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Jailed Iraqi children run free as marines roll into Baghdad suburbs
by Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, Apr. 08, 2003 at 1:48 PM
The children are free. Imagine if you peaceniks were jailed because you didn't join the manditory military of the US.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - More than 100 children held in a prison celebrated their freedom Tuesday as US marines rolled into northeast Baghdad amid chaotic scenes which saw civilians loot weapons from an army compound, a US officer said.
Around 150 children spilled out of the jail after the gates were opened as a US military Humvee vehicle approached, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Padilla told an AFP correspondent travelling with the Marines 5th Regiment.
"Hundreds of kids were swarming us and kissing us," Padilla said.
"There were parents running up, so happy to have their kids back."
"The children had been imprisoned because they had not joined the youth branch of the Baath party," he alleged. "Some of these kids had been in there for five years."
The children, who were wearing threadbare clothes and looked under-nourished, walked on the streets crossing their hands as if to mimic handcuffs, before giving the thumbs up sign and shouting their thanks.
It was not clear who had opened the doors of the prison.
Civilians also took advantage of the collapse of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's authority to grab weapons from an army base, said Group Sergeant Jeff Treiber.
As marines were alerted by radio that civilians had seized weapons, Treiber warned that anyone seen to be armed could be a target of US-British coalition forces.
"With the weapons they are becoming combatants," said Treiber. "If they don't take the weapons they will be fine."
Other residents stole air conditioning units, television sets and furniture from government buildings in an echo of the looting that was seen in the southern city of Basra.
A 19-year-old called Haider said people had been ransacking government compounds since the morning to steal weapons and furniture.
"Since the morning, nine o'clock, they have been looting. They are stealing weapons and I took three doors," he said.
At one stage the marines opened fire after coming under attack from snipers, leaving at least two civilians wounded.
One man needed treatment for gunshot wounds to his stomach and left arm.
But his friend, Abdul Amir Jaffa, said he did not resent the Americans despite the shooting.
"Americans are coming to free us," he told AFP.
The marines became increasingly edgy as crowds of people took to the streets to observe their progress.
"It's a problem with so many people in the area. Its hard to tell if there are enemy forces among them. You have to be careful returning fire with civilians all over the place," Lieutenant Anthony Sousa said.
Troops from the Marines' 1st Expeditionary Force also entered Baghdad on the east of the city Tuesday as thousands of armoured vehicles and Humvees poured into the capital for a showdown with Saddam Hussein's troops.
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030408/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_war_...
how soon we forget
by spot
Wednesday, Apr. 09, 2003 at 3:22 AM
uhhh, didn't saddam release all prisoner's a few months back? How have they been there for five years?
Lawsuit in the works?
by G. Lucas
Wednesday, Apr. 09, 2003 at 6:19 AM
Hmm....
Sounds an awful lot like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".
.
by .
Wednesday, Apr. 09, 2003 at 9:26 AM
Saddam only released prisoners who had committed real crimes (murder, rape, etc) but not political prisoners. Even then a large portion of the prison population was never released because they didn't agree to join the army.
meanwhile back in the USA...
by Rebecca
Wednesday, Apr. 09, 2003 at 10:55 AM
malekincat@earthlink.net
Now if they could just abolish the law that allows minors to be executed here then everything would be rosy wouldn't it?
The children of Iraq have been liberated. Even the dead ones - if only they knew.
It was OK in WACO
by Prodigal Yunzer
Friday, Apr. 11, 2003 at 12:21 PM
To incinerate those children in order to save them from the "child molester" David Koresh. And all he was doing was marrying young girls over age 14 with their parent's consent. The FBI didn't save many of them did they?
I like GW Bush's killed/saved ratio a lot better than Clinton's.
amazing
by .
Friday, Apr. 11, 2003 at 12:31 PM
<I>David Koresh. And all he was doing was marrying young girls over age 14 with their parent's consent.</I>
<p>
Do you think about what you type before you do?
<p>
No one has answered anything about Iraq yet. Sure we 'freed' them, but what now? Before saddam there was genocide on a massive scale between all three groups in Iraq. What makes us think that we're doing them a favour returning them to chaos. We did a great job 'saving' those Afganis didn't we. They are so much happier now, at least they can't easily idenify their oppressors now.
<p>
I think we should have kept Saddamin check, and he is evil, but if we're going to depose him, we better have thought about what happens next, and we haven't at all. Assuming that an Arab country will take to democracy is childish. Assuming that the great liberator USA will give them democracy is childish. There is no way that given democracy, that we would allow the Iraqis to elect someone we don't want them to. What if the people choose to elect a radical muslim cleric who is bent of the "death to america" business? Do you think we'd lat him win. There is no democracy on earth, and we're not about to give one to Iraq.
LEGAL IN TEXAS
by Prodigal Yunzer
Saturday, Apr. 12, 2003 at 11:32 AM
To marry at 14 with parental permission. The ATF is not the Kiddy Diddler Police, but for all the good they do they might as well be. You are right we don't have democracy here, and it is a good thing that we do not. What happens to the Arabs is of no concern to me, as long as the oil keeps flowing and we ride herd on the Islamic fundamentalists. If the press decides tomorrow that Iraq needs free soft serve ice cream, you just know that seven reporters from around the world will ask Rumsfield and Gen Franks
"when will the ice cream trucks be allowed to go into Tikrit?" All the crap justifying the war is for the Oprah watching Sucker Moms who actually think that their opinion matters. What can you expect? Scumbag Willie polled people on where he should mooch a vacation, and probably more inanities that CNN is keeping from us to stop their sources from commiting "Arkancide". Today it is "democracy", tomorrow it will be "WMD", next day it will be "human rights"- we are at war with Islamic fundamentalism, and the governments who use it to subject their people. Where we fight, how we fight them, when and with what are totally up to GW BUSH. We don't need any polls. This is a war for Liberalism with a capital L- a world where politicians do not use churches to get people used to hierarchical command and control. Spare me your cheap attacks on Bush's faith, please. You know exactly what I mean, having spent some time in the Old Rotten World.
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