[nicklin]

THis is just insane, first those American Workers, then the British-Iraqi AID WORKER, the the poor Japanese dude that was just walking about......And some of us think the Middle East should be left alone because their way of thinking was perfectly fine......

Brought to you by BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3968709.stm

BBC-"Body identified as Japanese man
Koda pleaded for government help in a televised video last week
The headless body of a man found in Iraq has been confirmed as that of Japanese hostage Shosei Koda.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi condemned the killing as a "cruel and inhuman act" and said Japan would "resolutely fight against terrorism".

Meanwhile, Arabic TV has showed footage of a Sudanese hostage, and in another televised videotape a Polish-Iraqi woman has pleaded for her life.

They are among dozens of foreign hostages currently held in Iraq.

Hostage-takers often ascribe political motives to kidnapping foreigners, whereas ransoms have usually been demanded for the hundreds of Iraqis who have been taken.

The Islamist kidnappers of backpacker Shosei Koda gave a 48-hour deadline for the withdrawal of all Japanese troops when they took him on Wednesday.

A decapitated body found on Friday and thought to be that of Koda turned out to be that of an Iraqi, about whom no more details were given.

Then news agencies were shown a video depicting a corpse in a white, bloodstained shirt next to the severed head of an East Asian-looking man with a thin beard.

On Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said the body had been found in a field in an insurgent-controlled part of Baghdad, and was that of Koda.

Koda's kidnappers are thought to have been the al-Qaeda in Iraq group led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Mr Koizumi said his country would stay in Iraq "for the sake of the people of Iraq and continue resolutely to fight against terrorism", according to French news agency AFP.

Troops to stay

Tokyo has repeatedly refused demands to pull its 550 troops out of Samawa, southern Iraq. The troops are supposed to be undertaking humanitarian work but are said to be mostly confined to their camp because of security fears.

Correspondents say the beheading could badly affect Prime Minister Koizumi, who is a strong ally of the Bush administration and sent troops to Iraq in the face of public opposition.

However, some add that many in Japan feel Koda ignored firm government advice to stay away from Iraq.

Opposition politician Katsuya Okada said the beheading "never would have happened" had Japan not sent troops to Iraq.

"I want to strongly request a withdrawal," AFP reported Mr Okada as saying.

Another hostage, Polish-born Teresa Borcz-Khalifa, pleaded for her life
Koda, a 24-year-old from Nogata in Japan's Fukuoka prefecture, left on a year-long trip in January, starting in New Zealand.

He told people he met on the way that he wanted to go to Iraq out of curiosity.

Officials said he took a bus to Baghdad from Amman in Jordan last week, and was seen up until last Sunday attempting in vain to find accommodation in the city.

Earlier this year, Japan managed to free five other citizens taken hostage in Iraq after days of mediation. Koda is the first Japanese national to be killed by hostage-takers.

In other developments:

* Al-Arabiya TV showed a video tape of a Sudanese man identifying himself as Noureddin Zakaria, an interpreter who said he had been kidnapped and called on his US employer Titan Corp to leave Iraq

* Al-Jazeera TV showed a video tape of Polish-Iraqi hostage Teresa Borcz-Khalifa pleading for her life, but French news agency AFP said the Polish government had immediately rebuffed a demand that it withdraw its 2,500 troops in Iraq

* Two truck drivers working for a Kuwaiti transport company, Bangladeshi national Abul Kashem and Sri Lankan national Dinesh Dharmendra Rajaratnam, were confirmed as kidnapped

* There was no fresh news on the fate of British-Iraqi aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was seized 12 days ago on her way to work. "


Okay, if you start kiddnapping Aid workers and back packers, it's clearly a little more than patriotism or region religious fanaticism, but the fundamental lack of lack of discrestion and the desire to gain maximum public notoriety......

 

[jaydee]

THis is just insane, first those American Workers, then the British-Iraqi AID WORKER, the the poor Japanese dude that was just walking about......And some of us think the Middle East should be left alone because their way of thinking was perfectly fine......

