This is sad news to wake up to:
The two U.S. soldiers missing since an attack on a checkpoint last week were found dead near a power plant in Yusifiyah, south of Baghdad, according to an Iraqi defense official.
General Abdul Aziz Muhammed, head of operations at Iraqi Ministry of Defense said in a news conference in Baghdad this afternoon that the soldiers had been “barbarically” killed and that there were traces of torture on their bodies.
He offered no further details. U.S. officials could not immediately be reached for comment or confirmation.
Link via Stop the ACLU. I am on my way out, but will update later when more information is available.
Update: The following is from the uncle of one of the soldiers on the Today show via the AP/Washington Post:
The uncle of a U.S. soldier who disappeared after a firefight in Iraq lashed out at the government Tuesday after learning two bodies had reportedly been found not far from where his nephew and another soldier were last seen.
“The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family,” Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC’s “Today” show. “Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life,” he said.Update: Be sure to see Paul’s post above putting the uncle’s statements into context. Not surprisingly, the AP only told part of the story.
Michelle Malkin has a good roundup including pictures of the fallen soldiers and the following from McQ about lessons learned from this incident.
This will be the lesson of the day from every commander out there. When you have a group that small, you never split them. You either all go, or you all stay.
There’s another lesson, an unofficial one, which will be passed among the troops themselves. Never surrender. They’ll just kill you anyway. It’s better to go down fighting.
Update III: Dan at GayPatriot put into words what I could not express about this horrific murder.
I can hear the Moonbats now:
“See!! This is retribution for killing Zarqawi!! We are so cruel my heart aches. I hate Bush!!”
Was that evidence that they had to listen to loud music, or that a dog had barked at them?
Chester, the lefty media is already going full steam ahead doing exactly what you said.
Something else you can run to the bank with is the lack of condemnation of their torture and murder while in captivity from the left or any Democrat.
Cmon Chucky call for an investigation into torture allegations?
Kos already has a thread running on this… Apparently, they think the death of these brave men is “quaint”. I shit you not.
There’s a link at Little Green Footballs, and the Kostards comments are… unbelievable.
I was deployed in upper ME (2003 to 05)and we all agreed to never be taken alive. But none of us left either…
I’ve never been a member of the military. However, I’ve spent over 25 years in the defense electronics industry as a senior program manager of numerous “black” programs. Space based, UAV stuff, and several other “endeavors” shall we say.
The kind of event we witnessed today, wherein our own troops are brutally tortured and then slaughtered in the name of the “Religion of Peace” just hits me to the core.
Moreover, not a single condemnation from the Muslim Americans from what I’ve seen, or from the entire Muslim World. Everybody, regardless of religion, should be outraged about the “Barbaric” treatment of these two soldiers.
Maybe I’m out of touch in understanding the Islamic foot soldiers role here in liberating Iraq.
I think I’ll go into work early tomorrow. Obviously I need to field the system I’m working on earlier than planned… If it works as planned it will be, shall we say, effective.
Regards folks………