:
Mo Dec 18 -

THE 6 MASHADANIS:
Burned Alive ? -

E&P claims that the phantom Iraqi police captain Jamil Hussein may have been located at the Yarmouk station. That's great news, and I hope this lead turns out fruitfully.

I really don't understand why some people seem so hostile to the idea of nailing this story down.

But simply locating the police officer still does not resolve the matter. He reported that 6 Sunnis were doused with kerosene and burned alive. This is a horrible atrocity and raises more issues.

# First, this incident is
an anecdote, not a story.

# Was there any physical evidence of charred cadavers with kerosene residue on them? Many people have asked this question.

# It was reported elsewhere that the 6 were not random victims, but all were members of the same tribe: Mashadani. Is this so?

# What kind of activities is this tribe involved in? Are they guarding an oil pipeline, for example?

# Is this tribe engaged in a conflict with another tribe? Which other tribe? And what would such a conflict be about?

This anecdote may be
the beginning of a story.

-- More of the story is
:: recounted HERE:

*one of the victims was the Mustafa mosque muezzin, or prayer caller, Ahmed al-Mashadani. He did not know the names of the five others, but said they were all members of the al-Mashadani tribe.*

What was this tribe doing that someone didn't like? And why did they kill the muezzin? Because he was issuing warnings of approaching attacks from the minneret? Another will take his place.

So, the saga continues... Maybe we'll even be able to get a Bill of Indictment at the Court of the Hague. And there is still an unresolved murder from a couple of years ago: a moderate Shiite cleric (al-Khoi) was hacked to death with big sheep-slaughtering knives, and then his lifeless body was viciously chopped up into pieces. Does anyone entertain the delusion that you get a Free Pass for committing such atrocities? If so, you'd better stop dreaming.

...