Monday, August 16, 2010

Bosnian lab helps identify victims of Saddam's regime

'The researchers try to restore identity to nameless remains by comparing the DNA to genetic material collected from living relatives. The detective work has been carried out on remains of victims from the 1990s Balkan wars, the Pinochet regime in Chile, Typhoon Frank in the Philippines, Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, and Asia's December 2004 Tsunami.

Those efforts have been dwarfed by ICMP's latest mission: helping Iraqis find and identify the victims of the Saddam Hussein regime and its aftermath.

Officials in Baghdad estimate that 350,000 human remains are hidden in mass graves throughout the country. Human rights groups say it could be close to a million.

...For the past two years, the team has been bringing Iraqi forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, nurses and other experts to Bosnia for training on collecting blood samples, excavating mass graves and setting up labs in Iraq.

Some of the dead were killed in the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s. Others were Kurds, killed because of their ethnicity. Or Shiites, massacred because of their religion. Or Sunnis, eliminated because of their political views.

If the estimates of human rights groups prove accurate, "they represent a crime against humanity surpassed only by the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Pol Pot's Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s, and the Nazi Holocaust of World War II," says a 2004 report from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Building on the Iraq numbers are the unknown number of mass graves filled by victims of post-Saddam revenge killings as Sunnis, Shiites and rival political factions used the turmoil to settle scores.

It could take decades to find names for the bones from Iraq but it will contribute to peace, says Adam Boys, the deputy head of the commission, who sees his work as "not for the dead but for the living."

"We see the issue of missing persons as something that stops reconciliation, that contributes to conflict," he says.

In Bosnia, two-thirds of the victims — a total of some 20,000 sets of remains — have been found and identified. Some 10,000 remain missing.

Munira Subasic, a Bosniak woman who lost her son, describes the effect this way: "Multiply that number by at least four family members and that's how many people are crying every day in Bosnia."

In Iraq, there are likely to be millions enduring that fate.

The current situation "has catastrophic effects on Iraqi society and politics," says Baghdad political analyst Hadi Jallu. "The missing people are from Iraqi sects and unless this problem is solved, these sects will still continue to mistrust and still seek revenge from each other."

Jonathan McCaskill, the ICMP chief in Iraq, said locals are being taught about forensic archaeology, anthropology, and creating databases to store genetic information and matching it with living relatives.

Iraqi archaeologists, anthropologists, forensic experts, nurses, doctors and lawyers have been visiting Sarajevo for courses on excavating bones, DNA extraction, and taking blood samples. Software ICMP has developed is being translated into Arabic and Kurdish.

In Baghdad, thousands of remains have been collected at the morgues of the Medical Legal Institute, brought in during the months after the April 2003 invasion. Iraqi experts have extracted DNA from many of the remains but so far have nothing with which to match them.

Dr. Munqith al-Dezali, the head of the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad, said each set of remains needs blood samples from three or four relatives to yield a positive identification.

Boys says much education is needed before the work of collecting those samples can even start.

He cites the case of one Kurdish village where some villagers had reservations about the procedure. When an ICMP representative told them that DNA extraction was necessary to help find missing loved ones, they asked how long one can live without DNA, thinking it was an organ.

"It is a monumental task," Boys said.'

37 comments :

Dolly said...

Americans love hearing this kind of Kurds/victim crap, because they were raised on "good guy, bad guy" stories. However to a normal person, just the bare phrase "bad guy" is idiotic in itself.

Now everyone in the world understands that the attack on Iraq was wrong. So today Assmericans are looking for *victim* stories to justify the war in their minds.
This is where you come in Mojo, as the perpetual cum rag of the occupation, you are counted on to come up with endless sap stories, so Batman can finally save the day.

This woman once told me I mustn't be in favor of killing Kurds, so she recommended a film called "Turtles Can Fly." "Watch the movie," she said, "and tell me if you could wish something bad on those children."

So I said "I will, but I hope the movie is not something designed to make Americans feel like protective good-guys, thus attempting to justify the pure and deliberate evil of their war."

Sure enough, it was some pathetic trash about how Assmericans must save crippled children. Boo hoo.

Hey you can make another sequel when we "Halabja it up" soon !

Iraqi Mojo said...

It's not like I haven't criticized America. America has made many mistakes. America should have overthrown the butcher Saddam and his Tikriti mafiosi scumbags in 1991, when Americans were so close to Baghdad.

Iraqi Mojo said...

"Americans love hearing this kind of Kurds/victim crap"

and the 3arab jarab hate hearing it, probably, cuz they think Saddam was cool.

Maury said...

