The Foul Fruits of U.S. Tax Dollars in Iraq: Anti-Gay Witch Hunts and Violence

It's ironic, but LGBT Iraqis were largely better off under the often brutal regime of Saddam Hussein than there are now under the U.S. puppet regime that now rules in Iraq.   Instead of Hussein's largely hands off approach to gays, we now see sometimes state sanctioned witch hunts and murders of LGBT Iraqi.  The BBC looks at the plight of LGBT Iraqis and one of the other legacies of Chimperator Bush's fool's errand in Iraq - which mirrors the kind of batshitery that Mitt Romney would extend into Iran.  Not, of course that Mitt Romney or his sons would face the consequences of such ill advised wars.  Here are highlights from the BBC story: 

In post-Saddam Iraq, gay men and women have been systematically targeted for death by extra-judicial militias - with the co-operation of the democratically elected government, says Ali Hilli, founder of the London-based group, Iraqi LGBT.

Even through the worst years of Saddam Hussein, sexual minorities in Iraq enjoyed a fair degree of freedom.

In the years after the invasion, the security situation deteriorated for everyone in the country. But for sexual minorities, Iraq became hell on earth.

By 2007, political and religious groups backed by militiamen launched what we believe was an organised, co-ordinated campaign to hunt, arrest, torture and kill everyone they perceived as gay.   These radical groups deny sexual minorities the right to life. They target everyone who does not conform to their religious description of family.


That is why killings of gays are similar to so-called honour killings of women said to bring shame on to the family by having extra-marital sex, even in cases when women are raped.  In the same way, gay men and women who do not adhere to traditional sexual practices within an accepted marriage framework are seen as dangerous to society.

Instead of protecting sexual minorities, the Iraqi government facilitates their murder by arresting the victims and handing them over to militias who kill them.  Iraqi LGBT sources working inside Iraq have found the militias are also getting intelligence about the identities of sexual minorities from the Ministry of the Interior.

Unless the international community steps in to help and to put pressure on the Iraqi government, many more men and women will die.

Frankly, the situation sickens me and I suspect that other than gay-hating Christofascists crowd, most Americans would not be please with this result of needlessly wasted American lives and billions of tax payer dollars.  Meanwhile, George Bush and Emperor Palpatine Cheney have faced no consequences for their years of misrule.

More Evidence of Iraq Government Involvement in Gay and "Emo" Murders

In my view, all fundamentalist religions are a danger to civil society because they seem to breed hate and potential violence. It's always the fundamentalists who are flying planes into buildings, walking into churches and murdering doctors they disagree with, setting off bombs at the Atlanta Olympics, throwing their children out of their homes for being gay, and denigrating women and those they deem "sinful." What makes the situation worse is that too often government officials are afraid to stand up to religious based hate and intolerance and the violence against others that is a frequent by-product of religious extremism. We see this cowardice in today's Republican Party and in the corrupt government in Iraq which in order to apparently curry favor with Islamic extremists set the stage for the ongoing slaughter of those deemed "other" in Iraq. The New York Times has an article that throws initial responsibility at the feet of the Iraqi government. The pictures (one of a number) below from an Iraqi blogger are graphic and horrible, but they show the real face of the fruits of religious fundamentalism and why religious fundamentalism of all types needs to be stopped. Take a good look at the product of religion. Here are highlights from the Times story.

Iraqi officials deny that there is any campaign targeting gay men or emo teenagers. They call the stories a media fabrication designed to drum up hysteria and embarrass Iraq. But it was the Iraqi government that first labeled emo youths a public menace. On Feb. 13, the Interior Ministry released a statement that condemned the “phenomenon of emo” as Satanic. The rebellious teenage fashions of dark clothes, skull-print T-shirts and nose rings, the statement said, are emblems of the devil.

The ministry said its Social Police would be sent to investigate “the emo” and added that its forces had also received the authority to go into all of Baghdad’s schools to find them. “They have official approval to eliminate them as soon as possible, because the dimensions of the community began to take another course, and is now threatening danger,” the statement said.

Emo is short for “emotional hardcore” and its aesthetic sprang from the American punk music scene in the 1980s and has been remixed in Baghdad over the last few years.

