Care Worker Shot in Head

[watermock]

I got so damn upset Beezer wouldn't leave my side. He's in his shoe box. I'm so pissed I went crazy man. I put him in his box. I'm not so controlable. My cat was mystified. Damn. I went crazy.

Apparent slaying of aid worker condemned
BAGHDAD (AP) — The apparent slaying of CARE head Margaret Hassan by her kidnappers deepened the chill among aid agencies already fearful of operating in Iraq. In Ireland, where Hassan was born, hundreds of mourners packed a church Wednesday to pay final respects. (Video: Hundreds mourn Hassan)
Political leaders and relatives expressed shock and anger over the fate of Hassan, who was renowned for her 30 years of work in Iraq, distributing medicine, food and supplies to Iraqis suffering under the sanctions of the 1990s.

British officials say they believe Hassan was a blindfolded woman seen being shot in the head by a hooded militant on a video obtained but not aired by the Arab television station Al-Jazeera. She would be the first foreign woman to die in the wave of kidnappings in Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility. The 59-year-old Hassan, director of CARE International in Iraq, was abducted in Baghdad on Oct. 19.

British and Irish leaders condemned the apparent killing and the European Union said it would make relief efforts in Iraq almost impossible.

Christian Berthiaume of the World Food Program, one of many relief organizations that have drastically scaled back operations in Iraq because of security concerns, said Hassan's death would make matters worse.

"That's really a shock," Berthiaume said. "It's a very dangerous place to work, unfortunately, for relief workers."

"If it's true, this is outrageous," said Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Amman. She said Hassan "worked even under the most difficult times in Iraq for the good of the Iraqi people, for 30 years."

WFP and other U.N. agencies pulled their international staff out of Iraq after a deadly bomb attack on United Nations offices in Baghdad last year. Many other groups have done the same, leaving local employees in place to carry on work.

CARE said it was in mourning for Hassan. The group has closed its Iraq operations since she was abducted Oct. 19 in Baghdad while she was being driven to work.

In the southwest Ireland village of Kenmare, where Hassan's sister Geraldine Riney lives, hundreds turned out to mourn Hassan at a joint Catholic-Protestant service.

The Rev. Tom Crean, the Catholic parish priest of Kenmare, told mourners — among them more than 100 children in their Kenmare school uniforms — that her killing represented "an unspeakable loss."

Hassan's four brothers and sisters said Tuesday that they believe she is dead. "Our hearts are broken," they said in a statement. "Those who are guilty of this atrocious act, and those who support them, have no excuses."

A British, Iraqi and Irish citizen, Hassan had lived in Iraq for 32 years and was married to an Iraqi engineer, Tahseen Ali Hassan. She served as CARE director there since 1991.

On Sunday, Marines found the mutilated body of what they believe was a Western woman on a street in Fallujah during the U.S. assault on the insurgent stronghold. The body, clothed in what appeared to be a purple, velour dress, was wrapped in a blanket, with a blood-soaked black cloth nearby. As of Tuesday night, the U.S. command said the body had not been identified.

Hassan's captors had issued several videotapes of her pleading for her life and asking for Britain to withdraw its troops from Iraq and for female Iraqi prisoners to be freed. Ireland, which has been critical of the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, issued several high-profile appeals for her freedom.

Irish President Mary McAleese said she was "greatly saddened."

"Margaret was remarkable in her love for and devotion to the Iraqi people," McAleese said. "It is a cruel irony that Margaret's captors did not show her the same humanity and kindness which she demonstrated daily to those around her."

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said "those responsible for abducting Margaret stand condemned by everyone throughout the entire international community."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he shares the family's "abhorrence at the cruel treatment of someone who devoted so many years of their life to helping the people of Iraq."

Hassan was the most prominent of more than 170 foreigners kidnapped in Iraq this year. At least 34 have been killed. Besides Hassan, eight foreign women have been abducted. Seven have been released. Teresa Borcz Khalifa, 54, a Polish-born longtime resident of Iraq who was seized last month, is now the only one whose fate remains unknown.


