Article

2003-03-24 Iraq

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Posted by Kerry 2003-03-24 07:45 am|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Here's the link for this article. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81921,00.html

Posted by Kerry 2003-03-24 05:55:40|| 2003-03-24 05:55:40|| Front Page Top

#2 This must be a clever attempt of the republican guard members, killing US soldiers while pretending surrender will slow down the advance even more and it will make it harder for the Iraqi soldiers to surrender also.

Posted by Murat 2003-03-24 07:28:17|| 2003-03-24 07:28:17|| Front Page Top

#3 I wouldn't use the word "clever", Murat. This is nothing new. But it will result in many more deaths, primarily of regular Iraqis troops trying to surrender and get the hell out of an unwinnable situation. Is that clever, or sick?

Posted by Bulldog 2003-03-24 08:28:32|| 2003-03-24 08:28:32|| Front Page Top

#4 Heh..."Clever"

As has been floating around the blogosphere:
"The most humane soldiers in the world are US soldiers, The deadliest soldiers in the world are pissed off US soldiers"

"Killing" is the wrong word. "Unlawful executions" is the proper word.

These are the desperate tactics of a dying regime...

Posted by mjh 2003-03-24 08:44:19|| 2003-03-24 08:44:19|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, in terms of guerilla warfare it is clever, the republican guards achieve by this that regular Iraqi soldiers won't surrender that easily and US soldiers will take more time to asure / secure themselves.

Posted by Murat 2003-03-24 08:45:47|| 2003-03-24 08:45:47|| Front Page Top

#6 "Clever" and "despicable" are not interchangeable terms. If "despicable" works, "clever" doesn't apply.

Posted by VAMark 2003-03-24 08:59:40|| 2003-03-24 08:59:40|| Front Page Top

#7 Iraqi behavior seems to be trying to emulate Japanese techniques.

I wonder if they've considered the logical extension.

Posted by Dishman 2003-03-24 09:12:29|| 2003-03-24 09:12:29|| Front Page Top

#8 I have to agree with Murat, here, moral considerations apart.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-03-24 09:19:46|| 2003-03-24 09:19:46|| Front Page Top

#9 Murat,

Barring any moral judgment, you are correct that it is a clever guerrilla warfare tactic.

It is not my place to say, as I am not facing such Iraqi tactics, but I hope this approach by the fedayeen does not cause us to violate the Geneva treaty.

Maybe a solution is to have surrendering Iraqis strip down and lay prostrate on the sand with arms and legs spread. If they move without being instructed to move, then they are shot.

Of course, that could be a violation of the Geneva convention, too...

Posted by mjh 2003-03-24 09:24:29|| 2003-03-24 09:24:29|| Front Page Top

#10 How hard it may sound these are still small scale tricks, real guerrilla warfare hasnât shown yet. Nobody can imagine until you have seen it with own eyes, I have seen pregnant woman strapped with explosives blowing herself up killing dozens of soldiers who wanted to be gentle and help. Guerrilla warfare is much more nasty than what the Iraqis have shown till now. War with moral does not exist.

Posted by Murat 2003-03-24 09:44:58|| 2003-03-24 09:44:58|| Front Page Top

#11 Besides where is the moral of the war anyway when it is revealed that even the southern Shia's don't welcome "liberators"

Posted by Murat 2003-03-24 10:00:31|| 2003-03-24 10:00:31|| Front Page Top

#12 I'll tell you what, Murat. For awhile we won't be "liberators". We'll be "conquerers" instead and destroy the Iraqi army. We'll be "liberators" and take care of civilian issues later. This seemed to work well in Japan and Germany a few years back.

Posted by tu3031 2003-03-24 10:11:11|| 2003-03-24 10:11:11|| Front Page Top

#13 "Besides where is the moral of the war anyway when it is revealed that even the southern Shia's don't welcome "liberators"."

Is this why Sammy's been too busy to make live broadcasts lately - he's been posting on Rantburg under a pseudonym?

Posted by Bulldog 2003-03-24 10:22:14|| 2003-03-24 10:22:14|| Front Page Top

#14 We'll be liberators of the Kurds, right Murat? After all, they've been oppressed and subjugated for a long time....even in Iraq.

