Posted on 01/08/2005 9:49:53 AM PST by chava
“We did not expect to be bombed by friendly Americans” 08/01/2005 KurdishMedia.com Hewler-New York (KurdishMedia.com) 08 January 2005: Around 12:30 AM on 5 January 2005, in the first US military strike in Kurdish-controlled territory since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, an American helicopter fired two rockets at the electricity generator on the roof of the Khairallah Abdul-Karim dormitories of the University of Salahaddin and another rocket at the roof of a car garage next to the dormitory. The generator and tank next to it caught fire, and, as a result, seven dormitory rooms were burned and nine students were injured, none of them seriously.
According to the Minister of the Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the American army did not consult the KRG prior to these attacks in the Hewler (Erbil) city center. Following the attacks and the resulting injury and destruction caused in the midst of what is commonly known to be a very pro-American area, Brigadier General Carter Ham, US commander in northern Iraq, appeared on Kurdistan TV meeting KDP President Mesud Barzani, apologizing for the attack and praising the Kurdish security forces and the special relationship that the Americans have with the Kurds. There are indications that the attack took place as a result of the American army acting on false information without consulting the Kurdish authorities.
The community of Salahuddin University and many Kurds in Hewler and elsewhere were shocked and saddened by this incident, which occurred as students were preparing for their half term exams. Salahuddin University President Dr. Mohammad Sadik and the deans of the university’s colleges visited the dormitory immediately following the attack. Following an emergency meeting of the University Council and the approval of the Minister of Higher Education in the KRG, Dr. Sadik sent the 103 students in the dormitory home, paying their way and postponing their exams. Money was also paid to the injured. Seven of those injured have since been released from the hospital and Dr. Sadik and others at the university are now assessing the damage done.
In response to the attack, Dr. Sadik stated, “The one thing that I would like the American people to know is that they are loved by Kurdish people. We all have the duty to preserve this special relationship and not to spoil it. We were waiting for our American friends to come and build the University Campus for Salahaddin University, to help us with building a new American-style liberal arts university in Hewler. We at Salahaddin University did not expect to be bombed by friendly Americans one day. However, mistakes are made and General Ham of the American army has apologized to President Barzani and the people of Hewler.”
Let me be the first to extend a hearty "sorry about that".
It's a shame, but war is not sanitary. Life in itself is not sanitary. If it were, no one would contract diseases and die... My brother died of leukemia in 1966.
There has to be more to this story than is reported in this release. U.S. Army gunship crews do not indiscriminately fire at generators on university roof tops without probable cause.
"There has to be more to this story than is reported in this release"
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I concur. This sounds awful but we need to know more.
They forgot to mention the 9 students injured were on the rooftop with RPG's and machineguns shooting at the US helicopters ???
It says they were acting on false information.
Not so - Mistakes are made in war - This appears to be one of those mistakes - The Kurds are definitely are friends in this WOT -
As for troops not firing indiscriminately? Well, I agree most of the time that does not happen - But there are times when that certainly does - (that is just the facts of war) - (Pat Tillman comes to mind - Those Rangers who fired on him and his unit were most certainly firing indiscriminately).
"It says they were acting on false information."
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Yes I saw that. But....
"There are indications that the attack took place as a result of the American army acting on false information without consulting the Kurdish authorities. "
Why didn't they consult? Do they normally consult with local Kurdish authorities? If so, why not in this case? If not, why not? Where did the false information come from?
As you can see, there are many unanswered questions. There is more to the story....
Heck, this type of thing happens in NJ to elementary schools.
5.56mm
Of course there is more to this story. I suspect the reason there is so much confusion surrounding this attack is because it was an intelligence operation. The question is, whose intelligence was used and for what purpose?
The attack serves the interests of the central government in Baghdad by undermining Kurdish authority. Undermining Kurdish authority also serves Turkish interests--and there is a Turkish military outpost in the center of Hewler.
As for students being on the roof with RPGs and machine guns, I think it's highly unlikely and the accusation is a piece of Turkish or Arab propaganda. For one thing, this behavior is not consistent with Kurdish behavior. There have been no attacks against Americans in Iraqi-occupied Kurdistan, especially attacks by Kurds against Americans. Secondly, anyone with weapons will be under the watchful eye of the KDP. Arabs themselves cannot enter Kurdistan without submitting to numerous checkpoints and security checks, of vehicles and bodies. Thirdly, the KDP totally controls Hewler. It is not in the interests of the KDP to attack Americans. Neither is it in their interests to allow anyone to go around freely with these kinds of weapons because such would be a threat to their own authority. This is something they will not tolerate.
More information, with links to photos of the results of the attack, can be found here (from Peyamner via KurdishMedia.com):
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6029
"Undermining Kurdish authority also serves Turkish interests--and there is a Turkish military outpost in the center of Hewler."
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I was wondering about the Turkish angle...you have answered it. It would not be the first time that Turkish deception resulted in tragedy.
Yesterday's Gertzfile said that 5% of Iraq's new intelligence officers (hired and vetted by our CIA) are from Saddam's Mukhabarat and are working for the insurgents. Could these former Mukhabarat be giving false info the our military so that we will alienate our friends the Kurds? That's the most logical explanation, in my mind.
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