sam_w
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 724
- Reaction score
- 279
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Slightly Liberal
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.
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.