Posted on 05/12/2005 2:49:20 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -
0512iraq From their rooftops, Syrians in frontier towns watched airstrikes and battles on the other side of the Iraqi border, where U.S. forces are fighting insurgents in an offensive raging uncomfortably close to Syria's doorstep.
Rawaf Hamad, a farmer in the village of Showaiyeh, said he was shaken awake at 3 a.m. Thursday by shelling about a mile away in the Iraqi town of al-Qaim. He heard the sound of warplanes
"There was heavy gunfire that lasted until 6 a.m. today," the 24-year-old said.
Besides unnerving border residents, the fighting is politically unsettling for the Syrian government - in light of persistent U.S. pressure on it to do more to stop fighters crossing its borders into Iraq.
The Syrian government has not made any comment about the combat, and its security forces have been keeping non-residents away from the border area, requiring journalists to get permits to go there.
Hundreds of American troops have been rolling through desert outposts along the Euphrates River in northwest Iraq, trying to root out what they say is a refuge for insurgents from other parts of Iraq and a staging ground for fighters coming in from Syria.
The fighting, now in its fifth day, is one of the biggest U.S. military operations in Iraq since Fallujah was taken from militants six months ago. As many as 100 insurgents were killed in the first 48 hours of the offensive, and at least five Marines have been killed.
In Abu Kamal , a town of 70,000 about three miles from the border, residents could feel the ground shake from the fighting across the border. People took to rooftops to watch U.S. fighter jets and helicopter gunships bombard insurgents hiding in houses in al-Qaim. The Syrians said they could hear small arms fire from the ground, apparently insurgents returning fire.
Heavy fighting broke out in the area at about midday Wednesday and continued through daybreak Thursday before it tapered off to sporadic exchanges in the afternoon.
"Smoke was rising in the air from al-Qaim," said one Abu Kamal resident, speaking on condition of anonymity because of worries about problems with the Syrian security agency.
Residents of the town were "not scared because nothing is happening on this side and it's a bit far for shrapnel to hurt people," he said by telephone. Power remained on in Abu Kamal and businesses were open during the day.
The Syrian border post area of Al-Hiri was empty of travelers. The border point had been closed for months.
The border has been a point of friction at times in the past, with Bush administration officials accusing Syria of letting Islamic militants bent on fighting U.S.-led coalition forces enter Iraq.
Last month, Iraq accused Syrian border guards of opening fire on their Iraqi counterparts as a group of militants tried to slip through, an accusation Damascus denied. American forces have complained of coming under mortar fire from the Syrian side of the border - though they say they don't know by whom.
Since the war in Iraq began in 2003, several cross-border shootings have wounded Syrians and damaged property.
Syria has repeatedly denied it was allowing fighters to slip across its 380-mile border into Iraq and stressed it was doing all it can to stop it.
In November, Syrian bulldozers built a 12-foot-high sand barrier along Syria's remote border with Iraq in the Abu Kamal region. Authorities said they've begun round-the-clock patrols and set up new observation posts to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq.
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I don't believe it!
Anyway we can fly off course and hit Damascus? I'm sure after yesterday, they know how bad of pilots we are!
Maybe we'll learn something and then apply it at home.
Could be a nice touch
to reward good Iraqis
by simply making
Syria into
"West Iraq" and, then, Iran
"East Iraq." Sounds good.
Open borders between Iraq and Syria bad. Open borders between the US and Mexico good. Hmmm. Sounds like an invasion is taking place in both places to me? Maybe I better read the RNC talking points again.
Hey, remember that
Christmas when John Kerry led
troops to Syria?!
I bet there are even more terror bases just across the border. I hope our military walks across it and crushes them all.
"American forces have complained of coming under mortar fire from the Syrian side of the border - though they say they don't know by whom."
Likely guerrilla units doing the mortar fire. I don't see why we can't respon with counter-battery fire.
We have the equipment to pin-point the likely site of the firing.
OTOH, maybe the guerrillas pack up so quickly after firing, it isn't even worth it to fire back at 'em.
Right. Remember our diplunatic mistake in respecting the Cambodian border. Cross it. Kill them all.
Half of Iraq is unemployed. Let's get them digging ditches, building fences and burying the vulnerable pipelines underground.
If you do your bible history, every time the syrians attacked the Isralites, (4 times)! The syrians got whipped big time! I think the Syrians are not wanting to get into a fist fight with us, they know they will have big time problems with us, and our allies the isralites backings us!
What was the score in that little dust-up?
Israel: 90
Syria: 0
"Remember our diplunatic mistake in respecting the Cambodian border. Cross it. Kill them all."
Here, I would give politics a chance to work.
1. Alert Syria. Tell them to put a stop to it. Or else.
2. Follow through, with extreme prejudice.
I suspect they would put a stop to it, b/c they are scared to death of Bush. Benefits of having a Cowboy reputation.
The past few weeks the pussy terrorists have even 'given up' trying to attack ING troops, and are now just driving explosives into markets filled with civilians.
Seems like panic... and I predict will be the 'final straw'... even for even the Sunnis.
IP in Tikrit passed a temp 'emergency law' that you cannot drive in your car alone, and if you try, your car will be shot at!
Extreme for sure, but if they are willing to go that far, you know the intel people are willing to offer is way up as well.
Hot pursuit is just fine with me. In fact, I hope we wind up and go all the way to Damascus. Lets quit messing around and git'r done. No escalation, no diplomatic nicey-nice with the chinless doctor or the UN. Iraqi regulars and USMC go straight to Damascus. US Army sticks around in Iraq and makes sure Iran stays home. The campaign would be over in two weeks and we would be doing the Syrians a favor.
President Johnson wouldn't allow bombing the Hoc Mien trail in Cambodia.
President Nixon ordered it bombed.
Johnson, Democrat; Nixon, Republican; Bush, Republican
Hey Syria wake up, there is a Republican in The White House.
Neither do I. Fighters and explosives both are "slipping" across their border.
They're trying to save face after being run out of Lebanon by terrorizing another neighbor. Notice how the bombings in Iraq have picked up now that the Syrian bad guys aren't employed elsewhere?
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