Bahraini security guard shot

In the early hours of this morning in Al-Bustan hotel in Manama a scuffle broke out between drunks, purportedly American, and hotel security guards. It is reported that one of the servicemen drew his pistol and shot the Bahraini night-shift guard Abbas Ali Salman Al-Shakhoori in the head.

Al-Shakhoori has been taken to Salmaniya Medical Centre where he has been declared brain-dead. He is said to be in a very critical condition and his doctors do not expect him to live beyond today. His family, friends and people from the village are now at Salmaniya hospital by his side and the situation is very tense.

I hope a full investigation is launched and the person responsible for the death of Al-Shakhoori – regardless of nationality or position – is apprehended and handed justice.

I hope too that this situation is handled calmly by the people and the government so that it doesn’t get politicised and blown out of proportion.

I wish to extend my deep condolences to the family and friends of Al-Shakhoori. May he rest in peace.

Comments

  1. Pingback: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Bahrain: Guard Shot Dead

  2. sillybahrainigirl

    That is so sad. Sorry to hear about this and our prayers are with his family at this difficult time.

    ****************

    Another shooting?? Where the hell are we? argggggggghhhhhhhhhh

  3. ASKAD

    My condolences to his family and friends, they should not wonder with guns outside thier base, a rule is a rule and should be implemented regardless of who it was or what nationality, otherwise we will have a civil war here.

  4. Costa-Guy

    If no one wants this thing to be politicised then execute the “American/whoever” after the full investigation and after conviction or else everyone will have the right to get a gun for protection.

    Weapons and guns are in the hands of Americans and Bahrain Defence Force militants only. People kill in Bahrain and get free from prison!

    I say these issues should get blown out of proportion ages ago! It happened to the poor guy in Muharraq, now this!

    Investigation should take place for the whole incident, for the weapons and guns issue, for the criminal acts committed by those foreigners, and for the endless problems we get from these “sh**-ho**” places and lets see what our Ministry of Interior has to say after all of this!

    مادام النظام نظام غابة

    أنا واحد إن حصلت فرصة علشان احصل مسدس باخذه

    ويا ويل اللي يتعرض لي ، أمريكي كان ولا بحريني

  5. Sam

    Someone please shed some light or truth to this, how and the hell did some GI get a gun into a bar was he an MP are just some drunk ass idiot. please some facts !! If he is guilty bring the full wieght of the law to him.

  6. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    I think patience is a virtue here. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, let’s wait for the reports by the authorities and then decide on how to make a stand against this crime.

  7. alfalfa

    I thought this place was to stop serving booze in march, or did they pay somebody off?

  8. sandy

    The official statement says that there was a SUSPICION shooting. Abbas is on life support and his condition is critical. There is no information available of the unidentified man.

    This is the second similar incident after Mahdi were someone is shot .

    Where are we headed. My prays along with others with the family.

  9. Capt. Arab

    the sad fact remains after the upcoming media coverage, probably court case, long delays, governmental negiotiations, blah, blah, blah… that the young mans family have lost him for good, justice or no justice, nothing can replace that.

    the multi million dollar question is WHAT NEXT?

    may he rest in peace, and may Allah grant his family the patience to carry on.

  10. MoClippa

    I just want to see how this is handled. Is the investigation going to go all the way or be half assed? I’d assume the US government is going to demand the serviceman be extradited from the country to be tried at home, and if the Bahraini government says no (which I doubt), then there will be a severe political schism between the country and the US. In light of Iran’s detaining of several British soldiers recently, something like this has the potential to get blown totally out of proportion at the international level

    So the serviceman allegedly shot a Bahraini with a gun that very likely was illegally taken off the base and into the bar. Under whose jurisdiction does this fall, American or Bahraini? Most likely the US government has deals with Bahrain’s government to ensure that crimes committed by military personal are to be tried by their domestic courts rather then Bahrains. Now I’m unsure if Al-Shakhoori did something that endangered the servicemen in any way, and that has yet to be investigated… but if he did not, and the serviceman who shot him is given a short sentence by a US court… this has the potential to cause a lot of local discontent in Bahrain.

    I’m interested to see how the government and judiciary handles this situation…. lots of “if’s”.

  11. billT

    Unfortunately it will probably become politicized. Laws not the gun are all that protect us so American or who ever he is he should be tried in Bahrain according to your laws for murder. My prayers are with both the victim and the shooters family.

  12. Sam

    As an american living here for many years it wouldnt surprise me if some crip or redneck would do something like this if they had the means, how in the hell they got a weapon off base is a mystery it seems as if there protocol is lacking. Good keep the guys on base they can drink there they should have zones for them and saudis were they can go act like animals chase whores and shot eachother
    I cant stand being around these young stupid ass GIs.

  13. Barry

    Personally, I think if the shooter IS an American, he should be tried in Bahrain. I’m surprised he was able to get a gun off base (of course, I understand that it DOES happen). If not, the assailant should rot in prison.

    Even back here in the states, service men don’t always behave. In 2001, two marines assaulted a woman on the seaside recreation trail in the nearby town of Pacific Grove, cut her throat, and attempted to murder her. They were stationed at the Defense Language Institute. They stabbed her 11 times in the torso, cut her throat two times, and left her for dead. Fortunately, she survived. Both were sentenced to life in prison.

  14. Sam

    To billT have you ever served in the us military if you have not let me bring you up to speed there is a large percentage of former and current gang memebers crips & bloods from LA serving check the facts and of course many rednecks.

  15. Anonymous

    Some say it may not be an American after all, he was shot from a distance and nobody saw who shot him. Strange Gulf Daily News had nothing to say today.

  16. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Both Al-Waqt and Al-Wasat are carrying the story and both are inconclusive. It did happen at BJ’s apparently and like you said, no one clearly saw what happened and the criminal investigation directorate are appealing to the public for information.

    Al-Wasat notes that this is the second time the village of Shakhoora is hit with incidents of this nature, and ironically, this is the weekend where the first Shakhoora villager, Mohammed Juma, called the “Jerusalem martyr” was being commemorated (the name is due to his death by rubber bullet to the head during a demonstration at the American Embassy 5 years ago against the Israeli occupation and in support of the Palestinian intifadha)

    ويكشف القطان أن «محل الحادث مراقب أمنياً بالكاميرا، لذلك فإن سقوط عباس على الأرض كان واضحاً في التسجيل عبر الكاميرا المثبتة التي رصدت سقوطه، ولكن بعد النظرة الأولية للتسجيل لم نجد صوتاً يدل على تصويب ناري، ولكننا بحاجة إلى مشاهدة المقطع المسجل من زوايا مختلفة حتى تتضح لنا الرؤية أكثر، وسيحضر إلى المستشفى اليوم (أمس) وكيل النيابة الذي يعطي إذناً للطبيب الشرعي وكذلك خبير الذخائر التابع للوزارة، وربما ما سيعقّد التحقيق بعض الشيء أن عباس كان هادئاً ووديعاً إلى حد كبير، ومن غير المنطقي ابتداء أن يكون له أعداء يترصدونه».

