American and Iraqi forces today recovered the bodies of the two American soldiers abducted last week by Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of five insurgent groups led by al-Qaeda in Iraq. Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, director of the Iraqi defense military’s operations team, told journalists in Baghdad that the two “were killed in a barbaric way.” According to the Associated Press, the group posted the following information on a website:
Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker
“We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders," said the claim, which appeared on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements and videos.
“With God Almighty's blessing, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer carried out the verdict of the Islamic court” calling for the soldiers' slaying, the statement said.
The statement said the soldiers were “slaughtered,”; suggesting that al-Muhajer beheaded them. The Arabic word used in the statement, “nahr,”; is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca
The U.S. military has identified al-Muhajer as an Egyptian associate of al-Zarqawi also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
The killings would be the first acts of violence attributed to al-Muhajer since he was named al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader in a June 12 Web message by the group. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 7.
According to Newsweek:
Indeed, Tucker’s desire to serve his nation was made clear in a haunting telephone message that his parents released to the media on Monday: "Hey mama, um, I love you. I love you too dad,” he said. “Just going to go on this little vacation ... I'll be back before I know it ... I'm going to be OK. Everything's going to be OK. I'm going to defend my country. Be proud of me... So I will call you as much as I can. You guys will never not know what I'm doing."
These two men are heroes who gave their lives so that we and others around the world may live in freedom. Little Green Footballs reports that, not surprisingly, “The sick freaks at Daily Kos are gloating over the killings: Daily Kos: So our boys were tortured - how quaint.”
The bodies of the two captured U.S. soldiers were found in Iraq - bearing signs of “barbaric torture.”
How quaint.
I hope Alberto Gonzales and John Yoo will sleep well tonight, with visions of those boys’ bodies and the horrible barbarities inflicted upon them dancing in their heads. Perhaps Gonzales, and Yoo, and Rumsfeld and Bush will be able to envision the same inhumanities being visited upon their family members and loved ones as they drift off to peaceful slumber.
This cannot stand. We cannot allow this administration and its incomprehensible defense of and support for torture in violation of the “quaint” Geneva Conventions to remain.
The chickens have come home to roost. As ye sew, so shall ye reap.
I weep for my country, and for the families and loved ones of those in Iraq and Afghanistan, those yet living and those already dead.
Peace.
Sick, sick, sick. These people cannot understand that we are dealing with an enemy who will go to any length to kill us. What will it take for them to realize that this is a real war? An Iranian nuclear missle blowing up Paris? A dirty bomb in New York City? We had appeasers in the 1930s and early 1940s who believed that Tojo and Hitler meant us no harm. I can't believe that we're still dealing with this appeasement mentality and that it has become the main plank of the Democratic Party, but this is not the first time in our country's history that we have been confronted by mass foolishness.
The barbaric killings of these two brave men serve to underline the fact that we are dealing with a barbaric enemy who must be stopped at all costs.
I agree with you, mostly. I think there are always going to be groups/countries in the world that want to do us harm. WE have the responsibility to keep the peace. You mentioned Hitler and Tojo. When we had to (when all other options had been exhausted), we entered the war, and won (and left). How was that appeasement?
I think we’ve done more harm than good in the “war on terror” so far. I grieve for these young men, and all the soldiers who have died. But what has it all been for? Shutting down a ruthless Iraqi regime, yes. A regime the US put in power and one that had nothing to do with Sept. 11, but ruthless nonetheless. Routing the Taliban (also supported by the US during the soviet invasion)? Good. Although they’re not gone…they are again regaining control of many territories, seemingly unchecked by an under-staffed, stripped down US military force. Finding and killing Bin Laden? Or Zarqawi, or (fill in the blank). There will always be a replacement leader for those we kill. What is that saying…”better the enemy you know…”?
They died to protect us…are we more safe today? I think the longer the war goes on the less safe we are, which underscores what a waste their deaths are, what a tragedy.
Amen to your post. These two kids died so that we can live in some modicum of peace. The folks on the Left have no capability of foresight. They will forever be reactive (after the damage is already done). Here's the bottom line: 9/11 killed close to 3,000 Americans in 1 day in one of the the initial acts of this war. So far, it has taken 2,500+ American and Allied servicemen to keep from having our civilian death toll rise beyond that initial 3,000. It is a highly likely that had we not taken the battle to them in their backyard, by now we would have had more than 2,500 civilians killed on the streets of the USA. This is not a war of our choosing, but like it or not, it must be fought. The Left would rather wait for additional civilian deaths before the may send our servicmen into “harms way”. God Bless each and everyone fighting this war on the frontlines.