I have done previous post about what is happen to Iraqi gays at the hands of Extremist militias in Iraq. USA Today has a new story that looks at the continuing slaughter of gay Iraqis by militias that sicken me. Potentially worse yet, the Washington Blade has an uncorroborated story that suggest some Iraqi gays are being killed by members of the U.S. military as well. While not yet proven, the allegation of atrocities by U. S. military members is not outside the realm of the possible, especially since the military is now accepting recruits who have felony records for violent crime and gang members. Even while qualified LGBT service members continue to be cast out of the U.S. armed forces due to their sexual orientation. First, here are some highlights from USA Today:*
To some fundamentalist Iraqi Muslims, Ahmed Sadoun Saleh was worse than a terrorist. He was gay. He wore his hair long and took female hormones to grow breasts. Amused by his appearance, Iraqi police officers stopped him in December at a checkpoint in a southern Baghdad neighborhood dominated by radical Shiite militias. They groped Saleh and ridiculed him. T he assault was captured on video and circulated on cellphones throughout Baghdad, says Ali Hili, founder of London-based Iraqi LGBT, a group dedicated to protecting Iraq's gays and lesbians. Shortly after the video was made public, Hili says Saleh contacted him, fearing for his life, and asked for his help to flee Iraq. "Unfortunately, it was too late," Hili says. Saleh turned up dead two months later, he says.
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At least 82 gay men have been killed in Iraq since December, according to Iraqi LGBT. The violence has raised questions about the Iraqi government's ability to protect a diverse range of vulnerable minority groups that also includes Christians and Kurds, especially following the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities last month. Mithal al-Alusi, a secular, liberal Sunni legislator, is among those who blame the killings on armed militant groups such as al-Qaeda and the Mahdi Army militia.
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By targeting one of the most vulnerable groups in a conservative Muslim society — people whose sexual orientation is banned by Iraqi law — the militias essentially are serving notice that they remain powerful despite the U.S. and Iraqi militaries' efforts to curtail them, al-Alusi says. The militants "want to educate the society to accept killers on the street," al-Alusi says in an interview. "Why did Hitler start with gays? They are weak. They have no political cover. They have no legal cover."
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Besides targeting gays, Sadr City militias also are harassing and sometimes killing straight young men who violate fundamentalist fashion and decorum by wearing low-riding pants and other Western-style clothing, slicking back their hair or making it spiky, hanging out in cafes or pool halls or flirting with girls, says human rights activist Mohammed Jasim, 28. The campaign is against gays and anybody who looks gay" in the eyes of militiamen indoctrinated to believe immodest dress is an affront to God, Jasim says.
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The militias usually send out warnings before they attack. Posters go up in Sadr City listing the offenders — gay and flashy straight men — by name and neighborhood. "If you don't give up what you are doing," said a recent one seen by a USA TODAY reporter, "death will be your fate. And this warning will come true, and the punishment will be worse and worse."
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At least 82 gay men have been killed in Iraq since December, according to Iraqi LGBT. The violence has raised questions about the Iraqi government's ability to protect a diverse range of vulnerable minority groups that also includes Christians and Kurds, especially following the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities last month. Mithal al-Alusi, a secular, liberal Sunni legislator, is among those who blame the killings on armed militant groups such as al-Qaeda and the Mahdi Army militia.
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By targeting one of the most vulnerable groups in a conservative Muslim society — people whose sexual orientation is banned by Iraqi law — the militias essentially are serving notice that they remain powerful despite the U.S. and Iraqi militaries' efforts to curtail them, al-Alusi says. The militants "want to educate the society to accept killers on the street," al-Alusi says in an interview. "Why did Hitler start with gays? They are weak. They have no political cover. They have no legal cover."
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Besides targeting gays, Sadr City militias also are harassing and sometimes killing straight young men who violate fundamentalist fashion and decorum by wearing low-riding pants and other Western-style clothing, slicking back their hair or making it spiky, hanging out in cafes or pool halls or flirting with girls, says human rights activist Mohammed Jasim, 28. The campaign is against gays and anybody who looks gay" in the eyes of militiamen indoctrinated to believe immodest dress is an affront to God, Jasim says.
