Cat Lovers, Avoid This War Report

[indigobusiness]

It is guaranteed to anger you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/international/middleeast/11snipers.html?hp&ex=1100235600&en=0879c52c261dfe9b&ei=5094&partner=h

snip

Despite the world-shaking blasts of weaponry as the Americans try to root out the snipers, this is also a contest of wills in which the tension rises to a level that seems unbearable, and then rises again. Marine snipers sit, as motionless as blue herons, for 30 minutes and stare with crazed intensity into the oversized scopes on their guns. If so much as a penumbra brushes across a windowsill, they open up.

With the troops' senses tuned to a high pitch, mundane events become extraordinary. During one bombing, a blue-and-yellow parakeet flew up to a roof of a captured building and fluttered about in tight circles before perching on a slumping power line, to the amazement of the marines assembled there.

On another occasion, the snipers tensed when they heard movement in the direction of a smoldering building. A cat sauntered out, unconcerned with anything but making its rounds in the neighborhood.

"Can I shoot it, sir?" a sniper asked an officer.

"Absolutely not," came the reply.

snip

And there's this:

Brave, Drunk GI Shoots Bengal Tiger In Baghdad Zoo

snip

Yet another horrific incident in the nightmare called George Bush's personal war against anything that moves, or is a civilian infra-structure, in Iraq. This time it is not a hospital, nor a school, nor a cluster bomb dropped near a residential area, nor an artillery shell lobbed into the middle of a happy family gathering, nor a Mosque. It is Baghdad zoo.


snip

Adel Salman Musa told this agency that one of the group entered the tiger's cage and started teasing it, whereby the animal attacked him, injuring his hand and arm. One of the other soldiers opened fire on the animal, killing it.

The Bengal Tiger is an endangered species, numbering between 3.000 and 4.500 in the wild. How it is possible that the US Armed Forces continue to run riot in such shocking acts of cruelty, after what happened at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, defies logic.

Under international law, Washington is liable, accountable and responsible for the actions of this rabble and those in command have to pay reparations for any illegal acts committed. The slaughtering of a tiger, when compared to the long list of war crimes already perpetrated, is just one more incident to add to the epitaph of the Bush regime.


snip

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/397/14569_tiger.html

[DireStrike]

1. Oh, FOR GOD'S SAKE!

:mad:


What the fuck is next?

...never mind, don't tell me.

[DS1]

2. The tiger being shot was much earlier than the Abu Graihb crap coming out

It was last year, just after the fall of Bagdhad.

[indigobusiness]

3. Wasn't that a lion? n/t

[DS1]

4. No, I remember the details of the incident

where some dudes went in drunk, ended up shooting it just as described

[indigobusiness]

7. Yeah, it sounds familiar.

I was a little surprised at the context of the reference to Abu Ghraib, too. But the spin on this is irrelevant.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

18. Leave it to Pravda, who has forgotten what pravda means

in Russian.

[indigobusiness]

21. Yep, Pravda is a hoot.

But what does it mean?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

24. believe it or not....

truth.


go figure.

[Lisa]

10. maybe you're remembering the Kabul zoo incident?

http://www.lionlmb.org/lion/marjan.html

Their lion was assaulted by Afghan soldiers, but survived until recently.

[indigobusiness]

13. Yeah, I distinctly remember that old guy. Poor old soul.

But, there was a story about Baghdad lion mistreatment, as well. I'm almost sure one was shot in a similar deal as this tiger. But, I could be wrong.

[DS1]

20. Nope, this was the Bagdad zoo.

[amerikat]

5. distressing for sure and then there are the good souls. see this pic

[spatlese]

8. Awww....

I am sure the people over at the lounge will love this photo! I'd steal it and post it over there, but I don't know how to do it... :(

[idiosyncratic]

14. Psst . . .

Just right click on the picture and choose "Copy Image Address."

Then you can paste that in the message over in the Lounge.


(At least that is the way I do it using my browser, Opera.)

[spatlese]

15. Wow! You learn something new everyday!

Thanks!

[indigobusiness]

9. I think the scary part

is how it illustrates the soul-stealing effects of war.

I'm sure the guy that asked to shoot the cat would pet one, just like your picture, under different circumstances. I'm sure he's a good guy. But what will this war do to him?

[amerikat]

12. nobody that knows the sheer joy of cats would ever shoot one

never

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

19. well, now having been in the position they are in, I disagree

I know the sheer joy of cats.
I also know the value of having the only movement in front of you being known enemy.
The last thing you want in that kind of situation is a fucking cat keeping you constantly at alert.
And, as a matter of fact, a smart sniper may keep cats around to distract attention of counter sniper fire with movement.

So, yes, no one in a NORMAL situation would do that. War is not a normal situation.

[amerikat]

22. cats wage war on very local leval.......it takes gov't to war on

on a global scale

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

23. Tis true. But most war for grunts comes down to the meter

in front of you.

[billyoc]

16. Do you know where that picture was taken? n/t

[amerikat]

17. somewhere in the combat zone

somebody told me the soldier is israeli......based on the footware

[distantearlywarning]

6. It's funny, but

that report made me angrier than ANYTHING I have read since the election, including all the voter fraud articles.

Motherfuckers. I am speechless. I don't even know what to say about this.

[indigobusiness]

11. I warned you.

It made me want to scream.

edit- Imagine the untold stories?