On cue, lefties and assorted others are plugging up the comments section declaring that “truth was the real casualty” in the air strike that bagged Al-Zarqawi. They base this theory on the premise that the body should be more damaged – “hamburger”, “paper thin” are the medical terms being used. (What there might be to gain from faking the cause of death remains unexplored. )
Now, one would think that anyone clever enough to find and kill one of the world’s most elusive terrorists, then keep the body on ice until politically advantagous to “rekill” him on a photo-op bombing raid, would probably be clever enough to run the dearly departed through an Acme Jihadi Meat Grinder to fulfill the visual expectations of the “should be hamburger” armchair coroners.
If one thought.
However, listening to radio reports develop over the day, it has occurred to me that there may be a bit of a propaganda operation underway in the circumstances surrounding the overdue demise of Mr. Zarqawi.
But I do find it odd that with over 100 comments in the bin on the topic. not a single “expert analyst” has yet mentioned it.
(I reserve the right to be wrong, of course. But if I’m not, I find it reassuring that the folks in the upper echelons of the US military haven’t discarded that most useful tool of war to appease those who are openly cheering their enemies.)
Warped Wingnut (sorry, Mississauga Matt,)
I have no problem believing that Zed is dead, and that he was alive when found.
What I have problems believing is that US Forces played “Apres vous, Alphonse” with Iraqi police in entering a house just wrecked by a specific F16 sortie, and that it took 24 hours to get the facts straight.
Why weaken a perfectly good story with propaganda that primitive?
sgd. Leftie Nutbar.
Terry,
This brings me to the point that conservatives have a warped view of what a liberal’s cognitive resonance should be.
You and your ilk have somehow in your own little minds defined what a liberal is. Furthermore it’s much like fascism when everything evil is racially or politically profiled.
Open your mind and emancipate your thought process to understand that a liberal can support war and be embarrased by the antics of the previous Liebrano government. We’re not all bad the way the extremists on this blog make us out be.
Grow up!
agit, are you suggesting that the US military would actually presume to dictate exactly which elements of this story are suitable for our consumption? Are you some kind of madman?
Dr. Wayne
I didn’t call you an extremist and yes I’m aware that slightly more than a handful of liberals were steadfastly in favour of the liberation of Iraq- right up to the moment the first casualty was sustained. (The irony of a liberal telling a conservative to grow up is clearly lost on you.)
I haven’t defined liberals. I’ve watched as your cohorts in the Democratic Party- whose leaders had access to the same intelligence as the administration- voted for the war and then when it became difficult claimed that they were misled.(Grown ups take resposiblity for their behaviour.)
And of course not a day goes by that they and their fellow liberal travellers in the MSM don’t give aid and comfort to the enemy- as they did again yesterday. Forced to choose between the intrests oftheir party and their country the vast majority of liberals have childishly chosen their party.
You’ve defined yourselves- to the point of perfection.
Grasshopper, yep, crazy like a fox – like you.
Er, um, ignoring the fact that simple physics says the bullet is going to approach the Earth at approximately the same velocity it was fired at (conservation of energy and all minus a bit of friction, old chum, you remember that, don’t you?), I have spent New Year’s Eve in the Philippines on a couple of occasions where the same practice of ‘happy gun fire’ occurs. Each New Year’s Day, the newspapers run stories of people who died as a result of being hit by these returning bullets.
Heres a nice writeup about the “Fatal” falling bullet myth. http://wadcutter.blogspot.com/2006/02/falling-bullets-part-iii.html
Well according to this author there is some doubt as the the interpretation of the 72 virgins:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,631357,00.html
This naturally leads to the most fascinating book ever written on the language of the Koran, and if proved to be correct in its main thesis, probably the most important book ever written on the Koran. Christoph Luxenberg’s book, Die Syro-Aramaische Lesart des Koran, available only in German, came out just over a year ago, but has already had an enthusiastic reception, particularly among those scholars with a knowledge of several Semitic languages at Princeton, Yale, Berlin, Potsdam, Erlangen, Aix-en-Provence, and the Oriental Institute in Beirut.
