|
No evidence of wedding at the attack site. Wotta surprise.
| Do you get the impression we've been looking at two different sites? Or at a single site at two different times? |
At the site where a U.S. air strike killed 40 persons Wednesday, troops found âterrorist manuals,â machines for making fake IDs, and battery packs rigged for homemade bombs. They found nothing to indicate a wedding party, as some witnesses have said, a senior military official said Saturday.
| Well, that's certainly ethnocentric. It's not like Iraqis give newlyweds toasters and towels. They prefer things that are more useful, like a few good books, something that can be used to start a small business, and... ummm... alternative power sources if the electricity goes off. |
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, chief military spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said evidence at the location about 15 miles from the Syrian border suggested that there had been a secret meeting of anti-occupation forces. However, Kimmitt left open the possibility that there also may have been some kind of celebration. âBad people have parties, too,â he said.
| "Mahmoud, order up some dancing girls! Ahmed's going off to fight the infidels!" |
The incident has stirred further anger among Iraqis already bitter about the American occupation, and U.S. military officials have moved swiftly to counter the allegation that they may have slaughtered innocent persons. A videotape emerged late Wednesday allegedly showing the bodies of the dead, including children. Purported witnesses said the air strike hit a wedding party. At a briefing Saturday, Kimmitt showed photographs of the interior of the targeted building that showed stacks of bedding â more than 300 sets â a table used for medical examinations, and medical supplies, including syringes with residue suspected of being cocaine. There were assorted firearms and a large number of packed sets of clothing.
| No togas? No party favors? No kegs? Maybe a bit of barbecue? |
He said the setup appeared to be a way station where foreign fighters slipping through the border could get bogus identification documents and clothes that would help them blend in with the Iraqi population. âThere was no evidence of a wedding,â Kimmitt said. âThere was no decorations, no music instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration. No gifts.â
| Not even a friggin' blender? |
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-05-24 |
