All the Good We Failed to Do

Via my friend John:

Just in case you missed it, the BBC recently reported that anti-gay attacks are on the rise in Iraq. Hundreds of gay men have been targeted, almost 90 have been reported killed, and many others are missing in a coordinated campaign involving militia forces according to a report by Human Rights Watch. From the BBC article:

So-called honour killings also account for deaths where families punish their own kin in order to avoid public shame.

The report says members of the Mehdi Army militia group are spearheading the campaign, but police are also accused - even though homosexuality is legal.

Witnesses say vigilante groups break into homes and pick people up in the street, interrogating them to extract the names of other potential victims, before murdering them.

"Murder and torture are no way to enforce morality," said HRW researcher Rasha Moumneh, quoted in the report.

"These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their citizens."

In some cases, Human Rights Watch says it was told, Iraqi security forces had actually "colluded and joined in the killing".

It goes on to say that posters have appeared in Sadr City, Baghdad that list the names and addresses of gay men. The result? The mutilated bodies of gay men are found on garbage heaps labeled with anti-gay slurs. Military and religious officials are encouraging the attacks and the government is doing nothing to protect gay men in Iraq. And the victims' families aren't going to speak out.

"They consider talking about the subject worse than the crime itself. This is the nature of our society," ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.

Just a little more evidence of Bush's "mission accomplished."