05/05/2006
Iraqi Boy Murdered by the "Police" for Being Gay
Sickening. The witch hunt for gay Iraqis has led to the murder of a 14-year-old boy, apparently shot on his doorstep for being gay. And it's likely one of many cowardly crimes we haven't heard about.
The coordinator of a group of exiled Iraqis tells The Independent, "Young Ahmed was a victim of poverty. He was summarily executed, apparently by fundamentalist elements in the Iraqi police." It was not known whether or not Ahmed was actually gay.
"Neighbours in al-Dura district say Ahmed's father was arrested and interrogated two days before his son's murder by police who demanded to know about Ahmed's sexual activities. It is believed Ahmed slept with men for money to support his poverty-stricken family, who have fled the area fearing further reprisals."
And this reassuring bit of news:
"There is mounting evidence that fundamentalists have infiltrated government security forces to commit homophobic murders while wearing police uniforms. Human rights groups are particularly concerned that the Sadr and Badr militias, both Shia, have stepped up their attacks on the gay community after a string of religious rulings, since the US-led invasion, calling for the eradication of homosexuals."
Is this something that the U.S. military is aware of? Apparently, and here's maybe the most cowardly crime of all:
"Mr Hili, whose Abu Nawas group has close links with clandestine gay activists inside Iraq, said US coalition forces are unwilling to try and tackle the rising tide of homophobic attacks. 'They just don't want to upset the Iraqi government by bringing up the taboo of homosexuality even though homophobic murders have intensified,' he said."
Because God forbid we do anything to upset the "stable" government we've put in place there.
We're making progress in Iraq. Yes, real progress.
Iraqi police 'killed 14-year-old boy for being homosexual' [the independent]
Ahmed's Story: A Cruel, Barbaric Death [uk gay news]
Posted 10:21 AM EST by Andy in Crime, Iraq | Permalink
Comments
Last month, when I first heard about the antigay violence and murders going on in Iraq, I sent emails to both W and Condi Rice, asking them what they were doing to address this. Of course I never received a reply.
Posted by: Tom K. | May 5, 2006 10:25:56 AM
Wait, Bush doesn't send personal email replies to every moonbat who writes in? Strange.
I'm glad Andy put "police" in quotes and the Independent story uses the phrase "men in police uniforms," because it's pretty clear that this is not an issue of the government police so much as it is thugs and religious fanatics impersonating actual authorities.
While we're at it, do we also blame the Bush Administration personally for every act of violence that occurs in the United States? Wait, don't answer that. Just keep rooting for the bad guys.
Posted by: Malcontent | May 5, 2006 10:44:13 AM
Malcontent: It's totally rhetorical, but I need to point out that Mr. Towle certainly did not use quotation marks for the same reason you infer. To say it's pretty clear that the Iraqi government is not undertaking this attempt at gay genocide is one of the saddest things I've seen come from your pen...or rather your nine, fingers.
In answer to your question (equally as rhetorical as my comment) in a word "yes"
Posted by: JT | May 5, 2006 10:52:40 AM
Malcontent, the Bush administration has fostered an atmosphere in this country in which gay people are vilified as degenerates who are tearing the fabric of our society and that leads to homophobic violence. So the answer to your question is yes, Bush bears responsibility to the extent that he has exploited bigotry and ignorance. As for Iraq, it is hardly clear that this crime was committed by impersonators.
As for the US Armed Forces taking any action, no one should expect it. I served in the Army for many years and it is a profoundly homophobic institution and I'm sure there are very few officers who care if homos are getting killed.
Posted by: Sam | May 5, 2006 10:59:30 AM
Malcontent, you're so blinded by your hate for anyone you disagree with that you can't write a coherent comment. How does sending an email to the leaders of an occupying force about anti-gay violence under their watch make you a moonbat, let alone some rooting for the bad guys? It sounds, to me, that he was rooting for the victim and asking our leaders to do something about it. If you cared at all about doing the right thing--instead of defending an administration that has proved over and over again to be incompetant--you would be saying, "This is horrible. The Iraqis can't protect their citizens yet, so we need more troops over there to keep order until the country is stabilized. And the administration should make a strong statement for the human rights of all Iraqi citizens." If you gave a rat's ass about making the world a better place, you would stop attacking people for caring about the impoverished victims of hate and start offering solutions--and maybe develop some empathy.
