2 U.S. Sailors Killed in Iraq Boat Attack

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | April 24, 2004 at 20:31:14 PDT | BASSEM MROUE

[CindyDawg]

It's sad but we are all a little naive and are going to have to look at things differently. EX; If you see a purse left in a basket, say at Walmarts are you going to take it to a clerk or think this might be a bomb.

[forYourChildrenVote4Bush]

No, No you can’t be paranoid; you can’t start living this way. It’s not like you’re living in a war zone, It hasn’t gotten to this point yet.

[CindyDawg]

I would pick the purse up too. That's what I was talking about.

[optik_b]

They are finally starting to target the oil facilities successfully. I am surprised they have not attempted more attacks on the oil.

[jaykay]

After a purse explodes, I would expect no one would be picking up strange purses anymore. After countless ambushes, roadside bombs, suicide bombers, car bombs, truck bombs, now boat bombs, why are U.S. forces allowing anyone/anything they don't know get close enough to harm them? It's not as if they are stupid. They are hadcuffed by rules imposed by beurocrats who find deaths of Americans easier to deal with than bad press if Iraqis die.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

I don't understand why they boarded it to begin with.

They board the dhows. Because, it's their job to board and identify as friend or foe.

There are thousands and thousands of dhows in the Persian Gulf. Commerce, such as cargo transportation and seafood harvest is conducted from these vessels. Inadvertently, an unauthorized dhow may enter a security zone. (Historical fishing grounds of a family fishing business.)

God Bless our troops,

OLA

Dhow

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Our Canadian partners boarding a dhow.

[Tropicalwatcher]

So they are finally starting to target are navy. We better be readdy to shot, then answers quastions later.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

So they are finally starting to target are navy. We better be readdy to shot, then answers quastions later.

Sorry, but I don't agree.

This method of attack was anticipated for years. That's why we board in a stand-off area.

In the post-USS Cole era, no one conducts a boarding in the manner depicted in my previous post.

OLA

[ZULU]

I agree. They should have blown the suckers out of the water immediately.

Again, we are letting our concern for "humanitarian" sensitivities overrule what should be our primary concerns - protecting our troops and protecting our interests.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

It seems at least one of the three was blown out of the water, see Iraqi Oil Terminal Closed After Attack

[miltonim]

Great picture. Thanks.

[sperezdaily]

First of all there is rules of ingagement and that is why they didn't just blow them out of the water to begin with....With that said my name is Shirley Perez-Daily and I am the Proud wife of the Coxswain that was in charge of that boarding group who was blown out of the water. The USS Firebolt PC10 and their sister PC that was out there on that fateful day, was in charge of protecting the zone around the oil terminal against hostile elements. THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB! Boarding crews are designed to check if the other boat is hostile or not, without putting the larger ship at risk. They never boarded that particular ship that day. The boarding team deployed their RHIB into the water and approached the fishing boat (it was not a dhow as recorded, dhows are wooden ships) and advised the person who was driving the boat toward the oil terminal that they were enter a no entry zone and needed to turn around. They also advised that if he didn't turn around they would seize control of his fishing boat. They guy in the fishing boat turned around and left the no entry zone. The boarding team directed their attention to their sister PC to assist with the other two fishing boats headed toward the other oil terminal. They noticed that the fishing boat they had just turned around had begun to turn back toward the oil terminal, so they approached and got right along side (my husband said they were so close they could touch the fishing boat...and they had to be that close), they advised the man driving the fishing boat that he was to turn off the boat because they were boarding and taking over the fishing boat. Before they could finish advising the man, the detonated his explosives that were meant for the oil terminal. The explosion did not flip the RHIB over...it blew the RHIB along with it's boarding team clean into the air. My husband along with the other members of that boarding team were doing their job...boardings are routine. Three men gave the ultimate sacrifice by doing their job and protecting the no entry zone to the oil terminal...their lives. If you care to visit my husbands website to find out more information regarding the oil terminal explosion and the men who gave their lives protecting it...I have included the link below...

http://members.cavtel.net/alandaily/page9.htm

This is also a link to the page that contains the wounds my husband sustained from the explosion...I'm happy to say he healed very well and is still active duty...I contribute his speedy recovery to his good health prior to the attack...

http://members.cavtel.net/alandaily/page8.htm

God Bless and Please Never Forget Our Armed Force Hero's...Deceased or Living!

Shirley Perez-Daily
pr_honey0278@yahoo.com