    وفي الظهيرة زار «السلمانية» رئيس الأمن العام اللواء عبداللطيف الزياني وصرح لـ «الوسط» قائلاً: «بدايةً، يؤسفني الذي حدث، ونحن في وزارة الداخلية سنبذل قصارى جهدنا للكشف عن حقيقة الحادث ودوافعه، وحتى الآن نحن في فترة التحقيق والتحري، وقد تشكلت لجنة رسمية برئاسة مدير عام المباحث وتحت إشرافي المباشر، وباشرت مهمتها وسترفع تقريراً إلى وزير الداخلية الفريق الركن الشيخ راشد بن عبدالله آل خليفة في أسرع وقت ممكن».

    The initial determinations then are: there were 40 witnesses to Abbas falling, that the bullet is most probably a 6mm, and the security tape clearly shows him falling, but mystery surrounds the incident as to the why and how.

    Abbas was just 3 months into his marriage, and the security job is his second job as he worked as a driver in the morning with a contractor at the refinery.

  17. Post
    Author
  18. Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown

    Mahmood,
    Just wanted to let you and your readers know that the US Navy here in Bahrain has been cooperating with Bahraini authorities in this investigation, and currently there is no information that indicates an American servicemember was involved in this crime.
    Very respectfully,
    Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown
    Public Affairs
    US Naval Forces Central Command/Fifth Fleet

  19. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    We’ll have to wait and see and thanks for your input.

    If the various fora are to be believed, and I do not, they are now speculating that it is a member of the ruling family who did it.

    Which naturally leads to the question: who is allowed to own guns here? It’s said that some students from Al-Bayan, Ibn Khuldoon and Bahrain School who belong to that strata of society have brandished guns in their schools to show off; now and then we read in the press that someone was apprehended on the causeway customs with live ammunition or guns, and then of course there is that Muharraq incident where Mahdi was shot dead by a druggie.

    So there is really no telling who or what happened. What I personally am interested in; however, is to see a transparent and professional investigation being conducted and if a perpetrator is caught, regardless of who that is, a fair trial would ensue.

  20. jasra jedi

    this is appalling.

    who uses 6 mm bullets? with a silencer?

    my heart goes out to the victim and the victim’s family. the poor guy was working two jobs a day to make decent and honest money for his family.

    i think that this ‘generation’ in bahrain has lost it. where is the discipline and the self respect and the awareness of community service and society? what are we turning into? a bunch of sectarianists driven by social strata and class/power issues ?

    i thought it was dubai who suppsedly had the mafia and had horror stories of drugs, drink and rock and roll. if we, in bahrain are to go down this road, then what kind of a society are we turning into? and what do we have to show for it?

  21. Unbiased

    I think the story about Abbas Shot from a distance is true
    It could be a troubled minded person that planned this very well.
    I am not an investigator nor a police person
    But I think he must have been shot from the abondoned building to the right of the parking lot (If one is Facing the Parking Lot and exiting that Door)

    The cameras Usually do not have Vocal Recordings…so why should you hear anything.

    From what I hear is that he shot into right side of his head.
    He was facing the parking + Roughly was 30 Degrees from sea Level.
    Most likely that building.

    Empty + Dark + Easy get away from ….say about 400 metres has time after the confussion chaos.

    As in why would anyone do this?
    1) Hate to abbas (Personal) or Security (BJ’s) or Sabbotage.
    2) I would take Sabbotage out…cause he would have shot into the crowd leaving BJ’s to create fear.
    3) I would take hate to Abbas out as well… I met them all on a regular Basis…He is not the type that has problems with drugs, Bozz or Simply Trouble maker…Worked 2 Jobs…how could he?
    3) My best guess is that the Killer was a Person(s) that was not let into BJ’s or Was Kicked out….Maybe sometime ago…Cause of the planning side.
    Just seems to me someone planned this really well.

    This is really Bad!!!

    —-Killer’s Nationallity?…I do not think (With Info avaible) anyone Can tell right now.

    GL to the Police and my symphy to Family and friends to Abbas
    I am Sorry this is happening in Bahrain.

  22. Mike

    Sam,,, No need to respond to your e-mail… Your not an American, but an individual looking for attention…. change your name from Sam,,, to “I’m a sad case. But I do have good news ” i saved 30% by switching to Gieco”.

    All other Perry Manson(s) “Please help”… Some scratched my new bicycle at the mall. I’m looking for help in solving my case. I thing Elvis did it.

    Barry? umm….2001 incident… relevance?

    Serious note: My prayers goes out to the family and the victim.

    **Know the facts,,,, before you make a WAG.

  23. Sam

    MIke change your name from mike to I am the son of a mother and father who did not show me enough affection when I was growing up, you are obviously an angry you man. And if you would like to see my passport I will be happy to show it to you over a cup of coffee. Watch the movie from many years ago “The ugly american”
    you will understand yourself.

  24. Costa-Guy

    Al-Watan newspaper, known for it’s complete bull****, says the incident happened because of an argument between the security guard and a policeman and then the policeman shot him in the head after a stake-out !!!???

    http://alwatannews.net/الوطن/أرشيف/2007/مارس/31/أخبار+عامة/أخبار+الوطن/a13.htm

    I want to understand one thing regarding this newspaper! how come it has all the answers for the sophisticated questions in Bahrain??!!

    I would like to believe that this is one of it’s million lies or else the government is either leaking information for the newspaper. Or it might be their stratedgy to sell the paper is to give answers to anything even if it’s complete bull* as long they have an article to write about.

    Ironically, they’ve written in another section that the Ministry of Interior suspects a shooting happend and they still are looking for information and help from the public??!!

    http://alwatannews.net/الوطن/أرشيف/2007/مارس/31/أخبار+عامة/أخبار+الوطن/a14.htm

  25. Danielle

    I have just heard the news and I am shocked, horrified and depressed.

    I have been frequenting JJs and BJs for many years.