Dolly wouldn't have lasted a week under Sadman's regime. Opinionated people ended up dead. Even those who thought they were being loyal puppets. These guys are just looking into mass graves. A small fraction of Sadman's crimes. More often, someone like Dolly would be tortured and killed in prison, and the family would collect the remains for burial.

Bruno said...

Dolly has a point. The American psyche is geared to feed off these horror stories where they come charging in to save the day. Therefore, that is what will be fed to Americans. When "the natives" deviate from the script, they soon become outcasts and marginalised and demonised.

Take Zeyad for example. He started off by cheering the Americans at every point that he could. But when the true nature of the beast became apparent, he could not, as a honest human being, persist in that line. When he reported the facts about the Occupation, as he saw them, his previous idolizing American audience turned on him and deserted him in droves.

Somehow, when it is the Americans and their mass-murdering friends that are being criticised, the truth is no longer relevant and must be at any cost ignored.

Maury said...

"Dolly has a point. The American psyche is geared to feed off these horror stories where they come charging in to save the day."

Don't you find it interesting that Dolly lives in Belgrade, yet never gives the "Assmericans" credit for stopping the slaughter of Muslims in Bosnia? We stopped that genocide in its tracks Bruno. That's an historical fact. Dolly is anti anything that opposes her jihadi mentality. Amreeka just happens to be the biggest obstacle to her dreams of a caliphate run by bin Laden and friends.

Bruno's Burning Anus said...

Bruno has a point on the top of his head. In America, the alleged misdeeds of the US and its allies are reported in the newspapers. Unlike Iraq under Saddam. Unlike almost anywhere in the Arab world apart, perhaps, from Iraq today. And we all know why that is.

Bruno said...

[maury] "the slaughter of Muslims in Bosnia? We stopped that genocide in its tracks Bruno. That's an historical fact. Dolly is anti anything that opposes her jihadi mentality. Amreeka just happens to be the biggest obstacle to her dreams of a caliphate run by bin Laden and friends."

REALLY????

Gosh!

Then it would be uh, unfortunate if somebody were to publish THIS:


"Reliable sources report that the United States is now [1994] actively participating in the arming and training of the Muslim forces of Bosnia-Herzegovina in direct contravention of the United Nations accords. US agencies have been providing weapons made in ... China (PRC), North Korea (DPRK) and Iran. The sources indicated that ... Iran, with the knowledge and agreement of the US Government, supplied the Bosnian forces with a large number of multiple rocket launchers and a large quantity of ammunition. These included 107mm and 122mm rockets from the PRC, and VBR-230 multiple rocket launchers ... made in Iran. ... It was [also] reported that 400 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (Pasdaran) arrived in Bosnia with a large supply of arms and ammunition. It was alleged that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had full knowledge of the operation and that the CIA believed that some of the 400 had been detached for future terrorist operations in Western Europe.

[...]

the Clinton Administration's "hands-on" involvement with the Islamic network's arms pipeline included inspections of missiles from Iran by U.S. government officials... the Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), a Sudan-based, phoney humanitarian organization ... has been a major link in the arms pipeline to Bosnia. ... TWRA is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic terror network as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (the convicted mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi émigré believed to bankroll numerous militant groups. [Washington Post, 9/22/96] 6

Complicity of the Clinton Administration

In other words, the Republican Party Committee report confirms unequivocally the complicity of the Clinton Administration with several Islamic fundamentalist organisations including Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda."

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO110A.html

Bruno said...

Sorry, Maury, I couldn't resist.

But now you get to explain how helping Al Qaeda is a good thing.

Ain't I nice?

Bruno said...

[anus] "In America, the alleged misdeeds of the US and its allies are reported in the newspapers. Unlike Iraq under Saddam."

Nonsense. Saddam-era newspapers reported on the misdeeds of the US and its allies as well. What are you smoking?

Maury said...

Bruno, I've told you a dozen times that being on the internet doesn't make something true. Why do you continue to fall for stuff that's obviously bunk? Here's what the clown behind that site thinks on a few other subjects.....LOL.

Chossudovsky claims that the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is actually an operational weapon of mass destruction, with the power to alter the weather, disrupt regional electrical power systems, and modify the Earth's magnetic field, as well as potentially trigger earthquakes and affect people's brains. He has also espoused several 9/11 conspiracy theories, including the "stand-down" of the United States Air Force, the supposed lack or disappearance of airplane debris at the Pentagon, and the "pulling" of 7 World Trade Center. He has also claimed that the invasion of Afghanistan had long been planned by the United States and NATO, with the 9/11 attacks an excuse to justify the war.

Bruno's Burning Anus said...

