Suicide Bombing in Anbar - Eye Witness Account - Iraq War Photographer Diary - Graphic Images

(Continued From Page One)

On Thursday, June 26th, I witnessed the immediate aftermath of an Al-Qaeda suicide bomb attack.  Several dozen people lost their lives... children, old men, civilians, police, and military men.  The scene was horrific beyond words, even for someone like me who has a fairly high threshold for such things.

I found it nearly impossible to look through the viewfinder.  What I saw was abhorently graphic, yet far too important for the world to ignore.  I present images that provide an uncensored view of a terrible event, and some small measure of dignity to those who lost their lives.

WARNING: The images that follow are very graphic and include images of death.

We are on a patrol in an outlying suburb, or slum area of Fallujah.  It has been home to many violent attacks recently.  We are searching homes for weapons and information regarding Al Qaeda in Iraq, when a message comes over the radio.  “We have one killed in actions (KIA), and two wounded in action (WIA)… stand by.”

The soldiers begin to talk amongst themselves when a commander runs in.  “Let's move…  NOW!  LETS MOVE!!!!”

We grab our gear, throwing on our body armor, Kevlar helmets, gloves, goggles, and other proactive gear as we run out of the house.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

We jog down the street as the soldiers aim their weapons at moving cars, screaming for them to stop.

I have nearly 70lbs. (31kg.) of equipment strapped to my body and, although I am in good physical shape, I feel the heat burning my lungs every time I inhale.  We see people running down the street in panic. 

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

The soldier who is running next to me glances onto the pavement at the same time as I do.  There is an ear on the ground.  About five feet away, we see a chunk of scalp with hair on a palm sized piece of skull.  We look at each other, realizing that we are walking into true madness …and this is just the beginning.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

Turning the corner off the main street towards the entrance to the building we walk into a staging for the dead and watch as Iraqi’s carry the bodies and parts of bodies out of the doors in sheets, often slipping on the blood that is covering the tile stairs.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

When the body bags run out, bed sheets are used to cover and move the bodies.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

Another dirt parking lot houses growing number of bodies.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

We walk through the front door of the building and into nightmarish scene.  The courtyard is filled with bodies and limbs.  An elderly man is sitting dead in a plastic lawn chair directly in the center of the commotion as if asleep during an afternoon nap.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

There are dying people strewn around like limp dolls along with lifeless bodies of all ages.  People are screaming and crying running as if they have something important they have to do, only they can’t figure out what that important thing could possibly be.  The air smells of burnt flesh and sweat is pouring off of my body.  My lungs are still on fire from the run and I have to concentrate to see through the sweat coating my ballistic goggles and dust on my camera’s viewfinder.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

I continue shooting pictures as fast as I can.  I know the soldiers do not want me in the building photographing their dead friends.  I also know that, in case of a secondary blast, my time to document the scene will be extremely limited.  It seems like the building is packed with bodies and people are literally frantic removing the dead, as if their pace may bring some of them back.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

I turn around and face the courtyard and notice an Iraqi soldier who was obviously in such a state of shock he could barely function.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

I aim my camera one more time to snap a shot of some of the dead American Marines, before being told by one of the soldiers that they are under orders to remove me from the scene.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

They claim it is for my own safety and take me out to one of the armored vehicles.  I watch out the window as U.S. soldiers collect body parts from the street and place them in a tarp.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com All rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

After a total of not more than five or ten minutes with my camera out, my chance to take photos was gone.  Whatever I was able to capture in that chaos will be the only photographic documentation of this event.

© Zoriah/www.zoriah.comAll rights reserved. No unauthorized use permitted.

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Zoriah's Photography Portfolio

THE ATTACK ON JUNE 26th AS REPORTED BY THE NEWS MEDIA:

New York Times: click here

Associated Press: click here

Washington Post: click here

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Comments

[Amina Khan]

Your work brings a twisted and uncomfortable beauty to the horrors of the world. You have a demanding job and I have no idea how you do it but the images you shoot will last forever and will keep me grounded. Thank you and stay strong!

[zorra]

these images truly are horrific. i can only hope that the innocent dead are in heaven now.

you must have alot of courage to carry on taking these photo's, i don't think i could do it.

