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Post War Iraq - Page 92

American Marines 'killed Iraqis in cold blood'

A respected Congressman with strong ties to the Pentagon has said that US Marines behaved much worse than previously thought in the Haditha incident in western Iraq last November, in which at least 15 civilians were killed.
Ref. https://news.independent.co.uk/world/americ...ticle548167.ece

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Some thoughts come to mind:

1. The comment about the bombers is a given as Israel well knows, but what makes it worst is that those with the bombs are all around you and you are in their land.

2. I wonder if after equipping the military of Iraq, they turn on the US forces there?

3. What is the forecast for a total troop pull out or will it ever happen totally?

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I think the emotive comment about suicide bombers perfectly illustrates how disillusional Bush is about Iraq. He has never once mentioned the Shiite death squads that infiltrate the Iraqi Police force and military. They do a lot of the killing.

There is no doubt that right now in Iraq there is a secular power struggle between Sunnis and Shiites and that there is an element of reprisal attacks on both sides. This is very un-Iraqi in essence because Iraq is a tribal society where Shiites and Sunnis marry and co-exist in harmony.

I think the problem has been that the US totally underestimated how difficult it would be to secure Iraq and how resentful Iraqis are towards an occupying force. Mind you, the British and Australian forces don't seem to encounter as much hatred.

Bush and Blair are currently negotiating a pull-out. I believe it will happen sooner rather than later. There was talk about a large portion of troops being removed before the year's end. That sounds very optimistic to me, but it will happen soon.

I think The Americans have to leave and hand over security to the UN, if Iraq wants support. They are doing their best but I think their role in Iraq is becoming more and more irrelevant.

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I agree with that, I think the US expected a more 'welcoming' people, however, maybe they are glad to see Saddam 'go away', but I think the price is too high - in other words - they did not want it this much.

I am not sure making that comparison is justified since their involvement in the whole fair is on a much smaller scale as compared to the USA.

They have been talking about that since last Christmas.

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That comparison wasn't made by me. I've heard it in a report from a senior British officer who served in Iraq and I was also told that personally by an Australian soldier who served there. They basically said it had a lot to do with the way US troops deal with people compared to the other troops.

I also believe it has to do with the different areas where troops are serving and of course the size of the forces.

The Australian soldier also told me Iraqi forces had no hope of being adequately trained in the short-term.

I think Bush and Blair are actually more serious about the pull-out now, the rhetoric has changed. Mind you it could be because both are at stressful times in their political lives and are under pressure to appear more popular from their respective parties.

That is a very interesting point. Iraq is in a much worse state now than it was before. Is life really that much better after Saddam?

Edited: arvhic on 24th May, 2006 - 2:08am

Post War Iraq

What way is that was he referring to?

The ironic thing if this is true is that if there was a pull-out now then the country would literally collapse and then many would say something like...

'The USA came, got what they needed and got out to leave us to die here'.

In some ways it reminds me of Somalia, hence I doubt there will be this massive pull out. I think the USA is going to be there for a very long time.

Post War Iraq - Page 92

The guy I spoke to said the Americans have a policy of shoot first ask questions later, which is understandable in some situations. He said when they interact with Iraqis they are very abrupt and demanding with little regard for cultural differences, which frightens people.

Whereas the British and Australian troops have a more compassionate method of interacting which doesn't scare civilians. This was his opinion. He actually spoke very highly of the Americans, but said there was differences.

There are many examples of mistreatment on the web. I don't have to post individual examples here.

I saw a very good doco called Gunner Palace, which gave snippets of just how difficult it must be for those soldiers. They are constantly paranoid, often use poorly armoured equipment and a lot of the troops looked and acted like high school students. They didn't appear to be trained to deal with the cultural differences. Their commanders appeared very impressive operators.

I think questions are always going to be raised over the reasons for this invasion regardless of what the US does from here. I am certainly very sceptical about their "official" reasons. The most important thing now is to do what is best for Iraq and it is obvious having so many occupying forces there is not in Iraq's best interest. The country has already collapsed, it can't get much worse.

Edited: arvhic on 24th May, 2006 - 3:07am

Post War Iraq Politics Business Civil & History - Page 92

U.S. MARINES MAY FACE MURDER CHARGES OVER KILLINGS IN IRAQ

Published reports say the U.S. Pentagon has evidence that its Marines deliberately murdered at least two dozen unarmed civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha last November.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/200...es05262006.html