Fahrenheit 911 sequel?

[Ivo Skoric]

>From Fahrenheit 911 we can enjoy learning that US tanks are equipped 
with stereo systems, so that troops can blast their favorite tunes 
while blasting buildnigs around them. Rancid's "we don't need no 
water..." was cited by interviewed crowd. So, they listen to punk 
rock. Just like me. It is a class thing, I guess, confirming the 
documentary's hypothesis that the soldiers are from lower income 
brackets. 

This was true for the wars in former Yugoslavia as well. First people 
Tudjman got to volunteer to defend newly established Republic of 
Croatia against Yugoslav Army and Serbian inusrgency were soccer 
punks (http://balkansnet.org/rock.html). And quite in sync with the 
defenders taste the Rolling Stones author just published a book about 
the troops: Generation Kill. 

But as Fox News are getting busy celebrating the new generation, that 
generation seems to be questioning its adolescent priorities. 
Survival comes in mind. New York Times reports that some US soldiers 
are already taking advantage of corruptible Iraqis, bribing them to 
get out of Iraq and to a neigboring country, from where they can 
perhaps book a flight home. Be all you can be.

One of those wanna be desserters appears to be Corporal Hassoun, 
Lebanese-American Marine linguist, who left US military base with 
Iraqis, that apparently, instead of dropping him at the border, 
dropped him at the beheading squad.

His story is Homeric. A Muslim from Utah. Marine. Desserter. Held by 
the 20th Revolution Regiment, a reference to the Arab uprising after 
World War I. His relatives are invoking Allah to sway his captors to 
release him - an American Marine. This is quiet, yet potent 
advertisement for the inclusiveness of the US armed forces. And it 
puts his captors in an awkward position.

What benefit would it be for them to execute a Muslim US soldier that 
wanted to desert? If they are true to Koran, they should promptly 
release him. He would be of much better use to them as a propaganda 
tool if they let him talk, or if they return him to the Marines, that 
he wanted to leave. Actually, killing him is the worst political 
choice for the kidnappers - one that would make reasonable people 
doubt that kidnappers are indeed Iraqis.

Beheadding is practiced routinely in Saudi Arabia, and the beheadders 
may easily be some roaming Saudi terror group. Or maybe even Saudi 
secret agents bent on making situation in Iraq as ugly as possible to 
delay Iraqi oil competitiveness as much as they can.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/30/international/middleeast/30MARI.html
?th

ivo