[unxpektd]

this is true photojournalism at its best. thank you for this post and for you standing to make a better world thru your real photos depicting what true war is all about. thank you

[mark Aleshnick]

Your courage in covering events that so many wish to pretend is not happening is beyond my words to describe. I can only tell you that there are many praying for your safety, and the world at large owes you a debt of gratitude beyond what any monetary recompense could ever approach.

[Maj Eric Dent]

Your lack of discretion and disregard for the rules that you agreed to abide while assigned to cover military operations in Iraq is unbelievable. You should be ashamed of this post. God forbid that your family ever see images of you in similar circumstances.

[anthem boy]

sometimes these things need to be seen. so much of the time, we in the US (and the rest of the coalition) only see names and bootcamp pictures of our dead soldiers and a little blurb on where/when they died. to actually see them like this should be a wake up call to all those who only see them as names mentioned briefly on the nightly mainstream media. while i do understand what major dent stated, and i might say the same if it were my friends or relatives...sometimes...just sometimes...it should be seen. while i hope that those that caused this horrible atrocity do not propagandize this for their benefit, i do hope that all free people in the world reflect on these few photos and realize what price (not dollar amount) is being paid to bring freedom to iraqis and eventually the entire middle east. also remember how each free country had to fight for their freedom, whether a decade ago or 200 yrs ago. may freedom peace and come soon.

[gerg yrrab]

I'm not sure what rules the photographer agreed to abide by were broken. It strikes me that there were no photos of Americans badly injured (particularly any that could be identified). What is Maj. Eric Dent's beef?

If there is something here that is inappropriate, so be it. As Sherman said:
War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.

[Ruth Taylor]

The world needs to know the horrors of war that our brave military face every day and you are one of the heroes to photograph and publish these stories. Thank you does not begin to express the gratitude that is due you. but all I can say is Thank You so Very Much!!! Freedom is Not Free! not for us and not for them. The Iraqis are paying and our military is paying.

[Mondi]

"rules"? "inappropriate"?? give me a f*&^ing break!

As if little kids and their moms don't see dead bodies on a daily basis in Iraq! Let people outside of Iraq see what really is happening there. You can't sugar-coat war!

[Concerned American]

If Americans could see this every day it would help get the political process moving to GET THE US OUT OF IRAQ. What are we doing there, except aiding and abetting a vicious war of attrition? And all based on a LIE from the Bush White House. Bush and Cheney and their entire administration needs to be charged with war crimes. And now the oil companies are going in their with their "no-contract" bids!!! And utter and complete TRAGEDY. My condolences to the Iraqi people.

[annie robbins]

thank you for posting the photos. too many people believe the lies that everything is getting better, when we know it isn't.

[Venema]

That major Dent (or whatever) is just too scared that it will become too commonly known what a farking mess they're making in a country where they shouldn't be at all.

Major Dent does not want you to show where he and his army buddies are sending your kids into.

Major Dent does not want to shatter your USA-dream of being the Powerful Nation, still unable to defy death.

War isn't pretty, Major. I guess you never realized that, majors are seldomly found at the front lines. But let me tell you: war isn't pretty. And these photo's prove that. As they should.

Whether you like it or not. And in this case, where the US Army is upset about these pictures coming out, I'd say: "the less you like it, the more important it is that the public sees them." - You have too much to hide by now, Major Dent. You and your buddies, lead by that trigger-happy guy you call "president".

[Reykjavik]

My comments from the Netherlands: very brave of this ohotographer to show the naked truth. Very stupid of the US Army to abandon him. Now his pics get even more attention that before he was abandoned. Which is good. The terrible situation in Iraq should come to an end as soon as possible.

I want to start with my condolences to all people that are involved with these tragedy's, all soldiers and all non soldiers
Now all Americans can see with their own eyes what the war is realy about, dont blame the messenger, blame ur self. You voted for another Bush, for another oil minded president.

[Gilles]

You open our eyes when others wants them closed. I think you are a great example of what freedom of press is all about and if that means showing the horrible truths of a war than so be it. Thanks for sharing your images with us.

[Gilbert]

WOW !!! shocking and realistic.....
respect for your courage by being there and do your job.
Keep up the good work and stay real !!!!!
The truth is cruel sometimes.....

