Headless bodies and Car bombs

Three headless bodies turn up and other violence results in death in Iraq.

By Sabah Albazee

BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) - The decapitated bodies of three men, their heads strapped to their backs and the corpses put in nylon bags, were found dumped by a roadside north of Baghdad Wednesday, Iraqi police and U.S. officials said.

The bodies were discovered by a group of Iraqi National Guardsmen shortly after dawn as they patrolled near the town of Dujail, 38 miles north of the capital. The U.S. military said initial indications were that the dead men were Arabs.

The development comes amid a sharp surge in violence over the past three days, with at least 150 Iraqis killed in bomb blasts, fighting and other attacks. A car bomb in central Baghdad killed 47 and wounded 114 Tuesday.

Iraqi police said two of the bodies had tattoos written in the Roman alphabet -- one saying "HECER," and the other a letter H. The third body had tattoos written in Arabic script but the words were not Arabic. There were no documents on the corpses.

Meanwhile at a police headquarters a familier tactic plays out.

As well as kidnappings and roadside bomb blasts, the insurgents appear intent on killing as many Iraqi police and National Guards as possible, while also targeting recruits.

Tuesday's car bomb in Baghdad was detonated outside a police headquarters in Haifa Street, a busy part of the old city. It went off as dozens of young men were lining up to join the police force, and as civilians shopped in a nearby market.

Similar attacks have taken place throughout the country in recent months.

While some of those recovering in hospital after the blast said the attack had now dissuaded them from joining the police service, others said it made them all the more determined.

"I will still join if I can," said Hamdan Radi, a 25-year-old who came all the way from Amara in the far south of Iraq to Baghdad to sign up. He ended up with severe shrapnel wounds across his abdomen and lower chest.

This attempt to attack future security forces is haveing a dramatic effect on the speed with which we can train and field credible Iraqi security forces. It has been obvious for far too long that the neocon architects of this war, should be beat like red headed step children for laughing off the military members who said that we would need at least 300,000 boots on the ground. Hell, we had a coalition numbering 500,000 for the first gulf war and that was just to get Kuwait away from Saddam and give it back to the Kuwaiti's. This failure of leadership has left us in an intractible quagmire and is killing the military. Bush and his cronys have done a criminal disservice to our men under fire.

Anyone who really thinks that Bush has done an outstanding job as CinC, needs a slap upside the head. The military has performed admirably given the anemic support of the administration which preferred to play the politics of profit during the occupation. There was a window of opportunity for this to work out and Bush and Bremer were to busy playing games. Once a critical mass of Iraqis realized that those bastards were in it for personal game it was only a matter of time and now, meet Quagmiraq, Quagmiristan, call it what you will, but that sucking sound you hear is the blood, treasure, honor, and prestige, of a great nation. A fucking disgrace. Yes I am pissed. Those smug lying sacks of shit. OK OK OK.