Posted on 07/04/2003 12:26:32 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Mortars Injure 10 U.S. Troops in Iraq
.c The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Mortar rounds slammed into a U.S. base north of Baghdad, wounding at least 10 American soldiers, the U.S. military said Friday.
Meanwhile, an American soldier was killed in an attack on his convoy in the capital late Thursday, U.S. military spokesman Cpl. Todd Pruden said.
News of the attacks was a somber start to American Independence Day activities for the 150,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
Several explosions rocked the base near Balad, 55 miles north of the capital, late Thursday, Pruden told The Associated Press. He initially put the toll of American injured at 19, but later lowered the number to 10, citing faulty information.
The condition of the wounded was not immediately known.
``All we know is they were evacuated to medical facilities,'' Pruden said.
The convoy attack that killed an American soldier occurred at about 8:30 p.m. in eastern Baghdad. The soldier was inside a Bradley fighting vehicle when he was shot. He was evacuated to a military hospital, but died of his wounds, Pruden said.
His name was not immediately available.
U.S. troops have come under near daily attack from increasingly bold insurgents. At least 27 U.S. troops have been killed in hostile fire since major combat was officially declared over on May 1.
Friday, July 4, 2003
The trick in counter insurgency is to isolate the guerrillas from the population. Massive cordon and search ops work exactly in the opposite direction.
Sorry DO, you and I see eye to eye on a lot of thing's, maybe not so good for you but anyway, your theory to disarm all Iraqi's, stinks of the same gun control theory used here frequently. Disarming the Law abiding will not work. I do not have the answer other than the fact that we should not be there to begin with. I said in the beginning, this would be a war of attrition. The lightening speed of the initial battles was something for the cameras and the history books, but that's all it accomplished. The weapons that got stashed and buried weren't weapons of Mass Destruction, they were the very weapons I would bury to hide and use here. Going house to house would be a death nail, not only for our troops, but the Iraqi's as well. Nothing but killing 'em all will stop the sniping. Just my take on it. Blackbird.
The trick in counter insurgency is to isolate the guerrillas from the population. Massive cordon and search ops work exactly in the opposite direction.The US is using class warfare to trump the Ba'athist attempts at guerilla warfare. US forces are well received in the poor parts of a given town, it's in the upscale parts of town (where the journalists live) that the hatred is greatest. You may remember reading about the arrest of the mayor of Najaf. A lot of Iraqis hated that man.
I think the problem is that they can't tell the guerrillas from the population. Isn't that what happened in Vietnam?
Carolyn
I think you're in a panic. Yes, soldiers are getting killed but more will die on the nation's highways this fourth of July weekend than all loses during operation enduring freedom. No one is reporting that Saddam is no longer torturing and killing his on people. You're no longer hearing about people have no water or food.
I have faith in our troops and their leaders. You should as well.
We can ask God to protect them, grant his grace to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and smite those who would commit evil in the name of a false god.
In the past two days more people were killed in fireworks accidents than were killed in Iraq.
The media creates doom and those who listen lose all perspective.
For the benefit of a few of FR's sunshine soldiers and summer patriots, let me state that it wouldn't hurt certain people right here in the U.S. to screw up a little courage right now. American troops are in places that range from sedate to murderous, but despite enduring an entire spectrum of the miseries of military life, they are doing their jobs, thus making it possible for everyone here to do theirs. The weight of the world is on that small group of Americans, and it pains me to read the Cronkitesque scribblings of Knight Ridder/Reuters/AFP/etc.
Intellectual debates about us even being in Iraq are otiose at this point; much remains to be done. How best to minimize our casualties and hose Saddam's slime off Iraq are legitimate topics for debate, but cutting and running should be anathema to anyone with their antennae up and functioning.
The die has been cast, and we all need to make the most of the results so far.
If you truly supported our president, you would advocate more attacks on our troops. Don't you remember? "Bring 'em on!"
"You will kill ten of us for every one we kill of you, but you will tire of it first."
-An NVA Colonel who, BTW, was right.
For those of you advocating mass executions--that is murder. Those who want to destroy mosques--I can think of nothing we could do that would be more counter-productive both in Iraq and everywhere else in the world. Remember, we are in this to win, not for vengeance.
Cordon & searches take lots of time and troops--it would be a waste of both as well as serve to alienate the Iraqis who support us by barging into their homes, invading their privacy, and disrupting their lives. Focused cordon & searches based on intelligence or patterns of enemeny activity can be a useful tactic, however.
