Rachel Corrie "Remembered"

Well, it's been 2 years since the "honorable" and "heroic" Rachel Corrie threw herself in front of a snail moving D9 bulldozer in a futile attempt to stop it from destroying a terrorist's home that was hiding weapons smuggling tunnels in Rafiah. The Yemen Times eulogize her this way:

Rachel Corrie is the embodiment of all that good and more and still remains to many people who love freedom, hate oppression and despise tyranny, a shining beacon of human rights advocacy that will always be looked upon for strength and determination to challenge all the rotten evil that has come to eat away at anything that may be called half way decent and human in this world.... Two years have passed and to this day every effort is being made to erase her existence and the tragic memory of her untimely and brutal murder by the ugly Zionist ethnic cleansing machine, which she bravely challenged, armed with nothing but her moral values and unlimited courage. Yes, Rachel Corrie was a martyr in all the implications of the word. Read the rest of the article

Unfortunately, as there are many stupid and ignorant people in the world, this sentiment is not rare. In fact, you can see a playbased on the story of her in theatres in London. American left-wing nuts are trying to bring that play to the U.S., but they are facing some difficulties in getting this done. There are some groups who don't think it's appropriate to bring such an anti-american terrorist loving fanatic play brought to the shores of America. Especially, to the streets that saw two buildings be destroyed by the very terrorists that Rachel protected and exalted. What are they thinking?!? Oh yeah, and there are several Hollywood loonies that are trying to get a movie made about her.

Well, I would like to examine the life and "triumphs" that is Rachel Corrie's legacy. I would also like to examine how difficult it was for her to be run over by a D9. I also want to examine the other side. I want to examine the D9's side of the story. Was this a blood thirsty murder? Or, was Corrie just too damn stupid to not notice that the D9 couldn't see her and, therfore, not stop? Let's see:

-Rachel Corrie was a member of the International Solidarity Movement. Amongst other things, this group is known to hide and actually protect wanted terrorists from capture.
-She traveled to the Gaza Strip during the height of the Intidafa II
-In 2003, she joined anti-war and anti-Israel protests. Amongst other things, she taught and showed Palestinian children how to burn an American flag.
Rachel burning a paper American flag
-The circumstances surrounding her actual death are considered to be controversial. Alledgedly, the ISM was in the neighborhood of Rafiah in an attempt to disrupt the D9's activities. According to one eye wittness, Rachel sat down in the direct path of the D9. She stood up when the D9 starting unravelling the dirt beneath her. According to him, when she stood up, she was at eye level with the cab of the bulldozer. In spite of this, the D9 continued forward and ran her over. Then, it reversed and pulled her underneath it some more.
-According to the Israeli Army, other soldiers could not direct the direction and lack of field of vision of the D9 because of all the surrounding terrorist groups and threats from sniper fire. Because of this, they were also unable to move the protestors out of the way and into safety.
-According to the Israeli government's official report after inquiry, it was shown that the D9 could not see or hear Rachel. (As a side note, as an officer and soldier in the IDF, my husband has had the opportunity to walk beside and drive a D9. He talks about the fact that the thing is so loud, you can't even hear tanks and other loud machinery in its vicinity. The window of site is practically nill, and the thing drive about 5-10 mph at its top speed. But, we'll get to the D9's account in a moment.) The soldiers and commanding officers involved in the event were intensively investigated and interrogated using such equipment as polygraph tests and video evidence. Also, Rachel's autopsy showed that her cause of death was falling debris and not the tractor running over her. They also stated that it was extremely dangerous on top of being very much illegal for the ISM protestors to be at Rafiah that day.
-Well, is the Israeli account true? Or, is the ISM's account correct? I believe that the only way to find out the truth is to ask the D9 itself. Let's see what it has to say for itself:
(Hat tip: IDF Israel.com)
Kinda big, aren't I?
I am a D9 bulldozer. If you want to protest my use as a tool to stop terrorism, destroying tunnels used for smuggling weapons and bombs, please do not stand in front of me. It's really stupid. People get run over by my cousins and brothers all the time, all over the world. You can obviously see how big and strong I am. You can also see that the IDF has put a lot of protective armor on me to protect me and my inhabitants from harm. Because of that, my field of vision is extremely limited. If you stand in front me, chances are more than likely that I can't see you.
This is one of my brothers opening his mouth and being in action. As you can tell, the driver's entire field of vision is blocked. Again, please don't stand in front of me. It's even dumber now.
I even come with a warning sign. Please heed it. And, please don't stand in front of me. I don't want to hurt you.


So, who do you believe?