    My friends and I knew Abbas… some of them very well… he was a great guy; always friendly and cheerful, always willing to help us out if someone was harassing us (in a calm and professional manner I might add).

    I echo the opinion that it is too early for us, the public, to be pointing our fingers at suspects. Furthermore, I too am very concerned that this incident is handled swiftly and transparently so that the responsible person is brought to justice .

    We should all be uniting together to oppose scum bags who carry weapons about and shoot very innocent people; not venting poisen about groups of people. For the record, I have seen both Sheikhs with crazy looking guns and a US serviceman dancing in JJs with a gun in his pocket, all in the last year. This is a sick individual we are dealing with, its not about vilainising certain nationalites or professions. Let us not allow this act to make us all angry and hateful, but encourage us to make Bahrain a safer place. I knew this man and know that he would not want his legacy to be national unrest.

    Abbas, you will be remembered fondly forever as the cool dude you always were. I hope your family will find closure with justice, and peace with time. I cry for you tonight.

  26. Steve the American

    I’d be very interested to know how the blame for this crime got pinned on an American when nobody seems to have gotten a good look at the perpetrator. Is this another case of Arab Muslims finding an outsider to blame? I’m surprised it wasn’t blamed on the Jews. I thought they were to blame for every evil in the world, or has that role been changed to Americans now?

    This story, while not impossible, smells a bit. First, it’s unlikely, though not impossible, that a US servicemen shot somebody off-base in a foreign country. They are not likely to have access to guns they can take off base. Most servicemen don’t have access to guns in their job. For those who do, those guns are strictly accounted for. You can’t take them home and play with them. That’s a court martial offense, even if you could find a way to get possession of one outside of duty hours. I have never heard of a US serviceman taking a gun from his job home, let alone committing a crime with one.

    Back when I was flying fighters in Asia, they would occassionally issue us revolvers when flying in war games but they wouldn’t give us bullets. Instead, they gave us a piece of paper that said “Bullets” on it which we were supposed to place in the pouch where we put bullets in wartime. The gun was carefully collected at the end of the day. American military don’t go running around with guns shooting them up like cowboys in some Wild West saloon in a movie, like the dopey foreigners think.

    It’s equally unlikely that a US serviceman would be in possession of a private handgun overseas. Most foreign countries forbid private possession of handguns. When you are sent overseas, the military explicitly forbids you to take any weapons with you. That’s a court martial offense, too. Even in the States, you can’t keep a private gun on base. You have to keep it locked up at the base armory, where you check it in and out.

    Second, this just doesn’t sound like a GI crime. While most military members follow the rules, there is a tiny fraction of a percent who don’t. They are not particularly imaginative in their crimes. It’s the same thing over and over again. We’re talking about very young guys doing mostly property and drug crimes. What little violent crime they do is mostly Dumb Young Guy crime: beating up somebody in a public place after an argument or their wife/girlfriend in the heat of a domestic quarrel. Assassinating a foreigner in a foreign country in cold blood with a gun is not a Dumb GI crime. While nothing is impossible and GIs are not all angels, I’d be very surprised if a US military service member did this.

    Third, the crime itself is unusual. Most gun homicides occur with a handgun within six feet. Many handguns just aren’t that accurate from more than about twenty feet. When firing at a human, most people are fairly nervous, further worsening their aim. It’s not unusual for both parties in a gunfight to discharge all the bullets in their guns at close range without hitting each other even once.

    So when you have a security guard shot and the security cameras don’t capture the shooter, that suggests the shot was fired from a distance. The more distance, the more likely the gun was a rifle, not a handgun. If the weapon was a rifle, it implies that this was not a casual crime made in the heat of a passion, but a calculated crime planned in advance. Before you start blaming this shooting on American Crips and rednecks from the other side of the planet, you might want to look closer to home for motives and culprits.

  27. Steve the American

    I’d also like to point out that the US military always defers to local authority in those cases where military members commit crimes. In other words, if you commit a crime in Elbonistan, you are going to be tried in Elbonistan by Elbonistani laws and, if convicted, serve time in an Elbonistani prison. The US military is not going to intervene, except to ensure that you have adequate legal representation. The idea that an American service member who commits a felony in a foreign land will be flown home to be tried for that in America is utterly clueless of actual practice.

    If anything, the US military does not stand up enough for its members, especially in cases where corrupt foreign governments take advantage of them. For example, when I was in the Philippines, a sergeant I know was out driving in the country with her husband. They were stopped at an intersection when two Philippinoes on a motorcycle coming from the right turned inside them, on the shoulder of the road, lost control of their motorcycle, and crashed into the passenger side of the car. Sharon and her husband did the right thing and took the guys to the hospital. After all, they don’t have ambulances in the Philippines.

    About a week later, the Philippino police came to Sharon’s house at midnight, arrested her, and threw her in Philippino jail. The motorcycle guys had sued the rich Americans. Sharon’s husband was driving but he didn’t have insurance, Sharon did. So they arrested her. It was all about fleecing the Americans. A shakedown.

    When the Air Force was informed of Sharon’s arrest, they stamped “International Hold” on her military ID, which meant that she could not leave the country until her legal troubles were resolved. The military would not intervene to help her out. She had to resolve it herself. When she had court dates, the other side never showed. They knew that if she wanted to go home to America, she would have to pay them. So it was just a matter of Sharon scraping up enough money to pay the ransom the Philippine government demanded because she was a passenger riding in a car hit by Philippinoes.

    And I became more astonished to find there were hundreds of Air Force members at Clark Air Base on international hold for similar incidents. This is a phenomenon that happens at every military base on foreign land. The US military defers to local law, however unfair, very often leaving its people in the lurch, victims of corrupt local governments.

  28. Danielle

    Ummm, I know that this is Mahmood’s blog so i may be out of line in saying this…

    But let’s not let the death of an innocent man at the hands of some twisted unknown individual, in an incident shocking and almost unprecedented in Bahrain, lead to us being aggressive towards and/or v. defensive of groups of people or individual commentators.
    The last thing the world needs is another forum for mounting tensions.

    I feel that we should be saddened for Abbas, his family and friends, angry towards the gun-touting murderer and keen for the most positive outcome possible (in my opinion, finding the murderer and trying them swiftly and transparently… Then taking steps to make Bahrain safer from gun violence).

  29. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Steve, a piece of free advice; if you were to remove the following from your first comment:

    I’d be very interested to know how the blame for this crime got pinned on an American when nobody seems to have gotten a good look at the perpetrator. Is this another case of Arab Muslims finding an outsider to blame? I’m surprised it wasn’t blamed on the Jews. I thought they were to blame for every evil in the world, or has that role been changed to Americans now?