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Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[mosca]

this is truly a sick act. i think that whoever did this, iraqi insurgents or foreign terrorists, whoever, has done themselves no good. they say that terrorism is a political instrument, but in this case it has backfired. to savagely kill this woman who did nothing but devote her life to helping the iraqi people shows just what type of people the enemy in this battle is. if any death was unjust and uncalled for it was hers.

[watermock]

it's beyond outrageous. I vomited. I don't even know where to go with this. I don't have any military training. My cat is totally confused. My knuckles are white. I am petting and petting him he's so freak out because I am so pissed off. I will just pet my cat for an hour.

[watermock]

Mock's kitten thinks I am crazy. I am just so mad he doesn't understand.

I just pet and pet. he doesn't know why I am insane mad. He calms me.

God I am pissed off. 21 billion mad.

I told you people three months ago. Im ****ing stuttering.

I said it was 8 billion. Now it's 21.

Beezer knows I'm pissed. I will just pet my kitty. Weather was good today, I think they got most of the crop out.

I'm so mad. I will just pet my cat. He loves to be petted. Damn I'm pissed. Man that kitty cat saves my soul.

[TheDave]

Honest to god, i never will understand that part of the world... every time i try to give them the bennefit of the doubt something like this reminds me that a good portion of those people simply have not moved far enough along the evolutionary chain. I've said this before, trying to turn that place into a peacefull democratic nation is akin to taking a 10 generation fighting pitbull and making it a family pet....

[enjolras]

Honest to god, i never will understand that part of the world... every time i try to give them the bennefit of the doubt something like this reminds me that a good portion of those people simply have not moved far enough along the evolutionary chain. I've said this before, trying to turn that place into a peacefull democratic nation is akin to taking a 10 generation fighting pitbull and making it a family pet....

It remains a REALLY small subset of their society doing this.. keep that in mind. It's not like 1 million Muslims each took a shot. These people are not a reflection of a society, they are petty criminals and nothing more.

[TheDave]

Originally Posted by enjolras

It remains a REALLY small subset of their society doing this.. keep that in mind. It's not like 1 million Muslims each took a shot. These people are not a reflection of a society, they are petty criminals and nothing more.

I know it's a small subset that commited this act, but when you take into account the other subsets... suicide bombers, religios fanatics, your basic run of the mill terrorists, the ones that drag and chear dead amaerican GI's through the streets, the pyros that are lighting their own oil fields ablaze, etc.... you start to wonder, or at least i do.

[Needa Pass Rush]

Originally Posted by enjolras

It remains a REALLY small subset of their society doing this.. keep that in mind. It's not like 1 million Muslims each took a shot. These people are not a reflection of a society, they are petty criminals and nothing more.

The rest of the Iraqis need to stand up and be counted. This is their country afterall.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by Needa Pass Rush

The rest of the Iraqis need to stand up and be counted. This is their country afterall.

Well, no, right now it's kinda our country. And I'm inclined to believe that there are a lot more Iraqis acting with total barbarianism or that eventually will than most people think.

[orangeatheist]

Originally Posted by TheDave

Honest to god, i never will understand that part of the world...

At the risk of being crucified, may I remind folks that "that part of the world" birthed the three religions currently at war with one another: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I agree with you, Dave: I will NEVER understand a part of the world that gave birth to civilization but never advanced with it like the rest of us.

[orangeatheist]

Originally Posted by TheDave

I know it's a small subset that commited this act, but when you take into account the other subsets... suicide bombers, religios fanatics, your basic run of the mill terrorists, the ones that drag and chear dead amaerican GI's through the streets, the pyros that are lighting their own oil fields ablaze, etc.... you start to wonder, or at least i do.