Ibrahim al-Abadi, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the statement had been misinterpreted. He said emo youths were free to dress as they pleased, and said the government would protect them.

But over the past month, threatening letters began appearing in Shiite neighborhoods across Baghdad, residents said. One of the fliers, scanned and posted online, addresses dozens of gay men by name and nickname. It warns people identified as Japanese Haider, Allawi the Bra, Mohammed the Flower and others: Reform your behavior, stop being gay, or face deadly consequences. “Your fate will be death if you don’t quit doing this,” one leaflet warns. “Punishment will be tougher and tougher, you gays. Don’t be like the people of Lot.”

Another flier circulating around the Zayouna neighborhood appears addressed to emo youths. It tells them to cut their hair, not to wear the clothing of devil worshipers, and not to listen to metal, emo or rap music. And if they refuse, “God’s punishment will be come down upon you,” the letter says.

Ali Hili, a gay Iraqi activist who lives in London, said as many as 750 gay Iraqis have been killed in the past six years, and thousands have emigrated or are living deep in the closet.

“It’s a clear war on sexual minorities on Iraq,” he said. “They are refusing to admit it.”

Fear has rippled across socially liberal niches of Baghdad, from the basement-level clothing shops where teenage boys buy skull pendants and skater gear, to upscale hair salons and theaters. Advocates say some emo youths and gay men have left for northern Iraq, while others have shorn off hairdos or muted outfits that were once badges of identity.

Four gay friends in Baghdad, sitting together for an interview, said the daily barrage of harassment and threats has taken on an especially menacing edge in the last few weeks. Neighbors have told them, “Your turn will come soon.” Young men have driven by and shouted “Block! Block! Block!” referring to the current weapon of choice for attacks.

In one photo, a handsome young man in a white jacket, dark aviator sunglasses and coifed black hair stands as if he were a fashion model. In another, the vacant, bloody face of a man with similar features stares up at the sky. His body lies in the bed of a police truck.

Friends have identified him as Saif Raad Asmar Abboudi, a 20-year-old from one of the poorest areas of the vast Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. An Iraqi police report obtained by Mr. Hili’s advocacy group, Iraqi LGBT, says he was beaten to death with a brick on Feb. 17.

As I said, take a good look at what fundamentalist religion yields. It's horrible. It's ugly. It's scary. And we have anti-gay hate groups here in America who would do the same as what's happening in Iraq if allowed to do so. These "godly" folks are a danger to civil government and the freedoms of others.

More Fruits of US Dollars in Iraq: Iraq Militia Stone Youths to Death for "Emo" Look

We continue to see the foul fruits of Chimperator Bush's fool's errand in Iraq that squandered billions and billions of U.S. dollars not to mention thousands of service members' lives. And that's not even counting the countless Iraqis who needlessly lost their lives. News reports coming out of Iraq have previously indicated that gays and those suspected of being gay are being freely murdered. Now, the religious extremists have added youths to their targets who simply have committed the "crime" of wearing "emo" styles clothes and hair styles. And as always seems to be the case when these types of atrocities are committed, God is the supposed justification. It's sickening and another example of why a world free of religion would likely be a kinder, gentler place. Pink News has horrid details. Here are excerpts:

The Iraqi Interior Ministry knew about the plan to massacre ‘emo’ youths and LGBT people and are complicit in up to 100 killings, new evidence suggests. Gay Middle East source claims that Iraqi officials had a a hit list of people who were scheduled for slaughter but did nothing to protect them.

In addition, hit list by a Shiite Militia has been posted, posted on Palestine Street. It was put up three days ago and warns men and women in universities and colleges to stop behaving and dressing ‘immorally’ within four days. This means that a new wave of massacres may occur as early as tomorrow or Monday (12.3.12).

In Baghdad local media reported massacres of emo youth and LGBT people occurring in the districts of Sadr, Chaala, Albaladiat, Baghdad Al-Jadedah, Karadah and Kadhymia. The number of victims claimed ranges from 56 to 100.

The note pictured here details the names of emo youths to be executed in their respective districts (numbered) and was posted in three neighborhoods of Baghdad: Al-Sadr City, Palestine Street, and Gayarah two weeks ago.

This list was released by the AAH (Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq), a Shia militia group.