Posted by: ted | May 5, 2006 11:06:21 AM
These gay-bashing witch-hunting murders are the responsibility of the Shia: the same Muslim party in power in Iran. You guys act like you just woke up and heard about this witchhunt for the first time today!! This has been going on for years in Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen, and if you read Andrew Sullivan, Bruce Bower and Doug Ireland, then you would have known that for some time. This is not happening in Iraq because of Bush but because of the Shia Muslims who have been on a witchhunt for years. Frankly, you should support America involvement in the Middle East to topple the Shia governments in every country instead of being smug middle-class isolationists who don't care if the Muslim Brotherhood -- with ties to the Nazi regime of WWII -- continue to spread their genocidal hate today throughout the world. Get a clue, kids!
Posted by: maryqueenofmanhattan | May 5, 2006 11:07:33 AM
Mary, please show the places in these comments where we show surprise. Andy is often the first person to post about the anti-gay atrocities. Sullivan, et al often link HERE.
Posted by: ted | May 5, 2006 11:20:12 AM
My dear Mary, "...topple the Shia governments...?" The only government in the Mid East that we've toppled was a Suni government. We've stated that we've no intnetion of toppling the Shia government of Iran. The extermination that is taking place in occupied Iraq is a direct result of the chaos following the botched American conquest.
Posted by: JT | May 5, 2006 11:31:47 AM
Why is anyone surprised by any of this? The Bush administration has fostered a culture of hate, especially towards homosexuals, in the U.S. and abroad. It only makes sense that when they attempt to make over a government (a la Iraq) they would also instill the hate and discrimination that they push in our own country.
And Malcontent, I used to enjoy your site but you've become somewhat of an Ann Coulter Lite. Your comments on your site, and on others, are so bitter and sarcastic that I can't take anything you say seriously anymore.
Posted by: Wayne | May 5, 2006 11:32:07 AM
Sam: Stop hanging onto the idea that Bush is the source of all homophobia. It sounds tired. The man publicly stated that gays deserve the same compassion as any other human being. He goes to see Elton John perform at the Kennedy Center. He hangs out with Mary Cheney. As far as him fostering homophobia, it's a real stretch of a theory. (Though I'm not saying this is Sam's reasoning), an awful lot of gays just can't STAND the idea that other places are such homophobic horrors compared to the U.S., because they've invested so much of themselves in believing that white Christian heterosexual U.S. men are the source of all homophobia.
Posted by: Joe Tynan | May 5, 2006 11:32:59 AM
So, Malcontent, I'm a moonbat for emailing the president? Calling someone crazy for caring enough to contact an elected public official to hold him accountable for his policies and the injustices taking place under his watch, is that the best you can come up with? If that's the extent of your scintillating political repartee, I'll decline to follow the link to your 'blog. Cheers, thanks a lot!
Posted by: Tom K. | May 5, 2006 12:15:47 PM
Joe, do you really believe what you wrote? Bush says that gays deserve the same compassion and then pushes for a Constitutional Amendment to keep us from getting married? And you think he's a supporter because he attends Elton John concerts and has dinner with Mary Cheney? She's not exactly the poster child for all things gay is she? Your logic is silly... I'm actually hoping you were being completely sarcastic because that's difficult to gauge in this type of format. If you were being "funny", then bully for you! However, if you were serious then you are really deluded.
Posted by: Wayne | May 5, 2006 12:30:22 PM
What i don't understand is this, you have a Moslem country w severely proscripted sex laws that is occupied by a few hundred thousand American soldiers. What are they doing with their sexual needs?
Visiting brothels in the Green Zone?
I bet there's a underworld of gay-for-pay Iraqi men & an amazing "don't ask, don't tell" story over there. Weren't there once reports of a Baghdad hotel loo that is a well traveled T-room?
