U.S. forces find stacks of intelligence equipment, documents in raid

AP | 6/21/03 | JIM KRANE

[FairOpinion]

"They included equipment made by prominent U.S. and European companies like Motorola and Thompson."

No wonder so many people didn't want to get rid of Saddam, they were doing business with him.

Also, just as we found these, I am sure we will find direct evidence of Iraq's WMD programs too.

[BagCamAddict]

After trying to break through the door with a sledgehammer, the troops were surprised when a squatter opened the lock from the inside and welcomed them in.

I try not to post useless dribble, but this sentence was too funny to pass up and it deserved a second mention.

[BagCamAddict]

Good grief.... make that DRIVEL instead of dribble!! Talk about useless - my brain at this hour!!

[Miss Marple]

I just read thisis my local paper this morning, and am glad to see it posted here.

Very interesting about the intelligence documents, especially about their nuclear program. Like you, I believe we will find those WMD's in much the same way.

[blam]

Good, good. Hope it is significant.

[Smile-n-Win]

After trying to break through the door with a sledgehammer, the troops were surprised when a squatter opened the lock from the inside and welcomed them in.

I try not to post useless dribble, but this sentence was too funny to pass up and it deserved a second mention.

LOL So why didn't you just say, "LOL" ? That's what I was going to post. :-)

[Smile-n-Win]

Saturday's demonstration was unusually large and noisy, but peaceful. The demonstrators were protesting the lack of jobs and said they had a list of political demands.

Spin, spin, spin. As if the "lack of jobs" is the fault of the liberating forces.

[Bogey78O]

It stuck out with me as well.

[SkyPilot]

the troops were surprised when a squatter opened the lock from the inside and welcomed them in.

Ummmm...that is pretty insensitive. I believe the term is "domiciled challenged person."

[Republican Red]

Some of the documents made reference to Iraq's nuclear program, including manifests for the delivery of communications equipment to the Iraqi nuclear agency

Why isn't this news, even at FR it is being ignored.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Tommy Douchle is very disturbed over this development.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

"One, two, three...There is no evidence of WMDs. Four, five, six...Hussein didn't commit atrocities, the war has no justification."

[cgk]

FNC covered it... in the past 15 minutes at their top of the hour headlines. Hopefully they will have more info when they have news on, not business shows.

[cgk]

A rocket-propelled grenade aimed at U.S. soldiers Thursday night missed its target and slammed into a power transformer in the town of Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, knocking out much of the city's power. A soldier suffered a concussion from the explosion and another suffered bruises, the military said.

Insurgents have targeted power and water installations, apparently hoping to raise Iraqi frustration with the occupation authorities

These 2 paragraphs seem to contradict each other. First they say the RPG fired at the power plant was actually aimed at US soldiers. Then they say insurgents target power plants, etc. Strange.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

I have a theory about why the WMD's have been so hard to find. I am positive they are well-hidden, but I was equally sure that once a few of the scientists and closer associates of Saddam were found and their respective genitals attached to the red and black wires emanating from car batteries, the hiding places would be disclosed. But, I neglected to take into account that Saddam was running the country like a mafia don runs his organization.
The only way the captured miscreants from the Iraqi deck of cards would not disclose the locations of the WMD's is if they actually do not know the locations. It seems to me that after Saddam had the stuff buried, he killed anyone and everyone who was aware of where it was buried. Just as Tony Soprano will whack anyone who might be able to incriminate him, Saddam, who plays the game better than anyone, has made sure that there are no survivors left to tell their tales.

[VOA]

bump

[SoulStorms]

Insurgents have targeted power and water installations, apparently hoping to raise Iraqi frustration with the occupation authorities.

This makes me think that we are not disseminating information well throughout Iraq. We have potential access to every citizen now. Maybe we should set up some megaphones, or drop some more damn leaflets or something, and tell the citizens of Iraq that it is these "insurgents" living among them who are responsible for their misery.

Build up a rosy list of utopian goals that we are trying to work in the country, and "explain" how the Sadam holdouts are delaying our efforts by knocking out power, polluting water, wiping their butts with the flag, whatever. Offer a bounty for their heads.

The fact that we are having to kick down doors to find these people, and then take the blame for their destruction tells me that we are not making the best use of our "pr potential".

[FairOpinion]

"...tell the citizens of Iraq that it is these "insurgents" living among them who are responsible for their misery. "

----

I think you are absolutely right. Isn't the Iraqi TV still operational? They should have 2-3 hours of national and local news and commentary, explaining to the Iraqis, that a lot of things were neglected under Saddam, which need to be built up and that his henchmen are still trying to sabotage things so they can get it blamed on the Americans.

I did read somewhere that we alost restored things to what they were before the war, but even before the war, during Saddam's regime they had rolling blackouts and so on, we are being blamed for Saddam's neglect of his people.

All this should be pointed out to the Iraqi people AND the Western press, who apparently is not interested in investigating this to ask people what things were like under Saddam.

[BagCamAddict]

As if the "lack of jobs" is the fault of the liberating forces.

I agree. I don't know why someone hasn't started up their own Garbage Collection Service - charging the locals a few pennies to pick up their garbage every week.

The problem is the entire society, for 30 years, has had NO FREE WILL and has depended on the Govt to (a) provide them with everything; (b) tell them what they can and cannot do and think; and (c) killed them if they didn't comply.

As a result, Iraqis can't just suddenly become free-thinking, free-acting democratic entrepreneurial spirits overnight. But we sure wish they could!