[Durendal]

This sort of media is all over the internet just look at websites such as liveleak Ogrish or Goregasm.
Plenty of graphic media of dead people and body parts.
I have to say your pictures are not something new or unique for anyone who has a slight interest in what warfare actually means.
Also pictures will never ever be capable of conveying the absolute horror of such events.
For people who say that the US government doesn't want people to see this, they can't control it.
Especially because the Iraqi resistance groups often videotape their own operations and then distribute this media on the internet.
I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere before this event happened there was a Iraqi insurgent videotaping it all while mumbling the usual Allah Ackbars.

[Rudy]

Good to show the world the truth,it proves that people didn't learned a thing from their mistakes in the past.

[Paul]

I am not a American. I am born in the Netherlands. Now 36 years old and a Bosnia Herzegovina and Rwanda veteran. I used to serve as a warrant officer in the Royal Netherland Army during peace keeping and peace enforcing mission.

It doesn't matter where te pictures are taken. The blood, the panic, bodyparts al seems to give the same picture. (i am a amateur photographer) I have similar pictures in my archive. My first rule is never to publish pictures with these kind of images. As respect for those you stayed you time with but especially for the family and all those who stay behind. As an observer who unattended walked by this scene you can get away with it. But you walked, slept and ate with them. Making you one of them !

And now you're publishing them at their sadest and painfull moment. A bit more respect would have been the better thing to do....

But who cares, i am only a European. And somehowe the last years it seems only Americans may have an opinion as soon Muslims Fundamentalists are involved........

[Shenonymous]

Respect for the dead in any of these pictures is not an issue. To say it disrespectful is a pretense of morality. They are dead and in pieces. There was no respect for them when they were alive. Respect for the living is not an issue either. These pictures show no respect for those who were alive. Those of us who are left alive do not deserve the kind of respect of being denied the reality of war. These pictures ought to be shown to show the world, to show us, the repugnance of war. There is never any good reason for war except in defense. Those who wage war against a people for any self-serving gain are evil human beings and must be opposed in defense. That opposition may be either pacifistic without weapons or with armed physicality. Either way is justified. Either way there will be killing. But human consciousness must never ever deny or be denied the reality of the horror of war.

[Jud]

The truth will set us free, right?

[evergreen]

The reality of war we are not supposed to see in America? Because our now monopolistic TV stations barely even mention the war, much less the carnage of war, the whole thing has become something irrelevant and remote to the point that we rarely think about it any more...much less know what is going on.

I have heard that CNN world news (that we don't get here in the US) actually is much more complete than what we are fed by CNN.

Px speak much louder than words. Thank you.

[Skippy]

The photos are not half as disturbing as the censorship of them. War is the root of all these atrocities; torture, rape, suicide bombings, looting, etc. For the 'greatest nation on earth' to have indulged in a war of choice is the most disgusting of things to have happened in the last two centuries. I have nothing but contempt for those who defend bush and his sycophantic mass murderers.

[Physicscitizen]

Some have posted that these were disgusting. Why is it fine to fly flags of glory into war, but disgusting to show us the consequences of war? Americans like me need to see more of these pictures of the carnage we have created.

[anand]

Thanks for documenting the suffering in Karmah.

Al Qaeda and its allies should stop attacking people like this.

I hope that events like this galvanize the world to unite and deal with AQ linked networks.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

[sarah]

Dang.

[Joseph Adams]

The pictures speak for themselvesand are typical of potos from a war zone since photography was invented. Yhey say very little about the causes of their deaths from a political viewpoint and I find the "blame America" crowd very naive and disingenuous. Where were their voices when the Israelis were getting slaughtered on their buses and in their homes? Where were they in Uganda, Rowanda? Where now in Zimbabwe.The only reason that the Americans are in the middle east at all is because the world at large was too cowardly to act in political ways while it was still easy. We have now this mess by default and it will get worse because almost everyone wants America to do what they have not the moral courage to do and then have the shameful nerve to criticise when our actions fail to meet their miserable expectations. The communists had a term for folks like you: "Useful Idiots"

[john lee]

The Bush Administration doesn't want the people who live in the US to see the reality of war, especially one started by them. If the average american were to see the carnage that is the result of their support of the Bush/ Blair invasion, regardless of its source, be it the Iraqi people's resistance to the foreign Occupation, the US military's relentless bombings and shootings which hardly rank a mention in the US corporate media or much less often, the Saudi extremists known as Al-Queda, then perhaps they would protest and exercise their right to overthrow that awful regime. I blame the current US administration for the terror that is the US occupation of Iraq. As the big 5 Oil companies prepare to reenter Iraq and start their drilling in the rich fields, any attempt to suggest that America's goals were somehow knoble and "freedom-loving" or "liberating" is laughable.

