Appeasement: Saying "nice doggie" in the hopes that someone else will come along for the dog to bite.
Posted on 03/31/2004 7:04:44 AM PST by Charles Henrickson
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Jubilant residents dragged the charred corpses of four foreigners — one a woman, at least one an American — through the streets Wednesday and hanged them from the bridge spanning the Euphrates River. Five American soldiers died in a roadside bombing nearby.
The four foreigners were killed in a rebel ambush of their SUVs in Fallujah, a Sunni Triangle city about 35 miles west of Baghdad and scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the American occupation a year ago.
It was reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation.
In one of the bloodiest days for the U.S. military this year, five 1st Infantry Division soldiers died when their military vehicle ran over a bomb in a separate incident 12 miles to the northwest, among the reed-lined roads running through some of Iraq's richest farmland.
Residents said the bomb attack occurred in Malahma, 12 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active. U.S. Marines operate in the area, but it was unclear whether the slain troops were Marines.
Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after the grisly assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles, which left both in flames. Others chanted, "We sacrifice our blood and souls for Islam."
Associated Press Television News pictures showed one man beating a charred corpse with a metal pole. Others tied a yellow rope to a body, hooked it to a car and dragged it down the main street of town. Two blackened and mangled corpses were hung from a green iron bridge across the Euphrates.
"The people of Fallujah hanged some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some of the corpses were dismembered, he said.
Beneath the bodies, a man held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones and the phrase "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans."
APTN showed the charred remains of three slain men. Some were wearing flak jackets, said resident Safa Mohammedi.
One resident displayed what appeared to be dog tags taken from one body. Residents also said there were weapons in the targeted cars. APTN showed one American passport near a body and a U.S. Department of Defense identification card belonging to another man.
U.S. military officials in Washington said the situation was still confused but they did not think the victims were American soldiers and believed the SUVs were not American military vehicles.
Witnesses said the two vehicles were attacked with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.
Hours after the attack, the city was quiet. No U.S. troops or Iraqi police were seen in the area.
Fallujah is in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where support for Saddam Hussein was strong and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces.
In nearby Ramadi, insurgents threw a grenade at a government building and Iraqi security forces returned fire Wednesday, witnesses said. It was not clear if there were casualties.
Also in Ramadi, a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy, witnesses said. U.S. officials in Baghdad could not confirm the attack.
On Tuesday in Ramadi, one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in a roadside bombing, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.
Northeast of Baghdad, in the city of Baqouba on Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew up explosives in his car when he was near a convoy of government vehicles, wounding 14 Iraqis and killing himself, officials said.
The attacked convoy is normally used to transport the Diala provincial governor, Abdullah al-Joubori, but he was elsewhere at the time, said police Col. Ali Hossein.
On Tuesday, a suicide bombing outside the house of a police chief in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed the attacker and wounded seven others.
A bomb exploded late Tuesday in a movie theater that had closed for the night. Two bystanders were wounded by flying glass, said its owner, Ghani Mohammed.
The latest violence came two days after Carina Perelli, the head of a U.N. electoral team, said better security is vital if Iraq wants to hold elections by a Jan. 31 deadline. The polls are scheduled to follow a June 30 transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government.
Top U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said Tuesday he had appointed 21 anti-corruption inspectors general to government departments to try to prevent fraud. More will be named in coming days, he said.
The inspectors will work with two other newly formed, independent agencies. Together, they will "form an integrated approach intended to combat corruption at every level of government across the country," Bremer said.
We can expect emotions to run high after what happened, even here. No doubt there are many soldiers on the front line who can see the difference between both good and bad Iraqi.
At least the letters ive read seem to indicate they fully understand.
Im surprised so many here dont see the dead enders motive was to make us want to "pull out and go home", or over react against innocents. Which would play right into their hands imo.
We will finish what we started and will target the guilty, the man I voted in will see to it.
Appeasement: Saying "nice doggie" in the hopes that someone else will come along for the dog to bite.
When these Iraqi civilians were brutally mutilating our people in the streets, in *broad day light* where were all these Iraqi civilians that are suppose to be our friends?
It would be hard to lose this one, since we are basically finishing up what we started in '91 and should have finished then - we removed Saddam and made sure Iraq is not a threat to its neighbors. No, I don't believe this was about WMD, and no, I don't think we should stick around past the end of this year to try to make it a better place.
To be honest, I think our biggest concern is the radical schools in Saudi Arabia, the money that appears to be still flowing to the terrorist groups, and the fact that the Taliban/Al Q are still floating around.
No matter what we do or how long we stay, the place is another Yugoslavia. The best we can do is help the Kurds and keep the big weapons out of the hands of the Iraqis.
Man's inhumanity to man. You are right to link to these photos -- Partisan media will only do so in order to galvanize "sisterhood" allies here in the US, IMHO.
These people are training their children to see themselves as... "malleable blobs of usable tissue". The corruption. Densitizing them? Absolutely. And while they rail, in their gangster ways, about how "righteous" they are. I spit on them.
You fell into the Baathist/Al Qaeda/media/int'l leftist movement trap. They want you to believe that this thuggery is spontaneous and representative of the Iraqi populace. In truth it is representative of only a portion of the local Nazi Baathist party and the rent-a-jihad crowd. I betcha at least half of those doing the cheering in those photos are really from outside of Iraq. 10% of Iraq belonged to or benefited from the Baath Party, 90% were repressed by them. Why would those who have been freed and whose living standards have reason be cheering the death of their liberators? Today there is higher school attendance, more potable water, and more electricity than when Saddam was in power, and no political prisoners or systematic torture/disappearances. Please don't fall for the media lies and their lies by ommissions. Most Iraqis are not barbarians, but some of the Baathists,and the terrorists and jihadists are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.