Gunmen in Iraq Execute 20 Bus Passengers

A terrible event occurred in Iraq this past week, involving the deaths of many people. On June 4, insurgent gunmen set up a fake checkpoint north of an Iraqi city, stopped two minibuses and executed 20 passengers, including students on their way to final exams. It was reported by the police that three vehicles of men arrived, all dressed in fake police uniforms, set up a fake checkpoint, and stopped two buses and a car. The gunmen then went on to the buses, and shot the passengers to death. Two passengers were able to survive, while 20 died. Besides this terrible act, in the same area the day before, eight human heads were found alongside the road, left with poorly written notes. These heads were collected by police, and te families of the victims buried them properly. These killings, along with recent other ones, help the show how bad security has gotten in the city of Baghdad as of late. Insurgents have been able to move around and complete all of their terrorist actions in the country lately, and no one has stopped them. The violence just continues to escalate in Iraq, and the people and leaders of Iraq are losing hope. Mr. Pachachi even said, "I used to be an incurable optimist, but optimism is a very difficult thing to have at present."
This story reminds me of the historical event that occurred in Munich, Germany in 1972. During the Olympics at this time, several Palestinian men snuck into the Games, and kidnapped and took hostage several Olympians from Israel. The men were part of a terrorist groyp known as Black September, and later killed 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer. The group wanted free passage of 234 arab prisoners from Israel, but the demands were never reached. It was a completely useless and hanus crime to kill these athletes. There was no reason to murder them just for a prisoner release, which failed anyway. This brutal and useless crime reminds me greatly of what happened in Iraq. These useless crimes need to be avoided and stopped, which requires help from the American army and government. It is greatly up to America to help stop these crimes in Iraq.