Belgian Doctors Bill U.S. for Treating Iraqi Girl

[Laura PourMeADrink]

SORRY NO LINK>>>>

Belgian Doctors Bill U.S. for Treating Iraqi Girl

Fri Apr 29,12:24 PM ET

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian doctors sent an Iraqi girl home Thursday after treating her for leg wounds caused by a bomb during the U.S.invasion -- and sent the 51,570 euro ($66,650) bill to the U.S. embassy.

"We haven't heard from them yet," said Bert De Belder, coordinator of the humanitarian agency Medical Aid for Third World which brought the girl to "I'm curious to know their reaction," he told Reuters. "We're giving them 10 days to respond ... I don't think they will pay it."

The girl, 15-year-old Hiba Kassim, smiled to reporters as she waited for her flight to Jordan to meet her father "Thank you, Belgium," she said.

Doctors brought Kassim to Belgium last year to try to save her left ankle, seriously injured by a cluster bomb that also killed her brother in Baghdad in 2003.

After five operations and weeks of physiotherapy, Kassim is able to walk again, but with a slight limp. De Belder said he sent the bill to the U.S. embassy because international law dictated that an occupying force was responsible for the well-being of the country's people. U.S. embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.

[Sapphire Blue]

1. They should send the bill to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

... addressed to the pResident... and sue the SOB if he doesn't pay.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

2. amen

[icymist]

3. Here's the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050429/od_nm/iraq_belgium_dc_2

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. thanks so much for the link

[kcass1954]

4. I fucking love it!!! n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Five operations and weeks of therapy for...

only 66 grand?

Damn! That's some bargain.

Why not let the Belgians run Medicare?

[Sub Atomic]

7. that's what i was thinking

$66,650 for five operations and weeks of physiotherapy?

wow. an apendectomy runs more than that.

and we're the world's greatest country?

wtf is up with that?

[oblivious]

6. They could try sending it to the Dutch, Danish and Italian embassies.

They were involved in the slaughter too, as members of the grand coalition.

[w4rma]

8. They only sent token support for Bush's propaganda against Americans (nt)

[oblivious]

9. Well, ok then, why not send it to the British and Australian embassies.

Surely one of them will be decent enough to acknowledge that they are partly responsible for maiming this child and killing her brother.

Oh forget it. Dropping cluster bombs on a city of 5 million doesn't indicate intent to kill children. What do they call it? Collateral damage?

[MAlibdem]

10. good.

we are responsibile to the iraq people. that is why i cringe to hear some democrats call for unilateral withdrawl from iraq. it is now our duty to fix the wounds in iraq, both of the government and the people. some of the badness was there before we arrived, and some of it we caused, but all of it we are now duty-bound to heal.

[NVMojo]

11. Yep, let the Bush and Cheney dynasties pay for it!!! They did it.

Greedy bastards.