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| Iraq |
| Iraqis desecrate British war cemetery |
| 2003-05-20 |
| Edited for brevity. A British First World War cemetery in Iraq which was restored by United States marines as a sign of gratitude for Britain's participation in the recent conflict has been desecrated by Iraqis. The cemetery in the eastern city of Kut, site of some of the fiercest losses the British military has suffered in the region, was badly vandalised hours after a high-profile rededication ceremony attended by British generals and Anglican bishops. Some gravestones of tens of thousands of British and Indian troops who fell in Kut after being forced to retreat from Baghdad by Turkish forces in 1915 have been toppled. The siege of the city lasted until April 1916. Local people outside a shop selling icons of Shi'ite clerics opposite the cemetery said its desecration was not surprising. "We respect the dead, whatever their religion, but the soldiers put up the British flag as if to emphasise that they are occupying us and many men put lots of effort into the restoration," said Abbas Jaber, 32, a glazier. "At the same time we are suffering from lack of food, electricity and security. If only they put as much effort into sorting these problems out." [Spokesman] Lt Col Zangas admitted that the restoration should not have been given so much import so soon after the war. "It sent out the wrong message, renovating a Christian cemetery when you're occupying a Muslim country," he said. I think an argument could be made that neither side handled this very intelligently. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #5 Fuckers. What a whining twat Mr Jaber is, living his whole friggin' life under Saddams' rule, he gets liberated - no way is *he* going to be able to do it - then starts complaining when those men of honour pay their respects to the fallen rather than wipe his nose. Oh, and does anyone here care to think what might have happened if this had been a Muslim cemetery and that had been desecrated? From the article: "The battle of Kut, described by T E Lawrence as a "slow-drawn agony", lasted some 143 days. Only 2,000 out of 23,000 men survived." Again, fuckers. |
| Posted by: Tony 2003-05-20 19:31:17 |
| #4 Islam. The religion of peace. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-20 15:41:28 |
| #3 "Muslims are one of the biggest crybaby groups" Maybe, but desecrating British war cemeteries is hardly a Muslim innovation... the French are quite adept at it. And once again, we seem to overlook that the poor dead Brits were fighting the Turkish occupiers. Turks and Mongols have wasted far more Arabs than anyone else (except other Arabs). |
| Posted by: Mark IV 2003-05-20 15:01:21 |
| #2 Round up the usual suspects, then shoot a few. Nip this shit in the bud, Barney! |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-05-20 14:45:45 |
| #1 "It sent out the wrong message, renovating a Christian cemetery when you're occupying a Muslim country," he said. So what? The dead are the dead and the subject needs to be handled by ALL parties with (IMO) the appropriate respect for the dead, regardless of religious affiliation. Does anyone think that if it was a Muslim cemetery that was "desecrated" that Iraqis would shrug it off as no big deal? I sure as hell don't think so. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to shake off the suspicion that Muslims are one of the biggest crybaby groups to ever exist. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-05-20 14:43:05 |