Don K Dyck
Devilish Don Downunder
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2002
- Posts
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Americans Strike Terror
Good evening. Here is the news.
From The Australian
Terror escalating
By Rodney Dalton, Michelle Gilchrist and Agencies
April 02, 2003
THIRTY-THREE civilians were killed and 310 wounded last night in an allied air raid south of Baghdad, capping off a disastrous day for the coalition's struggle for Iraqi hearts and minds that began with the deaths of seven women and children at the hands of US troops.
As the allied bombing of Baghdad continued for the 13th day, 33 people were killed during the raid on the residential area near Hillah, 80km south of Baghdad.
The first blow for allies came on Monday night when 15 members of one family were killed when a US Apache helicopter destroyed a pick-up truck in which they were fleeing fighting near Hillah.
"Which one of them should I cry on?" said sole survivor Kazem al-Khafaj before throwing sand in his face "so I don't have to see" the bodies of his wife, six children, father, mother, three brothers and their wives.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said early today the bombings south of Baghdad were a "horror" and had left dozens of "smashed corpses".
The most embarrassing blow came yesterday when US soldiers, fearing a suicide bombing, fired on a vehicle that refused to stop at a checkpoint, killing seven women and children.
"We're very concerned about it and very sorry that it happened," 3rd Infantry Division commander Major-General Buford Blount said last night. But US Central Command asserted that the soldiers responsible for the incident at a checkpoint north of Najaf acted within the force's rules of engagement.
The incident occurred about 30km north of the checkpoint where a suicide bomber in a taxi killed four soldiers from the same division on Saturday.
Following Saturday's attack, and Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan's threat that suicide attacks by "martyrs" were now "routine military policy" for the regime, coalition forces had toughened their checkpoint security and rules of engagement.
The seven deaths – followed only hours later by the killing of an unarmed driver at a US checkpoint outside Shatra, another hot spot about 250km southeast of the capital – have cast a pall over the significant military progress by coalition forces since the weekend.
As Republican Guard units from the north converged on Baghdad to reinforce battered divisions to the south and east of the capital, the city endured its 13th day of aerial bombardment, including direct hits on Saddam Hussein's biggest palace.
The Washington Post reported that yesterday's checkpoint incident happened after a call went out for a warning shot to be fired as a Toyota four-wheel drive packed with 13 civilians became a potential threat.
According to an "embedded" Washington Post reporter close to the action, Captain Ronny Johnston yelled into his radio when he heard no warning shots: "Stop (messing) round." And then: "Stop him, Red 1, stop him." The vehicle was hit by 25mm cannon fire from an M2 Bradley fighting vehicle.
The soldiers found the bodies of seven women and children inside. Four passengers were wounded and two escaped unhurt.
According to The Washington Post, Captain Johnson yelled at a platoon leader: "You just killed a family because you didn't fire a warning shot soon enough."
One soldier said later: "It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen, and I hope I never see it again." A military investigation into the shootings began immediately, but US Central Command cited initial reports to claim the soldiers had "responded in accordance with the rules of engagement to protect themselves".
"In light of recent terrorist attacks by the Iraqi regime, the soldiers exercised considerable restraint to avoid the unnecessary loss of life," the statement said.
Although Captain Johnson was reportedly angry that the warning shots came too late, the platoon leader of Bravo company claimed to have fired two warning shots at the four-wheel drive.
At the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chairman General Peter Pace said soldiers would shoot if they felt they were in danger, and this perception had been affected by the Iraqi tactics, which he described as "war crimes".
He defended the US troops. "They absolutely did the right thing – they tried to warn the vehicle, it did not stop."
But the killings will make it hard for coalition forces to persuade civilians they come as liberators, not invaders.
Speaking in Philadelphia before the shooting, George W. Bush had put that message to the Iraqi people. "We are coming with a mighty force to end the reign of your oppressors," the US President said. "We will not stop, we will not relent until your country is free."
But the killings are likely to strengten resistance in Iraq and fuel the mounting anger in Arab countries as thousands of Iraqi expatriates return home vowing their readiness for martyrdom.
Rejecting a demand from US Secretary of State Colin Powell for Syria and Iran to stay out of the war, the Syrian Government said the "brotherly Iraqi people" were facing an "illegitimate and unjustifiable invasion".
Tensions with Iran are certain to worsen as a result of Bush administration hawk John Bolton, the US under- secretary for arms control, putting the threat of Tehran's nuclear weapons program on a par with North Korea's.
Obviously the "liberating AmeriKKKan forces" are doing their best to protect the Iraqi families from the "liberating AmeriKKKan forces" . . . but death is such a permanent solution and definitely not the preferred method.
