Pieman
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 28
- Points
- 530
Pretty ugly stuff. There are a couple of pictures on the CNN websight in the image gallery.
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Americans, confronted by shocking images of Iraq barbarism, reminded of Somalia
03:51 AM EST Apr 02
BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - It was hard to escape the grisly evidence of hatred Thursday as Americans confronted shocking images of jubilant Iraqis celebrating the deaths and mutilations of four U.S. civilians.
While officials vowed to stand firm and punish those involved in the brutal Fallujah incident, the graphic pictures that appeared in U.S. newspapers and spilled onto Internet sites threatened to accelerate turmoil about the war among election-year voters at home.
"Powerful visuals are extremely important in moulding public opinion and these will not be forgotten," pollster John Zogby said from New York.
"Americans are already split on the war. This will harden the opposition and may chip away at some of the soft support."
The 13-month war has been mostly devoid of potent imagery, beyond pictures of Iraqi mass graves from Saddam Hussein's brutal regime and the contentious story of U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch and her rescue from an Iraqi hospital.
"This trumps both of those," said Zogby.
But Karlyn Bowman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank, said the dramatic evidence of barbarism won't change many views among Americans who expected winning the peace to be more difficult than victory in war.
"I don't expect any significant change in public opinion," she said in an interview.
"As much of a tragedy as Americans think this is, I think they'll stick with what they already thought."
Still, the White House appeared mindful of the potential impact during President George W. Bush's bid for re-election this fall, especially since he's made his anti-terrorism fight a key component of his campaign.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan called for "responsible" media coverage of the murders Wednesday of four security contractors.
They were beaten, burned and hung from a bridge in the city west of Baghdad.
Major newspapers ran pictures of the charred, hanging corpses. Television networks were less inclined to show footage of the bodies, focusing instead on their burning SUVs and the frenzied mob.
But for many, it was Somalia all over again; a vivid reminder of similar scenes from 1993, when the corpses of U.S. soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Memories of the ill-fated mission were resurrected in the 2002 Hollywood movie Black Hawk Down.
Such incomprehensible acts eventually prompted Americans to withdraw from Somalia.
Not even critics, however, were suggesting an Iraq departure, a move some say could lead to civil war and provide sanctuary for more terrorists.
"United in sadness, we are also united in our resolve that these enemies will not prevail," said Democrat John Kerry, Bush's all-but-official rival in the Nov. 2 vote.
"We cannot afford to lose this," agreed Republican Senator John McCain, a maverick who's opposed Bush's handling of the conflict. "We cannot leave and we cannot fail."
But McCain repeated Thursday his demands for more U.S. Special Forces and Arab linguists who can confront the type of insurgency that has become more entrenched as the conflict drags on.
Violence in March has gone well beyond soldiers in the bloodiest month since major combat ended last May 1, claiming the lives of Iraqi police and foreign civilians, including a Canadian.
Security expert Andy Bradsell, 33, an ex-British marine living in Victoria with his wife and young family, died Sunday when a convoy headed to a power station in northern Iraq was ambushed by masked gunmen.
"There are certainly areas of Iraq that remain dangerous," acknowledged the White House's McClellan, "but we will not be deterred by these cowardly, hateful acts."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said he expects the attacks to subside after the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq at the end of June.
"(But) there are always going to be a small number of people who prefer to look backwards, rather than look forward."
The comparison to Mogadishu is erroneous, said Ereli, because the U.S.-led coalition is working with Iraqis and the great majority of them have a much brighter vision of the future than Somalians did.
One analyst said Iraqi victims of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's brutal regime should be enlisted to combat those who oppose the U.S. presence.
"We need to start bringing victims into Fallujah by the thousands," Rob Sobhani of Georgetown University told CNN, adding the incident crystallizes "the depth of rage against American foreign policy."
Punishment for the barbaric acts on the four contract workers "will be precise and it will be overwhelming," U.S. General Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad.
Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said the mob violated "the tenets of all religions including Islam as one of the foundations of civilized society."
Americans have become increasingly divided on whether the U.S. invasion of Iraq was the right move.
While surveys suggested three-quarters of Americans approved last spring during major combat, a CBS-New York Times poll last month suggested that 51 per cent thought it wasn't worth the loss of American lives, while 42 per cent did.
Peace activists, veterans and some military families stepped up their campaign to bring U.S. troops home with massive protests marking the one-year anniversary March 19.
Allegations that top officials exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq and criticism from a former anti-terrorism czar, who charged that Bush was dangerously obsessed with Saddam to the detriment of the war on terror, have fanned opposition.
The president was forced to call a public inquiry into why no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, but it will not report until next year, well after the election.
