by James Glaser
June 28, 2004

A video on Arab television shows a reported United States Marine sitting on the ground blindfolded, with a long curved sword over his head.

Marine Corps officials said on Sunday that Corporal Ali Hassoun, who is of Lebanese descent, had been missing since June 21st.

I don't know if this is accurate, but it seems to me that the beheading of prisoners over in Iraq started when the world found out that America was torturing and yes, killing people that we had captured. Well, the militant Iraqi group who has captured this Marine threatened Sunday night to behead him, unless the United States released all Iraqi prisoners.

Every American is sickened by the brutality shown by these Iraqis who behead captives. However it also sickens me and I hope all Americans, when we beat our prisoners to death. I don't know which way of killing is worse, but I do know that we are setting the tone for this war.

There are reasons that we sign agreements not to torture the prisoners we take in a war and it is because we know that sometime, some of our own troops could be become captives too.

Also in Iraq, a soldier who was in a C-130 transport plane that was taking off from Baghdad International Airport was killed when small arms fire hit the plane. We don't know if this man was on his flight home or not.

On Sunday a rocket attack on an American base killed one Soldier.

President Bush was in Turkey, there were F-16 jets above him and a reported 23,000 police protecting him. Bush is the reported leader of the Free World, and he needs that much protection in a country that up until George became President, was our best friend in the region.

Republican Senators were on the Sunday morning talk shows telling us how things are going well in Iraq and that the new government has the support of the people. Over a hundred Iraqis were killed this weekend and hundreds wounded. Seven Americans were killed and many more were wounded.

In a poll taken last week, only 2% of the Iraqi people were in favor of having American troops in their country, but these Senators feel that things are going good. If what is going on in Iraq was happening here, our country would fall apart, but American Senators can look at the total chaos going on over there and see a "sliver lining" and report to us that things are going good.

Those Washington Senators must have a very low opinion of the intelligence of the American people. By any standards, Iraq is right now just the pits. All over that country people are getting killed and wounded. Everyone over there has to be scared and can you even imagine what it is like to have your children there?

No matter what our leaders tell us, things are not good in Iraq and we have really screwed things up, for the Iraqi people. It doesn't matter if we had good intentions going in, tens of thousands of people have been killed or maimed for life. It is now estimated that we have killed over 10,000 innocent Iraqis and they know it and so does the rest of the world.

Right now we have lost way over 800 Americans, while thousands have lost a limb. Only our superior medical treatment and body armor has kept it so that the American body count does not look so high, but any trip through Walter Reed Military Hospital would show you the real story, of course, when a President like Bush hides the coffins coming home with laws that make taking pictures of American coffins illegal, you know they will never let you see the wounded.

I would have to guess that those American Senators who now say things are going good, have never see the wounded and dead either.