Good evening. Here is the news.
From The Australian
Terror escalating
By Rodney Dalton, Michelle Gilchrist and Agencies
April 02, 2003
THIRTY-THREE civilians were killed and 310 wounded last night in an allied air raid south of Baghdad, capping off a disastrous day for the coalition's struggle for Iraqi hearts and minds that began with the deaths of seven women and children at the hands of US troops.
As the allied bombing of Baghdad continued for the 13th day, 33 people were killed during the raid on the residential area near Hillah, 80km south of Baghdad.
The first blow for allies came on Monday night when 15 members of one family were killed when a US Apache helicopter destroyed a pick-up truck in which they were fleeing fighting near Hillah.
"Which one of them should I cry on?" said sole survivor Kazem al-Khafaj before throwing sand in his face "so I don't have to see" the bodies of his wife, six children, father, mother, three brothers and their wives.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said early today the bombings south of Baghdad were a "horror" and had left dozens of "smashed corpses".
The most embarrassing blow came yesterday when US soldiers, fearing a suicide bombing, fired on a vehicle that refused to stop at a checkpoint, killing seven women and children.
"We're very concerned about it and very sorry that it happened," 3rd Infantry Division commander Major-General Buford Blount said last night. But US Central Command asserted that the soldiers responsible for the incident at a checkpoint north of Najaf acted within the force's rules of engagement.
The incident occurred about 30km north of the checkpoint where a suicide bomber in a taxi killed four soldiers from the same division on Saturday.
Following Saturday's attack, and Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan's threat that suicide attacks by "martyrs" were now "routine military policy" for the regime, coalition forces had toughened their checkpoint security and rules of engagement.
The seven deaths – followed only hours later by the killing of an unarmed driver at a US checkpoint outside Shatra, another hot spot about 250km southeast of the capital – have cast a pall over the significant military progress by coalition forces since the weekend.
As Republican Guard units from the north converged on Baghdad to reinforce battered divisions to the south and east of the capital, the city endured its 13th day of aerial bombardment, including direct hits on Saddam Hussein's biggest palace.
The Washington Post reported that yesterday's checkpoint incident happened after a call went out for a warning shot to be fired as a Toyota four-wheel drive packed with 13 civilians became a potential threat.
According to an "embedded" Washington Post reporter close to the action, Captain Ronny Johnston yelled into his radio when he heard no warning shots: "Stop (messing) round." And then: "Stop him, Red 1, stop him." The vehicle was hit by 25mm cannon fire from an M2 Bradley fighting vehicle.
The soldiers found the bodies of seven women and children inside. Four passengers were wounded and two escaped unhurt.
According to The Washington Post, Captain Johnson yelled at a platoon leader: "You just killed a family because you didn't fire a warning shot soon enough."
One soldier said later: "It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen, and I hope I never see it again." A military investigation into the shootings began immediately, but US Central Command cited initial reports to claim the soldiers had "responded in accordance with the rules of engagement to protect themselves".
"In light of recent terrorist attacks by the Iraqi regime, the soldiers exercised considerable restraint to avoid the unnecessary loss of life," the statement said.
Although Captain Johnson was reportedly angry that the warning shots came too late, the platoon leader of Bravo company claimed to have fired two warning shots at the four-wheel drive.
At the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chairman General Peter Pace said soldiers would shoot if they felt they were in danger, and this perception had been affected by the Iraqi tactics, which he described as "war crimes".
He defended the US troops. "They absolutely did the right thing – they tried to warn the vehicle, it did not stop."
But the killings will make it hard for coalition forces to persuade civilians they come as liberators, not invaders.
Speaking in Philadelphia before the shooting, George W. Bush had put that message to the Iraqi people. "We are coming with a mighty force to end the reign of your oppressors," the US President said. "We will not stop, we will not relent until your country is free."
But the killings are likely to strengten resistance in Iraq and fuel the mounting anger in Arab countries as thousands of Iraqi expatriates return home vowing their readiness for martyrdom.
Rejecting a demand from US Secretary of State Colin Powell for Syria and Iran to stay out of the war, the Syrian Government said the "brotherly Iraqi people" were facing an "illegitimate and unjustifiable invasion".
Tensions with Iran are certain to worsen as a result of Bush administration hawk John Bolton, the US under- secretary for arms control, putting the threat of Tehran's nuclear weapons program on a par with North Korea's.
Obviously the "liberating AmeriKKKan forces" are doing their best to protect the Iraqi families from the "liberating AmeriKKKan forces" . . . but death is such a permanent solution and definitely not the preferred method.
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