Posted by: hadassah weinreb | May 5, 2006 12:42:30 PM
Joe: I certainly don't feel that the source of ALL homophobia is the white, male population of this country. There are enough gay people who have expressed certain opinions on Towleroad to convince me that the source of oppression sometimes lies within.
Posted by: JT | May 5, 2006 1:03:41 PM
Joe: "The man publicly stated that gays deserve the same compassion as any other human being."
I take issue with Bush saying that gays deserve compassion. Specifically, because he doesn't even know what the word means, i.e., a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
How exactly is he relieving our "suffering"?
If by Bush "showing compassion", he means trying to amend the constitution to deny our rights to marriage, which would afford us many other rights that we deserve or not putting enough funding into finding a cure for AIDS, or simply by supporting organizations and ideas that vilify gays, then by all means yes!!!, Bush shows great compassion for gays.
What we deserve, and more importantly, what we should be demanding is acceptance, regardless of where we live.
If we are going to invade another country to relieve its people of their suffering, then we shouldn't pick and choose what people and what suffering to relieve.
Posted by: Jeremy | May 5, 2006 1:09:52 PM
Bush says that gays deserve the same compassion and then pushes for a Constitutional Amendment to keep us from getting married? And you think he's a supporter because he attends Elton John concerts and has dinner with Mary Cheney?
Well, yeah, since that's what you guys said when Bill Clinton and John Kerry did the same thing. Indeed, you called them "pro-gay" and "gay-supportive", and demanded that gays give them millions of dollars.
What I find howlingly hilarious is that in Saddam's Iraq, gays were routinely and systematically imprisoned, tortured, and murdered outright by the thousands by the Ba'athist regime. Yet you and your fellow Democrats called putting an end to that "unnecessary and unjustified".
In short, you're like Ted Kennedy; not opposed to anything, as long as the person doing it was anti-Bush.
Posted by: North Dallas Thirty | May 5, 2006 2:18:48 PM
Exactly, Jeremy. And the U.S. shouldn't cherry pick which atrocities to address so as not to offend sensibilities. This president who thinks he's such a bold champion of justice, freedom, and democracy seems kind of lame when he can't speak up for a persecuted minority in the country we're currently occupying. Sure, George can go to an Elton John concert and stand to be in the same room with Mary Cheney on occasion, but can he speak up to help stop the slaughter of innocent Iraqi gays?
Posted by: Tom K. | May 5, 2006 2:24:50 PM
North Dallas Forty, sorry, I didn't realize this was a blame everyone conversation. I certainly had issues with how the Dem's and Clinton handled our issues, and I've been outspoken about that whenever it comes up. This conversation is specifically about Bush, and comments that Joe made about how compassionate Bush is towards The Gays. He is not compassionate.
I never thought Clinton or Kerry were "pro-gay", especially since Clinton is the one who signed DOMA into effect. It's you who seemingly wants to blame others for negating Bush's actions instead of sticking with the conversation that's on the plate. You're acting like a true Republican and trying to change the subject, or blame someone else, instead of dealing with the issue.
Posted by: Wayne | May 5, 2006 3:06:28 PM
Let's face it: the Republicans hate gays, the Democrats hate gays, the Shia Muslims hate gays and the Christian fundamentalists hate gays. Hey, even the gays hate gays. I could use a stiff cocktail right now.
Posted by: maryqueenofmanhattan | May 5, 2006 3:15:30 PM
No, Wayne, YOUR logic is silly. You actually stated that the reason for attacks on gays in Iraq is because Bush has instilled the same homophobia there that he instilled in the U.S. With the history of murdering homosexuals in Muslim countries, now you say Bush caused it?? And how? Because Bush didn't legalize gay marriage. Yeah, so those Muslim fanatics said, "Bush is our enemy, but he didn't legalize gay marriage so let's go along with him on this and kill homosexuals!" No wonder the word "gay" has come to mean retarded with the general public, with that twisted logic. Wayne, and your ilk, better grow up and start looking at the real homophobes in the world for the overall good of all, instead of desperately trying to hang on to an anti-Bush agenda.
