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The mother of Iraqi boy Mostapha Fadhl, 6, cries at his coffin before a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 29, 2004. Mostapha Fadhl and Mostapha Salah, 7, both refugees from Fallujah, were killed during a shootout between a U.S. convoy and rebels. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
By M. Shahid Alam
“… the Marines' commander said they did their best in order to avoid hurting civilians.” -- Haaretz, April 28, 2004
So that US-born mercenaries may be free
To make the world safe
For Halliburton and Bechtel,
We ordered the Marines,
The core of the US killing machine,
Into Falluja. Vigilant
In resolve, they stopped all exits
From Falluja. Then they went in,
Backed by Apaches and F-16s,
To deliver grim retribution
To Saddamites, dead-enders and thugs.
In one week 600 Fallujans died.
Lucky Fallujans! Where would they be
Without the Marines’ expertise
In saving civilian lives.
