the War that never ends

[pynchonoid]

Allied Planners Tackle Baghdad Remodel Challenge

War suits Baghdad. The absurdly monumental
architecture of the palaces and government buildings
look better in ruins and the black cloud from the
burning oil trenches has given the city an impressive,
if somewhat melodramatic, sense of impending doom. A
dust storm earlier in the week left a fine orange
powder everywhere that makes the city glow against the
dark sky. 

Hearts & Minds Campaign Makes a Splash

At least 15 of the victims were children, and at the
local mosque they washed the young, pale bodies
punctured by shrapnel late into the night before they
were carried in coffins through the streets. 

The crater in the market itself was relatively small
considering the results. A hole a half-metre deep and
a metre wide surrounded by cracked asphalt a few
metres from the tin-roofed shops. Shrapnel pierced a
nearby red Passat, leaving its windows shattered and
doors charred. This bomb was designed to kill, not
destroy buildings. Residents said they heard a plane
approach before the impact. The exact nature of the
bombing is unclear, but not the results. Bystanders
talked of severed heads and limbs and a young man
offered to show us the brains of a friend who had been
standing next to him during the explosion. 

Coalition Generals Promote Family Values

My baby, you are my only son,' she said as relatives
pull her off the corpse. 'My baby, my son, my son.'
When they closed the coffin, Tisar beat the coffin
with her fists and wailed, pulling her hair. 

Late into the night the families of Shula visited
friends and relatives and carried their dead from the
mosque to their homes. In almost every block, the
sounds of sobbing came from houses as crowds waited
outside.

<http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,925664,00.html>


Alternative:
http://www.sojo.net/


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