Free Republic

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO. — As curious as it might sound, in his 11th week of basic training, Army Pvt. Branden Nethken pulled on drab green coveralls and practiced the most convincing Arabic accent a Tennessee boy could muster. His assignment for the morning, at the U.S. Army's first-ever mock detention facility, was to play the role of a disgruntled detainee captured in a war zone. Other soldiers in his company were dressed in combat gear, taking on the role of guards. "They told us to act as if we didn't want to be here," Nethken, 19, said with a...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq  — At least 11 Iraqi civilians were killed Wednesday morning when a pair of homicide bombers  tried to attack a coalition base where international troops are based, a coalition spokeswoman said.</p> <p>The attack outside Camp Charlie in Hillah  also wounded 44 other Iraqis and 58 coalition troops, including Hungarians, Poles and an American. Polish Gen. Mieczyslaw Bieniek called it a "well coordinated terrorist attack."</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers tried to drive explosives-laden trucks into a Polish-run base south of Baghdad, but coalition forces opened fire, triggering blasts that killed at least 11 Iraqi civilians and wounded dozens, including more than 30 coalition soldiers, officials said. More than 64 people were injured in the blasts, including at least 31 Iraqis, 12 Filipinos, 10 Poles, 10 Hungarians and an American, officials said. Polish Gen. Mieczyslaw Bieniek, commander of the 9,500-strong Polish military contingent, called it a "well coordinated terrorist attack."