U.S. troops arrest Iraqi for criticising them.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - American soldiers handcuffed and firmly wrapped masking tape around an Iraqi man's mouth as they arrested him for speaking out against occupation troops.

Asked why the man had been arrested on Tuesday and put into the back of a Humvee vehicle on Tahrir Square, the commanding officer told Reuters at the scene: "This man has been detained for making anti-coalition statements."

He refused to say what the man said.

www.mirror.co.uk...

And I thought we were supposed to bringing free speech to the Iraqis. Looks like free speech is only good in the right direction. They don't say what the man said, but unless it was a substantial direct threat with some credibility in the forces eyes, this shouldn't happen.

The commanding officer himself said "This man has been detained for making anti-coalition statements." Nothing about a threat. What is that about? Stopping him from making a scene, or is it to send out a message to other Iraqis that dissent will not be tolerated? They certainly do enough of that in the U.K and U.S.

If there going to arrest people for making those kinds of statements they better have themselves a pretty big prison compound on standby.

"Asked why the man had been arrested on Tuesday and put into the back of a Humvee vehicle on Tahrir Square, the commanding officer told Reuters at the scene: "This man has been detained for making anti-coalition statements."

What used to be called in Saddams day as speaking out against the regime.

Horay! for democracy.

I'm glad to see a story like this. We're there trying to help the people ( at least that's what we're told ) and if they don't want to go along with the program, then shut'em up ! Who knows this guy could be a potential threat to our troops.

I guess I didn't notice the fine print in the US stated goals for Iraq.

1) To bring Democracy *
2) To bring Freedom **
3) To find WMD ***


* While we will allow Iraqi to vote for their democratically elected leader, we get to choose who they vote for, and we get final say over what type of government they get. No Islamists, please.

** Only some types of freedom, specifically chosen by US forces and enforced by same.

*** Even though we've found nothing (in a country we completely occupy), we still believe that these WMDs are there. Even though the UN inspection teams don't.



jakomo

If we are to question, we should question this subject in its entirety. First, the entire topic can be considered suspect. Reuters, which controls several media agengas, has its roots in the new world order, there is no proof to us that this is even true. What we should question, is why we are involved as a country in Iraq at all. In my humble opinion it can all be boiled down to one thing, money. Sure we need to protect ourselves from terrorists, just remember that most of them are from our own country.

Originally posted by elevatedone
Who knows this guy could be a potential threat to our troops.

In that case, someone needs to shut Bushy Boy up.

Will the time come when Americans are detained for speaking out against the 'coalition'?

It's sickening. It reminds me of the story Kate Aide (sp?) told about when US troops put a gun to her head and said they were going to kill her if she carried on reporting in the manner she was.

I'm disgusted.

by Elevatedone
I'm glad to see a story like this. We're there trying to help the people ( at least that's what we're told ) and if they don't want to go along with the program, then shut'em up !

That statement is bananas! That helps them? It's their country they should be able to say what they like about what is going on in their country. I'm sure you wouldn't be slow to speak out if you were in that position and you didn't like what was going down.

I can understand the thinking that he could have been a potential threat, but unless he was making a direct credible threat that he or others were going to bomb or shoot something or someone then the arguments not valid. One man mouthing off does not a threat make.
I doubt someone making threats of any nature is a basis for arrest anyway, though in the Iraq context I could understand him being detained for making extreme threats. The point is that the commanding officer said nothing about a threat, only 'anti-coalition statements', and if that's what he was arrested for then it's deplorable.

Originally posted by elevatedone
I'm glad to see a story like this. We're there trying to help the people ( at least that's what we're told ) and if they don't want to go along with the program, then shut'em up ! Who knows this guy could be a potential threat to our troops.

Aha, I See. So you go to their country to liberate them and give them freedom. And when they attempt to use free speech in THEIR own country, this is what your troops do?!

And you REALLY wonder why so many US troops are still getting killed over there everyday?!

Your 'patriotic' attitude, elevatedone, when transplanted to US troops in Iraq, breeds nothing but contempt and resentment from the native population, as a result of which they pick up weapons and go out to kill their American 'liberators'. Until the day your Army understands this, and instills it in it's troops, the US death count will keep ticking upwards.