Lebanon confirms slaying of U.S. Marine in Iraq

Roadee

BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:21 a.m. ET July 04, 2004BEIRUIT/BAGHDAD - Lebanese officials in Baghdad have informed their Foreign Ministry that a Lebanese-American U.S. Marine was killed, the state-run National News Agency reported Sunday, quoting the foreign minister as condemning the "immoral" slaying of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun.

The Foreign Ministry was informed of Hassoun's death by the country's charge d'affairs in the Iraqi capital, the agency said. It did not say how Hassoun's death, which had been claimed by an Iraqi militant group in an Islamic Web site positing, had been confirmed.

The group, called the Ansar al-Sunna Army, posted a written statement on an Islamic web site claiming that it had killed Hassoun.

It also said it had taken another hostage but did not give details.

“We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese origin, Hassoun, has been slaughtered. You are going to see the video with your very eyes soon,” said the statement, signed in the name of the group’s leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.



Full story HERE

Nacht

These people make me sick.

Roadee

I think that they were trying to make a statement by killing the Marine on the American 4th of July....

Dom

From what I heard, he was killed on the 3rd.

blown503

I had heard news of it early in the day of the 3rd
Why cant we whip these little Terrorist cells? We are an Awesome Army, do they get us while we sleep?
How in the hell does one get us?

digerati

I'm sure there are a few Marines out every night drinking and getting smashed, easily vulnerable

Falstaff

this person went awol before I think, he was trying to make it back to Lebanon...he may have even deserted first.

Dom

That's a rumor, no? I think it has a lot to do with assumption, due to the fact he's an Arab and Moslem.

Falstaff

My brother is serving over there, he is a major with army intelligence, and speculation will fuel a courts martial regardless of whether he is injured or not, but the marines are quiet on this matter...cnn story

Nacht

yea, i saw on tv that the website stuff was a rumor, and that the people claiming to have him were desperately telling everyone he hadnt been hurt yet. why? (in my opinion) because they havent gotten what they want yet.

BMG_Cya=-

We have been taking it far too easy on these..."people". What needs to happen is the video footage
of these beheadings needs to be broadcast worldwide. Then all the poor liberals in the USA, Britian,
Germany, and f***** France might actually see a reality they have so far been avoiding.

But, this won't happen. Instead the media will continue to show the poor Iraqi prisoners with
their underwear pulled over their heads...or god forbid...being forced to stand up.
How brutal....

Nacht

I seriously have no problem with the prisoners in guantanamo, or other POWs, or the treatment of iraqi prisoners (except those highly publicized. i dont have a moral problem with it, but it is unprofesional).

these extremists are seriously insane. they need to learn how to make changes in a peaceful manner. thats what is good about those protesters in iraq this past week. they were having an anti-saddam march, with 4000+ participants. they were marching for the death penalty against him, carrying pictures of their dead loved ones, killed by him.

GOG

There is only one problem with your point. These guys never claimed to be cruisaders of the free world or democracy (that's why they are called terrorists). There is only one way for you to defeat them, and that's to lower yourselves to their level. And lowering to their standards wouldn't make much sense, would it?

That's why western media is broadcasting footage of abusive american prison guards instead of terrorists decapitating american prisoners. We already knew that these guys are animals but we didn't know that you had redneck nazis and dykes in your service. Not until recently...

As usual you have handled this mess by your usual rules.

1. Invade on the grounds of a lie.
2. Keep lying and continue the meaningless losses.
3. When home opinion gets fed up of seeing flag draped american coffins, leave...
4. Let the guys you swore to help and protect handle themselves.

Jeez, they are decapitating your soldiers. Wonder what they will do to all the "colaborators" (and their families) with your absence.

Nacht

As usual? excuse me? did I miss a decade or something? It wasn't a lie, it was based on intelligence, and intelligence can be wrong. but, despite that, WMDs have been found.

I think that if we free those people from him, and they are grateful (as they are), then they are not meaningless losses. you may counter by telling me to sign up for the army...for which there is no real response. it is a typical lib remark. These soldiers know what they signed up for, and they are serving. they were not 'forced' to go as you would like people to believe.

apparently, you don't know the attitude over here about the war either. because while we are 'fed up' of seeing flag draped coffins...we honestly want to help these people..which we are doing.

i dont know what #4 means. please clarify.

They will do nothing, because the 'colaborators' will be the vast majority of the population. then, their standard police and military officials will hunt their own terrorists.

bannerad

And apparently you don't know the attitude in Iraq about the war.

digerati

And apparently there is no THE attitude in Iraq.

I've received e-mails and viewed messages of people who are in Iraq being really well received and liked and others not. On the local news was a report about a boy from around us who was in Iraq and him and his company didn't even wear protective vests because they were so well liked. But then again they weren't in the hotspots.

And then there's the retrospect, we have people having stuff thrown at them, cursed and shot at.

So I believe there is no single attitude, and I don't think it's fair to pick one to suit your needs.

mike2h

good post. the media is doing its classic 'show the worst to get headlines' thing.

digerati

How come I don't see you posting anymore?