Posted on 12/02/2003 3:51:49 PM PST by bd476
(December 2, 2003) U.S. Forces Stage Massive Raid in Iraq AP - 26 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops north of the capital arrested at least 20 insurgents in a raid while workers began demolishing gigantic bronze busts of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in Baghdad on Tuesday both moves aimed at stamping out loyalty to Iraq (news - web sites)'s ousted regime.
Iraqi police said a senior former member of Saddam's elite Republican Guard was among those captured in Hawija, 155 miles north of Baghdad. However, the U.S. troops failed to catch the target of the raid Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, considered a key planner of attacks against U.S. troops.
Also in the north, insurgents kept up attacks against American-led forces, with a soldier of the 4th Infantry Division killed in a roadside explosion in Samarra, the scene of deadly weekend battles between Americans and Iraqis.
Meanwhile, relatives of U.S. troops visiting Iraq pressed their agenda to meet with leaders of the occupation authority, hoping to voice their opposition to the U.S.-led occupation.
One mother held back tears while looking at U.S. soldiers guarding the entrance of the Habbaniyah military base in Baghdad.
"They are so young. This is not for them. ... They look just like my boy," said Annabelle Valencia, whose daughter, 24, and son, 22, are both based in Iraq.
Elsewhere in the capital, workers using a construction crane started dismantling the 13-foot busts of Saddam from his former Republican Palace, now the headquarters of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority.
It was unclear how long the work would take.
Lt. Col. William MacDonald, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, said the raids in Hawija were aimed at capturing former regime members financing guerrilla attacks in the region.
Iraqi police said U.S. troops had captured more than 100 people, including a senior former member of Saddam's elite Republican Guard. Six Iraqis were wounded in the raid, but it wasn't immediately clear if they were all insurgents.
The U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade detained 20 suspected insurgents, but not al-Douri, the top Iraqi fugitive after Saddam. Earlier, a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council had said al-Douri had been caught.
"We have no reports that we have captured or killed al-Douri," MacDonald said.
MacDonald said the confusion stemmed from local officials' statements that linked the raids to the hunt for al-Douri.
"The key objective was to get the subversive groups that have been conducting anti-coalition activities," he said. "I can't say we are on the trail of al-Douri."
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Thanks. :)
Ironically, embedded reporters would be in more danger if they were on these street patrols than they were during the run on Baghdad.
US raid : US soldiers stand guard near an arrested Iraqi man during a massive raid in Hawijah, near Iraq's northern oil center of Kirkuk. (AFP/Mauricio Lima)
No wonder Iraqi civilians get wounded and/or killed. They don't have sense enough to get out of the way.
Young onlookers : Two US soldiers take position next a group of Iraqi youths during a massive raid in Hawijah, west of Iraq's northern oil center of Kirkuk. (AFP/Mauricio Lima)
US soldiers from the 2D Battalion Airborne of 173D Airborne Brigade take position inside a truck during a massive raid in Hawijah, 45 kilometres (nearly 30 miles) west of Iraq's northern oil center of Kirkuk.(AFP/Mauricio Lima)
A veiled Muslim woman (R) turns her back on a relative of a US soldier serving in Iraq as he enters a hotel in Baghdad 1 December. US military families and veterans came to Iraq to express their concern about the occupation and see at first-hand the reality faced by US troops in Iraq(AFP/Sabah Arar)
Anabelle Valencia, a relative of a US soldier serving in Iraq, talks to the press in front of a hotel in Baghdad.(AFP/Sabah Arar)
Fernando Suarez del Solar of Escondido, Calif, center, jokes with an Iraqi boy while Anabelle Valencia of Tucson, Az, looks on as they arrive in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Dec 1, 2003. Suarez del Solar, whose son Jesus, was killed on March 27 during the invasion of Iraq and Valencia who is the mother of two soldiers serving in Iraq, are among a group of American military families and veterans on a private peace mission to Iraq, where they will bring their message of friendship and doubts about the war. (APPhoto/Laurent Rebours)
Fernando Suarez del Solar of Escondido, Ca, poses with Iraqi street vendors as he arrives in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Dec 1, 2003. Suarez del Solar whose son , Jesus, was killed on March 27 during the invasion of Iraq, is among a group of American military families and veterans travelling on a private peace mission to Iraq, where they will bring their message of friendship and doubts about the war.. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
Yes, I wish that those young folks didn't have to be in Iraq either. But the alternatives are even less desireable.
Gee lady, maybe your kids joined the armed forces to get away from an overbearing, pacifist, left-wing parent? Ya think? Send her to France on a slow steamer.
Huh? There are still busts left to demolish? I thought they had been finished off long ago.
WHY THE PIGGIE LOOKING BROAD CANNOT EVEN MAKE PEACE IN HER OWN FAMILY!!
OH! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD,.
One mother held back tears while looking at U.S. soldiers guarding the beach.
"They are so young. This is not for them. ... They look just like my boy," said Annabelle Vichy, whose daughter, 24, and son, 22, are both based in Normandy.
I'm so glad to no longer be associated with the Party of Dependence on Government!
Yeah...how didja do it?
Was it a multistep program or did you get mugged and go cold turkey?
Inquiring minds need to know.
How soon we forget . . .
Send deployed troops message on SoldiersRadio.com
SoldiersRadio is again this year providing a way to let you tell Service members worldwide that you care and are thinking about them during the Holidays. |
I would have been furious had my family members done this to me during Desert Storm.
But knowing my family (my Dad served in Vietnam), that never would have occurred.
Old people. ;o)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.