The United States military has stood silently by as gay Iraqis are systematically killed by the Badr Corps, the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), according to an advance copy of an article obtained by PageOneQ. The story, written by veteran journalist Doug Ireland will be published in tomorrow's edition of New York's weekly Gay City News

"The Badr Corps is committed to the 'sexual cleansing' of Iraq," a 33 year old gay Iraqi exile in London told Ireland. [OMIT: Using techniques employed by the Iranian government to identify, and in some cases execute, gay men, since the SCIRI's spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistni -- the highest Shia religious authority -- issued a fatwa ordering gays assassinated in "the worst, most severe way of killing," the Badr Corps in Iraq has begun to use the Internet to hunt down and kill Iraqi gays.

In Iraq, Ireland reports, "The Badr Corps was killing gay people even before the Ayatollah's fatwah, but [Grand Ayatollah Ali] Sistani's murderous homophobic incitement has given a green light to all Shia Muslims to hunt and kill lesbians and gay men."

<td width="100%" height="180"> 
  <table width="99%" height="176" border="0">
    <tr> 
      <td height="172" valign="top" bordercolor="#999999" bgcolor="#FFCCFF"> 
        <div align="left">
          <p><font style="font-size:11px; font-family:verdana, tahoma, arial"><br>
            Abu Nawas Group, a gay and lesbian support support organization 
            for gays and lesbians, desperately needs money to expand its work 
            on their behalf. Checks for the Abu Nawas Group should be made 
            payable to its Treasurer, K. Sahi, and sent to:</font></p>
          <p align="center"><font style="font-size:11px; font-family:verdana, tahoma, arial"> 
            <b>K. Sahi<br>
            13 Campden Hill Mansions<br>
            Edge Street<br>
            London W8 7PL England </b></font> </p>
        </div></td>
    </tr>
  </table></td>
                        </tr>
                      </table>

Originally published on Wednesday March 22, 2006.