Update II: There had been some initial conflicting reports, but it appears the early statements by Iraqi leaders that both women had Down's Syndrome have been confirmed.
Update: Soldiers' Dad discusses the media's role in events like this
Terrorists in Iraq hit rock-bottom almost immediately, and started digging soon after. But they're really trying for absolute bottom on the ladder of human scum these days.
BAGHDAD - Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally retarded women detonated in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars Friday, Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital last spring.
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The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, claimed the female bombers had Down syndrome and that the explosives were detonated by remote control, indicating they may not having been willing attackers in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert stepped up security measures.
We've heard reports before of children or mentally disabled people used as suicide bombers, though those stories rarely made the big media. I suppose the one, thin silver lining in all this is that in their typical highlighting of anything that goes wrong (at the expense of what goes right), the media can't help but headline the utter depravity of these latest bombings... and hopefully educate a few more people about who we're fighting.
I'm reminded of something that came up in my interview of the 3ID Chief of Staff last week (though these bombings did not occur in his AO): There is “frankly, an evil still out there...that doesn’t hesitate to kill families, women and children.” He had hesitated a beat before the words "an evil," but then spoke them with marked intensity that belied his apparent trepidation at using such a loaded word.
I find it hard to argue with his use of language.
