And let us go to Fallujah to collect heads.
And bury the remains in pig fat and feces with an eternal CAM on the web.
Posted on 07/03/2004 10:21:18 PM PDT by Jeff Gordon
Given the choice, most people would opt for a straight bullet to the head rather than have it sawn off with a cutlass. However, personal preference has not figured highly in the modus operandi of Iraqi and Saudi insurgents for whom decapitation has become the method of choice for dispatching POW's and collaborators. Until the shooting death in June of US soldier Keith Maupin, the insurgents had made a point of beheading their captives and disseminating the grisly scenes over the Internet. Most people would recoil at the mere thought but experts say that is precisely the aim. In war, ascendancy in the horror stakes can be a major battlefield gain. "It gives people an enormous feeling of their own power that they can threaten this fate to their opponents," believes Professor Ian Robins, a London-based traumatic stress psychologist who specialises in treating war prisoners. While it serves as a morale booster for the perpetrators, it has the converse effect on their opponents. "It's a well thought through strategy. It's exactly the kind of thing that damages enemy morale," said Robins. "There are several weapons like this which are negligible in terms of pure military value but because they have this extremely horrific aspect their use causes much more damage." Military ramifications According to another British psychologist, the act can have far-reaching consequences in the field. "It is a very effective arrow in the heart of the opposition. If a soldier knows that if he gets captured he is not coming back it may induce him to freeze on the job or to make mistakes," Simon Meyerson told Aljazeera. The captive himself becomes a weapon for his captors, a tool for the transmission of horror to the rest of the enemy, effective in proportion to the level of his fear. "They very quickly fall into one of two groups; those whose minds and emotions freeze and who stay emotionless, and those who go into a state of terror and disintegrate losing all emotional structure and defiance," he added. While South Korean captive Kim Sun-il reacted by breaking down and pleading desperately for his life, US freewheeler Nicholas Berg appeared calm and resigned to his fate. The act also gives insurgents another advantage. In an age where wars are fought as much on TV as on the battlefield, they no longer need actual victories. The battle, says Meyerson, can be "won with a single dramatic visual impact." Political success It is at this political level that the tactic has earned insurgents their greatest success. While big exchange demands such as the cancellation of troop deployments or mass prisoner releases have been rejected, more modest aims have been realised. This week two Turkish workers being held in Iraq were freed after their company promised to stop working for US forces. Across the Arabian Gulf strife-stricken Saudi Arabia is witnessing an exodus of skilled western expatriates following a wave of killings by insurgents aiming to end what they see as foreign plunder of their country. In South Korea, the capture of Kim Sun-il brought thousands of people onto the streets to protest the planned deployment of 3000 troops in Iraq. Public opinion By turning his family into celebrity anti-war campaigners the beheading of Nicholas Berg became a political gain for his killers. "The acts are a sure way of making governments look incompetent by showing they are powerless to stop them despite the fact that they might pour billions of dollars into the campaign," said Professor Robins. Nothing succeeds like success and so long as the acts continue to put pressure on enemy governments there is little incentive for the perpetrators to stop, according to Robins. "Behaviour is maintained or increased by its consequences. This (beheadings) gets an enormous amount of attention and scrutiny and therefore it is highly likely it will continue." The latest beheading of US marine Wassef Ali Hassoun would seem to underline the point.
Previously posted, an hour or two ago.
Understandable. But one always go astray trying to respond rationally to existential threats.
better, much better, to put a little more hate in our hearts, to harden us for the war ahead.
I don't think so. I did a search for "Execrable" which is in the title. Only my posting came up. There was another posting about the same topic from Alazeera live TV, but it was not this particular article.
Not pretty, but effective.
The lack of fortitude in Falluja led to the current spate of beheadings. These beheadings are huge propaganda victories for the Arabs. We have no real way to counteract the kidnappers.
I don't think so.
It just makes me want to see some Mullahs and Ayatollahs beheaded.
And another one bites the dust. Did you guys see the email "Open Letter . . ." from a Marine about this? I'll be right back with a copy . . .
(This is an open letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, "Islamic Response," and the rest of the so-called al-Qa'ida "insurgents" in Iraq and elsewhere. We don't have an e-mail address for these swine -- though we are closing in on their snail-mail address, but we are forwarding this letter to Federalist Patriots around the world in the hope you good people will forward it to as many other Patriots as possible to rally prayer and support for our fellow Marine, Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun. Should these al-Qa'ida pigs spill his blood, we want them to rest assured that the contents of this letter will eventually be nailed to their foreheads. Thank you for your assistance.)
