Young Iraqi Teens as Suicide Bombers: Getting More Bang for the Buck

If you're in agreement with the woman who crashed a vigil for Private Long, the soldier killed at an Arkansas recruiting center, you can ignore this post.

She's the one who said, "If you do research, about The New York Times and the Fox News they're owned by who? Jews! They're liars! They're liars!..."

Iraqi Insurgents Getting More Bang for the Buck

Suicide vests cost money. And, even if they're donated by the daftly devout, an insurgent group will have a limited supply of the things.

So, it makes economic sense to get the most value possible out of them.

Insurgents in Iraq seem to be doing that.

On the other hand, The New York Times carefully points out that, although the American and Iraqi military have reported instances where they were attacked by someone in their early teens:

"...In many attacks, it remains unclear exactly what took place, with residents giving accounts that diverge from official American or Iraqi explanations...." (NYT)

The New York Times also reported:

"...In Hilla, south of Baghdad, residents said American forces shot and seriously wounded a 6-year-old girl on Saturday after a bomb went off near their patrol.

"American military officials denied the report...." (NYT)

I'm assuming, for the moment, that "residents" in Iraq, who may have been the ones who wound the kid up and pointed him or her toward the soldiers, may not be the most reliable sources of information. I'm also assuming that officers of the American armed forces give accurate information more often than not. Abu Ghraib and Professor Churchill notwithstanding.

Looking at the situation in Iraq with a biased, Eurocentric value system, it might seem that using kids around the age of 14 - or 6 - to attack soldiers isn't very nice. One of the things I learned in college is that Americans shouldn't apply their values to people in other cultures.

So, looking at what the insurgents seem to be doing objectively, I can see that having someone who may have been 14 be the star in a suicide car bombing (AP), and having kids lob grenades in the general direction of American or Iraqi troops makes perfect sense.

There's a chance that soldiers may be hurt or killed. If the attack is carried out at a time and place where (real) residents of the area are going about their business, there's a better chance that some of them will be hurt or killed.

And, if the affair is a suicide attack, there's a near-certainty of at least one fatality.

Never Underestimate the Propaganda Value of a Tragically Dead Teen

Even if no American soldiers are killed, the people who used young Ali or Fatima as a cat's-paw get top-notch material for propaganda. Something along the lines of "American soldiers gun down innocent Iraqi teen." The rest of the story practically writes itself.

If people living in the area are hurt or killed, that's even better. They can become victims of America's war of aggression, too.

Am I being too cynical about the motives and methods of the Iraqi insurgents? Perhaps. Or, maybe I'm an unwitting dupe of the Jews and/or those shape-shifting space alien lizard people.¹ I don't think so, though.

More-or-less-related posts:

• "Arkansas Vigil Interrupted by Enthusiastic Muslima"
  (June 6, 2009)
• "Tiananmen Square Commemoration in Hong Kong: No Tanks"
  (June 5, 2009)
• "Pakistan's Swat Valley: Civilians, Soldiers, and the Taliban"
  (May 31, 2009)
• "Iran, Islam, 'Arrogant Powers' and 'Certain Expansionist Superpowers,' and Common Sense"
  (May 30, 2009)
• "Genocide! Racism! Down With Columbus Day!!"
  (April 8, 2009)
• "Professor Ward Churchill is Back: A Glorious Victory for Academic Freedom, Tenure, and the American Academic Way"
  (April 3, 2009)
• "Carville, Limbaugh, 9/11, Obama, and Objectivity in the News"
  (March 11, 2009)
• "CCSU Students Talk About Guns: Naturally, Their Professor Called the Police"
  (March 4, 2009)
• "Arab Leaders Pledge Billions to Gaza: But Not Quite Yet"
  (March 1, 2009)
• "Canadian Mosque's 'Specialized De-Radicalization Intervention Program' - Sounds Good"
  (February 26, 2009)
• "Castro, Cuba, Guevara, Traditional Gatekeepers, and the Information Age"
  (January 30, 2009)
• "Abu Ghraib: Abuse and Sexual Humiliation by American Soldiers in the News Again"
  (January 25, 2009)
• "Fitna Producer Geert Wilders: Alive and Well, and Facing Charges"
  (January 21, 2009)
• "White Phosphorus in Gaza: Hot Substance, Hot-Button Phrase"
  (January 15, 2009)
• "United Nations Schools Okay With Hiring Terrorists"
  (January 14, 2009)
• "Iran's Nuclear Program, Israel, Iraq, America, Bush and Obama: Simple? Not!"
  (January 11, 2009)

For yet more somewhat-related posts, key the word 'propaganda' (no quotes) in the search box near the top left corner of this blog's page.

In the news:

• "Insurgents use teenagers in attacks in Iraq "
  Xinhua (June 6, 2009)
• "Children used in Iraqi attacks"
  Turkmenistan News.Net (June 6, 2009)
• "Face of Attacks in Iraq Turns Younger, U.S. Says "
  The New York Times (June 6, 2009)
• "US: Insurgents using teens to stage Iraq attacks"
  The Associated Press (June 6, 2009)

Related posts, on censorship, propaganda, and freedom of speech.

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¹ Interestingly, I've yet to hear or read the assertion that the Jews are David Icke's shape-shifting space alien lizard people. I suppose that's a bit much for even the most avid conspiracy theorist to swallow.

On an unrelated note: "Swallow" reminded me of The Visitors' eating habits, in the 1983 V miniseries. Perhaps some people will swallow anything.