Saddam’s pilots hunted down by death squads

[DoYouEverWonder]

April 9, 2006

IRAQI pilots who flew in Saddam Hussein’s air force are being targeted by armed militias in an apparent witch-hunt against veterans who fought in the war against Iran two decades ago.

According to official military statistics, 182 former pilots and 416 senior military officers had been killed by the beginning of January 2006 as part of the campaign. At least 836 pilots and high-ranking military officials have fled to neighbouring Arab states.

Many of the assassinations have been blamed on militias from the Shi’ite Badr Brigade who were trained and financed by Iran and who now form the backbone of Iraq’s police and special forces.

A delegation of more than 1,000 members of the former military elite — mainly from the Sunni minority — appealed recently to President Jalal Talabani to intervene to end the attacks.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2125729,00.html

[formercia]

1. Iran has a long memory

Fearless Leader should think twice.........

[Bigmack]

3. The whole [b]region[/b]....

has a long memory. Blood revenge (not merely revenge) is built into a lot of the social/religious traditions in that area.

Americans have a short revenge-span.... witness Japan and Germany.

The people in the MidEast will be in a blood rage 10-20 years from now, and most Americans will have no idea why.

[formercia]

4. It is considered their duty to avenge a wrong

Tribal feuds can span many generations.

[cantstandbush]

7. And they haven't forgotten that we helped the Shaw and that his kin

reside in the US and elsewhere in the west.

[bemildred]

2. I can think of other parties that might have an interest in this "effort".

Not that I want to defend the Badr Brigade ...

[Kagemusha]

5. But Badr was physically based in Iran during that war.

I imagine their camps got bombed by some of the people they're assassinating.

I don't think that they need outside encouragement, just institutional memory. Not that there isn't any. But it's not strictly required either.

[bemildred]

6. I didn't say they had no motive, I said others do too. nt