Iraq gov't in crisis after staff abducted, tortured

[oberliner]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Kidnappers tortured many of the dozens of hostages seized in a daylight raid on a government building and killed some of them, a minister said as he warned that he felt
Iraq no longer had an effective government.


Higher Education Minister Abed Dhiab al-Ujaili, a Sunni Arab member of the Shiite-led unity government, said some 75 hostages remained in captivity after the raid by militiamen wearing police-style uniforms, 40 of them his ministry's staff.

The minister's comments came as the sectarian violence in the capital showed no let-up.

Gunmen stormed a bakery in the mixed Zayuniyah neighbourhood and killed nine Shiite workers in the latest in a spate of attacks by Sunni insurgents on a trade that has traditionally been carried out by the majority community.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061116/wl_afp/iraq

[Igel]

1. I've always wondered about the torture.

I mean, I can understand torture in an attempt to get information. But that seems an unlikely motive.

Torture to force a conversion? Why? Most of the Shi'a and Sunnis are fairly lukewarm.

Torture just out of hate and vindictiveness? OK, a reason you can't rule out in a society where (to quote a conservative Aussie) "the worst in my tribe is better than the best in your tribe". Communal revenge has a long and distinguished history in the area. But it's sort of a default motive, and it doesn't get you anywhere good; and the bad places it gets you tend to be depressing.

Torture to intimidate others? "See, we tortured him ... you're next unless you do what I say." This seems most likely to me, but I wonder if anybody with a better understanding of Iraqi social dynamics has actually explored what's been said or assumed in-country.

Am I missing a likely, simpler motive for the seemingly pointless torture?

[bemildred]

2. Torture is about fear and intimidation, almost always.

Rarely about punishment or revenge, never about information, although some may pretend otherwise.

[0rganism]

4. torture to destabilize the gov't by punishing "collaboarators"

The goal, I think, is to instill as much fear as possible in anyone who dares to become part of the occupation infrastructure.

[Drum]

5. Unfortunately there is the inherent sadism,

which, alas, seems to have no national bias in those who tend that way. But I mean in a larger sense. Given the circumstances in the OP and your observations, I cuncur with you: I can't see much of a "reason" for it.
:shrug:

[LonelyLRLiberal]

3. Are these the same hostages taken earlier this week?

There were claims by the Iraqi government that the hostages had been released. Guess that was a whopper, a la Bush.

[anotherdrew]

6. this is beyond belief, we're not accomplishing a damn thing

if this can happen, it's useless, we can't even protect the government we installed. I'm absolutely floored by this...