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Iraq tries to arrest GIs

sam_w

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Crime’ or self-defense? Iraq tries to arrest GIs
Deadly Baghdad clash underscores rift over interpretation of U.S.-Iraq deal
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - When insurgents attacked an American convoy with AK-47 rounds and a couple of grenades on a dusty highway in a Baghdad suburb this week, U.S. soldiers returned fire, chased the suspects through narrow alleyways and raided houses.

Tuesday's clash killed two Iraqi adults and a 14-year-old and wounded four people, including two children.

When the shooting subsided, another confrontation began. A senior Iraqi army commander who arrived at the scene concluded that the Americans had fired indiscriminately at civilians and ordered his men to take the U.S. soldiers into custody. The U.S. military said the soldiers had acted in self-defense and had sought to avoid civilian casualties; U.S. commanders at the scene persuaded the Iraqis to back down.

The incident, apparently the first time a senior Iraqi commander has sought to detain U.S. soldiers, signals a potential escalation of tensions between U.S. and Iraqi forces trying to find a new equilibrium as Iraq assumes more responsibility for its security.

It begs the question whether the deadline should be moved up even sooner? I suspect that while this will not be the last incident, I am sure we are going to see more and more in the future.

In recent days, Iraqis have questioned American soldiers at checkpoints in Baghdad, at times preventing them from driving into neighborhoods. In one incident, an Iraqi soldier drew a weapon on a U.S. armored vehicle, American officials said.....

...."I worry that an Iraqi army soldier will shoot at my truck with his 20 AK-47 rounds and my gunner will shoot back with his 100 50-caliber rounds instead of ducking down," a U.S. officer said on the condition of anonymity.
 
Crime’ or self-defense? Iraq tries to arrest GIs
Deadly Baghdad clash underscores rift over interpretation of U.S.-Iraq deal


It begs the question whether the deadline should be moved up even sooner? I suspect that while this will not be the last incident, I am sure we are going to see more and more in the future.

It's wrong to use our Military as "Police". When I served, I was taught to kill the Enemy. Not to play "Nurse-Maid" to a Culture that continually kills each other over a primitive god. :roll:

Bring our People Home. And let it be known that any future attacks against us WILL be the death knell of those that attacked us.
 
Iraq is its own country now with the ability to police and controls its checkpoints, we have no authority next to them. I suggest our troops start defering to their wishes, isn't this what we wanted?
 
It begs the question whether the deadline should be moved up even sooner? I suspect that while this will not be the last incident, I am sure we are going to see more and more in the future.
Frankly, I hope we do.

An Iraqi military that has the backbone to assert itself to the US military forces in Iraq is an Iraqi military with the backbone to protect Iraq.

This is a positive sign--Iraq soldiers standing up for Iraq.
 
Similar story.

American troops under ‘house arrest’ after Iraq pullout

When American troops pulled out of Iraqi cities this month they did not realise quite how final their departure would be. The Iraqi military has since barred them from re-entering areas they previously controlled and all but locked them out of towns and cities.

US convoys can no longer pass through checkpoints in Baghdad without prior approval and an Iraqi escort.
American night-time raids in pursuit of insurgents have also been curtailed by Iraqi officials who gained the right to veto all such missions on July 1.

In several cases, the Iraqis took action themselves; in others the suspected insurgents slipped away.

The American military has little choice but to comply with the new rules, leaving many units involuntarily confined to their bases. Asked if American troops were in fact under “house arrest”, Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, failed to deny the assertion, saying wryly: “It is perhaps a measure of our success in Iraq that politics have come to the country.”
American troops under ‘house arrest’ after Iraq pullout - Times Online

US troops may possibly return if all they are doing is lazing around letting the Iraqis do their job :p
 
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Frankly, I hope we do.

An Iraqi military that has the backbone to assert itself to the US military forces in Iraq is an Iraqi military with the backbone to protect Iraq.

This is a positive sign--Iraq soldiers standing up for Iraq.

The very second we pull out,,,the Iraqi people know they'll fall right back into Islamic Factions,,,and start killing each other again.:roll:
 
The very second we pull out,,,the Iraqi people know they'll fall right back into Islamic Factions,,,and start killing each other again.:roll:

So you preer we stay there forever then?
 
An Iraqi military that has the backbone to assert itself to the US military forces in Iraq is an Iraqi military with the backbone to protect Iraq.

Backbone has nothing to do with it. It's easy to stand up to the machine that plays by moral rules. It's like criticizing Superman. What's brave about knowing that he won't snap your neck for it.
 
So you preer we stay there forever then?

Personally,,,I'd of "Preferred" to never have entered the fray. "So Damm Insane" was doing a fine job of killing off his own people. And,,, slaughtering everyone around him, all without our help.:)

This is called Sarcasm Hobo.;) Take care.
 
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The very second we pull out,,,the Iraqi people know they'll fall right back into Islamic Factions,,,and start killing each other again.:roll:

So? Let them. If Iraq fails, it will be an Iraqi failure. This was always the case. But the end result for us is that we no longer have to deal with our dictator to the cheers of the UN. Our hands can finally be clean.
 