What should be massive, though, is the commitment of troops to Iraq. A large troop presence encourages our supporters, deters those who may be tempted to take action against us, enables better security for the pipelines & electirc grids being sabotaged, and allows us to be much more thorough and aggressive in our patrolling. The more you put in now in order to take decisive action means you will need many less later. Hopefully, Rumsfeld is not letting his pride get in the way of making good decisions.
Another U.S. soldier was shot and killed while guarding the Baghdad museum (search), the U.S. military said Friday.
The U.S. military said 11 men attacked the convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire near Balad (search), 55 miles north of the capital. Soldiers of the Army's 4th Infantry Division fired back, killing all the men. None of the Americans was injured.
Late Thursday, blasts from four mortar rounds rocked a huge U.S. base near Balad, injuring 18 soldiers, said Maj. Edward Bryja, of the Army's 3rd Corps Support Command.
Two soldiers were seriously injured, with one undergoing surgery in a hospital located on the base and another evacuated for treatment, Bryja said. Others suffered cuts and small punctures from flying shrapnel, and nine soldiers quickly went back to duty, Army officials said.
Soldiers said flares and tracer bullets sliced across the night sky after the blasts.
"This is the first time the base was attacked -- and the first time we've seen mortars," said Sgt. Grant Calease, who said he and other soldiers would nonetheless carry on with a July 4th steak barbecue.
The wounded soldiers belonged to Task Force Iron Horse, a 33,000-member unit that has been staging raids in the mainly Sunni Muslim areas. The task force includes soldiers from the Army's 3rd and 4th infantry divisions, as well as the 101st Airborne Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade.
On Friday, attackers detonated an explosive on a highway in Baghdad's western outskirts, injuring three passengers in a civilian car and two U.S. soldiers traveling in a Humvee convoy, according to an Associated Press photographer on the scene.
On Thursday evening, a sniper shot and killed a U.S. soldier manning the gunner's hatch of a Bradley fighting vehicle outside the national museum. The soldier was taken to a military hospital, but died of his wounds, Pruden said. His name was not immediately available.
Hours before the attack, the national museum displayed several artifacts that were looted after the fall of Baghdad and later recovered. The museum also showed several items from the Treasures of Nimrud, which were found hidden in a bank vault weeks ago. Curators acknowledged that many of the museum's treasures remain unaccounted for.
U.S. soldiers have been beset by daily attacks from an increasingly bold insurgency, raising fear of a political and military quagmire just two months after President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1.
At least 27 U.S. troops have been killed in hostile fire since Bush's statement.
Despite the attacks, many of the U.S. troops planned July 4th barbecues at bases around the country.
"We should be celebrating with our families. It is sad. Everybody wants to go home. I am glad that we came here to liberate Iraq, but I think it is time for soldiers to see their families," said Sgt. Thas Eagans from Irving, Texas.
A few were invited to join Arnold Schwarzenegger for a screening at Baghdad International Airport of the muscle-bound actor's latest movie, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
Schwarzenegger addressed a rambunctious crowd of soldiers in one of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palaces located inside the airport compound.
"It is really wild driving around here, I mean the poverty, and you see there is no money, it is disastrous financially and there is the leadership vacuum, pretty much like in California right now," he said.
Schwarzenegger, 55, has indicated he may run for governor of Californian as a Republican if residents there vote to recall the Gov. Gray Davis.
"I play terminator, but you guys are the true terminators," he told the soldiers, before heading to the base at Balad that came under attack.
In the north, American forces planned joint celebrations with Kurdish officials. The Kurds celebrate July 4 as the anniversary of their first government's election in 1992.
U.S. officials have said the insurgency is being fueled by doubts about Saddam's fate and crushing it is crucial.
The American sweep, dubbed Sidewinder, has netted at least 20 "high-value" targets, but none of the most wanted Iraqi fugitives. Arms and ammunition, including hundreds of rocket propelled grenades, or RPGs, have also been seized.
On Thursday, U.S. troops near Baqouba, northeast of the capital, tried to lure attackers into an ambush on a stretch of road known as "RPG Alley" because of the frequent attacks on U.S. forces there. One suspect was killed and three captured in the operation, said Lt. Kurt Chapman, with the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
Also Thursday, Washington put a $25 million bounty on Saddam Hussein's head and offered $15 million for information leading to the capture of either of his sons, Udai and Qusai.
The reward for Saddam matches the $25 million that Washington is offering its other top fugitive: Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader missing since U.S. forces helped dislodge the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
The last reported sighting of Saddam was on April 9, a day before the capital fell, in northeast Baghdad. He was the target of at least two major U.S. air strikes, but there was never any proof either was successful. Based on information from captured colleagues, officials believe they were not.
Good news. Hopefully, just the beginning of more good news.
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