Posted by: Joe Tynan | May 5, 2006 4:23:45 PM
Perhaps you might like a look at homophobia Uk Christian Fundamentalist style - yes, we actually have a few Christian fundamentalists here too!
Anyway, they have created a spoof website which claims to be a police-funded site for reporting homophobic hate crime. It is actually an attack on gays and the police.
Although I hestitate to give them publicity and hits on their site.
http://www.true-vision.org/
Posted by: Peter Rivendell | May 5, 2006 5:19:20 PM
Peter Rivendell: It's good to know about, but it doesn't really matter in the sense that every religion has its extremists. It's a matter of less or more. Name me one primarily Christian (Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox) country where gays are executed, like in Muslim countries. The tact to take with Christian fanatics is..."Do you want to behave like extremist Muslims?!" (While we're on the religion subject, the atheist Communist countries sure were horrible to gays too, as well as the atheists Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot etc being the biggest mass murderers of the 20th century).
Posted by: Joe Tynan | May 5, 2006 9:38:04 PM
I apologize about speaking harshly on this board, but please understand guys that I see these as very serious issues: the fanatic Muslim homophobia is absolutely murderous (it even comes up where one least expects it, as in the recent terrorist trial in the U.S. where Moussaoui referred to France as that country of "homosexual Crusaders") and yet some gays have this psychotic obssession with Bush for not legalizing gay marriage. Could you all imagine if the Matthew Shepard case happened while Bush was in office? Certain gays would be shouting, "That's because Bush said it's okay to hate!!" It's ridiculous. One can hate Bush for the war, for not closing the borders, etc., because those are reasonably debatable subjects, but blaming Bush for homophobic assaults and murders in the U.S., England, Iran, Zimbabwe, Jamaica (on and on) takes us away from reality and keeps us from discussing the real culprits in those who kill innocent gays and how to prevent it.
Posted by: Joe Tynan | May 5, 2006 9:56:35 PM
I remember when I first saw the series of unaltered Abu Ge...rob torture pics and how suprised I was when all of their penises were so small. For some reason I thought Iraqis penises would be bigger. Eh, go figure.
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 6, 2006 3:33:28 AM
Bush keeps claiming that the real victory in Iraq is the spread of freedom and democracy. He'll accept the successes of his efforts but won't take blame for anything bad that happens as a result. If Iraq is murdering gay people that's not freedom and democracy so Bush's claim of bringing freedom and deomcracy to Iraq is a lie.
Add it to the list. Satan is.
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 6, 2006 4:12:09 AM
I totally agree that Islam is the greatest global threat to the rights and lives of LGBT people. Nods also to Jamaica nd Nigeria. Any kind of fundamentalism is dangerous though, as you point out, Christians and Communists have poor records too.
There is a problem however with America electing itself as moral arbitor and model of democracy and freedom for the world when it now has such issues with LGBT freedoms. But I do believe that this is down to the undemocratic American electoral system and the overwhelming voice and influence of the Christian right - and not the concensus of the American people.
Posted by: Peter Rivendell | May 6, 2006 12:00:14 PM
The growing hispanic population is also staunchly catholic and were courted by the GOP using the fear of gay marriage. Just saying.
Posted by: Chad Hanging | May 6, 2006 2:17:45 PM
I find it fasinating how so many people feel free to judge the actions and thoughts of others, having never been to or lived in thier world. Killing someone for homosexual reasons is an atrocity yes. Killing someone because they belong to a tribe or religious group is also an atrocity. Killing people in general is not a good thing, though sometimes necessary.
Iraq is not our country and we can't make all the rules. Iraq belongs to the Iraqis, wether they call themselves Suni, Shiia, Kurd, or Arab. This is more of an Amnesty International issue than one for the military. I thought all the liberals wanted the military to go more leinant on the prisoner-taking and let the Iraqi people deal with it. This is the result.
Posted by: Red | May 8, 2006 12:10:34 PM
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