U.S. aircraft were fired upon in days before attack on village, officials say

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service via COMTEX ^ | Jul 02, 2002 | Drew Brown and Malcolm Garcia

[Illbay]

I'm sorry, I still don't buy this claim that it was a "wedding party." Accidents can happen, but I think our folks have pretty good intel.

I may be wrong but this whole thing stinks. Propaganda like this is easy to drum up when you're talking about an area as remote as this.

[Sally II]

Reminds me of the movie "Rules of Engagement." Anyone see that?

Samuel L Jackson plays a Marine Colonel who does a rescue operation at an American Embassy in Yemen. The marines end up killing a bunch of Yemeni civilians. And Jackson's character ends up going on trail. The marines claimed that the Yemeni civilians were firing at them. The Yemeni people claim that it was a cold-blooded slaughtering. And in the last moment they found a security tape that proved that the Yemeni civilians had all pulled out guns and were firing at the US soldiers. I remember coming out of that movie a few years ago, thinking "That sure wasn't PC. It sure made all the arabs look real bad." Now that I learn more about all those Islamic nations I think the writers of that story were on to something. I just don't trust Islam. I mean, I just keep seeing this guy, Arafat, get away with murder time and again, and every time Israel slaps him on the wrist he cries "Masacre!"

[Sally II]

I agree. It seems to me that if it really were a wedding party, they would have video footage of people celebrating and then a bomb falling on them. People may be dirt poor in Afghanistan, but Osama bin Laden proved that they do have video cameras there.

[Ben Hecks]

"George Jr. just might have a LBJ-type albatross hangin' around his neck at re-election time."

That would be al Qaeda's hope. We'll see who buys into the "wedding celebration" story. I'll admit I'm not familiar with their customs but a wedding party using anti-aircraft weapons at 0200 does seem a little far-fetched.

[RonF]

"As many as 40 people died in the attack early Monday, Afghan officials in the capital said. The officials accused U.S. pilots of mistaking celebratory fire from the party for anti-aircraft fire directed at them."

How quiet are American combat aircraft? Is it possible that people might figure that if there's aircraft flying overhead, they shouldn't shoot off guns?

[Illbay]

Well, I don't know about video cameras. ObL is a wealthy Saudi with a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise at his disposal.

These were supposedly just a bunch of hick villagers.

But still, it would be too easy to drum this up, including photos, etc.

[Don Myers]

bttt

[niteowl77]

Not too happy with the President are you? Or is it just the U.S. armed forces? Both, maybe? Well, no matter- if the casualties were friendlies killed by mistake, I'm sure the servicemen involved will appreciate your sarcasm; if they were skating on the edge and caught some return fire, I'm sure Al Qaida appreciates your patriotism.

Either way, you're off to a good start (or return) here.

[grimalkin]

Propaganda like this is easy to drum up when you're talking about an area as remote as this.

Exactly. The "fog of war" is easy for elements hostile to our forces to use against us.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[Right_in_Virginia]

What part of: "This will be a long war" do you not understand?

We're chasing cockroches in the sand...and quite frankly I think we're doing a hell of a good job both tracking and stomping them.

Patience is not only a virture in this war, it's our most important weapon.

[river rat]

Sally II - This may come as a shock to you... But "Rules of Engagement" was a TRUE STORY..

The film followed the actual story very closely --- and it all happened on CLINTON'S WATCH.

There was a massive attempt to cover up and hang the Marine Officer that commanded the operation.....then the "hidden" film was discovered.... At least one Clinton staffer was fired and charged with a crime -- I believe, and others simply resigned.... The outcome of investigations is played across the screen at the end of film.....

I'll bet you didn't read much about that in the papers!

Clinton was a dispicable slime ball, the full extent of which may not be known for several years.... He was absolutely an "enabler" of Arab Terrorists --- because he always showed his weakness and lack of courage. His weakness can be shown to have resulted in the needless death of thousands already. How many more to clean up his messes?
Semper Fi

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..propaganda like this is easy to drum up when you're talking about an area as remote as this....

Yeah, that awesome Afghani villager propaganda machine is hard to beat, Ilbay.

[Deb]

You obviously haven't read or heard any of the soldiers talking about how the locals lie about every bombing. Remember the "UN storage bombing"? A lie. "The Afghan caravan bombing"? A lie.

Not a single one of these "atrosities" has proved to be true. The first reports of this episode said 250 wedding party goers were killed. A lie.

I didn't think you were one of those guys who believed every report that rolls off the news wires. It pays to wait a few days, like with ...Jenin.

[Sally II]

Wow! I didn't know Rules of Engagement was based on a true story. I remember that the end of the film told what became of some of the key people. (But then again so did the end of Unbreakable, and I know that wasn't a true story.) I just remember coming out of that movie not sure if it was true or not. And I guess I figured that the content was SO controversial that I would have heard something about it. So, yeah, you're right, I didn't read much at all about that story in the papers! Do you know of any websites that have more information about that story?

And I totally agree with you about Clinton. It just amazes me how much he's gotten away with. And how blindly loyal the Democrats are to him. The Dems tried to jump all over Bush to try to connect him with the Enron scandal (I know some libs who STILL think he's involved with some Enron conspiracy) yet these same people wouldn't bat an eyelash if Clinton murdered their best friend. They don't care that he was Arafat's best buddy. They don't care that he had close ties to the Chinese and gave them government secrets. And they've all forgotten about how his relatives all tried to cash in on his last week in office pardons.

[Henchster]

nohorse - member since June 30th, 2002

Go away, liberal troll.

[Starwind]

Go away, liberal troll.

Hey, there's no need to call names. Troll would have sufficed.