[Aimee]

During the Civil War, famous photographer Matthew Brady caused a public stir when he chose to exhibit graphic images of dead soldiers taken after the horrific battle of Antietam. The public had never seen the effects of war on the dead before.

As unpleasant as it can be, the public needs to be reminded that war is ugly. As long as pictures are sanitized, we could care less. But looking at the dismembered figure of a young soldier snuffed out in his prime or an old man blown to bits, puts things in perspective.

[David]

Congratulations for having the coiurage, perseverance and fortitude to bring your photographs of this horrific war and its aftermath to the public's attention.

Obviously the current neo-con administration would rather not acknowledge their complicitness in this madness and keep these most uncomfortable, distressing and disturbing images away from the public.

Your faith in living up to your high moral standards should be acknowledged by your peers who have been so cowed by the administration as to lie down and shirk this responsibilities.

Kudos to you Zoriah.

[anthem boy]

YES! just like you said "united we state, divided we fall"...seems like there is alot of division going on here in the US. look at some of the posts..'bush lied!'... 'oil man president'...'carnage we have created'...get over it. no president is EVER going to be liked by everyone and EVERY president does plenty of things wrong...either by action or IN-ACTION! you have turned this post of human tragedy into a political soap box. wars happen, thats they way it is. if you think that you would never wage war on someone, guess what? that doesnt mean someone wont wage war on you.

[anthem boy]

a post above says: 'The Bush Administration doesn't want the people who live in the US to see the reality of war'

thats absolutely wrong. the american public doesnt want to see it.

[Katherine Christian]

As an American Soldier currently serving in Iraq I think that you posting the pictures of the courageous and brave Marines on this page was selfish and disrespectful both to the Marines themselves, and their families. Because you can clearly see that they are American Marines, you first should have waited until the Marines notified the families and you received permission to publish such photos.

I do like your website, and your writing and photographs very well portray how Iraq is now. BUT, I do think that you did cross the line with this one.

- A Comment to Katherine from Zoriah -
Katherine, you need to take a look the posting date which is stamped on this blog post. I am happy to accept critique of my taste and judgment, but I refuse to allow people to say that the post was made before families were notified, or even soon after. You will find that I waited for three days after the families were notified to post the images which have no features that anyone could recognize. I made the post after consulting several marines who were on the scene and friends of the dead and they felt the timing was appropriate and the images were in good taste.

[helly]

Rudy: You're absurd.

Zoriah is neither responsible for why these U.S. soldiers were in Iraq, nor why they were killed. He documented this to show people what happened. This is called "journalism."

You should be familiar with it. I'm sure the Netherlands has something along the lines of a real journalistic news source, something that reports accurately in order to help inform a wider audience. We in the U.S. unfortunately have been having issues with this very aspect of our media, but that is not up for debate. Apparently, claiming Zoriah isn't being "respectful" is.

To hold him to the light as somehow accountable for the existence of these actions is absurd.

Take a step back for a sec, dude. The world is not only kids playing and sunflowers at sunset. These things happen and it's a shame you can't rise above the petty to see what historic documentation this photographer is doing day in and day out.

[Christopher Livsey]

Quote from John Berger "About Looking" Uses of photography.

For the photographer this means thinking of her or himself not so much as a reporter to he rest of the world but,rather, as a recorder for those involved in the events photographed. The distinction is crucial.

[JMarra]

Coming soon to a U.S. neighborhood near you. We cannot help but be next. It's like a current taking us slowly, inevitably to an island. A Bad Place.

[S. Gilday, SSG. USA]

Your a Disgrace, you violated your agreements you signed. At the least the Families have the right for the Casualty Notification Teams to tell them of their Loss without them having to see their Loved Ones smashed faces & bodies on the news.

