Many US casualties in Nassiriya battle; Footage of POWs, including woman, shown on Iraqi TV

Al Bawaba ^ | 23-03-2003, 16:47

[Lessismore]

On Sunday afternoon, the Qatar-based television al Jazeera broadcast Iraqi TV, showing a videotape of at least 10 US POWs, including one female soldier, and a room with some 15 bodies of US troops. The live broadcast included also a footage of a battle field area in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya with additional corpses of US soldiers as well as struck military equipment.

The videotape has also shown how the Iraqis investigate the American POWs. The prisoners were questioned on air and gave their names, military identification numbers and home towns.

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force conceded that there were American soldiers missing, but said that there were fewer than 10 troops unaccounted for in southern Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned Sunday it was possible that Iraqi forces had taken U.S. prisoners, saying there were unaccounted soldiers and journalists in the combat zone.

He noted that under the Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war, "It's illegal to do things to POWs that are humiliating to those prisoners."

Earlier, it was reported that U.S. Marines battled for control of Nassiriya, taking "significant" casualties in a fight to open a route north to Baghdad, military officials said.

Reuters quoted military officials as saying the Marine battalion spearheading the fight had suffered significant casualties in the battle.

A total of 11 U.S. soldiers were captured after taking a wrong turn, and 50 military personnel have been wounded in the massive firefight in Nassiriya, ABCNEWS reported Sunday.

According to the report, 11 soldiers, maintenance workers, had taken a wrong turn outside the city on a mission to carry out repair work. They were traveling in a column of vehicles that came under heavy fire, including from an Iraqi tank. The capture was observed by other forces nearby.

The firefight at Nassiriya blocked an advance by U.S. forces, who had earlier reported securing two key bridgeheads to enable them to cross the Euphrates and strike northwards toward the Iraqi capital.

Reuters said there was heavy U.S. helicopter traffic over the area, and that hundreds of U.S. military trucks and armored personnel carriers had stopped their advance.

Iraqi Information Minister Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told a news conference in Baghdad that foreign invaders headed to Nassiriya had been "taught a lesson they will never forget." "We have placed them in a quagmire from which they can never emerge except dead," he said. (Albawaba.com)

[DAnconia55]

Iraqi Information Minister Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told a news conference in Baghdad that foreign invaders headed to Nassiriya had been "taught a lesson they will never forget." "We have placed them in a quagmire from which they can never emerge except dead," he said.

You loon.

There's 299,989 more guys out there. Come get some...

[rageaholic]

Hey, if you got an Islamic edumacation, you'd believe him, too.

[BenLurkin]

Attend a pro-America rally TODAY. Maybe even start one yourselves at a busy intersection near your house. . .

[Uncle George]

E-bomb time, No more free TV in Iraq. Fast runners or carrier pigeons are the only means of communication from now on. Enough is enough.

[TheDon]

U.S. Claims Iraqi Uniform Deception

Hmmmm.... Perhaps Saddam had another use for these uniforms than the one popularly thought.

[bdeaner]

"We have placed them in a quagmire from which they can never emerge except dead," he said.

We're up against the Republic Guard from here on out. Now things are going to get interesting. There are bound to be more casualities, forward advancement will take longer and longer, and more than likely we're going to encounter some surprises. Hang on to your seats and pray for our boys.

[nevergore]

These brave men and women have paid the price for defending their country and aswering the call....

Each freeper should set aside some time today to pray for the living and the dead....

Stating the obvious, this is war and we should expect to take casualties....

The difference between the Iraqi Thugs and us is our humanity and respect for life...This will persevere regardless of the atrocities they commit.

We will however prevail, and when we do, these "thugs" and "butchers" will be hunted down, tried for their crimes and those who are guilty, executed.

God Bless America!

NeverGore

[Sofa King]

A total of 11 U.S. soldiers were captured after taking a wrong turn, and 50 military personnel have been wounded in the massive firefight in Nassiriya, ABCNEWS reported Sunday.

Thank god for the skill of our medical personel; the casualties are mostly just wounded.

[F16Fighter]

"E-bomb time, No more free TV in Iraq...Enough is enough."

Agreed...

Not only that, we should hijack both the signal and content.

[Askel5]

He noted that under the Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war, "It's illegal to do things to POWs that are humiliating to those prisoners."

Assuming this "Operation Iraqi Liberation" is but one operation in the continuing "War on Terror" which has precipitated all manner of New Procedures (including summary execution by assassination squads or upon closed military tribunal) and whose combatants we DO NOT recognize as "prisoners of war" ... where do we get off demanding Geneva Convention protocols for our troops?

And what is a chick doing in combat? Is she a red herring that this is propaganda or do we have women on the vanguard over there?

It's illegal to do things to POWs that are humiliating to those prisoners

Why? Because inflictions of Shock and Awe once confined is somehow immoral? What is the difference if the intent of "Shock and Awe" is to have certain residual effects on the folks long after the skirmish -- or war -- itself is over?

[Neets]

where do we get off demanding Geneva Convention protocols for our troops?

Bite the left side of my buttocks you loon.

I surely hope you know of no one who knows any single one of these soldiers who are being held or have been summarily executed.

ESADB

[devo]

I've seen the film of captured US POW's on Al-Jazeera. They have it on what is seemingly a constant loop- which itself is a little disturbing.
Iraqi tv is using this for propaganda purposes- why the hell we haven't taken out their TV studio's is beyond me. Perhaps we could drop a bomb through Al-Jazeera studio's too.

As for the film itself it was very, very disturbing. One, a woman, was absolutely petrified. Her eyes were darting all about the place. They were asking her (them) about why they were killing Iraqi people and so on. One POW was seriously injured- an Iraqi shoved a microphone in his face asked him a question and then forcably rasied the POW's head to answer the question- forgetting the fact the POW was in huge pain.............we should pray for all of them.

Perhaps I'm getting a little too emotional about all of this- but we seem to be adopting a military policy of trying to minimise Iraqi troop/civilian deaths at the cost of putting our own troops at extra risk.

God bless the coalition troops.

[Askel5]

The Geneva Convention question is an especially serious one.

Given our own precedent of ignoring same as well as our proceeding with this war AGAINST the wishes of many of the major signatories of that Convention, I really do wonder how it is we have the nerve to claim all due rights and privileges under that convention.

Must we be logical or expect some parity from the World Community where we expressly deny its control over us where the prosecution of war for our own self-interest is concerned?

I think we are headed down a dark alley ... alone ... in this regard. I think we are squandering our moral capital somehow.

[Neets]

Who gives a flying Fart what YOU think askel???

YOU are clearly beyond the pale here, and I'd venture to guess in the minority here.

Go take a walk.

[Office Manager]

To be honest, I'm shocked that Drudge has a picture off the video on his front page.

I'm weeping -- and angry...

[Interesting Times]

I think we are squandering our moral capital somehow.

Best to speak for yourself in this matter.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

This, from the woman who thinks the Taliban got a bad rap.

[error99]

Askel5 signed up 1998-04-15.
This account has been banned.

[God is good]

Ok, we all want to be good humanitarians, but now is the time to take off the gloves. Our first responsibility is to the American people and our troops, not the Iraqi people. And besides the Iraqi armed forces are not civilians and should not be treated as such.