    Your comment would have been informative and powerful, why you chose to destroy it by inserting it there I do not know. But then you further negate the chances of people reading a comment as that coming from a rational human being is further removed by your conclusion of Sharon’s sad story.

    Danielle thank you, I agree.

  30. Esra'a

    Please don’t let this thread turn into yet another anti-American debate, this is clearly not what Mahmood implied in the posts above. Just like many of you jumped to conclusions, Steve the (rather proud) American also jumped to conclusion by assuming things that aren’t there. We should focus on the issue at hand, rather than whose fault it is and who was “more likely” to commit this hideous crime.

    I think what we should be thinking about is this question posed in the comments above:

    the multi million dollar question is WHAT NEXT?

    Scary! I really hope the criminal is found and charged (and personally I am not in favor of an execution.)

  31. Leonidas

    Mahmood-I’ve been a silent reader for over a year and am surprised you would be so irresponsible as to post this type of speculation when you know how sensitive relations are right now. Creating this type of controversy is unacceptable and if an American is injured because of what you posted it is blood on your hands. The Gulf Daily News stated on the front page it was a Bahraini, yet you still did not post that information and further fuel your own fire by talking about an American Embassy attack 5 YEARS AGO! Why did you have to mention the American Embassy? Why not just mention the person was shot by the BAHRAIN security forces? That wouldn’t fit your agenda would it? And Mahdi was shot by a BAHRAIN druggie. No other local newspaper said the BJs shooting was an American.

    Steve’s contribution was the only somewhat sane response on this thread, yet you want to pinpoint the fact that he sarcastically said he is surprised it’s not blamed on the jews, (as everything else is in this region), including right here in your backyard on Jerusalem Day as everyone stands around screaming “Death to America; Death to Israel.” I hardly think Steve’s three sarcastic sentences, (yet truthful) destroys his entire response. It’s another attempt for you to undermine any intelligent response to your rhetoric to bring the focus back to your original point “purportedly American,” “one of the servicemen drew his pistol.”

    Sam, it’s “Americans” like you (as you say you are), that give the rest of us a bad name by posting such stereotypical diatribes. By comparing the servicemen to Saudis and drunk whore chasers is only adding to the fire. If you are American and you are posting anonymously on here because the Internet gives you a set of balls you don’t have in your normal day-to-day interaction with real people, someone may read this post and end up randomly attacking you just because you are American without even knowing your anti-American stance. Just think, it’s all because of Mahmood’s post that you were attacked. How ironic would that be? Just so Mahmood could prove his point again, “purportedly American,” “one of the servicemen drew his pistol.” Sam, just as you stereotyped, you must look like one of those crips or rednecks because that’s what all Americans look like right?

    #32 “Esra’a”, if it wasn’t Mahmood’s intention to create controversy by implying an American committed the crime, then why did he say is was an AMERICAN? Once more, no other newspaper said an American did this. Why couldn’t the focus be on the terrible tragedy and the loss of this young life and the crime that is out of control in this country?

    Let this spin out of control #31 “Anti American.” I wish the Americans would leave too. It makes me sick we Americans are feeding your economy and providing security to a country that has no control of their own government and people, but are so quick to point the finger at everyone else other than themselves. It must be something in the Gulf water that flows in the region. I hope we do pull out, and when we do, practice up on your Farsi because that’s who will own you.

    Now I know why the Bahraini Govt. banned this site in the past because all you do is create unnecessary controversy by manipulating stories to your advantage. Shame on you!

  32. Post
    Author
  33. Steve the American

    Mahmood: “Your comment would have been informative and powerful, why you chose to destroy it by inserting it there I do not know. But then you further negate the chances of people reading a comment as that coming from a rational human being is further removed by your conclusion of Sharon’s sad story.”

    Mahmood, we disagree here. As an American, I am sick of the America-bashing, at America being blamed for every wacky thing on Earth. You can expect me to defend America when it is being slandered.

    Let’s reverse the situation. What if somebody shot a clerk in a convenience store here in Washington and I posted on my blog, “You know, I heard a guy who said it might have been a Bahraini who did it.” Then other blogs picked it up: BAHRAINI SHOOTS AMERICAN! Then the radio jocks started saying there’s a buzz on the blogs that Bahrainis are shooting store clerks! Well, how fair would that be? Would you object?

    Rumors are reality in the Third World. All you have to do is speculate that an American was behind a crime and that becomes a fact in the gossip mill of the Middle East. It can never be dislodged from the public mind, which favors American infidels as the villians in their gossip. The facts never catch up to the rumor. Long before that happens, a fresh rumor overruns the last one. With enough wild anti-American rumors, you can convince the whole population that Americans are to blame for everything.

    You might want to walk a mile in American shoes to understand the impulse to push back such casual slander.

  34. Steve the American

    Anti-american: Steve the American, Get lost you and your american army.

    I understand exactly how you feel. I have much the same feeling every time Muslim terrorists are caught here trying to kill people for their religion.

  35. Scaredy Cat, Perched on a tree

    It’s so nice to see that one person’s tragedy has been turned into such a petty affair. Here are a few bigger, more important questions, I think:

    How frightening is it that on the 19th, in big bold letters, the GDN stated “Crime Falls 20%” – the main headline that day, and here we are today.?

    Incidentally, why is it that on the 19th, CRIME FALLS 20% is the main headline – dealing directly will local news, yet today’s headline “OUTRAGE” is about the situation with the British detainees in Iraq – no one’s dead, and everything is inconclusive – the govt. has GPS proof of location of the boat, yet here are 2 sailors now apologizing publicly, and Iran stands ever defiant?

    Whatever….my point is that the OUTRAGE should be about the fact that there have now been 2 major shooting incidents on this beautiful, peaceful island that I have called home for many years, where I one day hope to bring up my children as my parents did me, because it is such a safe haven.

    Funny, how the GDN editor in chief has been for a long time….a Brit. Now, add that together with the GDN’s statement, not ‘claim’, not ‘assumption’, but outright factual statement that the shooter is Bahraini. Hmmmm, could it be that the British/American alliance is prevalent even here on our teeny tiny island?! This is pure speculation so don’t get your panties in a twist, I just read between the lines a little bit, and draw my conclusions as you do yours.

    Most of all, let us focus our thoughts and prayers first and foremost on Abbas, and is family. Let us mourn for him. Second let us resolve to figure out what is tearing our home apart. Thirdly, let us free ourselves of this insanity that grips us through the simple means of disagreement.

