Jittery U.S. Soldiers Kill 6 Iraqis

Yahoo ^ | Aug 10th 2003 | SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI

[nightowl]

This is a bunch of propaganda crap. The writer on more than one occasion writes with certainty about what the dead was thinking. HUH?? For example, one didn't see a checkpoint & was killed. How do they know he didn't see it? It appears that he was alone. I don't believe a word of this. The very end of the article gives the whole thing away when one says they wish Saddam would come back and the statement about drinking Bush's blood. Don't believe this. Our soldiers wouldn't drive off & leave dead or injured kids in a car.

[RLK]

The reality is someone screwed up, badly, and now commanders on the ground are going to scurry around to make sure there are no repercussions.

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The reality is, we are attempting to occupy a country in which every fifth person is a fanatic terrorist of some type and we can't determine who is who until it is too late. Let's get the hell out, barracade the entire area off, and let them kill each other.

[clamboat]

And lest some think I don;t support our troops, they would be wrong. I totally support our troops who are well trained and disciplined. They are in an impossible situations, asked to act with restraint like police when they are trained for combat, not civilian administration.

Unfortunatly it takes only a handful of poorly disciplined troops like this to undo countless hours of labor and goodwill built up by other troops and civilians who are repairing electric grids, operating refineries, restoring water lines, and fixing schools.

[pierrem15]

The exit strategy is already pretty clear:

a) get a minimum amount of the economy & utilities functioning;

b)get the political process moving with the Iraqi council;

c)train a new Iraqi police force and army to take care of security;

d)withdraw most troops and leave 1 or 2 divisions in 'over-the-horizon' locations to get them out of the Iraqi's faces but let the bad guys know we're not going to let them come back.

Seems pretty simple and good (but not easy to implement). But we've already started.

[pierrem15]

Let's get the hell out, barracade the entire area off, and let them kill each other.

We tried that. It didn't work too well on 9/11, did it? What do think will hapen when, not if these savages acquire nukes, which will happen if we don't change the situation?

[dwd1]

We all concede the point that this may have been the fault of some young kid who is scared and did not show proper restraint. I hope that you will also be on this forum showing as much indignation when some kid that does his duty and is, oh, shall we say, waiting in line, and gets killed by someone in civilian clothing. Also, if you are going to twist my words, try to at least properly interpret my words. You seem to have no explanation concerning how someone half a mile away could have caused such a reaction from our military personnel unless they were driving in what could be perceived as aggressive. I am sure that in your vast military experience, you have confronted similar situations. May I ask how you resolved the situation? Also, please remember that you and I are able to have this discussion because those young men and women are putting their lives in harm's way. I don't like when innocent people get hurt any more than you do, but those young men and women are over there because the President sent them....If you have a problem with the way they are doing their job, you may speak with your elected officials or you may enlist and react in the appropriate fashion. Will we be hearing from you from Baghdad or Tikrit or are we going to hear from you on Fox News?

[ChewedGum]

Very good assessment in my opinion. We don't know if the soldier screwed up...but the hidden bit of information we do know is that one soldier was hit by presumably 'friendly fire'. I understand the dynamics of combat and that FF is common (and in some ways not as common as you would expect in the chaos of a fire fight). But FF killed a soldier at a checkpoint? Did he walk out to the car and then they opened fire? Doesn't make sense - as described at least. The author appears to have bias, but none of us really know what happened. (It is also possible that our guys screwed up - consider the pressure they are under. Well, the pressure they are under if all the quagmire and drinking blood stories are actually true...lol.)

Gum

[RLK]

Let's get the hell out, barracade the entire area off, and let them kill each other. We tried that. It didn't work too well on 9/11, did it?

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That's because instead of barracading them in with each other we brought them over here. Got it yet?

[novacation]

Quess they should have stopped at the check point.Oh well

[dwd1]

Outline is good but the details need some work.

I just want to see the lottery of death end...

Hope that it goes away in the next two or three years....

[RIGHT IN SEATTLE]

F#%k you faggie fella!!!!!

[Eagle Eye]

See my #59.

In a year or so when businesses begin investing in Iraq, there will be the promise of jobs, consumer products, and prosperity.

Not long after, you'll go to the market and find Heinz ketchup, Kroger products, and Florida orange juice as well as Indian veggies and Aussie beef and mutton.

The opportunities in Iraq will be astounding in just a short time and I predict that there will be American franchise restuarants on many, many corners.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

On that note..

Could I please have some prayers for my friend "Popeye," whose son was killed in Somalia?

I have coffe with him often..

He's so haunted..please pray..

Thanks..

Ms.B

[pierrem15]

While I also think that the President has done a lousy job of securing the borders, the type of barricade you seem to have in mind is not possible, unless you're talking about bombing them back to the stone age and erecting a permanent blockade and Iron Curtain to keep any tech out and the savages in, it won't work. And the latter is not possible for reasons that are obvious.

Bush is right that the terrorists are much more of a threat only with state-sponsorship and assistance, so we have to change the political situation for our own safety. Does that mean that Bagdhad will look like Philadelphia in 1776 anytime soon? No. It just requires that a modicum of representative government be established.

[pierrem15]

Tell him he is in our prayers, and that his son's sacrifice is remembered and honored by all those who truly love our country.

[Burkeman1]

We were losing 150 men a week in Viet Nam on average. This is not another Viet Nam nor is it likely to be one given no major power or even minor power is going to be supplying a guerilla movement in Iraq as North Viet Nam was supplied by China and the Soviet Union. Having said that- this incident is not the first "panic" fire incident that has resulted in Iraqi civilian deaths and it doesn't make for good press.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"A few yards in front of them, two soldiers standing near two Humvees were shooting at the family's white Volkswagen, she said. Two other soldiers near a Humvee to the right of the car also fired, she said.

Witnesses told the AP one of the soldiers fell to the ground screaming in pain, apparently a victim of friendly fire.

"They killed us. There was no signal. Nothing at all. We didn't see anything but armored cars," Anwaar said Sunday, two days after the confrontation.

"Our headlights were on."

Let me see, their headlights were on and they did not see or hear anything until they were a few yards away?, but then they could see soldiers in front of them and at their side? I think this story is bunk and needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

I....just don't like this photo

Period.

It spooks me.

Ms.B

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Thank you so very much..

Okay with you if I print it out for him?

It does him a world of good to see some of the replies..

Ms.B

[RIGHT IN SEATTLE]

Don't look at it.......

Change the channel....

Turn down the volume....

Go to bed.......

You are up way too late!