Earlier this month John Kerry accused our soldiers of terrorizing Iraqis:
Sen. Kerry: You?ve got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis. And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the?of?the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not?
SCHIEFFER: Yeah.
Sen. KERRY: ?Iraqis should be doing that.
Is this an example of our terrorizing?
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — When troops from the Georgia National Guard raided a Baghdad home in early December, they had no idea that their mission in Iraq would take a different turn.
As the young parents of an infant girl nervously watched the soldiers search their modest home, the baby’s unflinching grandmother thrust the little girl at the Americans, showing them the purple pouch protruding from her back.
Little Noor, barely three months old, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column fails to completely close. Iraqi doctors had told her parents she would live only 45 days. (Watch U.S. troops make saving a baby girl their mission — 2:11)
But she was tenaciously clinging to life, and the soldiers in the home — many of them fathers themselves — were moved.
“Well, I saw this child as the firstborn child of the young mother and father and really, all I could think of was my five children back at home and my young daughter,” Lt. Jeff Morgan told CNN from Baghdad. “And I knew if I had the opportunity whatsoever to save my daughter’s life I would do everything possible.
“So my heart just kind of went out to this baby and these parents who … were living in poverty and had no means to help their baby. I thought we could do that for them,” he added.
So Morgan and his fellow soldiers began working to get Noor the help she needs.
“We … collectively decided this is going to be our project,” said Sgt. Michael Sonen. “If this is the only contribution we have to defeating the war on terrorism, this is going to be it.”
The soldiers brought Noor to a U.S. military base for medical examinations and got friends and charities in the United States to help get her the surgery that could save her life.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and his office are working to speed up the process of getting a visa for Noor’s grandmother, who will accompany her to Atlanta.
Dr. Roger Hudgins, the chief of neurosurgery at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, has promised to perform the delicate operation for free.
The doctor told CNN the surgery needs to take place soon.
“We need to get the back closed,” Hudgins said. “The concern here is meningitis. If the baby gets an infection on the back, that infection can spread to the coverings all over the brain and the baby may die, so time is of the essence.”
Spina bifida, often called open spine, is a birth defect that occurs during the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column fails to close completely.
It affects the backbone and sometimes the spinal cord itself, often causing permanently disabling defects, particularly neurological damage.
Apparently Baby Nora is on the move:
Abu Ghraib, Iraq ? Baby Noor al-Zahra, born with spina bifida and little chance of survival in the slums of Abu Ghraib, made her first move Tuesday in a long journey that Georgia soldiers pray will end, possibly this week, with medical care in Atlanta.
And perhaps give the frail child new hope for life.
Born in September with the severe spinal cord defect, Noor was discovered by soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard?s 48th Brigade Combat Team earlier this month when they raided the family home looking for suspected insurgents.
After two weeks of sorting out bureaucracy ? it?s not logistically easy to shuttle Iraqi citizens out of the war zone ? and frantic communications with military officials, lawmakers and a host of Atlanta-area hospitals and charitable organizations, Gainesville-based soldiers picked up the baby, her father and grandmother Tuesday night and carried them back in a Humvee to Baghdad?s Camp Liberty.
?I?ll feel much relieved when we get her under a doctor?s care,? said Capt. Anthony Fournier, commander of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment.
The soldiers had instructed Noor?s family to be ready to go at a moment?s notice because when arrangements finally fell into place, there would be no time to waste; for Noor, every passing day lessened her chances of survival.
With just one last obstacle remaining ? clearance for Noor to enter the United States ? Fournier thought it best to bring the baby on base to be seen by military doctors.
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said the senator has been in touch with the American Embassy in Baghdad and that the paperwork for Noor and her relatives should be processed within two days or so.
?I?m very pleased that Baby Nora is now at a place where she can receive the critical attention she needs,? Chambliss said in a statement sent via e-mail, calling the baby by the soldiers? nickname for her.
?This has been a top priority of mine over the past few days,? Chambliss added. ?I?m proud of our troops, and we will continue our efforts to get her back to Georgia, where she can be treated.?
Children?s Healthcare of Atlanta is committed to treating the child at no cost, spokeswoman Jennifer Sinclair said Tuesday night.





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