[laconic]

This atrocity occurred in the supposedly "quiet" Shia part of the country. So much for the "cakewalk" and being greeted with flowers and smiles.

[BlackVeil]

Basra is very much on the boil, with several grievances by the local population. Basically, they are all unemployed, and as the contracts at Basra and Um Qasr have been given to Kuwaiti firms, a lot are going to stay that way.

It is only a matter of time before the situation in the Shia areas blows like a gasket. One of the problems about the hunt for Sadaam Hussein is that if they do find him and kill him, it will bring the day of the Shia resistance a lot closer. At the moment, they are afraid of Sadaam coming back. When we show them that is impossible, the security situation will deteriorate.

[ConservativeMan55]

You are equating two or three different groups of people into one.

The Iraqi's. The REAL Iraqi's did greet us with flowers and smiles.

The snipers and the criminals, the ba'athists, and the foreigners are the ones attacking our troops.

[pierrem15]

Wow. 6 British troops killed in a small town a couple of months ago and now 3 more.

My God, its like Anzio/sarcasm.