Here are some additional highlights from Reuters:

At least 14 youths have been stoned to death in Baghdad in the past three weeks in what appears to be a campaign by Shi'ite militants against youths wearing Western-style "emo" clothes and haircuts, security and hospital sources say.

Militants in Shi'ite neighborhoods where the stonings have taken place circulated lists on Saturday naming more youths targeted to be killed if they do not change the way they dress.

The killings have taken place since Iraq's interior ministry drew attention to the "emo" subculture last month, labeling it "Satanism" and ordering a community police force to stamp it out.

At least 14 bodies of youths have been brought to three hospitals in eastern Baghdad bearing signs of having been beaten to death with rocks or bricks, security and hospital sources told Reuters under condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Nine bodies were brought to hospitals in Sadr City, a vast, poor Shi'ite neighborhood, three were brought to East Baghdad's main al-Kindi hospital and two were brought to the central morgue, medical sources said.

Six other young people, including two girls, were wounded in beatings intended as warnings, the security sources said.

"Last week I signed the death certificates of three of those young people, and the reason for death I wrote in my own hand was severe skull fractures," a doctor at al-Kindi hospital told Reuters. "A very powerful blow to the head caused these fractures which totally smashed the skull of the victim."

A leaflet distributed in the Shi'ite Bayaa district of east Baghdad seen by Reuters on Saturday had 24 names of youths targeted for killing.

"We strongly warn you, to all the obscene males and females, if you will not leave this filthy work within four days the punishment of God will descend upon you at the hand of the Mujahideen," the leaflet said.

Another leaflet in Sadr City bore 20 names. "We are the Brigades of Anger. We warn you, if you do not get back to sanity and the right path, you will be killed," it said.

In a statement last month the interior ministry said it was monitoring "the 'emo' phenomenon, or Satanism" which it said was spreading through schools, particularly among teenage girls.

Nothing makes atheism look more attractive than the actions of the pious ones. And U.S. money and lives helped put in place a government where mere dress and hair styles are officially called "Satanic." The Chimperator and Emperor Palpatine Cheney clearly played the American public as fools. What's Satanic is fundamentalist religions of all stripes. SIGN A PETITION HERE ASKING WORLD LEADERS TO ACT TO STOP THESE MURDERS.

Severe Anti-Gay Atrocities Occurring in Iraq

Yes, the image above is shocking. But we need to see the fruits of the USA's handy work in Iraq. After spending billions of dollars and squandering thousands of American military service members' lives during Chimperator Bush's fool's errand in Iraq, human rights atrocities continue to occur in Iraq and - as always seems to be the case - LGBT individuals seem to be suffering more acutely than many other citizens. In the latest information released by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ("IGLHRC"), LGBT individuals are being targeted and murdered. Not surprisingly, little seems to be being done to stop the atrocities. Only a typical American Christianist or Middle Eastern Islamic extremist would revel in the brutal and ghastly murders of LGBT people. Here are highlights from a statement released by the IGLHRC:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has today received reports from Iraq of a wave of targeted killings of individuals who are perceived to be gay or lesbian. According to Iraqi human rights activists, in early February 2012, an unidentified group posted death threats against "the adulterous individuals" in the pre-dominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Basra. The threats gave the individuals, whose names and ages were listed, four days to stop their behavior or else face the wrath of God, and were to be carried out by the Mujahedin. According to sources inside Iraq, as the result of this new surge of anti-gay violence close to 40 people have been kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered.

The Iraqi authorities have neither responded to this targeted violence nor have they publically denounced it. It is widely believed that these atrocities are being committed by a group of the Shiite militia.

In 2009 vigilantes murdered hundreds of Iraqi individuals for their perceived sexual orientation. There are no excuses for such heinous human rights violations. We demand that the Iraqi Government put a stop to the wanton persecution and killing of gay people, and that the perpetrators punished.

We call on the Iraqi authorities to immediately intervene to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and to bring to justice those who are responsible for these atrocities. We particularly demand the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights denounce the anti-gay violence in Iraq and launch an official investigation into these heinous crimes.

