Torture House found in Diyala Province and Why Al-Qaeda must be Exterminated

Diyala Province has certainly seen it's share of terrorist atrocities and violence wrought by Al-Qaeda. This includes suicide bombings, extra-judicial killings by Al-Qaeda courts, and insurgent activity. But the torture house recently discovered by Coalition Forces north of Muqdadiyah takes the cake. CNN has the story here. Liveleak has the video here (H/T to McClatchy Watch for getting the Liveleak Link). This is not for the faint of heart, but sadly this is the reality of Al-Qaeda caliphate. You can see a transcript of an interview with an Al-Qaeda operative, Jawhar Shehada, that aired on Al-Arabiya a few weeks back (H/T IraqiMojo) to get an idea into the demented mindset.

Interviewer: Did you ever participate in any kidnapping operation?
Jawhar: Yes, I once kidnapped someone in the city of Hit. What's the problem? I took him and left the market. An American patrol was passing by, but what's the problem?
Interviewer: Why did you kidnap him?
Jawhar: Because he collaborated with the Americans.
Interviewer: Was he Iraqi?
Jawhar: Yes.
Interviewer: What did you do with him?
Jawhar: We took him for "a walk."
Interviewer: What kind of a walk?
Jawhar: We passed him over to the brothers who conduct the interrogations. My job was just to grab him. The brothers who conduct the interrogations dealt with him.

The 20th century was rife with mass murder and atrocity from industrialized nations: concentration camps in Nazi Germany, gulags in Stalin's Soviet Union, cultural revolution in Mao's China, and many others. With the dawn of the 21st century, it is tragic that this type of brutality still exists. The war in Iraq has been mired in controversy and political stalemate, however one thing that we must realize is that as a civilized nation, we cannot allow this type of activity to fester. It must be wiped out. Maj. Gen. Hertling talks about Al-Qaeda activity in the northern Provinces of Iraq that compromise MND-N (Tameen, Salah ad Din, Ninewah, and Diyala):

"Many of them have transited our province of Diyala", which has seen some of the worst violence in Iraq, he said. "There are still some very bad things happening in that province, but we are continuing to pursue al-Qaida so they don't find a safe haven anywhere."

Since the surge strategy has forced Al-Qaeda terrorists north from Baghdad and the Awakening movement which began last year in Anbar forced Al-Qaeda east, MND-N has born the brunt of the violence. Violence has dropped in MND-N (~40-50%), but not at the same rate as the rest of Iraq. Al-Qaeda has been badly crippled in Iraq, but as evidenced by the torture house, it appears that there's still some fighting left to do. Regardless of your politics or beliefs on the war, I wager that we can all agree that these types of atrocities must be prevented at all costs.

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