Thursday, December 02, 2004

Fallujah/Guernica

"The defining image of Fallujah - for Iraqis, for the Arab world, for 1.3 billion Muslims - is the summary execution of a wounded, defenseless Iraqi man inside a mosque by a marine. This execution, caught on tape, suggests 'special' rules of engagement were applying. Marine commanders have been on the record telling their soldiers to 'shoot everything that moves and everything that doesn't move'; to fire 'two bullets in every body'; in case of seeing any military-aged men in the streets of Fallujah, to 'drop 'em'; and to spray every home with machine-gun and tank fire before entering them. These 'rules' are all confirmed by residents of Fallujah who managed to escape. "