US Tax Dollars Paid For This: The War Against Sexual Minorities in Iraq Continues

Not to sound mean spirited, but I suspect the folks I just mentioned at FRC probably like what's happening in Iraq where gays and other "sinners" are being hunted down and killed. I on the other hand find it outrageous that U.S. taxpayers have ended up financing religious based murders and abuse by the Iraqi government and others. The outrages against LGBT people continue and sadly, the U.S. government and U.S. military do nothing about it. The ongoing events in Iraqi underscore that religious fundamentalism of every stripe is a danger to the peace and the civil rights of other citizens. I find it dumb founding in this day and age U.S. politicians continue to be so spineless and unwilling to call a spade a spade. Gay Middle East has details on the latest sad news from Iraq:
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You don’t even need to be gay or lesbian in Iraq to be in mortal danger from the Iraqi Police force. The latter have been mounting an aggressive campaign against anyone who is merely, by rumour, suspected to be gay or lesbian.
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The Iraqi Lgbt network of activists inside Iraq have collected new and alarming reports of attacks on the LGBT communities during the month of July. Since June there have been consistent raids on Iraqi LGBT’s safe houses as well as harassment, abuse and assaults on gays, mostly by the Iraqi police. This trend seem to be intensifying now in frequency and brutality. It seems that Iraqi gays are systematically targeted and killed by the Iraqi police as well as suffering from increased homophobia, no doubt intensified by the authorities’ negative campaign.
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On the 24th of July in the town of AL Zubair, near Basra, three bodies were found with their head severed and notes on their bodies saying there were murdered because they were gay.
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Iraq remains the most dangerous place on the face of earth for sexual minorities where even a false accusation or rumours of being gay could lead to lethal and horrifying abuse.
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Iraqi Lgbt and GayMiddleEast.com are calling for the world interfere to stop this genocide , the Iraqi government is responsible in the first place for not protecting its citizen, not investigating any of these incidents, not bringing criminals to justice and for not condemning these crimes.

Witch Hunts Continue Against Iraqi Gays

The USA has spent billions and billions of dollars and squandered thousands of American lives on the Chimperator's fools errand in Iraq. This "investment" was supposed to remove Saddam Hussein and create a democracy in Iraq where freedom would extend to all. Except apparently if one is gay. Gays continue to be hunted down and killed by both Islamic extremists and by government forces - and American tax payers are funding this travesty. True, the Christianists likely support the extermination of gays, but I suspect most Americans do not want to be bankrolling murder and torture of civilians. The photo at right is that of a gay victim of Iraqi police torture - take a good look: that's American tax money at work in Iraq. And of course, "fierce advocate" Obama remains silent. UK Gay News has the details. Here are some highlights:
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LONDON, June 22, 2010 – There is growing concern that the Iraqi government is stepping up a witch-hunt against gays and lesbians in the country after a police raid on a Karbala safe house, the London-based Iraqi LGBT said at the weekend.
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Last week, twelve police officers are reported to have burst into the safe house, and then violently beat up, and blindfolded the six occupants sheltering there before bundling them off in three vans. According to a source who witnessed the raid, the police also confiscated computer equipment before burning down the house, the London group said in a statement.
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According to reports reaching London, one of the arrested people has turned up in hospital. However, nothing is known about the whereabouts of the other five individuals, which include two gay men, one lesbian and two transgender people. It is feared they may have been taken to the Interior Ministry in Baghdad, where, it is reported, many gay people have been tortured and executed in the last two years.
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Government forces have previously sized people particularly at roadblocks and handed them to militias who have then tortured them and their bodies have later been found.
None of the previous occupying powers have taken any action or delivered any criticism for these atrocities.
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“Since the fall of Saddam, militias loyal to Shi’a clerics Grand Ayatollah al Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr, both of whom have called for homosexuals to be put to death, have been only too keen to carry out their leaders’ wishes,” the group says.
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“Over 720 LGBT people have disappeared or been murdered, many of whom have been tortured to death. “There is strong evidence that the government is colluding with these militia groups, by rounding up known homosexual and transgender people.”

