Forced to Murder

ABC is running a story about the number of people who are willing to act as suicide bombers in Iraq, but to me the headline is really misleading. The real story here is about the Iraqis who are being forced to die as "martyrs."

Read this:

"But it also appears that not all of the bombers are willing participants. U.S. military officials have found body parts in vehicles used in suicide bombings — left by the frantic people who were trapped inside, unable to flee.

"What we've found in a number of places are hands chained to a steering wheel," Custer said. "We found a foot roped into the car unable to escape."

He said in some cases, it appeared that men were forced to carry out suicide bombers because their families were being held hostage.

"We've seen a number of incidents where — wives [and] children kidnapped — [the] fathers forced to drive a car, even so far as to have a car following it with a remote," Custer said.

And U.S. commanders say they are seeing a new tactic in the field — insurgents sending two suicide bombers to launch an attack, in case the first one backs out."