But Hey, you think your a big man now hoping for a Pulitzer no doubt.And the Typical America Evil crowd has jumped in about how we created this. Any Apology to the terrorist scumbags rather than rebuking them. You people remind me of the Vichy who sold their Countrymen an women down to the Fascists

See if any Unit will ever allow you near them if they have the choice

No cause is worth that kind of chaos. At some point after all the killing has been done, people will have to sit, talk, and write agreements. Until then, its sad to know that this same event will occur every week.

[Carroll]

Major Dent does not mention in his comment that he is often a spokesman for the USMC:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Major+eric+dent%2C+USMC+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

This information is relevant in that he should know specifically of the "rules" that he mentioned and none were ostensibly broken. Major Dent must also know that this war is a concern for all Americans, not just of members of US armed forces, or their families. In this respect, these photos help the rest of this country, and the world, understand the sacrifice of the immediate protagonists of this war, and the consequences of the politics in play in this country.

[Josh Carrollhach]

George Strock's picture of three dead Marines on Buna Beach was published in Life Magazine in September, 1943, the first published picture of American war dead. The reason for the media's caution in showing such an image was to protect public support for an increasingly bloody war. They had reason: two months later, Marine casualties at Tarawa those incurred taking Guadalcanal... and in only 72 hours. American outcry at such casualty rates was such that the island-hoppping strategy was questioned, and there was far worse yet to come. Public support was vital because that war was funded by bonds purchased by the public.

There is virtually no public support for this war, nor has it ever mattered to those waging it.T here is largely apathy. News coverage has dropped substantially and many news organizations have pulled out altogether.

War is an awful, hideous business and decision to begin this one was made by men with no combat experience whatsoever. There are no rules in modern war. Anyone who has experienced war firsthand would never consider was to be the answer for anything except sanity.

Front-line combat pictures and footage need to be widely distributed to remove any romantic ideas about war. Graphic imagery is hideous and horrible, but if Americans protect themselves from it they will continue to have an inaccurate picture of its destruction and horror.

I believe that the proper reaction by all freedom-loving people to these candid photos of death by Zoriah that capture another massacre committed by a suicidal al Qaeda murder monkey in al Anbar Province, Iraq, on Thursday, June 26th, should not be one of recoil and retreat from the horror of war, and like-wise it should not be taken as an opportunity to illogically blame America for al Qaeda’s atrocities; rather our reaction should be a renewal of our resolve to continue helping Iraq stand up--as it clearly is doing--against these vile, counter-Islamic, terroristic fascists. Our response to al Qaeda’s cowardly assassinations of innocent Iraqis should be steadfast support of the good Iraqi people until these all these vermin are captured or destroyed.

The eventual defeat of these Islamist thugs (both in Iraq and around the world) is certain. Why, because good Muslims everywhere have seen the evil of the international jihad face-to-face, and they are rejecting it, both privately and publically. The majority of Muslims are decent people and they are embracing the “awakening” that arose among the Sunnis of al Anbar and emboldened them to fight. That spirit of resistance to and rejection of Qaeda is spreading across the Muslim world. The “awakening” movement will ultimately rid the demonic pestilence of radical Islam from their midst. Iraq is now the model of how all the governments of the Middle East can someday operate in a new way that both protects individual liberties and respects their Islamic heritage within a secular democracy.

Although gruesome, Zoriah's photos are no longer shocking to us because we have seen these scenes of blood and bodies too many times in the photos from the Civil War between the States, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, etc., up until even today. Let's not get stupid over them. We have to keep our goal in mind.

Most importantly, do not let al Qaeda to get its filthy hands on photos that show close up the faces of our injured or killed warriors, because they will exploit them to our determent. I think that responsible imbed photo journalists, such as Zoriah, do their best to capture the reality of war at the risk of their own lives. For your bravery I thank you, Zoriah. But I would request of you (and all American photojournalist) that you, please, protect the honor of our fallen by keeping private images that could identify them, or that could be used by al Qaeda (or by subversive, anti-Americans here at home) for propaganda purposes. Instead, deliver those photos secretly to their next of kin, if they would want them. Let's neither aid our enemies nor demoralize the weaker citizens among us.

