Iraqi Child Struggles to Adjust to Losses

Sun Mar 21, 2004

Associated Press

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=8&u=/ap/20040

321/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_bombing_victim

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer

BASRA, Iraq - War robbed 10-year-old Ibtihal Jassem. She lost her right leg.

And the little girl who was born deaf and mute was deprived of the security

of a loving family.

She was the only one in her family to survive a coalition air raid on Basra

two days after the war began.

An Associated Press photograph of an uncle carrying Ibtihal into the

southern city's al-Tahrir Hospital was widely used by news media around the

world.

Today, while other children are back in school, she spends her days

struggling with crutches in the streets of her neighborhood on the outskirts

of this southern city.

At her grandparents' home, sitting with her 11 cousins, she looks lost,

unable to interact or play with them, unable to share in the jokes.

Her grandparents and cousins talk to her using a crude form of sign language

or by physically carrying or leading her where they want her to go.

Ibtihal has lived with her grandparents since bombs hit the Mshan

neighborhood last March 22. The explosions killed 34 people, wounded more

than 70 and destroyed 21 houses, residents said.

Among the dead were Ibtihal's mother, Zakia Ahmed, father, Jassem Mohammed,

her three brothers, Ali, 8, Hussein, 3, Rasoul, 18 months, and two sisters,

Jinan, 10, and Sikna, 4.

"It was a massacre. It was a catastrophe," said Jaber Jouda, 57, the

great-uncle who dug Ibtihal from the rubble. He said he found her with her

right leg almost severed and her other leg injured.

Doctors had to amputate the right leg but were able to save the left.

Shaya'a Jaber, Ibtihal's grandmother, now takes care of the girl. She feeds

and washes her and helps put on her artificial leg every morning.

"She has nothing to do all day. She spends her time with her 11 cousins,

taking walks in the streets or playing with her doll," Jaber said as Ibtihal

sat on the carpet of the sitting room, playing with her doll.

It's not clear how much Ibtihal knows about the events of a year ago.

Standing in front of the rubble pile that used to be her family's home, she

is asked if she knows what happened to her parents and siblings. She smiles

shyly, looks at the ground, turns and hobbles away.

I notice the big red WHY in the picture. Why indeed did Saddam Hussein bring this suffering on his people. At least now, 22 million Iraqi people now have a real chance of a future, thanks to President Bush's principled stand against this loathsome tyrant.

I ask myself why a small number of Americans wanted to prevent the liberation of Iraq and I can only conclude that they are selfish and stupid.

'Why indeed did Saddam Hussein bring this suffering on his people. '

Because, the CIA wants their money's worth in an asset they placed in control.

"'Why indeed did Saddam Hussein bring this suffering on his people. '

Because, the CIA wants their money's worth in an asset they placed in control."

So you do realize how ridiculous and hysterically uneducated you sound when you make assinine statements such as those right?

I mean, did you get that from some hastily thrown together and badly designed placard from one of the many foolish marches you've undoubtedly attended?

It's exactly nonsense like that that renders your credibility zilch and ends any discussion involving rational thought.

You've lost any argument before you've even started.

Sad really.

Maybe I'll do it anyway.

why should I do all the work?

search for

[Baath+CIA+Saddam]

go for it.

I know about and couldn't care less about the CIA's involvement with Sadam DECADES ago.

Why are YOU so obsessed with this is what's interesting.

Have you not fiqured out that the world and history is ever changing as are relationships?

You are a bit dim aren't you.

["'Why indeed did Saddam Hussein bring this suffering on his people. '

Because, the CIA wants their money's worth in an asset they placed in control."

So you do realize how ridiculous and hysterically uneducated you sound when you make assinine statements such as those right? ]

the only assinine statements are from you, fresca.

Stay down fool.

You're beat.

You're crying about yesterday's news.

Things change.

Sadam was useful at one point. He's not anymore.

I'm sure most of the people who've known you feel likewise about you.

I've never been down. Wouldn't know about it. Okay, for the uninformed.

The rise of Saddam to power. (yesterdays news to whom we as a nation were responsible and the cause for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of U.S. Solders.) so when asshole rabid bitter snakes like fresca make the following comments as I bring up the uncomfortable fact that the CIA put Saddam into power and are thus responsible for the horror and grief suffered from the people we then 'liberated' I feel obliged to respond:

-It's exactly nonsense like that that renders your credibility zilch and ends any discussion involving rational thought.'

here ya go.

