By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen dressed as police commandos kidnapped up to 150 staff and visitors in a lightning raid on a Baghdad research institute Tuesday, the largest mass abduction since the start of the U.S. occupation. Three of those taken were later released.
Man things are so bad!!! Civilians getting no reprieve at all! So sad, what are the chances that those 150 will survive?
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
I guess when you have 2 groups hell bent on killing one another you can't do much. Really limited options are left for Iraq. Stepping back and allowing a civil war and stepping in to stop the most brutal acts might be the way to go until the sides are exhausted from violence. The heads perpetuating the violence need to be cut off.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
The Jews and the Americans made them do this. Don't worry, no Muslim could do something this heinous.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
OG why in such a chronic PMs-y mode these days. I mean I know the GOP lost and you are taking it personally, but I miss the old OG, what happened to him, and who replaced him with this bitter, cranky old man :)
I am going to start a petition to bring old OG back..
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
Should there be "curfew" imposed specially in troubled areas and "shoot-at-sight" orders to contain such activities?
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
^
An all day curfew? And it seems so many of the Iraqi police are corrupt as hell.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
curfew in specially troubled areas...that would mean the whole of iraq
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
They could start from one region to see how it goes.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
They could give people breaks... not necessarily an 'all-day' curfew.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
I am going to start a petition to bring old OG back..
I have been cranky. Long story. And perhaps I use Gupshup to vent my inner grump. But, frankly I see some guy like Fretwizard who may say, "Hundreds more should die", and I can comfort my grumpy self by saying that grumpy has not progressed to sheer hate.
But, day in and day out I see these atrocities which get more horrible by the minute. It seems as if no one here seems to care a whit about the people of Iraq, so long as the US is blamed. Nor do I see anyone with any solutions. At some point I would hope that people would be able to set aside their animosity with the US, and focus on what can be done to improve the lives of Iraqis. There is almost a glee here at the suffering of the Iraqis, no matter how increasingly horrible, as Guppies pretend that Iraqis have lost all free will, and that beheadings and daily slaughter can be explained away and laid at the feet of someone else.
The US invaded Iraq and let the genie out of the bottle. We did not create this genie, but we are blamed for it. But what is being done by Iraqis to Iraqis defies that there is a God at all. Never mind that some of these atrocities are being committed in the name of God. Perhaps in the privacy of your own homes you say, "What Muslims are doing is horrible, this is not the US fault, we need to be concerned." But certainly that attitude is not being shown here.
Maybe when we see 150 kidnapped scientists slaughtered it will make a difference, I doubt it. Maybe when people think through the horrors of nuclear weapons they will say, perhaps we should educate our children instead, but I doubt it.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
When muslims were screaming their heads off not to invade Iraq were the gung ho Americans listening. Of course not, now that the mess created has got out of hand muslims are being asked to help, even the axis of evils are now being bowed to. Shame on people who created this mess and now want to run away. As to glee, we all remember who refuse to condemn the massacre of children in Lebanon, instead all sorts of justifications were given. Before pointing fingers at others try reading your own posts.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
That will teach those terrible Americans! Refuse to help your bretheren because the US is at fault. Oh, wait... there was no help from their bretheren before the US invaded either.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
*I have been cranky. Long story. *
dude lemme send you some st johns wort, did wonder for some other cranky ppl in my family :)
some turkey induced coma and good football usually is a therapy too, counting to tukey day
** But, frankly I see some guy like Fretwizard who may say, "Hundreds more should die", **
some people do not value life. I am as shocked at these commenst as the ones maddy albright made when confronted with the loss of children's life in Iraq during the clinton sanctions and said the price was worth it.
*But, day in and day out I see these atrocities which get more horrible by the minute. It seems as if no one here seems to care a whit about the people of Iraq, so long as the US is blamed. Nor do I see anyone with any solutions. *
people do care, but it seems that the discussions seem to be hijacked by two polar opposite views, one that ants to blame US for everything, and one that makes US to be like Mother Teresa, niether of those views is accurate or logical.
as far as solutions go. the day I find out that my proposed solutions would be heard by W and co and used to make some changes I would list them. People do list their views of the solution, but there are disagreements and soon we are back to the same old finger pointing business.
*. Perhaps in the privacy of your own homes you say, "What Muslims are doing is horrible, this is not the US fault, we need to be concerned." But certainly that attitude is not being shown here. *
is being shown and is consistently shown but when 15 clone threads appear all headed in the same predictable direction, sane ppl sit back and stop contributing because in the polarized bickering no one is willing to listen.
Maybe when we see 150 kidnapped scientists slaughtered it will make a difference, I doubt it. Maybe when people think through the horrors of nuclear weapons they will say, perhaps we should educate our children instead, but I doubt it.
I shudder at all typs of atrocities whether committed by militant extremists, or by military personnel, but each time ppl make excuses for the guilty and start providing justifications and tangents.
What is happening in Iraq is pathetic, these moronic militias need to be stopped, teh situation is dire, and it seems we just did not do our planning right and in staying the course were simply too bullheaded to heed the advise of even our closest allies..
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
just because one party is wrong does not autimatically mean that the other parties are right 
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
OK, for sake of arguement, you were right, the US is wrong. Fine.
Now, are you going to let an entire country be slaughtered by the sectarian violence (that the US created), or are you going to find a way for Muslims to intervene for the sake of peace?
(*And just for the record, no one here on Gupshup was saying prior to the invasion of Iraq, "Please don't invade Iraq, because without Saddam to control people Muslim sects will destroy each other." )
*And, tell us now how the Muslim world intends to deal in the future with other Saddams. Just let them go? Let minorities be slaughtered? How many genocides are an acceptable limit? Why should anybody intervene anymore to prevent Muslim slaughters? You are on your own buddy.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
OG to be fait rhough ppl did day that the place was a hornets nest and to mess with it would create unrest, ethnic and sectarian struggle etc etc. If I recall correctly I had said that, and my point was that lets be prepared, be ready to do this right, because once this starts, pulling out without stablising the place will leave the situation worse off.
That is exactly the situation now.
the architects of war did nto listen to others in the region, they did not listen to others outside the region, did not listen to their own allies and did not listen to even their own generals.
as far as 'muslim' world dealing with other saddams. I hope that they have learnt that they can not entertain such ppl as leaders, and i also hope that US stops supporting these type of ppl for its own gain, whether it was saddam in the 70s, or the new warmth for qaddafi all of a sudden.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
odd
…
Iraqi TV report: Most of kidnapped group freed
Ministry quoted as saying hostages released; 5 Iraqi police arrested earlier
BAGHDAD, Iraq - State television Iraqiya said most of the hostages seized at a Higher Education Ministry building on Tuesday had been freed in operations by security forces in Baghdad.
Iraqiya quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman for its information.
Earlier, on Tuesday morning, gunmen dressed as police commandos kidnapped scores of staff and visitors in a lightning raid on a Baghdad higher education office.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
i cant understand these death squads
but i have noticed that not enough is being done to stop or prevent it
this must be part of the policy. before death squads it was sanctions. US has killed alot of iraqis one way or another
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
Yes, we have a genius in the Pentagon that invented * sectarian violence. He just got promoted. We give IED bombing classes at 5pm each night in most Iraqi markets, and there is an entire *beheading channel available on both cable and satellite, courtesy of the US Military. Of course all this is funded by the Jews.
Re: Gunmen kidnap up to 150 in Baghdad
well technically if al qaeda is behind it and much of their goons had US blessing and CIA support during afghan war with the russkies then yes some genius in pentagon did provide them IED classes at some point in time.