Iraqis Emulating Palestinians By Stoning Troops

Independent (UK) ^ | 4-27-2003 | Phil Reeves

[blam]

Iraqis emulate Palestinians by stoning troops

By Phil Reeves in Baghdad
27 April 2003

A tactic of the Palestinian intifada has spread ominously to Iraq, less than three weeks after US tanks rolled into the middle of Baghdad.

American troops are coming under attack from Iraqi children throwing stones, replaying scenes from the West Bank and Gaza Strip that were broadcast on state-run television before the fall of Saddam Hussein.

News reports said that children – who at first flocked around the American forces, and were given sweets by the soldiers – have begun hurling rocks in Mosul and the Shia city of Najaf. In one incident this weekend, a group of youths threw stones at a group of soldiers moving through Mosul on foot.

"They were throwing them like they were pitching a baseball," said Sgt John McLean, who was hit on the helmet, in the back and on the heel. The crowd was only dispersed when the Americans fired a warning shot over their heads. Crowds of 250-300 Iraqi teenagers hurled stones at American marines patrolling Najaf on Thursday and Friday, US officers said.

Although this phenomenon represents no serious threat to the US forces, it is a highly symbolic gesture in the Middle East, where it is seen by Arabs as a heroic form of resistance to an illegal occupying force. It also disrupts the US military's efforts to adopt a more relaxed posture on the streets – part of the larger American and British drive to win support from the 24 million Iraqi population.

It will raise concerns over whether such assaults are organised by anti-US elements in an attempt to draw a violent response from the soldiers that will widen the opposition to their presence. The Israeli military responded to stones and firebombs thrown by youngsters by shooting plastic bullets, tear gas canisters and, at times, live ammunition, killing a large number of children, especially early in the uprising.

Since the allied invasion of Iraq, there have been three suicide bombings – another intifada tactic. During the height of the looting in Baghdad, there were reports of arson against government institutions, and US troops are still being fired on, including those guarding the headquarters of Jay Garner, the retired US general heading the coalition reconstruction team.

To the disapproval of some Iraqis and aid agencies, Mr Garner has established his headquarters inside a palace compound once lorded over by Saddam Hussein. Some here say that the choice of a palace, ringed now by razor wire and protected by tanks, sends entirely the wrong message to the Iraqi people.

[RS]

The Iraqi people should be told which of their "spiritual leaders" are encouraging their children to be killed.

Before this starts getting out of hand, WE are the ones who should be showing the results of homicide bombings, with the mothers that really cared about their children crying.

The only problem is that our advertising people, who would be the ones that could create effective presentations against this, are the leftists that support it.

[dts32041]

Since it is still a war zone, let loose the SF's and root out the leaders.

The put them across the syria or iranian borders.

[LoveUSA]

We should have been watching Iraq's border with Iran a little more diligently.

[Parley Baer]

Typical reporting of the left wing Independent. Take something and blow it out of proportion. They will only accentuate the negative and say nothing of the positive. Parley

[RS]

"Since it is still a war zone, let loose the SF's and root out the leaders."

No problem with that, but it's the poison that they are injecting into the population that we must deal with -
The terrorist idea that life is worth nothing.
That of the kids throwing rocks, a few might be persuaded to blow themselves up a few years down the road.

[ambrose]

The Mullahs who are encouraging this need to be rounded up and "dealt with"....

[vbmoneyspender]

these rock-throwers are children like teenage gangbangers are children

[Paraclete]

Give'em Walkmans. They'll be docile in no time.

[RS]

"Give'em Walkmans. They'll be docile in no time. "

Hah ! How about midnight basketball ?

[4integrity]

Give them Walkman's.....you have a GREAT idea!! Maybe military leaders should set up a VCR and begin showing Disney type video movies IF acceptable to the Iraqi culture. The kids would probably flock to these movies.

[syriacus]

Drop a big net on them and haul them to jail. Find out who they are and call their parents.

[sistergoldenhair]

The Mullahs who are encouraging this need to be rounded up and "dealt with"....

There are still party members around as well.
These kids aren't spontaneously breaking into rock throwing mobs because of something they saw on tv.

[blam]

"Drop a big net on them and haul them to jail. Find out who they are and call their parents."

Yup. Have a face to face meeting with the parents. Explain consequences.

[tiamat]

These kids are being coached.

The terrorists are hoping to provoke an extreme reaction by our guys.

Yet another example of how much the rag-heads value the lives of their children.

Get them hosed to create an international incident.

I hope someone is on this. It does not play well if our guys need to hose these urchins.....

Tia

[Dec31,1999]

Make Islamist philosophy illegal in Iraq. It's the only way to save the ordinary folks who want their children to go to college. Just like Nazism was outlawed in post WWII Germany.

Create a Islamofascist-free zone RIGHT in the middle of the troublesome area.

[Dec31,1999]

These kids aren't spontaneously breaking into rock throwing mobs because of something they saw on tv.

Arab culture is an oral culture. They can't read, but they sure can talk. Word of mouth there travels at light speed. Don't be fooled. It's a cultural thing.

[Dialup Llama]

I hope we are producing arabic language broadcasts in Iraq and printing newspapers and making radio broadcasts explaining how you dont want to end up like Iran. I'd like to think we are doing this but I fear we are not because there is some disease among conservative people that says we don't need to promote our own positions or explain what we are doing.

[sistergoldenhair]

They can't read, but they sure can talk. Word of mouth there travels at light speed.

And the talk is often exagerated lies, half truths or pure fantasy.
But it starts somewhere and the instigators need to be ferreted out.

[mathurine]

Wouldn't bother me if we just packed up and left tomorrow. We got rid of Saddan. We introduced the possibility of something else. If it were a government we could embrace, that would be splendid. However, we have changed a long-standing equation or two in the region, and we probably have made some good contacts both for informational and operational purposes no matter what arises. There is not a lot of point in piddling into the wind over there. Dictators and dictatorial clerics have been keeping the lid on a lot of historical forces for change in that region for a long time and there is no guarantee that the process of change will be pretty, though the outcome is almost certainly going to be prettier than the past there has been. We did demonstrate for the Arabs and other mohammedans that we can kick butt over there from time to time as needed and if they annoy us we will do so whether anyone else in the world wants us to or not. This is fundamentally Islamic versus American culture. Call it anything else and you confuse yourself about what to do. We don't need to superintend changes over there. We just need to stomp the most egregious regimes now and then, and reward any change that looks more like democracy and free enterprise. Clash of cultures is what it is, and we are not going to give up nor do we need to. Theirs is the least competent and most peculiar major world-view on earth today and other than by breeding numerous offspring it can't care for, is woefully unsuccesful politically, militarily, economically, socially or morally. Ours, in turn is the most competent. People who imitate us progress immensely. People who immitate them regress centuries. The mohammedans are not insightful enough to realize it, but their militance has drawn a response from the US; the Russians are dealing with Chechnya, the Indians with Kashmir, the Chinese with their western provinces, the Phillipinnes with the Zamboangans where the monkeys have no tails, and so forth. This is to say that they are managing to incite the wrath of the entire non-Islamic world, which is finally going to unite and put an end to them just as a fly finally get swatted. It's a big religion, but the world it has chosen to assault is considerably bigger, and progressively less amused by their fatwahs or skinny butts.