“Another very good example of a CIA-organized regime change was a coup in 1963 that employed political assassination, mass imprisonment, torture and murder. This was the military coup that first brought Saddam Hussein's beloved Ba'ath Party to power in Iraq.”

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51/217.html

(^ a very good background on the CIA)

and some more links for reference.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030410-070214-6557r

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/10/205859.shtml

http://www.plp.org/comm03/1saddamncia.html

http://www.representativepress.org/CIASaddam.html

http://www.country-liberal-party.com/pages/Saddam-CIA.htm

Even if these allegations are true and a bureacratic organisation like the CIA managed to impose a leader against the will of ALL of the Iraqi people (unlikely), even so....

how does this make it OK to oppose removing this tyrant when there is an opportunity to do so??

How screwed up is your moral system when you use these allegations as an excuse to keep 20million people in a living hell???





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so now you're telling me MY morals are screwed up?

Only a moron would frame it as if I was against this CIA killer's exit from power.

When he armed his citizens, he was on the way out by his own people. Our threats against him and the people only hardened his position. I know you're not too bright but even a moron would know this.

Look at the photos again... it was NOT Saddam that blew the little girl's leg off... it was a U.S. MADE BOMB paid for by American taxpayers and delivered by an American pilot (god bless our troops?). The girl in the photo is but one of the many thousands who have been maimed by AMERICAN BOMBS.

Those who still think it's all o.k. because Saddam was removed from power.... well, it's not YOUR daughter who had her leg smashed to pulp was it?

Was it all really worth it? You can answer that in a few more years after thousands of American soldiers have died in a useless and stupid war that not only failed to bring "democracy" to Iraq... but opened the entire region to endless bloodletting, chaos, and hate.

Well, I'm sorry that any innocent people got hurt and killed in the toppling of Saddam. But the only one who is really to blame is Saddam.

I wish he had been a good leader but he wasn't. He murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and would have killed hundreds of thousands more. It's the lesser of two evils.

Bush did the right thing.

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Thus we have the full loop of riech wing mental disfunction or proof that these weasels are here on a time card.

You think I work for the FBI??? Or the evil CIA???

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that you're an idiot with massive short term memory disfunction or are paid to roost here and be an idiot. Six of one and 1/2 dozen of the other.

No matter, you and Bush Admirer just prove the sad fact of your side's stupitidy. Again and again and again.....

Carry on, bobo.

I'm just making my point, which I believe is a good one. I'm not the one arguing ad hominem calling people stupid in place of arguing the facts.

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...was spared the horror of Saddam's shredder or rape rooms, unlike thousands of pre-liberated Iraqis.



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Saddam was supported in 80s to battle the commies, who were ideologically supported by whom? The @#$@# american left.

We defeated the commies and now the islamofascists are the #1 enemies.

When they're gone we can focus on eliminating the rest of the american left.......without violence but simply exposing them for the fools they are.



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This thread is a perfect example of how inherently inane and silly the left truly is.

That a civilian casualty (which of course, is a cute little girl) proves anything about the validity of the war itself is absoluetely ridiculous.

That Sadam was aided by the CIA on any level at any point in the past is some reason for us NOT to have finally gone into Iraq is just as ludicrous.

It's too bad about the girls leg. Is her leg worth NOT having toppled Sadam. Of course not. That's pure crazy talk. But sheep and his ilk would have you believe that. So much so that they LOVE these tails of bombed kids because they think, inanely so, that it sheds some sort of ill light on Bush and America.

Face it...this war was ABSOLUTELY neccessary and LONGGGGGG overdue.

Toppling Sadam was icing on the cake. Having an active military presence, finally, in the cesspool of the militantly Islamic middle east after 9-11 is the real value of this thing.

The bottom line is that after 9-11 it sucked to be in Iraq because we were going to come in somewhere and Iraq was at the top of the list of choices.

"That Sadam was aided by the CIA on any level at any point in the past is some reason for us NOT to have finally gone into Iraq is just as ludicrous."

So we increase funding to this criminal organization. Smooth move.