Posted by Frank G 2003-03-24 11:05:52|| 2003-03-24 11:05:52|| Front Page Top

#15 What we found at Umm al Qasr

' One U.S. intelligence officer said he thinks the Ba'ath Party had told townspeople to give up leaflets they had collected or be killed.

"They went around collecting them so the people in the town wouldn't see them, wouldn't have them, wouldn't be able to read them," the officer told CNN.'

I'd certainly like to see celebrating Shiites, but its not like there arent reasons (like the above) why we havent seen them yet.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-03-24 11:31:16|| 2003-03-24 11:31:16|| Front Page Top

#16 from a National Post (canada) embedded reporter with US Marines in SOuth-central Iraq.

"For many kilometres, civilians and soldiers were lined up, waving and blowing kisses at the passing vehicles holding U.S. Marines. Many begged for food. Each U.S. vehicle had been given two boxes of ready-to-eat rations suitable for Muslims. Some people came back for seconds, hiding the food they had already collected."

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-03-24 12:56:00|| 2003-03-24 12:56:00|| Front Page Top

#17 Funny thing about liberation, Murat, they don't want to be liberated, but they're asking,
"Where's mine?"

Where's my water, my food, my schools, my humanitarian aid?

And par the course, the American taxpayer forks over for another 60 years and gets the shaft.

We really need to be looking at our UN and foreign aid budgets.

And Murat, you provide useful info and interesting counterbalance, but don't blame US for Ergodan thinking we only had "Plan A" which included Turkey.

And more of our troops will die, thanks to that policy. And "the world's* which is what they want anyway.

Most of us in the US are under no illusions. And those who are listening to the Baghdad Broadcasting Corp via NPR are getting an earful.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-03-24 13:13:43|| 2003-03-24 13:13:43|| Front Page Top

#18 heres something interesting - MSNBC/slate reported did a piece from Bagdada - headline is that locals hate us - although only evidence is from armed Iraqi looking for downed pilot in tigris (not exactly a representative sample, eh?) but in th midst of that is hidden this gem

"Explosions are rocking my computer as I write. For the first time, small-arms fire can be heard throughout the city. Anti-aircraft emplacements are set up around the perimeter of our hotel. It?s not a good sign. Yesterday those 500 meters from us were destroyed, completely destroyed, by American missiles."

Small arms fire!?!?! With coalition troops 50 miles away, and stuck taking on Republican guards? What can this mean??? Could it be connected to shutting of Tigris river bridges, that, IIUC, lead to mainly Shiite Saddam City slums? It sounds like SOMETHING is going on in Bagdad - I wonder what it is.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-03-24 13:14:02|| 2003-03-24 13:14:02|| Front Page Top

#19 My dad was with the 1st MarDiv in the Pacific WWII. Surrendering Japanese tried to take out yanks with hand grenades or other device when surrendering. So it came down to a couple of options: hose them and don't ask questions, or make them strip to prevent carrying hidden surprises. They forced us to be brutal. Most of the time Dad hosed down the caves and pillboxes with his amphib mounted flamethrower. Fake surrenders and ambushes were not pretty and it hardened our guys pretty fast, and more stayed alive after that.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-03-24 13:33:19|| 2003-03-24 13:33:19|| Front Page Top

#20 this could really work in Saddams favor: consider this; all the fake surrenders at some point will force US troops to take less prisoners for their own safety, once word gets down to the iraqui army that we are not taking as many prisoners, they will have but one option- fight to the death- exactly what he wants and we don't. This should happen around the time the big battle for baghdad begins. Maybe I am giving them too much credit for thinking this through like that.

Posted by scott 2003-03-24 19:40:17|| 2003-03-24 19:40:17|| Front Page Top

10:21 liberalhawk
07:51 raptor
07:28 becky
00:57 Bodyguard
00:40 flash91
00:27 Anonymous
00:01 Frank Martin
23:57 Frank Martin
23:47 Screw political correctness
23:31 Anonymous
22:58 tu3031
22:57 Old Patriot
22:47 Old Patriot
22:47 OldSpook
22:36 tu3031
22:33 RW
22:31 tu3031
22:21 tu3031
22:20 Alaska Paul
22:14 tu3031
22:14 USgirl
22:04 tu3031
22:01 Bomb-a-rama
22:01 Anonymous