Residents warm to U.S. troops after military show of force

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 4/22/04 | Ron Harris

[saquin]

Money quote:

"One thing that I do know is that the Iraqi people respond to who they think is the strongest"

Time to do the same in Fallujah.

[ambrose]

they've learned to survive by going with the Biggest Dog of the pack.

[crz]

Dont turn your backs to them. They'll stick you in the back at the first chance.

[mrsmith]

A link to this reporter's (Ron Harris) earlier story on the battle around Husasybah: Insurgent Iraqis kill six Marines

He's not hiding in his hotel in the Green Zone filing reports from what he sees on AlJazeera on the bar TV.

And I like his clear reporting style too.

[Robert_Paulson2]

force.
one of the highest "natural laws" understood by man, and beast.
maybe culturally the only "common" ground and language we can mutually use on islamists to help them understand and get along with the new program.

persuasion is almost always the first choice but doesn't always work so well.
the ball bat almost always works, right away...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We knew this after WW II. Why'd we forget.

[Viking2002]

It's amazing how one's attitude can change when confronted by a PO'd Marine with a loaded machine gun.....LOL

[shield]

bmp

[Billthedrill]

Let's not forget also that these people have had a layer of police state over them constantly for three decades, and that most of those people are still there. And both sides know we're leaving eventually. We need to whack a lot of bad guys first or that mess will start all over again.

[wingman1]

Bump

[PatrickHenryinVA]

"When the people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will always choose the strong horse." -- Osama Bin Laden, referring to the Somalia debacle.

[76834]

Nothing like a good vigorous "attitude adjustment" to change one's attitude

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Here's an excerpt from article mentioning Capt. Richard Gannon from January 21, 2003. I remember seeing his name mentioned in several articles on Iraq and it was a surprise to see that he was killed last Saturday. This just shows how fast everything can change for someone. It's depressing that anyone has to die fighting these terrorist scumbags. No matter how 'just' a war is it's never easy even though it has to be done.

"Ten-year-old Richard Gannon III said he is accustomed to his father, Capt. Richard Gannon II, being gone on assignment. But the oldest of four siblings admitted he misses the times they spend playing football and baseball. He said he always looks forward to his father coming home and does not dwell on the possibility of war.

"My dad has told me not to be afraid," the youngster said as his father waited in line for vaccinations."

http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/local/1043157294.shtml

[Moonman62]

Beating the crap out of the bad guys is always the best way to win hearts and minds.

[cavtrooper21]

Little story that I remember from many years ago..
A General and several young cavalry officers are watching a training battle when one of the young dandys makes a comment to the effect of; "well, I say, that was deucedly un-sporting of them..."
The grizzled old general politely said nothing as he sat on his horse eating some walnuts.
Another "young gentleman" was then heard to sputter; " Chaps, the enemy commander just isn't playing by the rules!!"
At this point the general reached over and lightly smacked the young man's helmet, saying; "Young man, pay attention."
"There are many ways to win a battle, and many of you have been told stories of brave heros, breaking nerve and the elegant turn of manuver. Sometimes these stories are even true. They are like a three headed calf, for I know that they happen, but I myself have never seen one. If you expect to win battles this way, don't expect a long or very glorious life."
He then pulled a walnut from his pommel bag and held it between his sword scarred fingers and squeezed, cracking the walnut perfectly down the middle exposing the unbroken meat of the nut.
"This is the elegant way to crack a walnut, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't..."
The general then pulled another nut from the bag and placing it in the palm of his hand, used his other hand to smash it. This left many pieces of broken shell and meat. He turned to the young men, brushed the remains of the walnut from his hand and with a hard gleam in his eye and a edge to his voice said"....but this way ALWAYS works."
"The moral of this tale, my fine boys, is that no one ever lost a battle because they used too much force."

[Steve_Seattle]

Of course, the NYT had a feature today saying exactly the opposite - that even formerly pro-American Iraqis now hate us because of our actions in Fallujah.

[Ohioan]

Do not misunderstand me. I am not going to suggest that there are not honorable people in Iraq, who say what they mean, etc.. On the other hand, this sort of article reminds me of the accounts of life in Cairo during the North African campaign in World War II. When Montgomery seemed to be getting the upper hand, Cairo--still under British control--was very pro-British. When Rommel appeared to be unstoppable, Cairo was anything but a pro-British town. The Union Jacks came out at certain times, disappeared at others.

One needs to take a lot of things with "a grain of salt."

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[wingman1]

It's time that we looked at ourselves as the strong horse.
Thanks.

[bitt]

wouldn't hurt to write him an e-mail and let him know we like his stuff and pray for his and the Marines' safety...

rharris@post-dispatch.com