The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 11/14/2004 - 11/21/2004

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Iraqi archbishop: Media misinforming 'There is no organized resistance,' much in country 'positive'

Posted: November 20, 2004



� 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Contending there is no substantial organized resistance among the people, an Iraqi archbishop charged the Western media with issuing "misinformation" about his country by focusing only on terrorism carried out largely by foreigners.

Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said in an interview with AsiaNews that it's "not all death and destruction" in Iraq, with many anticipating elections as an opportunity for a new beginning.

"Much is positive in Iraq today," he said. "Universities are operating, schools are open, people go out onto the streets normally."


When there is a kidnapping or homicide, the news gets out quickly and "causes fear among the people," Sako told AsiaNews.

But the archbishop insisted "there is no organized resistance" among Iraqis.

"Those who commit such violence are resisting against Iraqis who want to build their country," he said. "Iraqis instead are resisting against terrorism and are not carrying out attacks, which instead are the work of foreign infiltrators."

Saudis, Jordanians, Syrians and Sudanese have entered Iraq to fight against coalition forces, he said.

"Prime Minister Allawi has said this as well," Sako pointed out. "And clearly, there are also Iraqi collaborators who, for money, help the terrorist hide."

The elections in January are an opportunity for a new start, a "new Iraq," he told AsiaNews, but the "Western newspapers and broadcasters are simply peddling propaganda and misinformation."

"Why is there so much noise and debate coming out from the West when before, under Saddam, there were no free elections, but no one said a thing?" Sako asked.

Absent Europe

The archbishop said Europe has been conspicuously missing from Iraq.

"Europe is absent, it's not out there; the United States is on its own," he told AsiaNews.

Europe "must help the Iraqi government to control its borders to prevent the entry of foreign terrorists," he said, but "also provide economic help to encourage a new form of culture which is open to coexistence, the acceptance of others, respect for the human person and for other cultures."

Sako warned Europe "must understand that there is no time to waste on marginal or selfish interests: The entire world needs peace."

Europe must act "because Europeans know the Middle East better than the Americans, they are culturally closer to Arabs, they are very familiar with the Palestinian problem and the situation in the Middle East."

"The Middle East needs help to rediscover peace and usher the Muslim countries into contemporary society, with its foundation of democracy and freedom," he told AsiaNews.

Sako warned that if "the Iraqi model fails, it will be a disaster for everyone. These terrorist groups will gain strength around the world."

He urged Western Christians to pray "not only for their fellow Christians, but for all Iraqis."

Even "a hardened heart can be touched by God," he said.

Asked about attacks on Christian churches, Sako said true Muslims have condemned them and emphasized that "Christians can be a tool for balance in Iraqi society and want to build a new and open Iraq which respects everyone's rights."




U.S. Marine kills wounded insurgent ( Please Help This Marine By Signing the Below Petition !)

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To: U.S. Congress
Friday November 12 2004

U.S.Marines were fired upon by snipers and insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades from a mosque and an adjacent building. The Marines returned fire with tank shells and machine guns.

They eventually stormed the mosque, killing 10 insurgents and wounding five others, and showing a cache of rifles and grenades for journalists.

The Marines told the pool reporter that the wounded insurgents would be left behind for others to pick up and move to the rear for treatment. But Saturday, another squad of Marines found that the mosque had been reoccupied by insurgents and attacked it again.

Four of the insurgents appeared to have been shot again in Saturday's fighting, and one of them appeared to be dead, according to the pool report. In the video, a Marine was seen noticing that one of the insurgents appeared to be breathing.

A Marine approached one of the men in the mosque saying, "He's [expletive] faking he's dead. He's faking he's [expletive] dead."

The Marine raised his rifle and fired into the insurgents head, at which point a companion said, "Well, he's dead now."

The camera then shows two Americans pointing weapons at another Iraqi insurgent lying motionless. But one of the Marines step back as the insurgent stretches out his hand, motioning that he is alive. The other Marine stands his ground, but neither of them fires.

When told by the pool reporter that the men were among those wounded in Friday's firefight, the Marine who fired the shot said, "I didn't know, sir. I didn't know."

"You can hear the tension in those Marines' voices. One is saying, 'He's faking it. He's faking it,'" Heyman said. "In a combat infantry soldier's training, he is always taught that his enemy is at his most dangerous when he is severely wounded."

A Marine in the same unit had been killed just a day earlier when he tended to the booby-trapped dead body of an insurgent.

NBC reported that the Marine seen shooting the Iraqi insurgent had himself been shot in the face the day before, but quickly returned to duty.

About a block away, a Marine was killed and five others wounded by a booby-trapped body they found in a house after a shootout with insurgents.

Amnesty International has noted reports that insurgents have used mosques as fighting positions, and have used white flags to lure Marines into ambushes.

The Marine who shot the insurgent has been withdrawn from the battlefield pending the results of an investigation, the U.S. military said.

These terrorists do not follow the rules of war. These terrorists kill innocent women by disemboweling them, cut of the heads of innocent truck drivers, detonate car bombs in crowds full of innocent people, and fly planes into buildings filled with innocent Americans.

It is my opinion that NOTHING should happen to this American Marine. He should be returned to his unit or be given an honorable discharge. We don't need our young men and women taking an extra second to decide if its right to shoot an enemy terrorist when that could mean that one of our soldiers could lose their life. The lives of our soldiers should be the single most important factor in this war against terrorism. The rights of terrorists can come second.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned



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