Personally,,,I'd of "Preferred" to never have entered the fray. "So Damm Insane" was doing a fine job of killing off his own people. And,,, slaughtering everyone around him, all without our help.:)


Well, except for those 12 years we ensured his existence for "stability."
 
Well, except for those 12 years we ensured his existence for "stability."

History is full of "Compromises"... What's the lesser of two evils at that point in time?:roll: Iran, or Iraq? :lol:
 
Backbone has nothing to do with it. It's easy to stand up to the machine that plays by moral rules. It's like criticizing Superman. What's brave about knowing that he won't snap your neck for it.
When both sides have guns, it's not knowledge that they won't shoot back, it's faith....so yeah, it's backbone.

Regardless of whether US soldiers play by the rules or not, when Iraqi commanders take a stance like this one with US forces, one message that definitely is getting put out is that they are the ones in charge.

Which is exactly a message we want them to be sending. It may not last, it may be more heat than light, but it is the sort of message they need to be sending. The Iraqi military will have all the credibility they persuade the Iraqi people to give them. Standing up to the US forces is part of that process of persuasion.

It's a positive step. Not the whole journey, not crossing the finish line, but definitely a step towards it.
 
I didn't notice that the link isn't there, here it is at the Washington Post
 
History is full of "Compromises"... What's the lesser of two evils at that point in time?:roll: Iran, or Iraq? :lol:

I simply don't understand this fear people have over Iran. They are as much a threat as anybody else in that region. But we weren't obligated to deal with Iran like we were with Iraq after 12 years. If Iran is the grand threat people want it to be...at least now we can launch from both borders.

Iran will become a threat the minute they get nuclear capabilities. Before this, they are a mere pain in the ass.
 
I simply don't understand this fear people have over Iran. They are as much a threat as anybody else in that region. But we weren't obligated to deal with Iran like we were with Iraq after 12 years. If Iran is the grand threat people want it to be...at least now we can launch from both borders.

Iran will become a threat the minute they get nuclear capabilities. Before this, they are a mere pain in the ass.

It's best to deal with your avowed Enemy "BEFORE" they can hurt you. :lol:

Think about it Sarge.:roll:
 
When both sides have guns, it's not knowledge that they won't shoot back, it's faith....so yeah, it's backbone.

Regardless of whether US soldiers play by the rules or not, when Iraqi commanders take a stance like this one with US forces, one message that definitely is getting put out is that they are the ones in charge.

Which is exactly a message we want them to be sending. It may not last, it may be more heat than light, but it is the sort of message they need to be sending. The Iraqi military will have all the credibility they persuade the Iraqi people to give them. Standing up to the US forces is part of that process of persuasion.

It's a positive step. Not the whole journey, not crossing the finish line, but definitely a step towards it.

An Iraqis standing up to Saddam Hussein has a backbone. An Iraqis standing up to an American military that freed him, gave him a uniform, trained him, and equipped him, is merely comfortable.

Our role in Iraq is finished. It's been finished. Our lingering about is wasted time and resources. They have already been set up for success politically and militarily. They have been provided every opportunity to come together as a people. The time for them to show "backbone" is when we leave and their enemies challenge them - foriegn or domestic.
 
It's wrong to use our Military as "Police". When I served, I was taught to kill the Enemy. Not to play "Nurse-Maid" to a Culture that continually kills each other over a primitive god. :roll:

Bring our People Home. And let it be known that any future attacks against us WILL be the death knell of those that attacked us.

Do you even know who their primitive god is?
 
It's best to deal with your avowed Enemy "BEFORE" they can hurt you. :lol:

Think about it Sarge.:roll:

I have thought about it. The notion that Hussein kept Iran in check anytime after the Cold War ended is ludicrous. Iran was never even the aggressor. Iraq was. And in 1990, Iraq was again the aggressor. And in 2002, Hussein flew military jets over Jordanian and Saudi airspace.

The thorn that kept us cuffed to the Middle East was Saddam Hussein....not Iran.

You want to see America deal with Iran properly? It should bomb the crap out of every single military base and "nuclear" site it's aware of. Sending in troops is simply not do-able. And we are running out of time on the improbably notion that Iranians will coup against their religious masters in government.
 
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Do you even know who their primitive god is?

The same dude that "made" a woman from a man's rib? Or the same dude that would send the Jew, Moses.....later send the Christian, Jesus.....and then later still send the Muslim, Muhammed so that Islam could declare Jewish and Christian holy sites as holy to them too?

"Primitive."
 
The very second we pull out,,,the Iraqi people know they'll fall right back into Islamic Factions,,,and start killing each other again.:roll:

And who knows maybe a few years after that we will hear about a hit squad program that never made it off the ground.
 
I think it's time to boogy and leave the Iraqis to sink, or swim. Obviously, we fought the enemy as much as we're going to.
 
Do you even know who their primitive god is?

With the 1000's of "gods" forgotten in our Past...Of what use is another?:lol:

We're all Human Beings, living a Life for the most part,,,less than 100 years on this Planet. I have "Faith" that I'm going to die. :roll: As you will too.

While I'm here, I'm going to do the best I can. For Today... A 800-1000 year old "Faith" means nothing to me. You do what you want Sam.


Peace.
 
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