Donkey bombs new Iraqi weapon

New York Daily News ^ | 11/22/03 | LAURA J. WINTER in Baghdad and RICHARD SISK in Washington

[kattracks]

The Baghdad donkey bomb was a bust, but it - and rockets fired from donkey carts - showed an increasingly "adaptive" and "ingenious enemy," a U.S. commander said. Iraq rebels fired up to three rockets from a cart early yesterday at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel - home to many journalists and U.S. civilian workers - one of which missed and hit the nearby Sheraton, said Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

Almost simultaneously, at least seven rockets were fired from another cart at the Iraqi Oil Ministry, setting parts of it ablaze but injuring no one, he said.

Two more rocket-armed carts were found and defused near a political party headquarters and a law school.

The terrorists even booby-trapped a burro pulling one of the rickety platforms with an "improvised explosive device" made from a propane tank, but U.S. troops defused the bomb, Kimmitt said. They rescued all four of the beasts of burden, though one was badly singed by rockets.

"They're all alive," but "one of them is, quite frankly, pretty shook up," Kimmitt said. "All indications are that the donkeys will recover, and they're under coalition control at this time."

Although the unusual attacks were "militarily insignificant," Kimmitt said they showed that an increasingly bold and cunning enemy was adopting new tactics meant to "break our will."

"Certainly, this is an adaptive enemy," said Kimmitt, deputy chief of coalition operations, "and he's an inventive, ingenious enemy."

"Clearly, the enemy's been taking a look at our operations and realized that we are clamping down" with recent sweeps, raids and air assaults, Kimmitt said at a Baghdad briefing.

Gaps in intelligence on the insurgents' whereabouts and intentions also were limiting the ability of the U.S. to hit back, Kimmitt said.

"No commander on the ground has enough actionable intelligence," he said. "A very clever enemy who knows that we don't have the best intelligence in the world will find some seams, will run some vulnerabilities."

Kimmitt said the rockets used in the attacks yesterday morning were in the 107-mm. to 122-mm. range and were a mix of old Soviet Katyushas and newer Brazilian-made Astros.

The donkey carts, a common feature in Iraqi street life, were carefully placed about 200 to 300 yards from the heavily guarded targets at blind spots where they had lines of fire but could not be seen from security posts.

The rockets were guided by crude tubes welded from corrugated roofing and were fired by a timer powered by a car battery.

Originally published on November 22, 2003

[GrandmaPatriot]

PETA should run right over to Iraq and stage a protest.

[Skwidd]

PETA should run right over to Iraq and stage a protest.

Against their favorite Islamikazes, who are so bravely fighting the soldiers sent their by a non-Democrat White House? Never!

[csvset]

Round up the usual suspects.

[Samurai_Jack]

In Honor and Recognition of the fine work done by the DNC

[tet68]

You need to change the title that's,"Donkeys of Death".tm.

[Dane]

PETA should run right over to Iraq and stage a protest

Today's prbable PETA memo.

We don't care if Iraqis who don't like the residual baathists and want the American forces in the country, get killed, but when you start hurting donkey's, we at PETA declare war.

[jaykay]

"All indications are that the donkeys will recover, and they're under coalition control at this time."The donkeys are under coalition control. That's priceless.

[Cyclops08]

Well I know of 9 "Donkeys of Death" running amuk here in the US of A! If you listen to them, you would swear they were Iraqis too!

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

There is a poetic irony to this. Terrorist using the symbol of the RATS, an ass, to fight against our troops. Tom Daschle is, I'm sure, deeply saddened.

[BluH2o]

Well I know of 9 "Donkeys of Death" running amuk here in the US of A! If you listen to them, you would swear they were Iraqis too!

Iraqi donkeys are braver, and certainly much smarter, than the home grown political variety we have here in the U.S.

[Molly Pitcher]

:-)) Only saddened, yes. The Dems are more outraged over this, than any bombings, donkey or otherwise:

Dems' ire over new ad

[mirkwood]

Donkey Bombs..as Dave Barry would say: "good name for a rock band".

[Rome2000]

Certainly, this is an adaptive enemy," said Kimmitt, deputy chief of coalition operations, "and he's an inventive, ingenious enemy."

I guess when we get Generals over there who don't consider a bunch of subhuman ragheads "ingenious" for tying a rocket to a donkey, we'll have greater sucess against the enemy.

Kimmitt is an idiot.

[Brilliant]

Donkeys? The symbol of the Democratic Party? More proof of a link between Saddam and the Democratic Party!!

[trebb]

I can't wait for the first indication that our newest "war crime" is profiling donkey carts and those that drive them.

[Gumption]

Were the donkeys muslim? Have any Muslim donkey groups condemed the attacks? I thought not.

[JETDRVR]

Assanine Insurgency.......

[Just mythoughts]

The possibilities are endless for the GOP to run DONKEY ADS.

[Cvengr]

Of course not. The truly ingenius, inventive, dangerous terrorists are busily calculating how many JATO rockets need to be strapped to the donkey to deliver an IBD (intercontinental ballistic donkey).