To al-Qa'ida terrorists in Iraq:
I see that you have captured a U.S. Marine, and that you plan to cut off his head if your demands are not met. Big mistake. Before you carry out your threat I suggest you read up on Marine Corps history. The Japanese tried the same thing on Makin Island and in a few other places during World War Two, and came to regret it. Go ahead and read about what then happened to the mighty Imperial Army on Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. They paid full price for what they did, and you will too.
You look at America and you see a soft target, and to a large extent you are right. Our country is filled with a lot of spoiled children who drive BMWs, sip decaf lattes and watch ridiculous reality TV shows. They are for the most part decent, hard working citizens, but they are soft. When you cut off Nick Berg's head those people gasped, and you got the media coverage you sought, and then those people went back to their lives. This time it is different. We also have a warrior culture in this country, and they are called Marines. It is a brotherhood forged in the fire of many wars, and the bond between us is stronger than blood. While it is true that this country has produced nitwits like John Kerry, Michael Moore, Howard Dean and Jane Fonda who can be easily manipulated by your gruesome tactics, we have also produced men like Jason Dunham, Brian Chontosh and Joseph Perez. If you don't recognize those names you should. They are all Marines who distinguished themselves fighting to liberate Iraq, and there will be many more just like them coming for you.
Before the current politically correct climate enveloped our culture one of the recruiting slogans of our band of brothers was "The Marine Corps Builds Men." You will soon find out just how true that is. You, on the other hand, are nothing but a bunch of women. If you were men you would show your faces, and take us on in a fair fight. Instead, you are cowards who hide behind masks and decapitate helpless victims. If you truly represented the interest of the Iraqi people you would not be ambushing those who come to your country to repair your power plants, or sabotage the oil pipelines which fuel the Iraqi economy. Your agenda is hate, plain and simple.
When you raise that sword over your head I want you to remember one thing. Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is not alone as he kneels before you. Every Marine who has ever worn the uniform is there with him, and when you strike him you are striking all of us. If you think the Marines were tough on you when they were cleaning out Fallujah a few weeks ago you haven't seen anything yet. If you want to know what it feels like to have the Wrath of God called down upon you then go ahead and do it. We are not Turkish truck drivers, or Pakistani laborers, or independent contractors hoping to find work in your country. We are the United States Marines, and we will be coming for you.
(Circulation of this message is being sponsored by The Federalist Patriot, the most widely read conservative e-journal on the Internet. If you have not already joined the ranks of Patriots receiving The Federalist Patriot, we encourage you to do so. This highly acclaimed conservative digest of news, policy and opinion will be delivered FREE by e-mail to your inbox each week. Simply link to -- http://Federalist.com/subscribe/patriots.asp If you don't have Web access, send a blank e-mail to and you will be subscribed automatically.)
Funny, the words are the same:
""Nothing succeeds like success and so long as the acts continue to put pressure on enemy governments there is little incentive for the perpetrators to stop," reported the terrorist friendly network, quoting a British trauma expert."
Effective? Think again. It merely strengthens our resolve.
British and psychologists at that...all this says is that some folks are trying to legitimatize this barbaric act. Let wusses whine...let the Americans fight and win....If we do not win this war on terror these rotten 7th century beheaders will be our new leaders. Think of this as our call to defeat the evil that is in the world today....and as Margaret Thatcher said " Don't go wobbly"
Okay four words come to mind.....OOOH RAH and SEMPER FI!
The US made a huge mistake not finishing off Falluja.
I agree. One doesn't negotiate with Sociopaths. They're incapable of rational thought. We should have dropped a big one and been done with it.
Outstanding!
Completely wrong. Gruesome beheadings carried out by masked cowards secreted in hideouts are a sign of weakness, not victory. No "battle" is won by them, except in the eyes of limp-wristed fops whom reporters call "experts."
That's the same kind of thinking the Japs had about Pearl Harbor.
"They very quickly fall into one of two groups; those whose minds and emotions freeze and who stay emotionless, and those who go into a state of terror and disintegrate losing all emotional structure and defiance, he added."
Tell it to the Marines.
You're right, it's a really lousy analysis. When we see this happening to hostages we (mostly) understand that giving in to blackmail just begets more blackmail. When someone is beheaded we understand that the only way to stop it is to get the bad guys. There are no negotiations, there are no demands that we can meet.
What this is is a thing called "Terrorism." It is a tactic meant to terrify. That's what they do. That's why we have to fight them.
Mike Tobin just said something about the average Iraqi having a "tremendous thirst for misinformation", i.e., they only hear what they want to hear. THAT is a GOOD analysis.
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