Bwahahaha! I think the name Chossudovsky gives a hint that the author of that rubbish might be pro-Serb, with a grudge against Clinton for defending the Balkan muslims. In his desperation, Bruno will turn to any crank. Bin Laden must have felt badly betrayed when Clinton ordered a crusie missile attack on his bases in Afghanistan, LOL!

Bruno said...

Oh! Oh! Oh!

Daaaaamn, Maury, here's some more on America's LINKS TO AL QAEDA:

"The TWRA is based in Vienna, Austria, and Izetbegovic personally guarantees Hassanein’s credentials with banks there. Soon, machine guns, missiles and other weapons are being shipped into Bosnia in containers marked as humanitarian aid. Hassanein is a member of Sudan’s government party and a follower of top Sudanese leader Hassan al-Turabi. Just like al-Turabi, he works with bin Laden and the “Blind Sheikh,” Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman. He becomes the main agent in Europe for marketing and selling video and audio tapes of Abdul-Rahman’s sermons.
[...]
In 1996, the Washington Post reports that the Saudi Arabian government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to channel weapons to the Muslim Bosnians, and that the US government knew about it and assisted it. An anonymous Saudi official who took part in the effort will say that the US role “was more than just turning a blind eye to what was going on.… It was consent combined with stealth cooperation.… American knowledge began under [President George] Bush and became much greater under [President] Clinton.”

http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=third_world_relief_agency_1

I guess the Washington Post is simply RIFE with them lib'rals an' commies an' conspiracy theorists, right?

Must be a consipiracy afoot to make Maury look bad!

Bruno said...

Now, Maury will take one of two tacks:

More denial, in which case he's just gonna look dumber and dumber

or

He's gonna explain how helping out Al Qaeda is actually fighting Al Qaeda.

or

He's gonna explain how helping Al Qaeda is a GOOD thing.

I can't wait, boy o boy!

LOL

Bruno said...

[anus] "Bin Laden must have felt badly betrayed when Clinton ordered a crusie missile attack"

1: You mean, a cruise missile attack.

2: Yes, American foreign policy dictates that today's friends will be tommorrow's enemies. I'm sure OBL was expecting that stab in the back.

Bruno said...

OH NOOOOO! Dirty traitors and saboteurs have been at work, sabotaging MAURY's position:

" In short, the Clinton Administration's policy of facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of an ongoing international network of governments and organizations pursuing their own agenda in Bosnia: the promotion of Islamic revolution in Europe. That network involves not only Iran but Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan (a key ally of Iran), and Turkey, together with front groups supposedly pursuing humanitarian and cultural activities.

For example, one such group about which details have come to light is the Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), a Sudan-based, phoney humanitarian organization which has been a major link in the arms pipeline to Bosnia. ["How Bosnia's Muslims Dodged Arms Embargo: Relief Agency Brokered Aid From Nations, Radical Groups," Washington Post, 9/22/96; see also "Saudis Funded Weapons For Bosnia, Official Says: $300 Million Program Had U.S. 'Stealth Cooperation'," Washington Post, 2/2/96] TWRA is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic terror network as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (the convicted mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Osama Binladen, a wealthy Saudi emigre believed to bankroll numerous militant groups."

http://rpc.senate.gov/releases/1997/iran.htm

There's more, of course. But I'll wait until MAURY explains how helping Osama bin Laden is actually the same as "standing in the way of Al Qaeda".

Or, he can convince us that helping Al Qaeda is a GOOD thing.

I await his masterful essay on the matter with breathless anticipation.

Bruno said...

Lest it is not clear enough:

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of an ongoing international network of governments and organizations pursuing their own agenda in Bosnia: the promotion of Islamic revolution in Europe. [...] TWRA is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic terror network as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (the convicted mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Osama Bin laden, a wealthy Saudi emigre believed to bankroll numerous militant groups."

Bruno said...

Even more clearly:

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of [...] Osama Bin laden

Bruno said...

I wonder if Maury would need that in bold?

Maury said...

"In 1996, the Washington Post reports that the Saudi Arabian government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to channel weapons to the Muslim Bosnians, and that the US government knew about it and assisted it."

Yeah Bruno, put that in bold....because it's breaking news....that anyone with a heartbeat has known for the last 15 years. Bruno the investigative reporter....LOL.

Wow. Clinton helped the Muslim Bosnians. Who'da thunkit?

Maury said...

And nobody in Bosnia would piss on bin Laden if he was on fire Bruno. Use those special investigative skills of yours to learn the difference between muslims in Bosnia and muslims in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan. World of difference. Night and day.

Anonymous said...

