Tuz Khurmatu:
#1: Around 12.45 p.m., gunmen killed Dawood Salman a member of the municipality council in Suleiman Beck (7 km south Tuz Khurmatu). He was killed in front of his house at Suleiman Beck.

September 7, 2007

May you rest in peace, Dawood

[I Like Beer]

Fadhel Mohammed al-Dulaimi

Age 38

Hawija

Septembe 4, 2007

Rest in Peace, Fadhel

[ViolaLee]

http://hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq1005/iraq1005_files/image014.jpg

Muhammad Hushyar Salim Ahmad Dizayi

Muhammad Hushyar Salim Ahmad Dizayi, aged thirty-four and single, for example, was Mosul head of the humanitarian aid organization, World Vision, a U.S.-based Christian relief and development organization that was working on school rehabilitation.

Unknown individuals in the city warned him to quit his job, his family told Human Rights Watch, but Dizayi decided to continue working with the organization. On September 29, 2004, unknown gunmen shot and killed him while he sat in a Mosul café.

According to Dizayi’s father, who was in Arbil at the time of the murder, a witness told him that two cars drove up and shot his only son in a café near the university. He went to the Mosul hospital and police the next day, but found no officials willing to help. “No one was at the hospital. I even went to the police,” he said. “They said we cannot come with you because we are afraid of the terrorists. They said they will attack you again if you come to talk with us about this.” At the hospital there was only one cleaner, who said, “Don’t cry or shout because the terrorists will come again.”
http://hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq1005/8.htm

Rest in peace Muhammed.

[ViolaLee]

http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/WORLD/meast/10/16/dad.blackwater/art.family.jpg

Ahmed and his mother, Mahassen, were killed by Blackwater in the September 16 shootings in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Haythem could only recognize his oldest boy from his tall and slim physique as well as what was left of his shoes. His son's head had been blown away, his body charred beyond recognition. His wife of more than 20 years was torn apart.

"Only part of her neck and jaw remained," Haythem told CNN. The rest of her was covered by a body bag.

Choking back tears, he said, "Killing them was not enough, blowing up their skulls, they burned them and disfigured them."

Haythem's wife, Mahassen, and his 20-year-old son, Ahmed, were among the 17 Iraqi civilians killed and 27 others wounded in a hail of gunfire September 16 in Baghdad. Watch Haythem's video of the charred wreckage »

Guards working for private security firm Blackwater USA are accused of opening fire on the Iraqis.

The Iraqi government has said the Blackwater guards shot without provocation -- something the U.S.-based contractor has denied, saying the guards were in a firefight with gunmen.

An Iraqi government report has accused Blackwater of "premeditated murder," saying the company's guards randomly fired at civilians. An Iraqi panel investigating the shootings has asked Blackwater to pay the families of each of the victims $8 million in compensation.

"Money will not compensate us for what we have lost, even if it were piles of it," Haythem said. "No one can put a price on the lives of those killed."

Haythem, 46, a doctor who specializes in blood diseases, spoke from his temporary home in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood where he is living with his mother and two remaining children -- daughter Maryam, 18, and son Haidar, 17.

While he spoke, his mother sat in a corner of the room, moaning and sobbing, rocking back and forth on a couch. She wore all black.

All Haythem and the family know about the final moments of their loved ones is what two Iraqi police officers who witnessed the shootings have told them -- that Ahmed was shot as he was driving his car in Nusoor Square and his mother clutched him tight as he was bleeding.

"Those who witnessed the incident say that my son's head was scattered and my wife held him and hugged him," Haythem said. "She was screaming, 'My son, my son! Help me! Help me!' "

The car slowly rolled forward until Blackwater guards unleashed more shots that turned the vehicle into a fireball, according to the witnesses.

"They understood the call for help. They sprayed her with bullets," he said.

Blackwater has not discussed specifics about the case, saying the FBI is investigating the matter. Blackwater CEO Erik Prince told CNN Sunday one of the Blackwater vehicles was damaged by small arms fire and that his guards committed no "deliberate violence."

Haythem's wife also was a doctor and his son was attending medical school with hopes of becoming a surgeon.

"They destroyed my family and they killed my beloved wife, my better half," Haythem said calmly. "They deprived me of my eldest son who I have raised into a strong, young man. They deprived him of fulfilling his dream to be a doctor and a surgeon. They planted pain and misery in the hearts of my two younger kids."

His daughter and son live in fear that he too will be slain on the streets of Baghdad, leaving them as orphans.http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/16/dad.blackwater/index.html

Ahmed and Mahassen, rest in peace.

[I Like Beer]

Ali, son of Mohammed Abdul Razzaq

Age 10

Location: Nisour Square, Mansour, west Baghdad

Date: 16 September 2007

Rest in Peace, Ali. My thoughts go with you and your family.

[Wndrtch]

I saw the very touching thread started by ViolaLee on honouring all the troops in Iraq and it gave me an idea.

Why don't we do something similar to honour the dead Iraqi civilians whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

If you believe in the justness of this war - you should see what the war has wrought.

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

Iraq Body Count is an ongoing human security project which maintains and updates the world’s largest public database of violent civilian deaths during and since the 2003 invasion. The count encompasses non-combatants killed by military or paramilitary action and the breakdown in civil security following the invasion.

Data is drawn from cross-checked media reports, hospital, morgue, NGO and official figures to produce a credible record of known deaths and incidents.

Here are the deaths of civilians for Friday, Oct 5th.

Friday 5 October: 33 dead

Baghdad: 4 bodies.
Kifil: 2 bodies.
Basra: lecturer is shot dead.
Kirkuk: civilian killed in bomb explosion.
Jizani al-Imam: 25 reported killed (7 of them children) in US raid on village.


For today, let's pick one individual.

Sachir, nephew of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha
Age 15
Killed near Ramadi on September 13th, 2007


You're not honoring anybody. To honor someone, is to talk about how they LIVED, not speak to how they died. THIS post is taking a political pot-shot.

You want to honor folks, then post stuff like this:

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14690&Itemid=1

[I Like Beer]

l
You're not honoring anybody. To honor someone, is to talk about how they LIVED, not speak to how they died. THIS post is taking a political pot-shot.

You want to honor folks, then post stuff like this:

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14690&Itemid=1


I would like nothing better than to talk about how they lived. Unfortunately, it's not easy to get that information - trust me, I've looked. I guess these people have more important concerns than getting accounts on MySpace.

The only way I have to remember - and honour - these people is to mark how they died. If that's all I've got, I'll take it. Just as long as they are not forgotten.

The thread is about the Iraqi dead - I invite you to come and honour them, here. By all means, please talk about how these individuals lived.

If you wish to post photo ops, please do, but do it in your own thread.