In war there are just three outcomes: victory, defeat, or stalemate. The latter, protracts the war, and foists it upon following generations. So, as repulsive and costly as the jihadists’ war in Iraq (or Afghanistan) appears in your photos, let these images not weaken our generation’s resolve to finish of al Qaeda in our time. Let us focus more decisively on defeating al Qaeda and its Iranian allies where ever they choose to fight, otherwise they will hit us again, but with a nuclear bomb next time. We must not leave our grandchildren the grim task of eradicating these misled, brainwashed nihilists who believe that bringing darkness to the world is doing Allah's will.

[anonymous]

The War Prayer
by Mark Twain

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fulttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory with stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener.

It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender!

Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation:

God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest,
Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord and God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:

"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- excpet he pause and think. "God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, and the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon your neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain on your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse on some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned by God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard the words 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory -- must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

"Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth into battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended in the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames in summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it --

For our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimmage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!

We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(After a pause.) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."

…

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

[Caleb]

What a moving personal account, complete with pictures to illustrate the horror. My only question is: why isn't the MSM eating this up? This should be front-page news, photos that stick in the American consciousness for decades, not merely an internet blog.

But thank you, Zoriah, for having the courage to do what you can.

[Stillcool]

and this is one event, out of 5 long years of events just like this taking place on a daily basis. It boggles the mind. I feel so much for the soldiers, for the Iraqi's, and for you and those like you who are trying to report the reality. I'm sure it is a hell no human being should have to endure, but every single one of us need to see. Thank you so much for showing us who we are.

[Albatross]

Thank you for having the courage to run these pictures, and to allow yourself to lose your position in order to present them.

To Paul from the Netherlands, I can only say that I don't know what it's like to live where you live, but living here in America is more and more like some freakish parody of the former Soviet Union. We have just finished our national holiday where we crowed about "freedom," yet our government does not let us see ANY images of this six year war. It is NOT disrespectful to show these images, because these images are the consequences of what we American citizens are allowing to happen - and we allow this to happen in our names because we allow ourselves to be censored, we allow ourselves to not know, and we allow our rights to be stolen.

To Paul in the Netherlands, I don't know what image you have of America, but it's probably completely wrong. The reality for everyday working people is that our economy is collapsing but our government won't admit it; our jobs are drying up but the job figures are fixed to hide the fact; we earn less than we did a generation ago but most of our workers defend cutting taxes for the very wealthy; and our war has caused thousands of needless deaths, but he never hear ANYTHING about it.

Did you know, Paul, that in America-the-land-of-the-free it is illegal to show photographs of the coffins of returning solders? THAT is disrespectful, Paul - they died supposedly "defending our freedom," and we are not free to recognize their sacrifice. Did you know that we NEVER see footage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan here?

We're not entirely stupid here, Paul. Most of us know that our elections are rigged, our Constitution is being dismantled by our politicians, and our economy and national reputation are in the crapper. But we keep working within the system to try to fix things.

Photographs like these forbidden pictures show us what we're trying to stop. They are not disrespectful, unless you think it is respectful to pretend the dead have not died.

Thank you for risking blacklisting to publish your photographs. The only way that the American public can ever know the truth in Iraq and Afghanistan is for courageous people like you to defy the unAmerican censorship imposed upon the truth.

[jhill123]

From what I've read, you've been kicked out of the country for the photos you've taken. My deepest appreciation and thanks for the courage to publish. If only Americans could see how life is, maybe we'd be a little more reluctant to invade countries for no apparent reason. Decisions have consequences.

[xargaw]

If pictures like yours were on the front page of the daily papers and the nightly news, the war would have ended in weeks. War has been sanitized and romanicized in this country and it is crime. It betrays the soldiers and civilians.

[vreeswijk]

Why should the army be afraid for the truth? Nobody told that war is just a game.
Fear for truth is the end of democracy. Independent journalists are essential for this world. Hope this will never happen in Holland.

[Tinshed]

War is indeed hell and we can see it so clearly thanks to these photos. Thank you. We must believe that, in the long run, the truth will indeed set us free.

I can not let the comments of Rudy go without comment. A Dutch peace keeper who served in Bosnia Herzegovina asking for more respect? C'mon. You lost all respect at Srebrenica. A sense of shame rather than outrage is more appropriate.

[Claire]

It is shocking that so many are surprised at the graphic nature of these images. No one suspected? No one knew that this was what it meant to go to war?

That to me is terrifyingly ignorant. Americans seem more and more like children every day.