|
The Arab
world is enraged over the shooting of a wounded,
unarmed Iraqi insurgent by a uniformed US soldier.
What a glaring double standard. The Arab world is
enraged over the shooting of a wounded, unarmed
Iraqi insurgent by a uniformed US soldier.
There is no similar outrage for Margaret Hassan. Is
it because she was an Anglo, a woman, or because she
was killed by a Muslim?
The video of the soldier shooting is proof, we are
told, of America's evil. And the kidnapping, torture
and murder of Mrs. Hassan is then proof of what-
that America is evil!
Muslims wouldn't do that unless evil America forced
their hand.
Bombing children, defiling mosques, kidnapping
civilians, executing poor workers and cleaning women
point blank: these are not discussed, broadcast with
frequency, or the source of much anger.
Videos where a masked man shakes a bloody head while
the curtains flutter do not evoke such fury. Why?
The identity of the victim or the perpetrator?
All tactics of the insurgents are excused. Hide
among civilians.
Justified. Wear civilian clothes. Justified. Shoot
from the holy mosque. Justified. Feign death to draw
soldiers in (the way one marine died the day before
the incident). Justified. Wave a white flag as a
ploy. Justified. Booby trap dead bodies. Justified.
That's just Fallujah.
Moving outward-Deliberately killing Iraqi civilians
daily.
Justified. Bombing churches. Justified. Bombing
cafes. Justified.
Using schools and mosques as arsenals. Justified.
Attacking the police. Just fine.
The rules of war don't apply to the insurgents, only
the Americans.
And if one horrible act occurs at the hands of one
American soldier, the world howls.
The insurgents' constant inhumane tactics are
acceptable. The American rules of engagement
prohibited shooting unarmed combatants:
this prohibition was followed by thousands of
soldiers, thousands of times. After the shootout at
the mosque in which the man was wounded, a call went
to headquarters to send a medical team out to pick
him up. Its American policy that wounded fighters
are given good medical attention. Many are being
treated now. A wounded American soldier found by the
enemy fighters would be tortured to death after
being paraded on al-Jazeera. And that would be fine.
The last war in which Arab militaries fought was the
Iran/Iraq war and executions were systematic. That
was fine.
Al-Jazeera, marketing arm for anti-Americanism
globally, is showing the shooting nearly nonstop.
Yet they refused to show the last tape of Margaret
begging for her life because it was "too
disturbing."
How bad of a shape was she in? Is that why her
bruised and battered body is still alone and
unrecovered? They refused to show her execution
because shooting this good woman in the head was not
a "war death," although it was carried out by those
the US military are fighting. Broadcasting
terrorists' messages to inspire fear in the Iraqi
people is thought impartial journalism. Except in
Iraq, where al-Jazeera has been suspended numerous
times for acting as a tool of the jihadiis.
There is so little regard for Iraqi civilians when
they are killed by Muslims but when an unarmed
fighter is killed by an American soldier, the Arabs
suddenly love the Iraqis. It is too perplexing to
consider that Arabs expect a higher standard of
humanity from Americans than they do from
themselves.
The soldier will be tried. The facts will come out.
A punishment will be issued because the US has
respect for the Iraqis and enforces the rules of
engagement. If the soldier was wrong, Americans will
say he was wrong, loud and clear. Americans
themselves will demand his punishment.
Tomorrow when Iraqi children are again deliberately
targeted by these terrorists-not freedom
fighters-what will we hear from Arab countries then,
not even muted mumbling. Is it a lack of courage or
a lack of concern? Why is there so much more
sympathy for the fighter in civilian clothes who was
shooting from a mosque than for Margaret? For the
insurgents than for the civilians? For the
terrorists than the police?
Elections are coming to Iraq. The Iraqis will rule
themselves.
Saddam stole 21 billion dollars from the mouths of
starving Iraqi children. The UN closed its eyes. He
filled mass graves and torture chambers and the
world stood silent. Now as the Iraqis struggle for
self-determination, for security, and for freedom
from both the US and the terrorists, Arabs back the
suicide bombers. Habit perhaps.
For years, some Iraqis may harbor deep resentment
toward the US for its mistakes. The successes Of the
insurgents, all those dead civilians, will be
remembered with anger by many. Perhaps the greatest
number will recall how they were not valued by their
"brothers" and were quickly forsaken in the greater
cause of anti-Americanism.
Jane Novak is a political commentator and analyst in
the US.
Top |
®