by O Young hee, Korea Herald
Prout Editor's note: It is indeed shocking and sad that one Korean man may lose his life. Similarly, G.W. Bush, John McCain and other US government politicians are decrying the 'barbarians' who are beheading/executing Americans and their supporters. However, it is umpteen times more shocking, more tragic that 20,000-30,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, wounded, that the body parts of small children lie scattered all over the roads, that Iraqi women civilians are being raped by US soldiers, that the air, soil and water of Iraq is now contaminated with depleted uranium dust for centuries into the future. And what was the crime of these 20-30,000 Iraqi civilians? Their only 'crime' was that they had the misfortune to be born in a land that has oil. If the United Nations had any moral integrity, if the UN truly represented the voice of the common people around the world, it would immediately file charges against G.W. Bush for crimes against humanity - at the ICJ in Hague and at the ICC in Rome. If the UN had any moral spine, it would send a world military force to combat and remove US invading forces. Since they are not going to do this, since the UN has no courage to stand up to the imperial aggression of the US, this means, it is time for people everywhere to work for a world government that will fight for justice, that will fight for all the little people in this world.
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Koreans were shocked and confused at the threat by Iraqi militants to behead a Korean hostage if Seoul does not stop its planned dispatch of additional troops to the war-ravaged country and withdraw medical and engineering personnel already there.
A videotape aired on an Arab TV station showed Korean Kim Sun-il, a 33-year-old employed by a Korean firm doing contractor work for the U.S. military, begging for his life. His captors threatened to behead him in 24 hours if their demands for no Korean military presence in Iraq were not met.
People who learned of the beheading threat from television reports and on Internet news services were confused and concerned.
"I have never imagined such a terrible situation. My heart goes out to Kim. I really want him to come back safely," said 20-year-old company worker Lee Jin-kyung.
"I am very sorry for Kim. He is innocent and is not responsible for sending Korean troops to Iraq," said Kim Mi-yeon, a housewife in her early 30s. "I wish the Korean government will save him as soon as possible. It is what the Korean government has to do."
Some people criticized the government for deciding to deploy an additional 3,000 troops for non-combat duties in northern Iraq despite controversy and public protests. Many said the government must call off the troop dispatch.
A 41 year-old company worker, Kim Sun-kyu, was shocked when he heard in a bus on his way to work about the kidnap and beheading threat, saying, "It is due to the Korean government's decision to dispatch troops to Iraq. Now the government must reconsider the troop dispatch plan."
Seoul National University student Lee Sung-ho said, "It is a payback for sending our youngsters to the unjustifiable war led by the United States. We must withdraw our soldiers from Iraq right now,"
Many cyber message boards were flooded with calls to stop the troop dispatch.
Some people were bewildered. "We did not do any harm to the country and we dispatched our troops to help the reconstruction of Iraq," said an Internet user identified as goldant123.
Others said the troop dispatch should go ahead as promised. "The government must try its best to save Kim. However, we have to keep our promise to send troops because of the long-standing U.S.-Korea alliance and keeping trust," a 65 year old retiree, Jung Jun-hwan, said.
Youn hee may be contacted at "younhee@heraldm.com."
