Use of disabled people for attack is appalling

It was an act so appalling I could not imagine it could be true. I read with horror the news story of how two women with Down syndrome - with limited intellectual ability - were identified as the "suicide bombers" in the Feb. 1 attack in a Baghdad pet market.

Let's be perfectly clear - they were not "suicide" bombers. They were dreadfully and mercilessly murdered as the means to a despicable act of carnage. They were horribly used and exploited simply because their disability made them vulnerable to the manipulation of individuals who have no respect for human life.

People with developmental disabilities are not that different than you or I. They have hopes and dreams, challenges and successes. They have yesterdays, todays and tomorrows. They should not be treated as expendable pawns or cruelly used at the hands of immoral murderers. The world should be outraged at this senseless and shameful act.

Bruce A. Bird

President The Arc of New Jersey

North Brunswick