    American, Bahraini, Black, Blue, Martian, I couldn’t care less, if you have a gun, if you draw it on another human and pull the trigger, there is something very wrong with that, and that alone, and it has nothing to do with who you are, or where you’re from.

  36. Esra'a

    Scaredy Cat, thanks for breaking the flow of what seems like extreme nationalism here and reintroducing a logical opinion. I hope that this is the stance that more people start taking.

    I think it would be very unfair and unethical to turn this into a political discussion when it has nothing to do with what many people here are talking about. Abbas died an alarming death, and our thoughts should indeed be with his family. I was reading last night about his background on Bahrain Online, where several writers are also expressing their disgust with the fact that people are really blowing this out of proportion by spreading rumors regarding the details of the case and jumping to conclusions without the knowledge of any confirmed facts. This is not just for the sake of accuracy, but also we must keep this in mind for the sake of the victim’s family who are already in much pain and heartache over this tragic loss.

    I hope the “mystery” gets solved without it causing any harm or further heartache to his loved ones, and for people to grow a heart and respect the dead by reacting decently and ethically, especially journalists covering the case.

  37. Barry

    Uh Mike: The relevence is that if people think that Americans only act up at bases over seas, that is clearly not true, LOL. Have you taken a critical reading course? They’re very good at helping people understand what people write, because it sounds like you hace touble with that. Gosh, you’re funny as hell dude, keep me laughing, write more about how you don’t understand.

    Love,

    Yer friend Barry

    I :heart: you

  38. Hamad

    Is it me or didn’t we see the back of Steve the American for the very last time a few months ago??

  39. Esra'a

    Don’t get him mad Hamad, or we’ll suffer 16 extra paragraphs of “I adore America, nanny nanny boo boo.”

  40. Mike

    Barry, Barry, Barry……Thank you for the insight. I did take the Critical Reading cousre, however I could not find the following words you mentioned in your e-mail: hace, touble, yer, over seas (one word).

    Have you ever took a spelling course. Required reading for you MIKE: Webster’s dictionary 2007 Edition. Please!!

    I love the misspelled words.

    you’re funny as hell dude, keep me laughing, write more about how you don’t know how to spell… LOL

  41. Mike

    Barry, Barry, Barry……Thank you for the insight. I did take the Critical Reading cousre, however I could not find the following words you mentioned in your e-mail: hace, touble, yer, over seas (one word).

    Have you ever took a spelling course. Required reading for you BARRY: Webster’s dictionary 2007 Edition. Please!!

    I love the misspelled words.

    you’re funny as hell dude, keep me laughing, write more about how you don’t know how to spell… LOL

  42. مساير

    Is this another Government plot to divert public’s attention from real and/or about to happen issues

  43. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Let me also clarify a couple of things: I didn’t bring the American accusation from void, I based that on my first informant’s take on the events based on direct connection with the family of the victim, then on various Bahraini fora and then as linked to above, not one, but two leading local Arabic papers. So blasphemy – as Steve and Leonidas would have you believe – has not been committed.

    This morning’s papers are carrying an official source from the American Embassy suggesting that no American was involved in this crime; although they too – and the 5th Fleet as attested above – the professionals that they are readily deffer to the Bahraini authorities investigations and would help and stand by them if needed.

    So, getting back to the question before this post too spirals at various tangents, is the problem gun control, absence security or simply going with the old Arabic adage that whoever have insured that there are no penalties, s/he would do whatever s/he likes (من أمن العقاب أساء الأدب)

    I personally would go with all three, but would give the latter much more weight as I believe laws – although good in a lot of cases – are mis-applied, or at least, selectively applied. Once the idea of just justice being applied across the board without prejudice, we would be a much better society.

  44. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    visit the following like for the real news from the national news paper.
    GDN

    hahahhe ahehahheh aahheha hheh :w00t: :biggrin: hahhehahej ahheha ehhae

  45. Steve the American

    Hamad: “Is it me or didn’t we see the back of Steve the American for the very last time a few months ago??”

    Esra’a: “Don’t get him mad Hamad, or we’ll suffer 16 extra paragraphs of “I adore America, nanny nanny boo boo.””

    Well said, Esra’a. Please do remind Hamad that I am a cocked pistol.

    And lest I forget, I am sorry to hear this poor unfortunate guard was shot for nothing. I can only hope that justice is done now.

  46. Steve the American

    Mahmood: “I didn’t bring the American accusation from void, I based that on my first informant’s take on the events based on direct connection with the family of the victim, then on various Bahraini fora and then as linked to above, not one, but two leading local Arabic papers.”

    Say no more. It goes without saying that Arab papers are impartial observers of the truth of the first order. As if that wasn’t enough evidence, anything said in an Arab Internet forum absolutely must be true. Everybody knows that the posters there are calm, cool judges of Facts carefully balanced on the scales of Reason, free of the prejudice and passion that dogs us mortals.

    I’m convinced now an American must have done the dirty deed. It was probably Bush, wasn’t it?

    Mahmood: “So blasphemy – as Steve and Leonidas would have you believe – has not been committed.”

    I am not altogether convinced by your not guilty plea, but I will put in a good word for you nevertheless with the US Federal Committee to Prevent Vice and Promote Virtue. I have wasta there. With a wink, a nudge, a bag of peanuts, and a round of cocktails, I can get your felony blasphemy charge knocked down to misdemeanor disorderly conduct with a warning that will be expunged from your record in six months. I don’t know why I even bother but, heck, you do have your jolly side, Mahmood. You can be quite likeable, what with your simple joy in manly power tools and tinker’s delight in software applications. There’s a little Bubba in you, Mahmood, and I celebrate that.

  47. bones

    has anyone thought about what the family is going thru?

    Oh by the way Abbas (the bahraini security guard) is not dead….

    With prayers he should probably mke it through.

  48. sandy

    Like Bones said HE IS NOT DEAD!

    Everyone is praying for him . Stop pointing fingers and jumping to conclusions.YES HE WAS SHOT AND THERE WERE BULLETS IN HIS HEAD ACCORDING TO THE MEDICAL REPORTS stated in an English paper.
    http://www.bahraintribune.com/

  49. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    With prayers he should probably mke it through

    looks like it’s not only Abbas that is brain-dead…

  50. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Steve, I’m not going to bother with you any more. You’re singly and your ilk are doing a lot more damage to the United States than bin Laden could every hope for. So carry on.

    But be warned that I shall not allow you to hijack any topic on this blog to do your deed.

