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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi Insurgency led by Zarqawi, but splits beginning to show |
| 2004-09-19 |
| The grenade was visible when the insurgent stepped in front of our car. His sinewy arm was cocked, ready to throw. Fifteen more men poured out from the corner of a nearby tenement, swirling about the car like angry floodwaters. They brandished grenades and AK-47s, pistol grips nudging out from under the folds of their shirts. Spotting me in the backseat, they went into a frenzy, yanking on the handles of the doors, thumping the window with the grenades. Across Iraq, the insurgents have gone on a kidnapping spree, seizing Italian aid workers, French journalists and American construction workers. As they ordered us out of the car, I wondered whether we were about to become their latest catch. An Iraqi resistance fighter traveling as an escort was quickly out of the car, speaking to the group in a somber, authoritative tone, insisting they let us go. A furious curbside debate flared. My escort continued to plead, dropping the names of high-level insurgent leaders. After what seemed like an eternity, the insurgents relented. They pushed me back into our Mazda sedan and ordered us to leave. We were lucky. The fighters included Iraqis, Syrians and Jordanians. They were members of Attawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War), a militant group loyal to Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq. The group's black flags flutter from the palm trees and buildings along the Baghdad boulevard where we were stopped, an area known as Haifa Street. It's a no-go zone for U.S. forces. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #8 The romanticism employed by the MSM is truly infantile. Time. Pfeh. Great Sufferin' G-d. Mr. Ware must've been a theater (or worse, film) critic before he got this assignment... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-09-19 9:18:09 PM |
| #7 Whoa, lol! Wow - a Grade-A smackdown... Lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-19 7:46:36 PM |
| #6 .com: I fully expect someone to break out with a smarmy rendition of Feelings about now, heh. Why the heck not. Here's a satirical rendition: Feelings Nothing more then feelings Trying to forget my Feelings of hate Imagine Beating on your face Trying to forget my Feelings of hate Feelings For all my life i'll feel it I wish I'd never met you You'll make me sick again Feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Of hate on my mind Feelings Feelings like I never liked you Feelings like I want to kill you Live in my heart Feelings Feelings like I wanna deck you Feelings like I've gotta get you Out of my life Feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Hate's in my eyes Feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings You're not very nice GO! [solo] Feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Hate's on my mind Feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Woh-oh-oh feelings Get out of my life (x2) [ |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-19 7:40:54 PM |
| #5 ZF - Spot-on, bro. I fully expect someone to break out with a smarmy rendition of Feelings about now, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-19 4:44:08 PM |
| #4 .com: ZF - I wonder if his Iraqi camerman snapped his wet pants and is holding out for being treated like a human... The problem with articles like this is that the journos who write them think they're recreating "The Heart of Darkness". To them, it's all about their emotions rather than what's actually happening. It would be nice to get some articles that actually report the news rather than the journos' instinct to curl up into a fetal position. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-19 4:35:17 PM |
| #3 ZF - I wonder if his Iraqi camerman snapped his wet pants and is holding out for being treated like a human... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-19 4:05:10 PM |
| #2 .com: The romanticism employed by the MSM is truly infantile. Time. Pfeh. 3 a day - and they control the streets? This is like saying criminals are running wild in NYC - without increasing the crime rate. Time: They brandished grenades and AK-47s, pistol grips nudging out from under the folds of their shirts. I guess in the time lexicon, this makes them "heavily armed". The reality is that just about every family in Iraq has an AK-47, grenades, pistols and plenty of ammo. This guy is trying to imply that the guerrillas' easy access to weaponry is proof that the American effort is failing. But the reality is that most families in Iraq have significant protection. Having to melt back into the population is a weakness, not a strength. If the guerrillas were in charge, they wouldn't have to melt back into the population. In American cities, when the police are away, the gangsters come out and play. Doesn't mean that gangsters run American cities, or that the city streets are no-go zones. It simply means that it's not economical to hire millions of security men to be permanently stationed on every square foot of the country. If these are no-go zones, why do they scatter when US troops show up? Shouldn't they make mincemeat of US forces? This is why these "news" reports tick me off - the "journalists" are peddling their panic-stricken reaction to almost being kidnapped as the situation in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-19 4:01:04 PM |
| #1 Oh baby! "sinewy" "swirling about the car like angry floodwaters" "brandished" "nudging" "latest catch" "curbside debate flared" "black flags flutter" "no-go zone" Pappy's gonna come unglued over this laughable bit of puffery! The romanticism employed by the MSM is truly infantile. Time. Pfeh. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-19 3:42:47 PM |