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of [...] Osama Bin laden"

The words of an ignoramus who obviously knows nothing about Bosnian Muslims, who are the most secular and pro-Western muslims in the world. The idea they have any sympathy for bin Laden or Al Qaeda is nonsense. Here's what a BBC journalist (as opposed to Serb and Croat propagandists) wrote about them.

Since the war of 1992-95 Muslims have preferred to be known as Bosniaks - a definition that does not carry an overtly religious meaning...Even among religious Bosniaks, the arrival during the war of hundreds of often fanatical foreign Islamic fighters, known as the mujahideen, was a mixed blessing. Fighting against overwhelming odds, the Bosniaks had little choice but to accept the mujahideen offer of help - and arms supplies from Iran and other Muslim countries.... Following the Dayton peace accords of 1995, the mujahideen, along with other foreign fighters, were required to leave Bosnia....Bosnia's own native Muslim population, with its strongly-entrenched European traditions, is seen as overwhelmingly pro-Western.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3104130.stm

Anonymous said...

I should have added that allowing Islamic fanatics to help the Bosnian Muslims is NOT the same thing as helping Islamic fanatics. They were USED for a good cause, not helped, and they failed to turn the Bosniaks into fundamentalists like them.

Bruno said...

EXCELLENT!

So, thanks to Maury and "Anonymous", we now have confirmation that:

1: My original post on the matter was correct

2: ergo, the US did indeed work with, and help, folks like bin Laden and Al Qaeda

3: Helping Al Qaeda is a GOOD thing if the Americans say so ...

Q.E.D.

My work here is done. :)

Bruno said...

Oh, and I don't give a shit whether the Bosnians are psycho Muslims or cuddly-wuddly Muslims. What I care about is whether or not the US has helped Al Qaeda. Clearly it has.

That is all.

Cheers.

Maury said...

So we shouldn't help flood victims in Pakistan, because we might inadverdantly feed some Taliban? You're a sick puppy Bruno.

Bruno said...

MUH - Ha ha ha ha!

:D

Bruno said...

Maybe, if Maury wasn't such a fanatic, I'd take it easy on him.

Maybe, next time, he will consider what I post before dismissing it out of hand with a rant.

Maybe ... but I'm not counting on it.

Maury said...

Maybe you'll consider the alternative before posting that drivel for the umpteenth time Bruno. Al Qaida "may have benefitted slightly" from our effort to save millions of Muslims from ethnic cleansing. And that proves Amreeka is evil exactly how?

If we hadn't done something, you'd be all over us.....and you know it. Damned if we do, and damned even more if we don't. You can't lose Bruno!

Bruno said...

[maury] "Al Qaida "may have benefitted slightly""

LOL! Keep entertaining me. Maybe we could do a bit where I take your "America, the last bastion against Al Qaeda" type statements, and contrast them with your "Al Qaeda, saviours of the Bosnians, needed to be helped by America" statements.

See? Al Qaeda ain't so evil, when it's on the American side.

[maury] "If we hadn't done something, you'd be all over us"

No, that's actually not true. I don't believe that inaction is culpable.

There's this tendency amongst the warmongering American fringe to project their own ideas onto others. One of those ideas that y'all seem to think the rest of the world believes is that if something happens and America does nothing, that you're to blame for it. Not so. That's a fallacy.

Dolly said...

Btw this word "Amreeka" and its usage by the Assmericans here.

It is supposed to be a racist statement. If they were addressing Africans, they would say: "We'll bomb those spear chuckers, even if they say ooga-ooga-ooga!"

So then for the Arab version, saying "Amreeka" in this manner is one possible slur, because it does sound stupid from the Western perspective.

Maury said...

Is "Assmerica" a possible slur Dolly, or is it meant as a complement?

It's a good thing we've got you here. Someone has to maintain harmony between ethnic groups.

Anonymous said...

The above comments show that Bruno is a complete moron.

(1) The Bosniaks, threatened with genocide, allowed a few hundred Islamic militants to fight alongside them.

(2) The US government, realizing the plight of the Bosniaks, did not attempt to prevent this.

(3) Those militants failed to radicalize the Bosniaks and were sent home after the war.

(4) None of the above imply that the US "helped Al Qaeda".

Bruno said...

Lest it is not clear enough:

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of an ongoing international network of governments and organizations pursuing their own agenda in Bosnia: the promotion of Islamic revolution in Europe. [...] TWRA is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic terror network as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (the convicted mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Osama Bin laden, a wealthy Saudi emigre believed to bankroll numerous militant groups."

Bruno said...

Even more clearly:

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made it the de facto partner of [...] Osama Bin laden

Bruno said...

"facilitating the delivery of arms to the Bosnian Muslims made [america] the de facto partner of [...] Osama Bin laden

Bruno said...

Q.E.D.