--------------------------------------------------
Americans, confronted by shocking images of Iraq barbarism, reminded of Somalia
-------------------------------------------------
Americans, confronted by shocking images of Iraq barbarism, reminded of Somalia
03:51 AM EST Apr 02
BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - It was hard to escape the grisly evidence of hatred Thursday as Americans confronted shocking images of jubilant Iraqis celebrating the deaths and mutilations of four U.S. civilians.
While officials vowed to stand firm and punish those involved in the brutal Fallujah incident, the graphic pictures that appeared in U.S. newspapers and spilled onto Internet sites threatened to accelerate turmoil about the war among election-year voters at home.
"Powerful visuals are extremely important in moulding public opinion and these will not be forgotten," pollster John Zogby said from New York.
"Americans are already split on the war. This will harden the opposition and may chip away at some of the soft support."
The 13-month war has been mostly devoid of potent imagery, beyond pictures of Iraqi mass graves from Saddam Hussein's brutal regime and the contentious story of U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch and her rescue from an Iraqi hospital.
"This trumps both of those," said Zogby.
But Karlyn Bowman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank, said the dramatic evidence of barbarism won't change many views among Americans who expected winning the peace to be more difficult than victory in war.
"I don't expect any significant change in public opinion," she said in an interview.
"As much of a tragedy as Americans think this is, I think they'll stick with what they already thought."
Still, the White House appeared mindful of the potential impact during President George W. Bush's bid for re-election this fall, especially since he's made his anti-terrorism fight a key component of his campaign.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan called for "responsible" media coverage of the murders Wednesday of four security contractors.
They were beaten, burned and hung from a bridge in the city west of Baghdad.
Major newspapers ran pictures of the charred, hanging corpses. Television networks were less inclined to show footage of the bodies, focusing instead on their burning SUVs and the frenzied mob.
But for many, it was Somalia all over again; a vivid reminder of similar scenes from 1993, when the corpses of U.S. soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Memories of the ill-fated mission were resurrected in the 2002 Hollywood movie Black Hawk Down.
Such incomprehensible acts eventually prompted Americans to withdraw from Somalia.
Not even critics, however, were suggesting an Iraq departure, a move some say could lead to civil war and provide sanctuary for more terrorists.
"United in sadness, we are also united in our resolve that these enemies will not prevail," said Democrat John Kerry, Bush's all-but-official rival in the Nov. 2 vote.
"We cannot afford to lose this," agreed Republican Senator John McCain, a maverick who's opposed Bush's handling of the conflict. "We cannot leave and we cannot fail."
But McCain repeated Thursday his demands for more U.S. Special Forces and Arab linguists who can confront the type of insurgency that has become more entrenched as the conflict drags on.
Violence in March has gone well beyond soldiers in the bloodiest month since major combat ended last May 1, claiming the lives of Iraqi police and foreign civilians, including a Canadian.
Security expert Andy Bradsell, 33, an ex-British marine living in Victoria with his wife and young family, died Sunday when a convoy headed to a power station in northern Iraq was ambushed by masked gunmen.
"There are certainly areas of Iraq that remain dangerous," acknowledged the White House's McClellan, "but we will not be deterred by these cowardly, hateful acts."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said he expects the attacks to subside after the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq at the end of June.
"(But) there are always going to be a small number of people who prefer to look backwards, rather than look forward."
The comparison to Mogadishu is erroneous, said Ereli, because the U.S.-led coalition is working with Iraqis and the great majority of them have a much brighter vision of the future than Somalians did.
One analyst said Iraqi victims of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's brutal regime should be enlisted to combat those who oppose the U.S. presence.
"We need to start bringing victims into Fallujah by the thousands," Rob Sobhani of Georgetown University told CNN, adding the incident crystallizes "the depth of rage against American foreign policy."
Punishment for the barbaric acts on the four contract workers "will be precise and it will be overwhelming," U.S. General Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad.
Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said the mob violated "the tenets of all religions including Islam as one of the foundations of civilized society."
Americans have become increasingly divided on whether the U.S. invasion of Iraq was the right move.
While surveys suggested three-quarters of Americans approved last spring during major combat, a CBS-New York Times poll last month suggested that 51 per cent thought it wasn't worth the loss of American lives, while 42 per cent did.
Peace activists, veterans and some military families stepped up their campaign to bring U.S. troops home with massive protests marking the one-year anniversary March 19.
Allegations that top officials exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq and criticism from a former anti-terrorism czar, who charged that Bush was dangerously obsessed with Saddam to the detriment of the war on terror, have fanned opposition.
The president was forced to call a public inquiry into why no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, but it will not report until next year, well after the election.
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Americans, confronted by shocking images of Iraq barbarism, reminded of Somalia
