In an Associated Press story about the carnage in Iraq from the weekend, you will find this passage in the fifteenth paragraph:
"At least 73 other Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide, including 31 bullet-riddled bodies of men who were apparent victims of death squads usually believed to be run by Shiite militias."
That's in the 15th paragraph! After the story of how 14 more US troops were killed in Iraq over the weekend. After several other spectacular suicide bombings were explained. Then we get to this horrific body count. The problem is the AP is right. This has become so commonplace in Iraq, it is no longer top news at all. It gets buried in a story filled with other hideous violence.
And as I looked at the picture of a little Iraqi girl attached to the story with shrapnel all over her face, I thought to myself, if there is a God, may He have mercy on George W. Bush's soul. Bush opened up this Pandora's box and what has come out has been horrible beyond words. He did it with easy indifference and flippant negligence.
As you look at that girl and think about the 73 dead, and 31 bullet riddled bodies, and the 14 Americans dead, and the over 3,400 that came before them, and how there will be more of the same tomorrow and the day after, if you believe in a God, put in a prayer for George Bush's soul. He's going to need it.
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73 Dead and 31 Bullet Riddled Bodies is No Longer News in Iraq
Posted Jun 4th 2007 5:04AM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Iraq, George Bush, Young Turks, Military, civilian casualties
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. i believe in god,and will pray for pres bush's soul....but even off your blog there are a lot of other higher priority prayers to be offered,i will get to those first---the little girl with the shrapnel,the almost 3500 us soldiers killed (and their families),the families of the 73 dead and 31 bullet ridden bodies,the sean hannitys who love this war,the podhoeretz fellow who wants to bomb iran...i will get to the president's soul,but not right away
david at 8:36AM on Jun 4th 2007
2. Contrast the treatment of the news of 73 Iraqis dead as being a little on the "high side" of the number found murdered every day to that of less than half that number killed at Virginia Tech by an idiot loonytoon in not only a one time tragedy, but a record mass killing here in the U.S. Add the fact that if you interprelate for population disparity of the two countries (301MIL/U.S. vs 25.8MIL/Iraq) 73 dead Iraqis would equate to 852 Americans (301/25.8X73) or that the 31 killed at VT would work out to 2.65 persons in Iraq (31/(301/25.8), and you'll get an idea of the value many, if not most of the people in this country put on American lives, as well as the lack of value the same people put on the lives of other people in this world.
What might be most ironic is that those exact same people will tell you it would be IMMORAL and UNAMERICAN to even suggest the Iraqi death toll of 50,000 to 100,000 Iraqis increasing by 73 is a FRACTION as important as the record breaking death toll of 31 Americans. As far as Suicide Murderers go, I doubt the lowlife at Virginia Tech that now holds the U.S. record would even be in the top 100 in Iraq WITHOUT interprelating, and wouldn't be in the top 1000 if you DID. Yet most Americans expected the world to come to a screeching halt to mourn the VT victims.
How many people know that Iraq added 31 more murdered citizens to their total within 6 hours of the VT killer starting his rampage? Or would even care. Yet Jesus preached that we are to treat everyone as equals and to look out for our fellow man. Not just fellow countrymen, or fellow church members, or or fellow citizens of democracies, but FELLOW MEN.
What's REALLY ironic is we are patting ourselves on the back for getting rid of an Iraqi dictator who was such a monster that he held the lives of those he favored so valuable, and all others as expendable who's death were not only unimportant, but justified in the pursuit of his objectives.
Hmmmm.
Danny Corrigan at 9:52AM on Jun 4th 2007
3. It would be my prayer that he rots in HELL....
Linda at 10:02AM on Jun 4th 2007
4. In the United States we have the hospitals, police, firefighters, nurses, emergency personnel, doctors, dentists, EMS units, coffins and morgues to handle several hundred wounded and dead in most any city. We can get to those in rural areas in a relatively short period of time with all of the helicopters and planes we have.
Yet in Iraq there are many deaths daily and I can't imagine how they handle this many. Where do they get enough coffins and morticians for the constant inflow of bodies? It seems to me that they may be running out of grave sites.
How can they possibly handle mass casualties with so many doctors having fled. Where do they put these people without enough hospital beds? Where do they get the supplies for wounds? Are there enough dentists to treat those whose teeth have been blown out?
I can't even imagine (and don't want to)what their bodies look like when their legs have been blown off or the terrible pain they are in. And this includes children. Rape is rampant since it demoralizes the population.
How could we who consider ourselves decent people have let this happen?
Mary at 12:32PM on Jun 4th 2007
5. Oh, come on, folks!!!
73/15.. that's pretty good odds... way to go G.W.!!! The plan is working!!!
pboyfloyd at 5:40PM on Jun 4th 2007
6. ok Paris Hilton went to jail.. big deal, thats what happens to every person that drives under the influence. Shes writing a diary, so whatttt!!!! she has to do something to make those 23 days go by faster, next thing you know they're gonna say she's got corpal tunnel from writing so much while she was there. How about us reading what was inside the V.A. murderers diary, then maybe we can find out what was really bothering him. This world is so ironic and crazy. They worry about all the wrong things, wrong people, and wrong lives. I think she got what sh deserved, matter of fact she got off if you really want to see it.
liz at 10:21PM on Jun 4th 2007
7. #6 Liz, dear uh.... this blog is about the Idiot. The other Idiot, the one who is supposed to be in charge of our country.... Well, it turns out that you may or may not want to pray for him, or something!! You know... like praying???
ME at 11:59PM on Jun 4th 2007
8. What happened to peace, love and happines? How about giving peace a chance? Th current 'surge' is not working gbii. 3500 Americans and 650,000 Iraqis killed doesn't mean anything when the devil is in the white house.
Myles at 10:33AM on Jun 5th 2007
9. 56,000 Murders last year in the US. Iraq is just a Saturday night in Detroit.
socal4patrick at 11:41AM on Jun 8th 2007
10. Because of Dem politics over substance the US will not enter Darfur. No WMDS right ! So hundreds of thousand have died and many more to come.
Be happy knowing you helped !
socal4patrick at 11:45AM on Jun 8th 2007
11. Not one single politician, soldier, or citizen has asked the single most crucial question regarding Iraq...why should they cooperate with America? We destroyed the country, twice, killed thousands of their soldiers needlessly, ruined their economy, we're stealing their oil, or letting the Saudis or the Kuwaitis steal it, the middle class has deserted, and they're dying in droves every day. Can ANYONE tell me why they should cooperate with America?
Firstsai at 12:03PM on Jun 8th 2007