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| Iraq |
| British Troops Patrol Basra Gas Stations |
| 2003-08-10 |
| BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - British forces in the southern city of Basra patrolled gas stations Sunday after clashes with people angry about increased fuel prices and power outages. About 1,000 angry residents burned tires and hurled rocks and bricks at British soldiers on Saturday, complaining of frequent power cuts and black-market fuel prices, British military spokesman Capt. Hisham Halawi said. Sounds like Detroit on a Sunday afternoon. He said that the power outages were the work of saboteurs, thieves who have taken down cables to sell the copper inside, and temperatures of more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. There were long lines at gas stations, and ``tempers flared up,’’ Halawi said. British troops were deployed at major gasoline stations ``to ensure people get fuel at right price, not black-market price,’’ he said. Makes you wonder how Iraq is going to fare when the US/UK does pull out -- people there can’t even wait in line without fighting amongst themselves. Halawi said coalition forces were investigating reports that Saddam Hussein loyalists and members of his Baath party might have taken advantage of the situation to instigate the riots. No, you think? He said that British soldiers suffered minor bruises in the melee. I’ll bet the protesters got the worst of it. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 ZF - a tiny point: "Clearly not everyone's a criminal, or the place would be stripped bare." It was stripped bare - I saw it on the BBC - so it must be true, right? Did they take everything they could get their hands on? Yep. Did everyone partcipate? Everyone that was physically able. Was there any reason not to? Nope. I saw innumerable BBC / CNN / SkyTV / MSNBC reports while in Saudi (don't know for certain what you were seeing) that were designed to convey lawlessness. Street interviews and lots of film of everything imaginable being carted down the streets, including kitchen sinks - the whole nine yards. Immediately after the fall of each city, the Beeb was there pushing it for all it was worth. Gotta be true, man. They had film and interviews with regular Iraqis and everything! They were amazingly consistent, in fact, in their stories. You don't think the interviewees were screened for those with this story - or who guessed what the Beeb reporter wanted to hear and gave it to him, do ya? You mean old cynic you! ;-> |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-10 1:07:10 PM |
| #2 He said that the power outages were the work of saboteurs, thieves who have taken down cables to sell the copper inside This is no surprise - the Brits are releasing the people who commit petty crimes almost immediately. The lax style of British criminal justice is one export that's not doing well in Iraq. So much for the touchy-feely style of occupation. Seems to me what they need to do is to demolish Saddam's prisons and build temporary new ones to hold all the miscreants who are causing all this trouble. Clearly not everyone's a criminal, or the place would be stripped bare. But they do need to crack down on the people who are criminals, and that's not happening, from all accounts. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-8-10 10:50:27 AM |
| #1 "temperatures of more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit" They're sitting in their cars running the AC to escape the heat. "thieves who have taken down cables to sell the copper inside" It wasn't nailed down, so it was fair game. Pyramids, hospitals, power lines - everything except Mosques are fair game - to Arabs. And the local Mullahs never leave the Mosques unattended. |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-10 10:37:13 AM |