Rebels Smuggle Supplies Into Iraqi City

AP ^ | Mon, Apr 12, 2004 | LOURDES NAVARRO

[Eurotwit]

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Sunni insurgents are smuggling weapons and fighters into Fallujah in aid convoys and ambulances, making it difficult for U.S. troops to stem the flow of weapons, Marines said Monday.

On Monday alone, U.S. troops in Fallujah uncovered anti-aircraft guns buried in a load of humanitarian aid and saw an ambulance pull up to two shot insurgents and take away their weapons — leaving the casualties lying there.

"One guy was found hidden in a sack of grain in the back of a truck," apparently intent on joining fighters in the city, Army Military Police Capt. Kurt Barclay, 38, from Ridgeway, Pa., said at a checkpoint on a desert road leading into Fallujah.

Humvees blocked the road as troops checked through a line of cars, buses and trucks loaded with sacks and boxes of food, medicine, blood plasma and blankets.

Using sniffer dogs, Marines and MPs poked through truck cargo holds and car trunks. But the understaffed troops waved some vehicles through after only a cursory look. They said they don't have enough personnel or the right equipment, such as large x-ray machines, for comprehensive checks of every vehicle.

"There was bus with a false bottom filled with assault rifles and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers," Marine 1st Lt. David Denial said.

But the bus — with the weapons undiscovered — made it through the checkpoint. Troops inside the city happened to stop the vehicle and found the stash, Denial said.

The anti-aircraft gun stash hidden in a truckload of aid also slipped through the cordon but was discovered in the city later, he said.

Up to 100 vehicles have been ferrying aid into Fallujah every day since Friday, when U.S. forces halted major attacks on Sunni Muslim insurgents after five days of fierce fighting, Denial said. U.S. forces have set up checkpoints on all roads leading to the city, 35 miles west of Baghdad.

Iraqis, many outraged by the bloody Marine siege of the city, have been sending donations of food, fuel, medical supplies and other aid in convoys organized by relief organizations, religious groups and private individuals.

But rebels have been exploiting the relative calm to smuggle in the supplies they will need if fighting resumes, Marines say. Inside the city, insurgents have been using ambulances to transport weapons between neighborhoods, Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said.

On Monday, Marines shot and killed two insurgents seen setting up a machine gun near their position, Byrne said. An ambulance wheeled up, and a man got out to collect the machine gun, leaving the men, he said. The ambulance man also was shot and killed.

"We have to be careful because ambulances are being used for legitimate purposes, but we are also treating them with suspicion," Byrne said.

Troops at the roadblocks barred many military-aged men from entering, fearing they were coming join the battle against Marines as the fight for Fallujah becomes an anti-American rallying cry.

Denial said his troops turned back a seven-vehicle convoy claiming to be from an Islamic aid group, Denial said.

"Their credentials were shoddy. There were 36 men of military age," he said. "The head guy said he was a doctor with a white coat. We caught him in a lie. He tried to pass off his driver's license as a medical ID."

The men were not detained and later left the area, he said.

Most people waiting at the roadblocks to get into the city were there to bring much-needed supplies to Fallujah's residents.

Jamah Abdullah, 42, an ambulance driver for the Red Crescent Society, said he had been into the city several times in the past few days delivering aid.

"There are many people dead. Many wounded. Houses destroyed, damaged. I am doing this to help," he said.

More than 600 Iraqis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past week of fighting in Fallujah and scores more wounded, according to Rafie al-Issawi, the head of the city's hospital. At least five Marines have been killed, the military says.

[GoLightly]

This deal about "civilians", er, are there any putting on any kind of uniform to identify themselves as some kind of "legitimate" force? I'd have to think all would be civilians. Some of them would be criminals & others would be innocents caught in the crossfire. Acording to laws in the US, innocents killed in crossfire are cause for additional charges against the criminals.

[yonif]

Where have I heard this before....using ambulances to smuggle weapons.....

[yonif]

Sound familiar?

[Dog Gone]

More than 600 Iraqis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past week of fighting in Fallujah

Sure.

[upchuck]

Personally, I think if they're gonna abuse us for being nice, we should just say, "OK, that's it. No more aid convoys. Y'all will just have to do without."

But since that would fail the "PC" test, how 'bout we make them stop the truck and then unload the truck and reload the truck while we watch?

NEVER FORGET: We are dealing with people stuck in the 14th Century.

[river rat]

Actually, it wasn't very "sporting" of the Marine sniper...

