Blowing up houses, digging up graves: Iraqis purge Islamic State

[LarryW]

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

It will take many years of cold wind for those who were brutalized to find peace in their hearts for those vile bastards.

How will Iraq ever be a single state again, if it ever was in the past? What would a multiple state of Iraq look like? A Confederation? Is Iraq destined to be a buffer state between Persia and the the Arab world? I don't know.

Blowing up houses, digging up graves: Iraqis purge Islamic State

The mood was festive as seven men each carried a bomb into a house on the edge of a village in northern Iraq.

Dozens of residents of Rfaila, young and old, had flocked to watch the house of their former neighbor Abu Maitham be blown up, filming the spectacle on phones to the sound of patriotic music blaring from a parked car.

They said Abu Maitham joined Islamic State militants who ruled over hundreds of towns and villages like Rfaila for more than two years, subjecting the local population to a life of violence and privation.

Abu Maitham had already fled when Iraqi forces drove the militants from the area last year as they advanced north towards Mosul, Islamic State's largest urban stronghold. The city's eastern half was cleared by January and the start of an assault on the western side was declared on Sunday.

In their wake, local people are purging every last vestige of Islamic State's presence: demolishing militants' homes and even digging up their graves.

The campaign points to a wider reckoning within Iraq's Sunni Muslim community, part of which sided with Islamic State militants who overran around one third of Iraq in 2014.

Inside the house in Rfaila, about 45 km (30 miles) south of Mosul, Ayad Jasim arranged the tubs of explosives in a circle on the floor and connected them to a wire leading out to a battery pack.

"It soothes the soul," said Jasim, as he prepared to detonate the house - his 79th since security forces regained control of the area. "There are still many left".

Jasim's motives are both patriotic and personal. His own home in another village nearby was blown up by Islamic State, and 27 members of his extended family have disappeared or been killed by the group including a 10-year-old boy.

(more)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mi...KBN15Y0ET?il=0

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by LarryW

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

It will take many years of cold wind for those who were brutalized to find peace in their hearts for those vile bastards.

How will Iraq ever be a single state again, if it ever was in the past? What would a multiple state of Iraq look like? A Confederation? Is Iraq destined to be a buffer state between Persia and the the Arab world? I don't know.

Answer: Unlikely to ever be resolved..

The British tried to unite the area for hundreds of years. They finally gave up in 1947, tried to "partitioned" India and "stabilize" North Africa and the Middle East.. It's an open sore on the earth and will not heal..

Rather than build a wall to keep invaders out of the USA,,
We should build a wall AROUND the Middle East??

The Young British Soldier,
Rudyard Kipling,circa 1840t's

When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier OF the Queen!

Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .

First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .

When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .

But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .

If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .

Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .

If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .

When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .

When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .

When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!

PS: There is a difference between anti-war,, and anti-stupid...

[scooter]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

PS: There is a difference between anti-war,, and anti-stupid...

Agreed.

[Sdiver]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

Rather than build a wall to keep invaders out of the USA,,
We should build a wall AROUND the Middle East??

Then fill it with water.
But that's just my opinion.