Article

2008-03-26 Iraq

Officials await IDs on 3 Iraq bodies (BTB missing contractors)

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Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2008-03-26 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top
File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1 "I just don't understand how that can take place. I just don't have that kind of hatred in my heart. I never will, and I don't understand it."

The fruits of Islam, to understand it is to accept it.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-03-26 01:16|| 2008-03-26 01:16|| Front Page Top

#2 "retaliate in the most ruthless and terrifying manner possible"

That's the real trick. To do that selectively while protecting the predominately Muslim population of Iraq from the terrorists. The concept is difficult; the execution almost impossible. And yet, everyday, our troops do it.

Posted by Zebulon Unomolet6509 2008-03-26 08:24|| 2008-03-26 08:24|| Front Page Top

#3 That's because our troops are amazing, Zebulon Unomolet6509, which of course you already knew. ;-)

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-03-26 18:18|| 2008-03-26 18:18|| Front Page Top

#4 The task has been somewhat trivialized as the 3 block war. The hard part for me is that post 911, we are there PROTECTING Muslims. I have to say that on 912, that was not my first impulse. Still, if protecting Muslims screws with Al Qaeda, it HAS to be a good thing. In any case, it does seem to be working. Maybe that's why Al Qaeda/Iran is seeing if they can provoke an overreaction.

Posted by Zebulon Unomolet6509 2008-03-26 19:28|| 2008-03-26 19:28|| Front Page Top

#5 Since the enemy and their agents will construe literally anything we do as an over-reaction, we must examine the details and the history of such interactions in that part of the world. The Turks and the British got good results with measures that would be outrageously provocative by current standards, so did Saddam for that matter.

The trick, as you say Zebulon, is to act in the genuine interest of the people there. There are ways to do that. Individual provocateurs can be targeted, and complicit individuals eliminated. This may lead to displays of rage from terrorist supporters, but only because they know that sympathetic media will validate these charades.

It is easy to distinguish between real reactions and media-generated posturing, we just have to avoid the common underlying assumption of media coverage, ie that Iraqis have the intelligence of chimpanzees and the emotions of children.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2008-03-26 19:56|| 2008-03-26 19:56|| Front Page Top

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