Some folks will protest that the Marines left the machine gun unattended in the intersection.....intentionally - to serve as bait..

In the States, it's illegal to shoot over a baited field...

But - perhaps exceptions are being made for the "turban tufted, big mouth screaming Islamist" --- formerly a quiet species - due to extreme overpopulation and aggressive behavior.....

</sarcasm>

Semper Fi

[marron]

This stuff makes me really impatient. Why would we attempt something like this without actually sealing off the town? Why would we attempt something like this without manpower sufficient to seal it off?

No one should go in or out until the armed men on the inside have laid down their weapons and walked out, verifiably unarmed, or they have been killed. There should be no third alternative. I agree with letting the tribal elders try to arrange an honorable ceasefire. But the town must remain sealed until its done, and the honorable ceasefire should require them to stack their weapons and walk out, unarmed, through our lines.

Anyone not willing to do that should not survive his mistake.

[JeeperFreeper]

While Bremer, the third, ponders his next step of appeasement, casualties increase, the enemy rearms, organizes and digs in. His next t.v. interview and being invited to the next correct muslim tea party is so much more important than Americans, don't you see? After all, he did serve 25 years in the State Dept and wears combat boots to show his grit and solidarity with the troops. What's a few more lives compared to padding his resume??

[toddly]

Plus he probably popped the guy from the FDNR(Falluja Dept of Natural Resources)next, so no worries.

Separately, I have a feeling that Falluja firefights are few and far between. Most of the 600 plus killed are probably single round headshot wounds.

[toddly]

Whoops, meant to reply to Marron...

[Congressman Billybob]

My reaction to this story is: Time to flush the toilet of Fallujah. Did I miss anything?

Congressman Billybob

Click here, then click the blue CFR button, to join the anti-CFR effort (or visit the "Hugh & Series, Critical & Pulled by JimRob" thread). Please do it now.

[sgtbono2002]

This is the Damndest siege I ever heard of allowing supplies to be taken in to the besieged. Shut the place up tight, when they get hungry enough they will come out and leave their weapons behind.

[Jeeper]

"Iraqis, many outraged by the bloody Marine siege of the city..."

I wonder how outraged they are when they hear of Coalition troops being killed or wounded. The US military briefing's reveal that Iraqi civilians are pointing out our troop positions to enemy snipers. The people following al-Sader and the foreign terrorists inside Iraq will ever live up to an agreement. The proof is the use of this cease-fire to continue sniping at our troops and smuggling in men and equipment. It's time to reduce this festering sewer.

[expatpat]

Of course they are civilians -- they are not wearing uniforms or serving in any country's Armed Forces. They are civilian combatants -- and ought to die.

[jeremiah]

It is time to admit it, the reason this war is like the Vietnam war, is the politicians are micromanaging it, and not allowing the ground commanders and the men under them, to prosecute to a complete victory. It may not matter who wins the Presidential election, they are both wishy washy.

[ApplegateRanch]

anti-aircraft guns buried in a load of humanitarian aid

No such animal.

ALL aid is enemy aid.

If the enemy doesn't steal it outright, it will still increase stocks available to them. That is true whether it is a government, such as DPRK, Sodamn Insane, or Zimbabwe; or an insurgecy.

"Humanitarian Aid" is an even bigger scam than Oil-for-Foood. Oh, wait; that WAS "humanitarian Aid", wasn't it? Case closed.

[JeeperFreeper]

Dear J: I agree. The Bush Administration appears to have turned the war over to the State Dept. If Bush continues to dither and fret more about the feelings of Iraqi muslims than American lives or voters, he will lose the election. Then Kerry will lose the war. If it's timid generals, then he needs new generals.

[Lijahsbubbe]

This is the Damndest siege I ever heard of allowing supplies to be taken in to the besieged

No kidding. I thought this was war. I didn't know you feed and aid the people who are trying to kill you.

[okie01]

"More than 600 Iraqis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past week...

"To be honest I don't believe this. Maybe 600 (I hope) but not civilians."

They're not wearing uniforms. So, superficially, they are civilians. To the military, though, that makes them "enemy combatants"...and fair game.

Thereby, the reporter's use of this clause (and the editor's approval) conclusively demonstrates that AP is either a.) possessed of a controlling anti-military bias or b.) just plain ignorant.

Of course, it could also be c.), both of the above.

[rj45mis]

"Shut the place up tight, when they get hungry enough they will come out and leave their weapons behind."

That is the most sensible solution I've heard to date.