Islamist Gangs Use Internet to Track, Torture and Kill Iraqi Gays

Britain's Guardian has a sickening story on how Islamic gangs are tracking and murdering gay Iraqis - like the murdered young men in the photo above. Meanwhile the U.S. military and the puppet government of Iran do nothing to stop the disgusting slaughter. It truly makes me sick - and again think that religion more often than not is one of the greatest evils on the earth. One also has to wonder about the mindset and sexual identity issues of someone who would track down gays in the manner described in the article. Sadly, this type of hate and murder is the ultimate fruit of religious extremism be it Islamic or Christian. Something needs to be done to stop this horror. Here are highlights from the Guardian:

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Sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Islamic clothes and holding an old notebook, Abu Hamizi, 22, spends at least six hours a day searching internet chatrooms linked to gay websites. He is not looking for new friends, but for victims. "It is the easiest way to find those people who are destroying Islam and who want to dirty the reputation we took centuries to build up," he said. When he finds them, Hamizi arranges for them to be attacked and sometimes killed.

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Hamizi, a computer science graduate, is at the cutting edge of a new wave of violence against gay men in Iraq. Made up of hardline extremists, Hamizi's group and others like it are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 130 gay Iraqi men since the beginning of the year alone.

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The deputy leader of the group, which is based in Baghdad, explained its campaign using a stream of homophobic invective. "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practise such sexual depraved acts," he told the Observer. "We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."

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Homosexuality was not criminalised under Saddam Hussein – indeed Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s was known for its relatively liberated gay scene. Violence against gays started in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003. Since 2004, according to Ali Hali, chairman of the Iraqi LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group, a London-based human-rights group, a total of 680 have died in Iraq, with at least 70 of those in the past five months. The group believes the figures may be higher, as most cases involving married men are not reported. Seven victims were women. According to Hali, Iraq has become "the worst place for homosexuals on Earth".

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The killings are brutal, with victims ritually tortured. Azhar al-Saeed's son was one. . . . "We found his body with signs of torture, his anus filled with glue and without his genitals," she said. "I will carry this image with me until my dying day."

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The irony is that these ignorant Islamic extremist don't realize that in the Persian Empire at the height of its power - which stretched from India to the eastern most Greek Islands - homosexuality was accepted and indeed a number of the emperors had their make lovers and eunuchs. It was not until Christianity and Islam spread across the western and eastern portions of the former empire did homosexuality become condemned. Like Christian fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalism needs an ignorant, uninformed population to flourish. As for Iraq, I hope the Chimperator and his Christian Right extremists are happy with the fate of Iraqi gays.

Gay Men Attacked and Executed in Iraq

I have written on this topic several times previously and unfortunately it continues to appear that the USA's puppet government in Baghdad is doing NOTHING to stop the murder of gays. In fact, some reports indicate that some Iraqi government personnel may be involved in the atrocities. One can only wonder why the U.S. government - which after all is footing the bill to prop up the puppet regime - has failed to do anything concrete to stop the wanton slaughter of gays - who under Iraqi civil law are not barred from engaging in same sex relationships. Meanwhile, Iraqi Islamic clerics are stating that homosexuality must be eradicated - apparently by killing all Iraqi gays. This unfortunately is what happens when when the right to freedom of religion for all is subordinated to the demands of religious extremists. Here are some highlights from CNN:
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Hundreds of gay men have been tortured and killed in Iraq in recent months, some by the nation's security forces, Human Rights Watch said Monday. Interviews with doctors indicate hundreds of men had been killed, but the exact number was unclear because of the stigma associated with homosexuality in Iraq, the New York-based watchdog group said in its report.
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"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."

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Iraqi officials acknowledged that the nation's culture stigmatizes homosexuality, but said the government does not condone such attacks. Authorities are unable to provide homosexuals with special protection, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. According to Human Rights Watch, which is urging a government crackdown, attackers target people on the streets or storm homes, where they conduct interrogations and demand names of suspected gay men.

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Many end up in hospitals and morgues, the organization said, basing its conclusion on reports from doctors. Men have been threatened with "honor killings" by relatives worried that their "unmanly behavior" will ruin the family's reputation, Human Rights Watch said.

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Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which is active in Sadr City, has joined in the attacks and defends its actions as a way to stop the "feminization" of Iraqi men, the report said. "We have testimony that indicates that the nation's security forces are taking part in the attacks," Long said. The group interviewed more than 50 people who gave accounts of abuses, beatings and stops at security checkpoints, he said.
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"When the gay killings started and when they started go(ing) after them at checkpoints ... we started to change our look," said Basim, who also used a pseudonym. "These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their citizens," said Rasha Moumneh, Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch.