Remember, 50 years ago that part of the world hadn't advanced much technologically or sociologically from its roots millennia in the past. Now they have money and computer systems, minivans and satellite TV. But they still have a mindset not far removed from the one that drove their ancestors. They may have the physical trappings of the modern world but their minds are locked in the past.

[orangeatheist]

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Well, no, right now it's kinda our country. And I'm inclined to believe that there are a lot more Iraqis acting with total barbarianism or that eventually will than most people think.

Yes. And, unfortunately, we cannot "bomb them back to the Bronze Age" because merely unplugging their TVs and refusing to pay for their oil would do the job without the carnage. Barbarism seems to be a worldview for a majority of them.

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by orangeatheist

I agree with you, Dave: I will NEVER understand a part of the world that gave birth to civilization but never advanced with it like the rest of us.

It did advance, and at one time, the Middle East was far ahead of Europe in most every respect - tolerance, diversity, the arts and sciences. Think of when Europe was in the nearly 1000-year period of the "Dark Ages", after the collapse of Rome. If it wasn't for the Arab peoples and those living in the Middle East and Northern Africa, the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and others would not have survived to today. Why do you suppose so many stars, for example, have Arabic names? Where do you think our numbers come from?

It's not the case that Islam is strictly responsible for the relative decline of Muslims to non-Muslims; Islam was perfectly compatible with Judaism and Christianity, as well as the higher arts and sciences, for many centuries. The root causes of radical Islamism aren't just the fault of the religion itself, any more than the Inquisition and witch-burning are the fault of the religion that Martin Luther King Jr. (for one example) practiced.

The reasons why the Middle East is so backwards relative to us are many; whole books have been written on the subject. But to blame Islam itself is missing the many other targets, IMHO.

[orangeatheist]

Originally Posted by W*GS

It did advance, and at one time, the Middle East was far ahead of Europe in most every respect - tolerance, diversity, the arts and sciences. Think of when Europe was in the nearly 1000-year period of the "Dark Ages", after the collapse of Rome. If it wasn't for the Arab peoples and those living in the Middle East and Northern Africa, the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and others would not have survived to today. Why do you suppose so many stars, for example, have Arabic names? Where do you think our numbers come from?

It's not the case that Islam is strictly responsible for the relative decline of Muslims to non-Muslims; Islam was perfectly compatible with Judaism and Christianity, as well as the higher arts and sciences, for many centuries. The root causes of radical Islamism aren't just the fault of the religion itself, any more than the Inquisition and witch-burning are the fault of the religion that Martin Luther King Jr. (for one example) practiced.

The reasons why the Middle East is so backwards relative to us are many; whole books have been written on the subject. But to blame Islam itself is missing the many other targets, IMHO.

Oh, I agree with you. I'm just emoting. Whole damn situation pisses me off and it's easier to vent for me right now.

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by orangeatheist

Oh, I agree with you. I'm just emoting. Whole damn situation pisses me off and it's easier to vent for me right now.

Oh yeah, I'm plenty pissed about the whole effing thing myself. Before 9/11, I believed we were on the verge of a kind of "Golden Age" of knowledge and having technology really work for us to make our lives so much better. And I don't mean just Americans or Europeans either. I believed everyone was going to see their lives improve drastically over the coming decades.

But that naivete went in the can, and I'm frustrated and saddened to see us dragged back by a handful of idiots (whose ideology is medieval but whose technology is state-of-the-art) who could conceivably make a hash of the whole thing. I really really don't want to go back to square one - not the end of civilization, mind you, but where tremendous amounts of our resources are devoted to war, and killing, and destruction. We can do better, but our enemies just haven't gotten the clue.

[missingnumber7]

Originally Posted by orangeatheist

At the risk of being crucified, may I remind folks that "that part of the world" birthed the three religions currently at war with one another: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I agree with you, Dave: I will NEVER understand a part of the world that gave birth to civilization but never advanced with it like the rest of us.

