E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Green GIs Eyed in Shooting of Iraqi Cops
EFL
American soldiers who mistakenly killed eight Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian guard this month had been in this turbulent city for only one day and were in the midst of a handover from one military unit to another, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. According to these officials, confusion and inexperience may have contributed to the Sept. 12 killings, the worst "friendly fire" incident since major hostilities were declared over May 1. Capt. Jimmy Cummings, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division’s headquarters in Fort Bragg, N.C., dismissed any suggestion that the soldiers — who had been in Iraq for a week — were ill-prepared. "They did receive training. They had just gotten back from Afghanistan and before they deployed to Afghanistan they had training and before they went back they got the training again," Cummings said. He said the second round of training had been refined with lessons learned in Afghanistan and the Iraq conflict.
That doesn't make them "green," whoever wrote the headline...
The Sept. 12 killings stoked tensions in the city. Taha Bedawi, the U.S.-backed mayor of Fallujah, said U.S. military officials have asked to meet with Fallujah’s tribal chiefs and dignitaries to try to defuse the anger that has swept the city of 200,000 people. He said the meeting, tentatively scheduled for later this week, will also decide on a financial settlement known in Arabic as "diya," or blood money, to be paid to the families of the victims. "Those guys did similar missions in Afghanistan," Cummings said. "They’ve had the real world experience in Afghanistan." Of their training, he said: "It deals with rules of engagement, some of which is classified, dealing with civilians on the battlefield and also cultural awareness classes."

The policemen were killed while chasing a white BMW thought to be used by highway bandits. The Iraqi police gave up the chase when the BMW got away. As they made their way back to Fallujah, they came under fire from U.S. soldiers. The shooting happened in front of the Jordanian hospital, which also came under fire from the Americans. Survivors said the Americans fired at them for at least 30 minutes despite their screams in both English and Arabic that they were police. Some took off their identity arm bands and waved them in the air for the Americans to see them, but to no avail. None of the 25 policemen and members of the Fallujah Protection Force returned fire, witnesses and survivors said. The U.S. military said the American troops were fired at first and Bedawi, the mayor, told the AP that there were unconfirmed witness reports that passengers in the BMW fired at the soldiers as they sped past them. The investigation, which will be detailed in a public report, will look at what was done to calm the situation and whether the handover led to confusion over the policemen’s identity.
Posted by: lkl 2003-09-18
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18837