Kurds Cheer Iraqi Retreat From Checkpoint

AP ^ | March 27, 2003 | BORZOU DARAGAHI

[grimalkin]

BANI MAQEM, Iraq -- A hilltop position where Iraqi forces had menaced Kurdish civilians for years fell Thursday, after several days of bombing by the U.S. military.

Villagers and militiamen celebrated after Kurdish military commanders confirmed the Iraqis had abandoned the checkpoint and surrounding bunkers by mid-afternoon.

The retreat came less than a day after U.S. paratroopers landed in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, opening a new front against Saddam Hussein's forces.

[RKV]

Now, go and get some yourselves. We can't do all the work that needs doing fast enough. If you want your own country you have to earn it. Blood is the only currency which will pay the bill. Freedom demands sacrifice.

[MEG33]

Good story. I read the Iranians turned back wounded.I wonder if this was the same group.

[ez]

The retreat came less than a day after U.S. paratroopers landed in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, opening a new front against Saddam Hussein's forces.

Air superiority is a good thing.

[dfwgator]

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Perhaps we should be pressin the war in the north more urgently. Up there we have people who are proven allies.

[coramdeo]

Am I the only one reading this article that suspects that the French special forces may have been training the Iraqis? Or are they just doing their Tom Daschle imitation?

[dixiechick2000]

"Meanwhile, a Toyota Land Cruiser filled with explosives was stopped Thursday at a Kurdish checkpoint in Gerdigo, the same place where a car bomb killed an Australian reporter last Saturday. The bomb apparently failed to detonate and Kurdish security men shot to death the driver, a member of Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic group with alleged al-Qaida and Baghdad ties."

An added bonus...

[jacquej]

One of the reasons we have allies up there is because of the work we did during Operation Provide Comfort just after GW1.

The same brave bunch from Vicenza went into that area, and stood between Sadamm's forces and the fleeing Kurds. I do not think they have ever forgotten the help we gave them, even though I am sure they were very angry we didn't come back when they tried to oust him later.

My son was an officer during that mission, and still worried about what might have happened to some of the Kurdish people he met and helped. He hopes they are still alive.

[Enterprise]

Little Mr. Mufta
Sat on his tufta
Cursing the Kurds all day
When along came some Yanks
Who pulled a few Pranks
And made Mufta run screaming away