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Stories like this one make me physically sick and once again wonder if the world might not be better off devoid of religion.

Iraqi Cleric Orders Gays Eradicated

In yet another example of the toxicity of fundamentalist religion of all stripes, Moqtada Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, has ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality must be "eradicated." Out of the other side of his mouth, of course, he calls for a cessation of the murder and torture of gays - no doubt to avoid even more outspoken condemnation by international groups - as if somehow gays will quietly vanish on their own. Or perhaps he believes the "choice myth" so popular with the Christo-fascists in the USA. Meanwhile, I can't helping thinking that since many of the loudest homophobes in the is country always seem to be the ones hankering for some secret gay sex themselves, what does that say about Sadr? Personally, he looks like a pretty nasty piece of work to me. Here are some highlights from Pink News:

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Moqtada Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, has ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality must be eradicated . . . . His spokesman Sheikh Wadea al-Atab said today that a series of meetings are being held with clerics, tribal leaders and police to tackle the "phenomenon". According to AFP, Atabi said: "The purpose of the meetings is to fight the depravity and to urge the community to reject this phenomenon. The only remedy to stop it is through preaching and guidance. There is no other way to put an end to it."

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Following reports of the [recent] murders [of gays], Amnesty International took the unusual step of writing to Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki to demand "urgent and concerted action" by his government to stop the killings of gay men in the country. The letter suggested that evidence shows police are encouraged to target gay men and calls for officers who incite homophobic attacks to be "held to account and either prosecuted or disciplined and removed from office".

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"The western invasion of Iraq in 2003 ended the tyrannical Baathist dictatorship. But it also destroyed a secular state, created chaos and lawlessness and allowed the flourishing of religious fundamentalism. The result has been an Islamist-inspired homophobic terror campaign against LGBT Iraqis."

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"Queers are being shot dead in their homes, streets and workplaces, . . . . "Even suspected gay children are being murdered. They killers claim to be doing these assassinations at the behest of the 'democratic' Iraqi government, in order to eradicate what they see as immoral, un-Islamic behaviour."

More Cruel Murders of Iraqi Gays

I continue to be disgusted that Obama and the State Department appear to be doing absolutely nothing to pressure the Iraqi government to clamp down on the wanton murder of gays in Iraq. I guess I shouldn't be surprised now that it increasingly appears that Obama doesn't want anyone prosecuted for torture based war crimes- even the authors of the memos that were utilized to justify torture for which those from other countries have been tried and convicted. Details on the sadistic manner in which gays are being killed that now are leaking out are horrifying. As with "men of God" in this country, the anti-gay clerics are proving themselves to be better described as agents of Satan. Here are some highlights from an UAE-based media network, Alarabiya, as translated at Towleroad:

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"A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using 'Iranian gum.' ... Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, 'Iraqi militias have deployed an unprecedented form of torture against homosexuals by using a very strong glue that will close their anus.' According to her, the new substance 'is known as the American hum, which is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery. After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death.

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Videos of this form of torture are being distributed on mobile cellphones in Iraq.' According to this human rights activist, for the past 3 weeks a crackdown on homosexuals has been going on based on a religious decree that demands their death; dozens have been targeted. She says that the persecution of homosexuals is not confined to the Shiite clerics. Some Sunni leaders have also declared the death penalty for sodomy on satellite channels."

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As I have noted before, I suspect that religious based hatred has caused more deaths than many forms of disease over the course of history. There are definitely times that I believe banning all religions might not be such a bad idea.

Gay Congressman Jared Polis Demands Investigation of Murder of Iraqi Gays

I have written before about the travesty occurring in Iraq where gays - and those suspected of being gay - are being rounded up and executed with apparently no action from the puppet government to stop the murders. And without a word of protest from the Obama administration I might add which seemingly has turned a blind eye to the problem (one of my many disappointments with Obama regarding LGBT issues). Now Congressman Jared Polis who is in Baghdad has demanded that the U.S Embassy in Baghdad get off its ass and investigate the matter. Prior to his trip, an Iraqi human-rights advocacy group contacted Polis and forwarded him a letter written in jail by a man who said he was beaten into confessing he was a member of the gay-rights group Iraqi-LGBT. The group said the man had been sentenced to death in a court in Karkh, Iraq and executed. (The group and the author's names are omitted for their protection.) Polis also spoke through a translator by phone to a transgender Iraqi man who said he had been arrested, beaten, and raped by Ministry of Interior security forces.