Thats the truth right there. And some people refuse to acknowledge that. Afterbeing there myself and seeing people pull over to the side of the road at whatever time it is and pray weather it was Kuwait or Iraq...kinda wierd. I would hate to be any type of aid worker over there right now...can you say prime target. Why do you think the UN refuses to get involved?

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by missingnumber7

Why do you think the UN refuses to get involved?

Because they're chickensh*ts?

[orangeatheist]

Originally Posted by W*GS

Oh yeah, I'm plenty pissed about the whole effing thing myself. Before 9/11, I believed we were on the verge of a kind of "Golden Age" of knowledge and having technology really work for us to make our lives so much better. And I don't mean just Americans or Europeans either. I believed everyone was going to see their lives improve drastically over the coming decades.

But that naivete went in the can, and I'm frustrated and saddened to see us dragged back by a handful of idiots (whose ideology is medieval but whose technology is state-of-the-art) who could conceivably make a hash of the whole thing. I really really don't want to go back to square one - not the end of civilization, mind you, but where tremendous amounts of our resources are devoted to war, and killing, and destruction. We can do better, but our enemies just haven't gotten the clue.

Wow...it's like you crawled into my brain and articulated exactly the way I feel. While I feel it is somewhat awkward to give "props" to a post in such a solemn thread, I need to give you acknowledgement of a well crafted post indeed.

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by orangeatheist

Wow...it's like you crawled into my brain and articulated exactly the way I feel. While I feel it is somewhat awkward to give "props" to a post in such a solemn thread, I need to give you acknowledgement of a well crafted post indeed.

Thanks.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by W*GS

Thanks.

I agree with OrangeAtheist on this. You've had a couple of great posts in this thread.

[TheDave]

Originally Posted by orangeatheist

Yes. And, unfortunately, we cannot "bomb them back to the Bronze Age" because merely unplugging their TVs and refusing to pay for their oil would do the job without the carnage. Barbarism seems to be a worldview for a majority of them.

That seems to be the part of this equation i can never figure out... The day that oil has less value than it does today, imagine what this group of maniacs is going to become. Centuries old social structure, with modern day needs, without modern day financial resources.... Oddly, there is a part of me that hopes this whole Iraq thing was for the oil. At least then there is a benefit to the U.S.. I swear i'm going to $hit myself if we get nothing out of this other than partial ownership of the worlds largest welfare state to take care of. We just got a great example how some of these people treat others who's sole purpose it to help their fellow Iraqi citizens.

[Green Sunshine]

Originally Posted by TheDave

Honest to god, i never will understand that part of the world... every time i try to give them the bennefit of the doubt something like this reminds me that a good portion of those people simply have not moved far enough along the evolutionary chain. I've said this before, trying to turn that place into a peacefull democratic nation is akin to taking a 10 generation fighting pitbull and making it a family pet....

But you understand when your country boy hicks execute injured prisoners while lying on the ground near death? Jesus. You think you'll gain peace by sending 150,000 uneducated a-holes there with weapons? Think about that. People weren't getting killed at this rate before the Americans started dropping bombs and shooting the place up. Don't you see a connection there? Or do you still need to be reminded to put your underwear on before your pants?

[Green Sunshine]

Originally Posted by W*GS

Because they're chickensh*ts?

The US doesn't want to cede power to the UN. It's in the US's own selfish interest to keep the UN out. US stays there longer, US has more time to steal and loot. When there is nothing left, the US will leave.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Green Sunshine

The US doesn't want to cede power to the UN. It's in the US's own selfish interest to keep the UN out. US stays there longer, US has more time to steal and loot. When there is nothing left, the US will leave.

What exactly are we stealing? Shrapnel, one IED at a time?

[Crushaholic]

Originally Posted by Green Sunshine

You think you'll gain peace by sending 150,000 uneducated a-holes there with weapons?

So, now you're calling the brave men and women who serve in Iraq "uneducated a-holes"?