Posted on 11/24/2005 3:31:53 PM PST by Dog
I've been watching FNC profile our deployed troops all day. If you don't consider that worthy news, then change the channel.
Casualties aren't necessarily fatalities. Wounded soldiers are considered casualties, as are those who catch infectious diseases, or are for one reason or another unable to fight. Casualties are just that: casualties of war.
Me too. Thanks, Fox. Every one of their faces is a joy to see.
This isn't about today's maybe-maybe not border clash- but gives some insight into the ops in that area:
Operation Steel Curtain Concludes Along Iraq-Syria Border
American Forces Press Service
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Nov. 22, 2005 – U.S. and Iraqi forces wrapped up Operation Steel Curtain today near the Iraq-Syria border, military officials here announced.
The 17-day offensive was conducted in the cities of Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi, and was geared toward preventing al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout the country's Anbar province, officials noted.
As part of a larger operation called Operation Hunter, Steel Curtain made way for the establishment of a permanent Iraqi army security presence in the Qaim region. It also set the conditions for local citizens to vote in the upcoming Dec. 15 elections, officials said.
Steel Curtain ushered in the first large-scale operational use of the Iraqi army, officials said, employing about 1,000 soldiers in western Anbar province. The Iraqi soldiers conducted detailed clearing missions alongside their coalition counterparts and began establishing permanent bases within these three cities.
"Forces at these outposts will prevent the al Qaeda in Iraq-led terrorists from regaining a presence in these cities and threatening local residents with their murder and intimidation campaign," a coalition spokesman said.
"Desert Protectors," specially trained local Iraqis, were recruited from the Qaim region and worked alongside the Iraqi army and U.S. units throughout the operation.
"Their familiarity with the area and its people was crucial in identifying friend from foe and enabled their Iraqi and coalition partners to better understand the geographical complexities of the region," the spokesman said.
Officials reported that 10 Marines were killed in fighting during Steel Curtain. A total of 139 terrorists were killed and 256 were processed for detention during the operation.
"The porous Iraq-Syria border was identified as a main route for men, material and money to be transited into Iraq," the spokesman said, and the western Euphrates River Valley region was known to be a major artery for al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists.
Iraqi soldiers and U.S. forces moved in on Husaybah the morning of Nov. 5, followed shortly thereafter by Karabilah, Ubaydi and winding up clearing the Ramana region, west of Ubaydi on the northern side of the Euphrates River.
"Iraqi army soldiers and U.S. forces will continue to maintain presence and increase efforts in securing the Iraq-Syria border," the spokesman said.
(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2005/20051122_3426.html
That aside, border skirmishes are newsworthy. Just not all that rare.
I'm tempted to say this is, er, shall we say... made up.
It just doesn't sound credible to me.
Still, I'll bookmark this page and come back a bit later to see if anything comes of this.
This is not going to appear in the MSM, but I can certainly believe it's happening, and my guess would be it's not the first or last time.
Syrian "foreign fighters" have been coming over to Iraq for some time, and they even established some terrorist safe areas near the Syrian border. That's what our recent operation steel courtain was about, to clean out the border areas, and quite possibly we had fights with Syrian troops on one or the other side of the border.
And people still don't believe that Saddam most likely sent his WMD to Syria...
I can't directly debunk it, but I can sanity-check it.
Both sides have suffered casualties.
Possible but unlikely. If we we sent them an ultimatium telling them we were coming, we'd have gone in with overwhelming force.
US soldiers crossed over after Damascus was given an ultimatum Thursday, Nov. 24, to hand over a group of senior commanders belonging to Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s al Qaeda force. According to US intelligence, the group had fled to Syria to escape an American attack in Mosul.
So, they fled from an attack in Mosul to a point near a Syrian border guard unit, which we were able to track, yet unable to action? (That's several hours on the road, the most direct one being a straight line past U.S. Army camps in Tall Afar and Sinjar) Then, we gave Syria an ultimatum and attacked them the same day? That doesn't really sound like us. It doesn't even sound like the Syrians. Their border troops are corrupt, but they're not suicidal. Turning a blind eye to passing terrorists is one thing; defending them from a U.S. assault force is quite another.
I can't make sense of the timeline as it's written. The details don't add up.
Syrian border guards opened fire on the American force.
They have been known to do that, against smaller units, and when they thought they could get away with it. It's not worked out very well for them. I doubt any of them would be eager to try it again, especially against a large assault force.
As long as it's Kosher salt.
My thought exactly. They sure do a fine job of keeping terrorists OUT of Syria, or should I say "letting" terrorists out....
"Pigs Fly, News at 9:00"
Find me a story debunking it.
Now just let the Jarheads Kick some ass.
Folks.... Casualties is a term that includes killed AND wounded.
Great choice of words: "locked in a battle" Somehow if the rags are taking on our boys, I'm not thinking it is going to be much of a battle and our Marines are not going to be "locked" in anything. Just hope our boys don't get sh*t on their boots, walking thru the Syrians.
U.S. slowing flow of foreign fighters into Iraq
"..The border remains a volatile area. The Syrians remain generally uncooperative, and there have been clashes between U.S. forces and Syrian border guards who have on occasion entered Iraq, Vines said..."
Syria accuses US of launching lethal raids over its borders
"..Syria has accused the United States of launching lethal military raids into its territory from Iraq, escalating the diplomatic crisis between the two countries as the Bush administration seeks to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad's regime..."
What I cannot understand is how this border is continuously crossed. Why are we not vaporizing suspicious parties coming in or going out? I cannot believe we don't have massive amount of air cover along that border.
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