  51. BikeMaster

    I have not really read all the comments, but the few i have, i just wanted to say that we should not be caught up in all this. We all see now that when a man/woman in the states or europe does something wrong, it the ISLAM that gets to be put on trial more than the crime itself. So in other words lets not judge and put “americans” on trial as well.
    It is a terrible thing that happened, and whatever has happened it really needs to be looked into and the real culprits caught and dealt with no matter who or from where.
    I hope this does not turn out to be another debacle, but knowing Bahrain, it maybe.
    My prayers and thoughts are with him and his family, may allah swt get them thru this.

  52. Steve the American

    Mahmood: “Steve, I’m not going to bother with you any more. You’re singly and your ilk are doing a lot more damage to the United States than bin Laden could every hope for. So carry on. But be warned that I shall not allow you to hijack any topic on this blog to do your deed.

    Well, we disagree that allowing slander against America to go unanswered would do more damage than rebutting it, but, Mahmood, it’s your blog. You can always kick me off whenever you want.

    When your free speech offended the powers that be in Bahrain, they shut you down. If my speech is too free for your taste, you can always shut me down. After all, why should you be any different from them? Why should you put up with any dissent from your position or have your posts questioned? Why should you give up absolute control over the opinions expressed in your domain just to indulge this Western free speech fad?

    Wouldn’t it be better to suppress all disagreement to achieve conformity of thought and unanimity of position? It would certainly make you more popular among your readers who must otherwise suffer my opinions which conflict with the conventional wisdom of Bahrain. My unpopularity with vast swaths of your readership is absolute proof that I am wrong, right? Off with my head, I say! Smash this rebellion in your backyard now before it spreads.

    Free and unfettered speech is a messy and disagreeable thing, full of aggravation and conflict. Who needs it? People who agree with you may not be your friends and people who disagree with you may not be your enemies. It’s confusing. Mahmood’s Den may not be ready for it, nor Bahrain, nor the Middle East, nor the umma.

  53. Steve the American

    Sandy: “Everyone is praying for him . Stop pointing fingers and jumping to conclusions.YES HE WAS SHOT AND THERE WERE BULLETS IN HIS HEAD ACCORDING TO THE MEDICAL REPORTS stated in an English paper.”

    If this poor guy was shot in the head and survived, he was probably shot with a handgun, not a rifle. You are unlikely to survive a rifle shot to the head because usually the larger charge propelling it gives the bullet greater kinetic energy which transfers to the target it impacts, resulting in greater damage. Catastrophic damage. Rifle bullets generally travel in excess of the speed of sound, which is why rifles crack, while handgun bullets are subsonic, which is why handguns pop. Handgun bullets are likely to embed themselves in the body, while rifle bullets generally pass through a body, leaving through and through wounds, ie a small entry wound and a large exit wound.

    For example, Robert Kennedy was shot in the head with a handgun at close range and took 26 hours to die. John F. Kennedy was shot in the head with a rifle from a distance and died immediately from a catastrophic wound.

    I am surprised that an assailant can hit somebody in the head from middle distance with a handgun. Certainly, if the guard saw somebody aiming a gun at him, he would move, making it difficult for anybody but a prime shot to hit him in the head. This leads me to believe that the guard was shot from ambush, unaware that he was under attack, and therefore standing still.

    This was an amateurish crime, poorly executed by a criminal who lacked the nerve to directly confront his victim.

  54. Ibn

    Hi Mahmood,

    Its been a while. I have been EXTREMELY busy the past 2 months, and could not post here, although its becoming less crazy on my side so Ill have some more free time.

    I just wanted to point out something quickly, regarding Steve’s post, when he said:

    When your free speech offended the powers that be in Bahrain, they shut you down. If my speech is too free for your taste, you can always shut me down. After all, why should you be any different from them? Why should you put up with any dissent from your position or have your posts questioned? Why should you give up absolute control over the opinions expressed in your domain just to indulge this Western free speech fad?

    Do not believe this Mahmood, because Steve doesnt realize that there is a difference between your Den which is private property, and Bahrain, which is a country. Meaning, should someone decide that they do not want a village idiot parading down their living rooms, they may rightfully kick them out, without losing any sleep over whether or not they violated some tenent of freespeech.

    Freespeech is a code that is a must for governments to follow. It is a code that states that a government cannot take action against someone whom they do not agree with. It is not however, a statement that damns citizens to sit down in their homes and allow Confederates with a bullhorn to spread propaganda while sitting on your couch. Thats not what free speech is. You understand it I am sure. Steve the Confederate does not as evidenced.

    ——————–

    Anyway, moving on to more cheerfull topics, good job so far on the Den! Believe me when I say that I went through Den withdrawal symptoms when I was busy and tied down, but with more time on my hands, ill be satisfying my addiction more. 🙂

    Later

    -Ibn

  55. Esra'a

    When your free speech offended the powers that be in Bahrain, they shut you down. If my speech is too free for your taste, you can always shut me down. After all, why should you be any different from them? Why should you put up with any dissent from your position or have your posts questioned? Why should you give up absolute control over the opinions expressed in your domain just to indulge this Western free speech fad?

    You whine too much.

    Free speech isn’t about someone asking you to be quiet when you are being a loud-mouthed over-defensive super-sensitive person who diverts the attention from the actual issue at hand. Free speech isn’t about someone deleting spammish comments that have no relevance whatsoever to the subject in question. Do you yell in someone’s ear after they express no interest in listening to you and then insist on yelling by claiming that it’s free speech? No, unless you’re painfully irritating.

    You crossed the line by disturbing what could be a very important and useful discussion here. Anyone should shut you up, and rightly so, if they find you being overwhelmingly annoying in a blog they own. It’s their blog, their rules, take it or leave it. Your lecture does not apply here. If you dislike the opinions expressed here so much, go be “the American” elsewhere, there are plenty of decent Americans here who actually follow the rules and react decently in an intelligent and considerate manner even if they fully disagree. Unfortunately, you are not one of them.

    If you were the only American here I would probably have a very bad impression of Americans in the blogosphere, to be quite frank.

    You will most likely reply further but I’m sure the rest of the commenters will take Mahmood’s lead in giving up on you. Don’t blame us, weird nationalists are hard to deal with.

  56. jasra jedi

    leonidas ..