Luxenberg tries to show that many obscurities of the Koran disappear if we read certain words as being Syriac and not Arabic. We cannot go into the technical details of his methodology but it allows Luxenberg, to the probable horror of all Muslim males dreaming of sexual bliss in the Muslim hereafter, to conjure away the wide-eyed houris promised to the faithful in suras XLIV.54; LII.20, LV.72, and LVI.22. Luxenberg ‘s new analysis, leaning on the Hymns of Ephrem the Syrian, yields “white raisins” of “crystal clarity” rather than doe-eyed, and ever willing virgins – the houris. Luxenberg claims that the context makes it clear that it is food and drink that is being offerred, and not unsullied maidens or houris.
In Syriac, the word hur is a feminine plural adjective meaning white, with the word “raisin” understood implicitly. Similarly, the immortal, pearl-like ephebes or youths of suras such as LXXVI.19 are really a misreading of a Syriac expression meaning chilled raisins (or drinks) that the just will have the pleasure of tasting in contrast to the boiling drinks promised the unfaithful and damned.
As Luxenberg’s work has only recently been published we must await its scholarly assessment before we can pass any judgements. But if his analysis is correct then suicide bombers, or rather prospective martyrs, would do well to abandon their culture of death, and instead concentrate on getting laid 72 times in this world, unless of course they would really prefer chilled or white raisins, according to their taste, in the next.
Hans I have actually heard about this in the last couple of years, thanks for the update. Is that not ironic though?
My understanding is that raisins are valuable as survival food in harsh situations where food is non-existent, such as deserts at sea, etc.
Watched a survival type program a while ago, and it stated that just one ‘soap dish’ full of raisins could sustain a person for 12-14 days, with water of course.
Easy to see that they could have been be revered higher than a willing virgin,as this essential light-weight food commodity was needed to travel and do battle in the desert.
Fatal falling bullets is _not_ a myth. A little googling turns up dozens of real cases.
steve d.
Dollars to donuts you felt the same about the Communist threat. Even though they gobbled up most of Europe & to date 100,000,000 deaths at the hands of Socialists. This insidious ideology has never worked & never will!!!
Doubtless until the Kremlin papers where released you though of the Goldberg’s as Pawns of the CIA & McCarthyism?
Alger Hiss was a real Believer in a free society & that he was a mole was slander. Am I right or wrong?
Now your on the delusional path about these monsters who enjoy cutting heads off with steak knives. Shame to you & all the other little snakes who would rather see your own country men under the yoke of me devil fundamentalist Islam.
That the left is Anti-Semitic is a given today. That they hate ANY contradiction to there Utopian dogma is also without Question. Your bunch are just dictators in drag . Steve your time is over. Forty years of deconstruction & policies devoid of any reality.
Based on the false information fed to of Margaret Mead & Kinsley . ALL faked out, or fakes themselves. Add in your social theorists & you have a stew called murder laced & iced in corruption eaten with ignorance born of lies.
This Utopian dope dream is crashing fast & hard on the REAL Planet Earth.
Got to hand it to you, Revnant Dream, you sure produce great stream-of-(un)consciousness posts.
A good source for the danger of ‘returning bullets’. Short answer is, bad idea if you are planning on standing under it when it returns.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5350a2.htm
There has been, however, some disagreement on this.
Got no problem how Zarqawi died , just another dead Islamic Terrorist Savage as far as I am concerned.
What’s really insulting is we used old F-16’s , with what us being up to the F-22 or something like that ?
the F-16 is what Isreal uses.
They want them to get used to getting killed by the same plane. no excuses for not figuring it out.
I think the question which needs to be asked is why bomb Z’s hideout when they could have attempted to take him alive. What end does it serve to drop bombs? Given the Americans propensity to ‘interrogate’ individuals for years, hold them without charge, prevent them from having legal counsel, torture them, etc. why was Z killed?
Hasnt anyone noticed how timely his takedown was?
And if they knew where he was.. why didnt they capture him? a live bad guy is worth a thousand dead ones with regard to Intelligence gathering..
I believe Zarquawi was merely a trumped up insurgent.. labelled as an Al-Quaida No2 by the media.. kept tabs on until the time was right to take him out.. Which was not long after a new puppet Iraqi goverment was installed.. and after the Massacre at Merideth? hit the headlines.. In fact the Iraq police released him previously because they supposedly didnt know who he was! My guess is the time wasnt right.. that the US had other timely plans for him,
For me it was a Politicaly timed PR stunt, and Morale booster.. Tripple whammy!