Human shields

last updated 8 January 2015

Baghdad

At least 200 Europeans, Americans, and Canadians arrived in Baghdad last week to offer themselves as human shields against a possible U.S. attack. The group is loosely led by ex-Marine Ken O’Keefe, 33, a Gulf War veteran who has renounced his American citizenship and calls the U.S. “the No. 1 terrorist regime.” The idealistic pacifists are all volunteers—a far cry from the human shields deployed in the last Gulf War. Back then, Saddam Hussein’s regime kidnapped hundreds of foreigners and kept them hostage at chemical factories and military bases for months. Iraqi diplomats say the volunteers will be deployed at similar sites. “There are no words to describe how naive these people are in my eyes,” former Iraqi hostage Paul Eliopoulos told Salon.com. “It’s ridiculous to think they’re anything but pawns.”