Sadly, the bodies of the kidnapped soldiers have been found. The young men were apparently tortured.
Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Muhammed-Jassim, head of operations at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, said the soldiers had been "barbarically" killed and that there were traces of torture on their bodies.
In a statement posted on the Internet, the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed to have abducted the soldiers. The organization had issued a series of Internet statements in recent days vowing revenge on U.S.-led forces for the killing of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was targeted in a massive U.S. airstrike on June 7.
Cause only barbarians torture people.
The uncle of one of the young men told NBC's "Today" show that the U.S. "should have paid a ransom." He added, "I think the U.S. was too slow to react to this. Because the U.S. did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid with his life."
"Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., disappeared after an insurgent attack Friday at a checkpoint by a Euphrates River canal south of Baghdad. Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed."
But the Decider says it's worth it.
And the Cheney Monster says the violence in Iraq is in its last throes and has been in its last throes since May, 2005.
What do the 'last throes' look like?
The Baghdad Morgue receives some 20 to 30 bodies "on a quiet day." Last month it saw a record 1,384 bodies.
In the 'last throes', the Baghdad Morgue has processed some 6,000 bodies this year. (via Cathie from Canada)
Some bodies are pocked with holes inflicted by torturers with power drills. Some show signs of strangulation; others, with hands tied behind the back, bear bullet wounds. Many are charred and dismembered.
Update: Are we at war?
The blogger over at The Sideshow asks:
[A]re we at war? Even leaving aside the fact that what we are doing in Iraq clearly is an occupation, we are not doing what a country at war does. There is no call to enlistment, let alone a draft. There is no call to conserve resources on behalf of our military needs. There is no war tax. There is not even a reliable definition of why we are there and what "winning" would be.
And our soldiers have been "kidnapped". Not captured, as soldiers are in war, but kidnapped, as they are in civilian contexts. As I write this, I have just heard of unconfirmed reports that they have been found dead. Are they combat casualties, or murder victims? How can we tell?
...Our leaders may be making war, but it is not the war they claim. It is bigger than Iraq, than the Middle-East, than Islam, or than terrorism. It is a war against civilization itself, and it is a war against us - all of us.
Politics Bush Cheney Barbarians Republicans Iraq War Torture Occupation