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The militias usually send out warnings before they attack. Posters go up in Sadr City listing the offenders — gay and flashy straight men — by name and neighborhood. "If you don't give up what you are doing," said a recent one seen by a USA TODAY reporter, "death will be your fate. And this warning will come true, and the punishment will be worse and worse."
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Among those listed was a young man named Allawi Hawar, a local soccer star who incurred the wrath of the militias by wearing his hair long and partying with his friends in Sadr City cafes. Hawar was playing pool one day last month when two masked men drove up on a motor scooter. One climbed off and made his way inside the cafe, clutching a pistol. "We have something to deal with," he announced to startled patrons, according to witness Emad Saad, 25. The gunman grabbed Hawar and dragged him outside. Then he shot the young athlete in the leg. After Hawar crumpled to the ground, bleeding, the gunman shot him again and killed him, Saad says.
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The Sadr City warning posters do not appear to be the work of educated theologians. A recent one was filled with Arabic misspellings, including a faulty rendering of "compassionate" — part of one of the 99 names for God. But Ali Hili, the London activist, and others believe high-level clerics have ordered the killings. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani several years ago decreed that the punishment for homosexuality is death "if it is proven before the religious judge." An Iraqi TV channel, Alsumaria, reported that Sunni cleric al-Ghreri has called for the execution of gays. Al-Ghreri denies issuing such a statement, but concedes that some "stubborn" clerics might support the death penalty for gays.
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U.S. taxpayers have foot the price tag for billions and billions of dollars squandered in Iraq and this purge of gays illustrates the utter waste this expenditure has been. All because of the Chimperator's obsession to out do and/or avenge his daddy. As bad as this is, the Washington Blade has a new as yet uncorroborated story that indicates some of the purge of Iraqi gays might well be at the hands of U.S. military troops. As I indicated at the outset of this post, the U.S. military has drastically lowered standards in order to reach recruiting goals and convicted felons and violent gang members have been accepted into the ranks. Therefore, in my view one cannot automatically dismiss these allegations. I hope further investigation proves this story to be wrong. However, having talked to Blade reporter Chris Johnson a number of times, he does not strike me as a crackpot. He does his homework. Here are some story highlights:
Among those listed was a young man named Allawi Hawar, a local soccer star who incurred the wrath of the militias by wearing his hair long and partying with his friends in Sadr City cafes. Hawar was playing pool one day last month when two masked men drove up on a motor scooter. One climbed off and made his way inside the cafe, clutching a pistol. "We have something to deal with," he announced to startled patrons, according to witness Emad Saad, 25. The gunman grabbed Hawar and dragged him outside. Then he shot the young athlete in the leg. After Hawar crumpled to the ground, bleeding, the gunman shot him again and killed him, Saad says.
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The Sadr City warning posters do not appear to be the work of educated theologians. A recent one was filled with Arabic misspellings, including a faulty rendering of "compassionate" — part of one of the 99 names for God. But Ali Hili, the London activist, and others believe high-level clerics have ordered the killings. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani several years ago decreed that the punishment for homosexuality is death "if it is proven before the religious judge." An Iraqi TV channel, Alsumaria, reported that Sunni cleric al-Ghreri has called for the execution of gays. Al-Ghreri denies issuing such a statement, but concedes that some "stubborn" clerics might support the death penalty for gays.
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U.S. taxpayers have foot the price tag for billions and billions of dollars squandered in Iraq and this purge of gays illustrates the utter waste this expenditure has been. All because of the Chimperator's obsession to out do and/or avenge his daddy. As bad as this is, the Washington Blade has a new as yet uncorroborated story that indicates some of the purge of Iraqi gays might well be at the hands of U.S. military troops. As I indicated at the outset of this post, the U.S. military has drastically lowered standards in order to reach recruiting goals and convicted felons and violent gang members have been accepted into the ranks. Therefore, in my view one cannot automatically dismiss these allegations. I hope further investigation proves this story to be wrong. However, having talked to Blade reporter Chris Johnson a number of times, he does not strike me as a crackpot. He does his homework. Here are some story highlights:
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A fundraising event to benefit an LGBT community center in Lebanon last week took a surprise turn when stunned audience members were shown graphic photographs of beheaded corpses and images purportedly depicting U.S. soldiers preparing to execute gay Iraqis.