    I hope we do pull out, and when we do, practice up on your Farsi because that’s who will own you.

    lol!

    who is owning who my friend? if the farsis are going to own little old bahrain, then they sure as hell will go for the bigger prize .. qatar and the east coast of saudi. all 10+ million barrles of oil a day. as an american, my dear leonidss, i would urge you not to play the game of biting your nose to spite your face.

    ibn .. we missed you …. 🙁

  57. I

    Aren’t we getting a little bit off topic?
    Who in Bahrain has access to firearms? Police and military. Who else could get hold of a gun and silencer? Lets face it, silencers are not usually standard issue to military or police. This leads me to believe that such a gun was smuggled into the country by someone with a lot of clout.

    Who does that suggest? Someone important, or well connected at the very least.

    Why has the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry pledged to pick up the tab?

    Does this sound just a little bit of a massive cover up? No, I’m not being paranoid.

    Envision this;
    Bored rich kid tries to ‘persuade’ pretty young lady to go with him, have drink, whatever. Girl refuses, kid tries again . . . repeatedly. Security guard notices and intervenes. Kid gets mightily pissed off and stomps off to his car in high dudgeon. Gets pistol and silencer out of car, and returns to club. If he is high enough up the ladder, the other security guards may not search him. As far as I have noticed, EVERYONE gets patted down and have the ‘wand’ waved over them. Who could have the influence to get round that ?
    Kid finds security guard and pops him, then leaves.

    This is just my take on it. No facts to go by, just supposition. I would love to be proven wrong, backed by relevant facts of course.

    Does this leave many more questions than answers? Where were the security tapes? Who would have seen what happened? Have they been questioned? Why has the ministry got involved? What are they not telling us?

    While I generally dislike conspiracy theories, I feel that we are not being told everything, and while I admit that the GDN can be biased, for two days they have published that the assailant was a Bahraini. If it was any other nationality, they would have written differently, don’t you think?

    Just my 2p worth.

  58. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Steve the American:

    Well, we disagree that allowing slander against America to go unanswered would do more damage than rebutting it

    I thought you might get on on a soap box again and immediately go on the defensive, rather than stop and think a little about what I wrote. Let me further help you grasp the meaning – once again: your method employed in the defence of the United States of America is very damaging to the spirit and the concept of that great nation.

    It is that that the likes of bin Laden could never do, but one which your ilk excel at.

    That said I don’t think that any conversation with you is enriching, hence, no matter how much you flap your gums, I don’t think that I shall have anything to do with you.

    You can find the door yourself.

  59. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Ibn, welcome back! I hope your absence was beneficial to you.

    I:

    Why has the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry pledged to pick up the tab?

    Does this sound just a little bit of a massive cover up? No, I’m not being paranoid.

    I was very surprised too. As far as I can gather, there are no relations between Al-Shakhoori and the minister, so this is quite a perplexing turn of events. It could either be a genuine attempt at doing good (from public funds which have not been earmarked for such eventualities, while the Minister of Health’s obviously is) or a call for attention.

    I understand that the owners of BJ’s (7 Entertainment) according to the GDN declared that they will bear any costs of medical treatment. That I can understand, a company taking care of its employees which they should be applauded for.

    Now I see in the papers this morning that His Majesty has ordered full treatment at his expense.

    What does that tell me? Well [1] it is not necessarily an admission of guilt, but [2] a genuine regard to Abbas’ life, [3] a chance to shine at tense times or any other factor.

    The thing I would respectfully suggest – and I am fully prepared to stand corrected on the medical assumptions – Abbas is clinically dead. May he rest in peace. What he leaves behind are very much alive and are worthy of help, support and affection: his young wife who is probably pregnant who is now left a very young widow with probably a forthcoming child both of whom need attention and support.

    Therefore, I would suggest that Abbas is left where he is, moving him is an extremely dangerous and life threatening operation. I would propose that the various donors divert their attention to his wife and family who lost their source of love and income, they should create a fund to help his wife and family and ensure that should she actually be pregnant, then the child is cared and provided for.

    Abbas used to work in two jobs to make a living. There is nothing wrong with that. Let us look at the reason why he has had to do so and treat the cause rather than just the symptoms: according to the excellent Manama Republic he could not finish his high-school education due to him being imprisoned during the troublesome 90s and when he did get out of jail, the Ministry of Education refused to allow him to complete his education; thus, he was limited in his job prospects.

    There probably are a lot more like him who have been affected by the effects of the 80s and 90s and creating a reconciliation platform in which truths are sought and apologies offered as part of the reparation of damage done to countless lives is probably the legacy that Abbas would have liked to be the catalyst of and one he would be proud to leave behind.

    I’m prepared to offer any help his good wife might need in any capacity I can. I hope that both she and Bahrain get out of this trial stronger and more determined to tackle these issues rationally.

  60. Gad help

    Manhood ,

    Your coverage was great I really respect you a lot for it and wish gad give you the wisdom and power to continues in the same direction .

    One thing take my attention was the speed of the fifth fleet input to your website which seriously surprise me . What this man doing in our blogs ? why he is there ? It seems they read all our stories to tell you the truth I never expect that .

    So we are monitored by both our governments and Americans luckily

    Gad help us

  61. P.T.

    Don’t show me the pictures

    The Liberators in the North,

    Like stats and “proof” of worth,

    But just last week and henceforth,

    The numbers shocked the earth.

    One million souls have travelled on,

    A million minds no more,

    One million reasons, now bygone,

    A million to ignore.

    There’ll be some sober reason,

    Some common sense and logic,

    This is the culling season,

    An apt and fitting topic.

    One million children of the light,

    A million problems solved,

    One million journey through the night,

    A million lives annulled.

    They bastardize the ‘freedom’ word,

    A pass through points of law,

    Objections ring at the U.N.

    As Co-lin sets his jaw.

    One million faces disappear,

    A million sand niggars choked,

    One million fractured by the fear,

    A million lovers smoked.

    I can’t decide if I should speak,

    I’m not sure what to say,

    I know that as my horrors peak,

    I wish it far away.

    One million hearts torn clean apart,

    Two million eyes plucked out,

    One million names upon the chart

    A million more to rout.

    Do it for the honour lads!

    Stand by your way of life,

    Round ‘em! You chase the cads!

    The flag? That’s for your wife.

    One million Arabs blown away,

    A million boys and girls,

    One million headlines to downplay

    A million priceless pearls.

    The fabric of this holy land,

    Ignored for want of want,

    Can never rise up from the sand,

    Without sustained detante.

    One million tears of pain have spilt,

    A million more will follow,

    One million tonnes of Western guilt,

    A million words so hollow.

  62. jasra jedi

    P.T.