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I applaud Polis' efforts but even better yet, someone from the White House needs to tell the Iraqi government that strings come attached to the billions of dollars being poured into that country - including an end to human rights abuses against gays. As Polis' letter points out, he was most disturbed by the State Department's unwillingness to take information concerning the flagrant murder of gays from human rights groups seriously. The text of Polis' letter can be found here. The following are some highlights:

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The United States should not tolerate human rights violations of any kind, especially by a government that Americans spend billions of taxpayer dollars each year supporting. Hopefully my trip and letters to US and Iraqi officials will help bring international attention and investigation to this terrible situation and bring an end to any such offenses.

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"We will now wait and see whether the Iraqi government is serious about protecting the human rights of all Iraqis and what role our own State Department has to play in helping to protect this minority in Iraq," said Polis. "I am most disturbed by allegations that the Iraqi government itself may be involved in the persecutions. This warrants an immediate investigation from both American and Iraqi governments."

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Sadly, the Obama administration's indifference to these murders is symptomatic of the fact that all across the USA - certainly here in Virginia - gay lives carry less value than those of straights and gays are routinely abused by the government's policies and in the courts and the legal system where obtaining equal justice is often impossible.

Gays In Iraq Terrorized, Raped, Murdered

While allegedly protected by the same laws and invested with the same legal rights as other citizens in Iraq (why does that sound so familiar?), gays in reality face a very brutal reality. As CNN is somewhat belatedly reporting - gay sites have been discussing the sad reality for months and years - being gay exposes one to being terrorized, subjected to brutality and killed. Such are the fruits of religious fanaticism and the non-stop hatred of religious fundamentalists. For a glimpse of what the most extreme Christianists would mete out to gays, one need look no further than Iraq. The hatred is the same and only the degree of physical violence differs. Spiritually, murder occurs daily at the hands of both Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalist. Just as the "Godly Christians" who have blindly supported the Chimperator have been utterly silent about the slaughter of Iraqi women and children, they have likewise not uttered a sound over the killing of gays. Personally, I suspect that they condone the murder of both groups. WWJD? Here are some highlights from the CNN story:

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Kamal was just 16 when gunmen snatched him off the streets of Baghdad, stuffed him in the trunk of a car and whisked him away to a house. But the real terror was about to begin. The men realized he was gay, Kamal said, when he took his shirt off and they saw that his chest was shaved.

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"They told me to take off my clothes to rape me or they would kill me immediately. This moment was the worst moment in my life," he said, weeping as he spoke of the 2005 ordeal. "I was watching them taking off their clothes, preparing to rape me. I did not know what to do, so I started shouting loudly, 'Please do not do that! I will ask my family to give you whatever you want.' " He was held for 15 days, released only after his family paid a $1,500 ransom. He was raped every day. Only once, he said, was he allowed to talk to his family during captivity.

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Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the situation for gays and lesbians in Iraq has deteriorated. Ridiculed under Hussein, many now find themselves the targets of violence, according to humanitarian officials. Lesbians are also victims of harassment and violence, but not nearly as often as gay men. It's unknown how many homosexuals have been killed by militias in the lawless streets of Iraq's cities, but some Web sites post pictures of Iraqis they say were killed for being gay. One photo . . . . shows a group of men standing around three male bodies sprawled on a street, blood pouring from their heads.

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A U.N. report on human rights in Iraq reinforces the accusations of violence. Although gays are supposed to be protected by law in Iraq, it says, they face extreme brutality. "Armed Islamic groups and militias have been known to be particularly hostile toward homosexuals, frequently and openly engaging in violent campaigns against them," the report said, adding that homosexuals have been murdered. "Militias are reportedly threatening families of men believed to be homosexual, stating that they will begin killing family members unless the men are handed over or killed by the family," it said.

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Both men hope to escape Iraq. They say their ideal destination would be San Francisco, California. For now, both of them keep their feelings secret. Kamal is still tormented by what happened to him nearly three years ago.