The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Another mass grave uncovered in Iraq
Many of you may have missed the reports today of yet another mass grave that has been discovered in Iraq. Didn't get a huge amount of play in the media--not nearly as much as did the latest bombing by al Qaeda. But just for the record, this Iraqi mass grave was unearthed in the city of Karbala, where hundreds of remains were found today which were believed to have been murdered after the attempted 1991 Shiite revolt against Saddam. Captain Ed's comments on the BBC reporting of this atrocity hit home with me:
(From the BBC report)
A mass grave has been discovered in the predominantly Shia city of Karbala south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
Dozens of bodies have reportedly been found, apparently those of Shia rebels killed by Saddam Hussein's army after its defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.
The Shia revolt was crushed and as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them buried in mass graves.
The remains were uncovered by workmen digging a new water pipe in the centre of the city known for its Shia shrine.
They called the police, who cordoned off the area. Clothing found with the bodies indicated that they included men, women and children.
Had this grave contained the remains of men only, one could understand the explanation of its existence to bury rebels killed in an open battle. However, the presence of women -- not usually associated with Shi'ite political or military activity -- and especially children point to something else entirely. It sounds almost as if the BBC wants to couch this discovery in terms favorable to Saddam. The BBC assumes that all Shi'ites rebelled against the Saddam government, which would make all Shi'ites open targets for reprisals.
This mass grave shows something different than just a rebellion gone bad. It demonstrates that Saddam put down a rebellion among the Shi'a by indiscriminately killing civilians and dumping the bodies where they presumed no one would ever find them. That makes Saddam and his henchmen genocidal maniacs and mass murderers -- not exactly news to anyone, or at least anyone outside of the offices of the BBC.
(From the BBC report)
A mass grave has been discovered in the predominantly Shia city of Karbala south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
Dozens of bodies have reportedly been found, apparently those of Shia rebels killed by Saddam Hussein's army after its defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.
The Shia revolt was crushed and as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them buried in mass graves.
The remains were uncovered by workmen digging a new water pipe in the centre of the city known for its Shia shrine.
They called the police, who cordoned off the area. Clothing found with the bodies indicated that they included men, women and children.
Had this grave contained the remains of men only, one could understand the explanation of its existence to bury rebels killed in an open battle. However, the presence of women -- not usually associated with Shi'ite political or military activity -- and especially children point to something else entirely. It sounds almost as if the BBC wants to couch this discovery in terms favorable to Saddam. The BBC assumes that all Shi'ites rebelled against the Saddam government, which would make all Shi'ites open targets for reprisals.
This mass grave shows something different than just a rebellion gone bad. It demonstrates that Saddam put down a rebellion among the Shi'a by indiscriminately killing civilians and dumping the bodies where they presumed no one would ever find them. That makes Saddam and his henchmen genocidal maniacs and mass murderers -- not exactly news to anyone, or at least anyone outside of the offices of the BBC.