    This is just the beginning. Only the beginning. And, we will do more damage to each other than others will do to us …

  63. Steve the American

    Mahmood: “I thought you might get on on a soap box again and immediately go on the defensive, rather than stop and think a little about what I wrote. Let me further help you grasp the meaning – once again: your method employed in the defence of the United States of America is very damaging to the spirit and the concept of that great nation.”

    We disagree there. I see it a different way. Mahmood, you’re basically a liberal, pro-western Arab Muslim, which is a fine thing. While you are more congenial to differing cultures than most in the Middle East and willing to be fair-minded with respect to the US, you are stilll a captive to your culture and its prejudice against America. You were a little too credulous of reports that America was to blame. The Blame America First reflex response to any stimulus has a foothold in your mind. I’m just asking for some fairness.

    Mahmood: “It is that that the likes of bin Laden could never do, but one which your ilk excel at.”

    Mahmood, you have caught Malik’s Syndrome, where anybody who disagrees with you is JUST LIKE BIN LADEN! Must we start the Bin Laden drinking game anew? However, unlike Bin Laden, I can assure you that I have yet to harm a fly, let alone draw blood on a fellow human. When they gave us live rabbits to eat in Air Force survival school, I could not bear to behead the bunny. My ilk has a long, long descent to make befoe we match the depths to which Bin Laden and his ilk have sunk.

    Mahmood: “That said I don’t think that any conversation with you is enriching, hence, no matter how much you flap your gums, I don’t think that I shall have anything to do with you. You can find the door yourself.”

    I prefer to be thrown out. A fatwa prohibiting my speech here would be even better. If you refuse to engage disagreement, you must do the work, not I. I am too lazy to self-defenestrate.

  64. Steve the American

    P.T.,

    That was a rich poem which certainly gives me an insight into the rage and sadness you feel about the tragedy of the current war in Iraq and all the innocent lives lost there.

    May I see the one you wrote about life under Saddam?

  65. Steve the American

    I: “Envision this; Bored rich kid tries to ‘persuade’ pretty young lady to go with him, have drink, whatever. Girl refuses, kid tries again . . . repeatedly. Security guard notices and intervenes. Kid gets mightily pissed off and stomps off to his car in high dudgeon. Gets pistol and silencer out of car, and returns to club. If he is high enough up the ladder, the other security guards may not search him. As far as I have noticed, EVERYONE gets patted down and have the ‘wand’ waved over them. Who could have the influence to get round that ? Kid finds security guard and pops him, then leaves.”

    This scenario makes a lot of sense because this is a Dumb Young Kid With Too Much Testosterone crime. However, the silencer seems out of place. It is a rare shooting that includes a silencer. If this shooting took place inside, a silencer is going to make the gun harder to hide and get inside. Also, a silencer is not going to silence a handgun in an enclosed place. It’s still going to be loud. Was the gun found with a silencer on it? This silencer business just seems a little too melodramatic to me. Is it in fact, true, or has this story been improved upon for drama’s sake?

  66. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    I prefer to be thrown out. A fatwa prohibiting my speech here would be even better. If you refuse to engage disagreement, you must do the work, not I. I am too lazy to self-defenestrate.

    No, not “too lazy” but one that has no shame nor honour – speaking from your hated Arab perspective, that is.

    Good riddance then.

  67. Bahraini and proud

    Feel sorry for the Abbas the poor guy got killed and nobody yet knows who shot him???? why was he shot LAISH the poor man is hard working citizen and yet he just gets shot in the head and no one moves. a BAHRAINI was shot what part don’t we understand a brother. a producing member of this country he used to work two jobs so he can provide for his family and it passes like a normal day ???

    to all my bahraini brothers and sisters, being a bahraini means alot of things the most important part is that we are not just citizens of a great country but it means that all of us are brothers and sisters one family no sunni no shia no more this sect crap, we are workers of this country as i write this letter you should know i’m crying although i don’t know abbas i never met him but he is a brother to me BCAUSE HE IS BAHRAINI, what makes me sad that i’m not in the country i wish i took the bullet instead of him at least i would end up dead and not see this day that a bahraini gets shot and nobody moves we should be ashamed that the killer is not yet cought SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME.

  68. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    i wish i took the bullet instead of him at least i would end up dead and not see this day that a bahraini gets shot and nobody moves we should be ashamed that the killer is not yet cought

    Oh stop the melodrama for God’s sake!

    The authorities are treating the case very seriously and are working on it rather diligently. So wipe your tears, they’re not the thing that Abbas mostly need at this particular moment, nor does his family.

  69. Butterfly

    he could not finish his high-school education due to him being imprisoned during the troublesome 90s and when he did get out of jail, the Ministry of Education refused to allow him to complete his education; thus, he was limited in his job prospects.

    This is another thing they should think of. Why they refused to allow him to complete his education? and what was his crime exactly? Is spending one or two years in jail not enough? Why he should pay for the rest of his life for something that he did when he was 17 or 19? and even if he was older than that doesn’t he deserve to be given another chance?

  70. billT

    Steve the American – I’d also like to point out that the US military always defers to local authority in those cases where military members commit crimes. In other words, if you commit a crime in Elbonistan, you are going to be tried in Elbonistan by Elbonistani laws and, if convicted, serve time in an Elbonistani prison. The US military is not going to intervene, except to ensure that you have adequate legal representation. The idea that an American service member who commits a felony in a foreign land will be flown home to be tried for that in America is utterly clueless of actual practice.

    This is not actually true in many cases. An example is the Marines who are on trial for the rape of an 14 year old Iraqi girl and murder of her family. The 1 who is now a civilian is being tried in Kentucky not Iraq where the crime was committed.

  71. mr

    Dr. Haitham Salman, in response to a question, provided this valuable insight based on the clinical report:

    – patient was in full cardiac arrest on arrival to the Emergency room.
    – return of heart beat was after 20 min of CPR
    – The primary injury to the brain alone can result in loss of brain functions, and loss of circulation to the brain for more than 5 minutes can result in severe brain damage. Now add both together and the 20 min loss of circulation is an underestimation here as the timing is from the time he came to emergency room. SO, he has loss of circulation for more than 20 min.
    – The GCS (Glscow coma score) of 3/15 is the lowest score possible and it indicates worst prognosis
    – absence of brain stem reflexes indicates loss of the basic and most essential brain functions and loss of brain stem function is essentially brain death.
    – brain death is a clinical diagnosis which means there is no need for sophisticated studes like EEG to confirm it

  72. Good night and good luck

    So… how are the police doing apprehending the culprit? Do they need a ruler to help them… ?

Comments are closed.