Something to think about...
Posted on 04/19/2005 8:21:12 AM PDT by prairiebreeze
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi lawmaker accused a U.S. soldier of grabbing him by the throat and shoving him to the ground Tuesday after he parked his car in Baghdad's Green Zone.
Fattah al-Sheikh, an independent, said he had parked his car before a session of parliament when U.S. troops approached him and told him he didn't have the right permit.
He said a soldier then kicked his car, insulted him and grabbed him by the throat with both hands as others looked on, before tying his hands behind his back with white plastic cuffs and shoving him to the ground.
"I don't speak English and so I said to the Iraqi translator with them, 'Tell them that I am a member of parliament,' and he replied, 'To hell with you, we are Americans,"' Sheikh told parliament, fighting back tears as he recounted the story.
The U.S. military said it was investigating the incident.
"We are aware of the reported incident involving a member of Iraq's Transitional National Assembly and we are investigating it at this time," a military spokesman said.
Sheikh said other members of parliament were present during the scuffle, which took place at one of the main entrances to the Green Zone, a fortified compound in central Baghdad that houses the parliament, the U.S. embassy and other buildings.
"I can still feel the pain around my neck," Sheikh said. It was not clear how he came to be freed.
After hearing his account, the speaker of parliament said he would call on Iraq's new prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, to demand a full apology from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.
The U.S. embassy said it was looking into the affair.
"We are looking at this at a very senior level. We have an officer down there looking at it right now," Bob Callahan, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy, said. "Once we have investigated we will decide what course of action to take."
Some members of parliament called for all meetings to be suspended until an apology was received, but others opposed the motion saying there was other work to be done.
The parliament is in the process of drawing up its rules and regulations, before it gets on to drafting a new constitution.
He should have parked in the "No Suicide Bomber" zone...
Hire that soldier for parking enforcement around the UN!
That story sounds like it was crafted based on the perception of Americans, rather than on what a soldier would have said. Doesn't smell right.
Now he knows how everyone around him feels.
< /sarcasm >
Something to think about...
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?!?!? alert.
"The Green Zone is for loading and unloading only. There is no parking in the Green Zone."
At least the US soldier purportedly only "grabbed" his throat, unlike muslims who seem to be more prone to "cutting" throats...cultural difference???
Case of mistaken identity. Soldier thought he was a reporter. ;-)
How does he know he was insulted if he doesn't speak English? This story sounds a little Clintonesque to me.
Aw great, another Iraqi Parlimentarian who dose'nt know who he is? (LOL)
Unless he crapped his pants it doesn't qualify as a choke hold.
"Lawmaker" was probably running his mouth...
Sometimes people find out the hard way there are those who don't tolerate disrespectful yapping in high tones.
That soldier needs to be posted at Capitol Hill.
I met a few Iraqis just like this guy I wanted to choke too.
heh! bump
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