First of all: Despite simplistic platitudes and with us/against us shitstorm stirred up by the Bush apologists, I, nor anyone else representing a rational worldview is in the least bit sad that Zarqawi is dead, so let's nip that talking point right now.
However, if Zarqawi was alive when the troops arrived, then I would hope that some attempt to save his life long enough to put him on trial would have been made. This would have demonstrated that, despite BushCo's scorn of law, that some of us still care about justice, that we are all not bullshit hypocrites, even if the administration is.
Having said that, the LA Times, and about a 3000+ other news organizations, are reporting that Zarqawi may have been stomped to death by the troops:
"An Iraqi police lieutenant who said he was among the first people at the scene told The Times on Saturday that after Iraqi police had carried Zarqawi to the ambulance on the stretcher, U.S. troops took him off the stretcher and placed him on the ground. One of the Americans tried to question Zarqawi and repeatedly stepped on his chest, causing blood to flow from his mouth and nose, said the lieutenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A man identified only as Mohammed, who said he lived near the Zarqawi hide-out, told Associated Press Television News that he had witnessed Americans beating Zarqawi. 'They stomped on his stomach and his chest until he died and blood came out of his nose,' he said."
If this is, in fact, the case, this kind of colonial bullshit only endangers lives, both American and Iraqi. To kick a wounded man, regardless, to death is utterly vile. There's a right way and a wrong way, and making this sick fuck stand trial and let justice be served is the right way to deal with solipsists who believe the only law is the one that divine from a perversion of the Koran, or anyone, for that matter. Instead, we crawl further down into the quagmire, and everything that made this country great slowly drowns at the end of the moral slip n slide.
It's starting to remind me of stories about dirty cops, who break the law to enforce it. The only thing missing is the plant gun, but why would they need it? Bush didn't need one to put them in this position in the first place.
This story doesn't have to be true. It's the natural progression of the Iraq War narrative, none of which can be changed no matter what we do. This story doesn't sound even remotely true to me-- too dramatic. But whether it is right or wrong seems irrellevant at this point. The narrative's already been written through to its conclusion and the consequences will be the same.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't surprise me at all if it were true. This war is monstrous and the troops are undoubtedly under a lot of stress. That doesn't excuse anything, of course, but it really disturbs me that the collateral damage in this attack included a young child (5-7 years old) and yet everyone seems more interested in speculating why leopard print lingerie was found at the scene.
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