No place left to hide?
Post-invasion iraq - - Posted on April, 7 at 12:27 pm by Ken L
Two US soldiers have been killed and 17 injured in attacks on the Baghdad Green Zone.
I might be wrong but I can’t recall any other stories like this about military casualties in what’s supposed to be the safest place in Iraq. Along with the recent inconclusive fighting between Shiite factions, it suggests the occupation is entering a new phase in which soldiers and militias may once again play a major role. Not that the poor bloody Iraqis trying to get on with their lives will notice much difference.
Needless to say Bush’s mob will claim the attacks were all the fault of Iran and add them to the bulging folder named ‘Excuses for the next war’.
Still I’m sure McCain and Cheney and Lieberman and company will keep telling us what a brilliant success Teh Surge has been. I really do think the USA should reverse that unfortunate policy not to have a rank of field marshal, just because George Washington was only a general. I bet Washington never would have thought up Teh Surge. Can’t they at least make Petraeus a 5 star general or something like Macarthur was? It’s the least they can do for military rulers of conquered possessions.
More depressing analysis of the Iraqi occupation here if anyone can bear to read it.
Posted in Post-invasion iraq |
April 7th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
They’ve been lobbbing rockets and mortars into certain parts of the green zone for some time. It’s quite large; some bits are within range and some ain’t. “Safest place in Iraq” is, after all, a relative term.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Yes I know that Sean but I can’t recall them doing any serious military damage before. Two killed and 17 injured is a pretty serious incident, given the amount of armour the military has these days. Did they just get lucky or are they using deadlier weapons?
April 7th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I really don’t know, except to say that I think we overstate the effectiveness of modern body armour (probably due to wishful thinking).
One of my closest mates spent a good portion of last year in the green zone and said such attacks were reasonably common, with some areas easier to hit than others as stated above, because some areas outside the green zone are easier to fire from than others. Theoretically in this attack:
1) got lucky; or
2) temporarily got to use a new firing position that put them within range of a mess hall or something; or even
3) had someone inside, allowing them to time an attack on troops in the open.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Man that place is fucked up.
Probably consistently worse to live outside in the “them” Zone than under intermittent fire in the Green Zone which (correct me if I’m wrong) probably has reliable electricity, food, water & medical care.
Call me a nonbeliever but I reckon one day we’ll be watching the helis evacuate the last of the Imperialists from the roof of the most staunch foreign embassy on Earth.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Ken, why are you so negative? General Petraeus is about to make another report to Congress and I’ll bet he’ll put you right.
The ’surge’ has been a resounding success but like the original rationale for the invasion it needs to be redefined from time to time.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I didnt know you were negative Ken!?In fact,in the short time I have been posting here,I think you are one of life’s positive creatures.I be even a few soldiers of the U.S.A. find the surfing art thing at this site a deep longing to get back to the U.S. and just ride.Ken has hardly criticised an American soldier,although they maybe a very mixed bag of humanity right now.I suppose just being anti-war,with compelling conviction, means everyone else knows emphatically where the origin of the word positive came from,and you can use it logically in any manner at a site like this.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
That should read I bet.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Thanks, philip travers. Was confused about that for a minute.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
QUOTE:
“Amid investigations into fatal shootings of civilians and allegations of tax violations, Blackwater USA’s multimillion-dollar contract to protect diplomats in Baghdad has been renewed, the State Department said Friday.
A final decision about whether the private security company will keep the job is pending, the department said. Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater is one of the largest private military contractors, receiving nearly $1.25 billion in federal business since 2000, according to a House committee estimate.
Blackwater provides security for diplomats in Baghdad, where the sprawling U.S. Embassy is headquartered. Its private guards act as bodyguards and armed drivers, escorting government officials when they go outside the fortified Green Zone.
Iraqis were outraged over a Sept. 16 shooting in which 17 Iraq civilians were killed in a Baghdad square. Blackwater said its guards were protecting diplomats under attack before they opened fire, but Iraqi investigators concluded the shooting was unprovoked…”
Lovely innit?
April 9th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Sucks big time Mars.
Even tho i’m sure many of those contractors protecting diplomats & reconstruction workers are doing a brave & efficient job…the role in Iraq of some private contractors like Blackwater can certainly an odd one. Check this out:
“On September 22, 2007, U.S. federal prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that Blackwater employees may have smuggled weapons into Iraq, and that these weapons may have been later transferred to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Kurdish nationalist group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, NATO and the EU. The U.S. government was investigating Blackwater for these alleged crimes. On October 4 2007, the FBI took over the investigation.”
(Wikipedia - Blackwater Worldwide: Controversy and criticism)
If it’s true…talk about fanning the flames.
Makes you wonder about who stirred up some of the sectarian violence of 2004 & onwards in the first place. Plenty of money made by certain corporations who might’ve had an interest in keeping the Iraqi fires burning.