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Two gay Iraqi refugees, who declined to use their real names, delivered a presentation at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters July 24 in which they detailed alleged abuses of fellow gay Iraqis while calling on their audience to donate funds to Helem, a Lebanon-based center that works to address the plight of LGBT people in the Middle East. One of the Iraqis, who goes by the name “Hussam,” showed the audience of about 80 people gruesome images, including shots allegedly of a beheaded man who was gay and another of the victim’s twin brother grieving over the severed head.
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But the reaction from the audience turned from anger to shock when Hussam said U.S. service members had detained Iraqi civilians perceived to be gay and executed them. He then showed an image of what appeared to be an American soldier standing in front of a small group of four or five kneeling naked men who were chained together. Hussam claimed the men were gay Iraqis and that he possessed images of their execution, which he did not show the audience.
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When confronted by a Blade reporter after the presentation, Hussam said he feared public disclosure of the photos would incite further violence in Iraq and refused to turn over copies of the images. If U.S. service members executed the Iraqis as alleged, it would constitute a violation of international law under the Geneva Convention or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, depending on the circumstances.
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Defense officials couldn’t immediately confirm whether allegations made at the presentation regarding U.S. service members were legitimate. Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said he isn’t aware of any cases that match the allegations made by Hussam and deferred to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for further comment.
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D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association, attended the event and said she didn’t know about Hussam’s photos before he showed them. She also said that she didn’t hear Hussam’s allegation that the U.S. military was involved in atrocities and has no copies of the photos he showed. Still, she vouched for Hussam’s credibility. “Based upon everything that I know, having worked with him in this kind of volunteer capacity, his credibility is beyond reproach,” she said. “He’s worked with international human rights groups since the time I’ve known him and before that.”
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She said she couldn’t speak to whether the allegations warrant an investigation because, without having heard the remarks herself, she would be basing a decision on “hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay.”
A fundraising event to benefit an LGBT community center in Lebanon last week took a surprise turn when stunned audience members were shown graphic photographs of beheaded corpses and images purportedly depicting U.S. soldiers preparing to execute gay Iraqis.
*
Two gay Iraqi refugees, who declined to use their real names, delivered a presentation at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters July 24 in which they detailed alleged abuses of fellow gay Iraqis while calling on their audience to donate funds to Helem, a Lebanon-based center that works to address the plight of LGBT people in the Middle East. One of the Iraqis, who goes by the name “Hussam,” showed the audience of about 80 people gruesome images, including shots allegedly of a beheaded man who was gay and another of the victim’s twin brother grieving over the severed head.
*
But the reaction from the audience turned from anger to shock when Hussam said U.S. service members had detained Iraqi civilians perceived to be gay and executed them. He then showed an image of what appeared to be an American soldier standing in front of a small group of four or five kneeling naked men who were chained together. Hussam claimed the men were gay Iraqis and that he possessed images of their execution, which he did not show the audience.
*
When confronted by a Blade reporter after the presentation, Hussam said he feared public disclosure of the photos would incite further violence in Iraq and refused to turn over copies of the images. If U.S. service members executed the Iraqis as alleged, it would constitute a violation of international law under the Geneva Convention or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, depending on the circumstances.
*
Defense officials couldn’t immediately confirm whether allegations made at the presentation regarding U.S. service members were legitimate. Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said he isn’t aware of any cases that match the allegations made by Hussam and deferred to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for further comment.
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D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association, attended the event and said she didn’t know about Hussam’s photos before he showed them. She also said that she didn’t hear Hussam’s allegation that the U.S. military was involved in atrocities and has no copies of the photos he showed. Still, she vouched for Hussam’s credibility. “Based upon everything that I know, having worked with him in this kind of volunteer capacity, his credibility is beyond reproach,” she said. “He’s worked with international human rights groups since the time I’ve known him and before that.”
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She said she couldn’t speak to whether the allegations warrant an investigation because, without having heard the remarks herself, she would be basing a decision on “hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay.”
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Obviously, I hope these allegations are not true. On the other hand, U.S. forces in Iraq and the puppet Iraqi government have done little to stop the torture and murder of gay Iraqis. Add to that the infiltration of the U.S. Army in particular by white supremacists and evangelical Christian extremists and the murder of gays by U.S. troops is not outside the realm of the possible.
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