Atrocity in Karbala

NY Post ^ | 1-27-07 | Editorial Staff

[veronica]

January 27, 2007 -- Those who insist so loudly on following Geneva Conventions rules regarding captured terrorists need to take a long, hard look at the latest atrocity in Iraq, news of which broke yesterday.

Four U.S. soldiers, one of them a New Yorker, were captured - and promptly murdered - last Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles from Baghdad, officials confirmed.

Two of the slain soldiers were found handcuffed together in the back of a vehicle.

Soldiers die in combat, of course.

But the murder of disarmed and helpless troops - killing POWs, in effect - is what's at issue here.

The killers traveled in vehicles used by U.S. government convoys, wore U.S. combat fatigues, had American weapons and spoke English. That got them past an army checkpoint and into a U.S. compound - where they opened fire with grenades and rifles.

Among those killed was Pfc. Shawn Falter, 25, of Homer in northern Westchester. Officials confirmed that he was killed last Saturday after being ambushed in Karbala, but didn't name the two victims of the atrocity.

The murder of helpless captives is a stark reminder of the barbaric nature of the enemy that American-led forces face in Iraq.

[basil]

This is absolutely horrible! Prayers going up for these brave men and their families.

As I type this, there is a terrible atrocity happening in Washington DC. Jane Fonda, and supposedly thousands like her are protesting the war in front of the Navy Memorial. May God have mercy on their souls.

[HangnJudge]

[veronica]

I hope so. But we've been so PC about fighting this war, I'm afraid it won't happen.

[HangnJudge]

A lot more of theirs are dying / captured than ours
We only hear of the bad stuff, thanks to the MSM

[SLB]

Wonder if Fonda will recruit Kerry to come and speak? It seems like losers attract each other.

[ßuddaßudd]

Perceptions still need to be analyzed. Meaning we were tricked... imho of course

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

in the Shiite holy city godless sh*thole of Karbala

Fixed it.

God bless the fallen and their families.

[fishergirl]

Some people in our country aren't worth defending and Hanoi Jane is certainly one of them. She's not fit to lick our soldiers' boots. I absolutely hate that woman!!

This horrendous attack in Karbala makes me so mad! An eye for an eye - may the revenge of our military rain down on the inhuman, worthless scum responsible. I pray that they die the most awful death imaginable and the hell with the Geneva Convention.

[poobear]

And our men and women get court martialed and jailed for putting panties on the heads of terrorists.

[elhombrelibre]

One of the reasons that a fight in Sadr city won't be as tough as people think is that this story illustrates well how the Madi militia operates. They're quite good at putting a bullet into their enemies brain at close range, but little else. It's my opinion that since al Qaeda blew up the Golden Dome in Samara last year that militant extremist Shia and the Mahdi army decided to pursue a solution similar to the one Milosevic tried and what the Guatamalan, and El Salvadoran armies tried. That is, they'd have death squads liquidate their foes. To behave like a gangster, you need only to be amoral. To function as a military fighting force, requires many skills, but discipline and order are paramount. The Mahdi army has fought one real battle with the US. That was in Najaf. Their losses were huge. Armies whose primary fighting skill is the shooting of unarmed foes don't function well against a real army. The the US in the meantime has won two major urban battles - Falluja and Tall Afar. From these two battles, the US and its coalition partners have fined tuned their TTPs - tactics, techniques, and practices. As a result, our forces are better at urban warfare than ever before. The MSM may be keeping these facts and factors from the American public, but al Sadr and his gangsters are well aware they're going face a violent onslaught soon that will destroy them, unless they stand down. The Sunni extremists and their al Qaeda allies will likely stand, fight poorly, and be destroyed. They may slip away to find some new haven to harass the Iraqi people and Coalition Forces from. If so, the war will be in its final phase.

[veronica]

It's enough to gag a maggot.

[elhombrelibre]

See John Burns on Charlie Rose.

http://www.charlierose.com:80/

Rose is a Brit, a New York Times Reporter, and probably the best informed journalist in Iraq. Despite being from the NYT, he's not writing boilerplate stories and he's well read in on Iraq from the highest Generals to the man in the street. Pour yourself a cup of coffee if you watch this because it's an hour long and you'll feel like you have been with one of the few reporters who knows, understands, and cares what happens in Iraq afterward.

[mcshot]

From the article: "...Frankly, complaints about degrading photos and alleged desecration of the Koran can't hold a candle to the savage abduction and execution-style murders of brave soldiers..."

I propose we close our military prisons and treat their prisoners like they treat ours. They need to fear us rather then look at us as easy targets.

[Rummyfan]

The killers traveled in vehicles used by U.S. government convoys, wore U.S. combat fatigues, had American weapons and spoke English. That got them past an army checkpoint and into a U.S. compound - where they opened fire with grenades and rifles.

The got into the compound. But how the heck did they get out? They shot their way out?

Prayers for these men and thier families.

[PGalt]

Good article. Thanks for posting.

[I got the rope]

I've been wondering the same thing. I wonder what this is all about?

None of this makes sense to me yet.

[livius]

According to fragmentary news reports, gleaned from things I have seen in the press and what other posters have seen in their press, it appears that they abandoned the uniforms and the vehicles and simply disappeared into Karbala (a Shiite area) after killing the soldiers. Before they left the compound with the kidnapped soldiers, they blew up the US Humvees that were there so that they could not be pursued. I haven't read how many people were actually stationed at the post; I assume the fifth person killed (only 4 are mentioned as having been kidnapped) was killed at the post. Maybe there wasn't anyone left to follow the kidnappers, or maybe after the vehicles were destroyed, whoever was left alive there couldn't do so.

Another report mentioned that the convoy of raiders "raised suspicions" at an Iraqi police post they went through after the raid, but it doesn't indicate if the kidnapped soldiers were still in the vehicles, if the Iraqis actually did anything about these "suspicions," or any details. I realize we certainly can't expect to get a detailed description of stuff, some of which may rightfully be being kept secret at the moment, so we're probably all just speculating on woefully incomplete information. But it is a truly puzzling and disturbing event.

[livius]

Almost forgot - another poster pointed out that this was how Hezbollah, the Iranian controlled faction, kidnapped those Israeli soldiers at the Lebanese border last summer. In that case, however, they held them as hostages.

[RightOnline]

My son and his unit were there immediately afterward. I'm disgusted. "They" are treating this like a freakin' "crime scene" instead of what it really is.......

Trust me when I tell you all here.....we are NOT in this to win. We have shackled our troops with the most ridiculous rules of engagement imaginable. Our highly trained troops are little more than cops now. They want to kick ass and take NO names, and are being held back at every turn. Their frustration is palpable.

GOD but I prayed the stupid government wasn't going to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam. You get into a fight, then damn it, get in it to WIN.

Let 'em fight or bring 'em home......one or the other. It's just that simple. I'm sick of my son and his troops under his command just sitting around being targets.