QUOTE]

This isn't the Middle East "way of thinking". That's a rather bigoted reaction. Was the Oklahoma bombing or the Columbine tragedy the American "way of thinking"? Most of the people in Iraq are just normal people who are trying to stay alive, and are Muslim, but not fundamentalists or terrorists. Over there they might take exception to a way of thinking that allows the invasion of a country as a personal vendetta.

 

[valve bouncer]

The news reports I was following suggest that he paid to be smuggled into the country. Even though he was monumentally stupid he still didn't deserve to die.

 

[Damn True]

This isn't the Middle East "way of thinking". That's a rather bigoted reaction. Was the Oklahoma bombing or the Columbine tragedy the American "way of thinking"? Most of the people in Iraq are just normal people who are trying to stay alive, and are Muslim, but not fundamentalists or terrorists. Over there they might take exception to a way of thinking that allows the invasion of a country as a personal vendetta.

That's all nice and flowery, and I would honestly like to believe that the majority of the muslim world views terrorist activity with the same abhoration as I do. However, if that were the case you'd think that the Mosques of the world would be collectively speaking out against said activity. You'd think that muslims would be calling for a cessation of these barbaric acts. You'd think that the Mullahs would be on every TV network on the planet proclaiming that these statements and actions do not represent the Muslim populace.

....yet this does not seem to be the case.

 

[nicklin]

Since the Arab world does not have the common sense to say it, allow me take this chance to express my deepest regret for the family of the murdered individuals, and my heart goes out to Mrs. hassan, who is under captivity.

it's one thing to have collateral damage of war, it's a whole other issue of chopping people's heads off on tv then let their family see it.

there a many ways for humans to end their life, this is not a good way.


Nick

 

[Andyman_1970]

However, if that were the case you'd think that the Mosques of the world would be collectively speaking out against said activity. You'd think that muslims would be calling for a cessation of these barbaric acts.

They need a Jesse Jackson type to be their collective spokesperson.................................

 

[genpowell71]

That's all nice and flowery, and I would honestly like to believe that the majority of the muslim world views terrorist activity with the same abhoration as I do. However, if that were the case you'd think that the Mosques of the world would be collectively speaking out against said activity. You'd think that muslims would be calling for a cessation of these barbaric acts. You'd think that the Mullahs would be on every TV network on the planet proclaiming that these statements and actions do not represent the Muslim populace.

....yet this does not seem to be the case.

If you were watching your religious "brothers" behead innocent non- combatants in the name of Allah would you want to open your mouth? And I find it funny that the dude from Sudan would want to work for us in Iraq seign as how the majority of the Islam world looks down on the ret of Africa as inferior. Yes racism is in Islam also.

 

[Skookum]

You'd think that the Mullahs would be on every TV network on the planet proclaiming that these statements and actions do not represent the Muslim populace.

....yet this does not seem to be the case.

gotta work both ways i suppose, the Pope spoke out against the war, but nobody listens. i've heard plently of muslims on the news speaking out against terrorism, but it changes nothing. The news is gonna be the news...
i remember talking with this old Christian projectionist at this place i used to work at. He always told me it's not the religion, it's "the people" that make war and do bad things. i guess in it's most simple form that's true, but religion to me is just another division for the world to use to justify whatever. For with all major religions today, to believe in your religion you must fundamentally disagree with others, which lends to fear, disdain, misunderstanding, which is prevalant and obvious with how both Islam and Christianity are seeing each other in this war against "terror".
Interesting world we live in. i didn't wanna believe at first, the Iraq war to be a platform for politicking, but look at where we are now, versus the initial focus for going....
i guess in our perfect world we can hope the Islam people refuse to believe the hardline rhetoric from thier terrorist faction, while Christians live in a happy world, as we accept the blood on our hands of thousand of Iraqi's for the justification of security and comfort in our industrious way of life. i mean really i'm cool with it, solutions don't happen overnight on disputes, but let's get some reality with what's going on, to motivate us for REAL solutions. With the present course of action in the war against terror it's a long long row to hoe, with unpredictable weather upcoming in the season. Curious to see how the book will be written about these times.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
In reading that which side did you think of initially?