Thursday, November 25, 2004

When "Horrifying" Doesn't BEGIN To Cover It

This is among the most horrible, despicable, words-beyond-sadness story that I have read in a long time that was not war-related. Essentially, the people of one town in Mexico saw some strangers staking out a local school. After the Russian school kidnapping, and in light of the utter incompetence of the local police, they took action. Without alerting the local authorities, they called together the neighborhood and decided to dish out mob justice on the apparent terrorists. But there was one little problem.

One after another, residents set off dozens of crude, rooftop bullhorn alarms that serve as a backup security measure in some poor districts. Neighbors poured into the streets, where they cornered and then beat the men. Onlookers cheered and shouted obscenities as they were splattered with the officers' blood...Reporters arrived, and the assailants pushed the victims before TV cameras so they could be interviewed. Barely conscious and struggling to talk, they nodded and gave one-word answers when asked if they were federal agents.As television helicopters hovered overhead, police began to arrive. One agent was rescued, carried away unconscious by his arms and legs. But the other two were soaked with gasoline and set ablaze, their charred bodies left bleeding in the street as dozens of people milled around.
One was saved and for that we should express thanks. But it is apparent that Mexico is a much more alien country than we would have expected, and is in need of pressure from the U.S. to improve local conditions. This can NEVER be allowed to happenh again.

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