given the hopelessly deadly situation that gw has placed our troops in, you would think that all americans would support giving them all of the training, equipment and armor that can possibly be provided
unfortunately, wars have to be fought with the presidents we have, not the ones we would like, so soldiers will continue to die needlessly as gw continues to play the role of deserter in chief
"Militants Attack U.S. Base in Iraq
By MARC SANTORA
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 — In a coordinated assault on an American combat outpost north of Baghdad, suicide bombers drove three cars filled with explosives into the base today, killing two American soldiers and wounding at least 17 more, witnesses and the American military said.
The brazen and highly unusual attack, which was followed by fierce gun battles and a daring evacuation of the wounded Americans by helicopters, came on a day of violence across the country that left more than 40 people dead in shootings, suicide bombings, mortar attacks and roadside explosions.
The violence was directed at civilians, Americans and the Iraqi security forces.
As American and Iraqi troops flood the streets of Baghdad in an attempt to stem the bloodshed, and thousands more Marines head out to the Sunni Arab heartland west of the city in Anbar Province, American and Iraqi military officials are concerned that militants will simply try to move to areas where the troop presence remains thin.
There is already evidence that Shiite militia leaders are either heading to strongholds in the south and, the officers said, Sunni militants are likely to adopt a similar strategy.
But unlike the Shiite militias, there is little evidence that the Sunni militants will simply try to wait for the security crackdown to subside. In addition to the assault on the American base, the militants struck at Iraqi security forces near Kirkuk and Ramadi today and attacked civilians near Falluja.
A family of 13 was slaughtered on the road to Falluja, about 12 miles northwest of Baghdad, because they were from a tribe known to oppose the actions of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, according to witnesses. The family, including an elderly woman and two small boys, was dragged out of an Akia minibus, lined up in the middle of the road and shot. The executions took place in full view of others on the road, where traffic was stopped, witnesses said.
The family’s bodies remained on the highway for hours because people were afraid they would be ambushed if they collected the dead, witnesses said.
The assault on the American base, located in the heart of the town of Tarmyia, was unusual because militants have largely avoided direct attacks on heavily fortified American positions, although there have been scattered attacks by suicide bombers on American bases in the past four years.
Militants have mainly attacked American bases by firing mortar rounds from a distance, using snipers to wait for targets of opportunity or planting improvised explosive devices on the roads that are frequently used by American vehicles.
The posts of the Iraqi police and army, on the other hand, have come under similar assaults more frequently.
As American troops move into small combat outposts throughout Baghdad for the first time since the early months after the invasion in 2003, today’s attack underscored the inherent risks in the Bush administration’s new security strategy.
American troops only recently moved into the outpost in Tarmyia, taking over control after the local police force collapsed in December, following a campaign of intimidation by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, according to the military and residents.
That intimidation typically comes through public executions and kidnappings, according to American officers.
Until the Iraqi police force collapsed, Americans had only been an occasional presence in Tarmyia, a town of 25,000, sending soldiers to conduct patrols with the Iraqis from a nearby base.
The American combat outpost, located in the abandoned police headquarters in the center of the town, was fortified by large blast walls. Typically, the Americans keep one company of about 100 soldiers at such outposts.
The suicide bombers who attacked the outpost today timed their assault to inflict maximum damage, witnesses said.
Shortly before dawn, two suicide bombers drove cars filled with explosives into the outer perimeter of the outpost. As American soldiers tried to assess the damage and help the wounded, a third bomber drove his car into the building.
There was a heavy exchange of gunfire after the explosions and as the firefight raged, at least four American helicopters swept into Tarmyia to evacuate the wounded soldiers.
The American military, in a statement, confirmed only that the outpost was attacked, that a car bomb was involved and that two soldiers were killed and another 17 wounded.
]By nightfall, American forces had sealed off all entrances in and out of the town, leaving residents worried that they would be cut off from basic supplies. A curfew was imposed and residents said they were not even allowed to walk outside their homes.
An American military officer, who requested anonymity because there is an active investigation into the assault, said that while many of the facts remained unknown, the attack was “not typical.”
The accounts of witnesses, some of whom live next door to the outpost, could not be independently verified.
Separately today, militants continued to attack Iraqis they deemed to be working against their cause, both civilians and Iraqi security forces.
The family that was executed on the road to Falluja was part of the Albu Farag tribe, which has publicly opposed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and other militant groups. The tribe made an alliance with al-Anbar Salvation Council, which is working to undermine the militants.
The head of that council, Abdul Satar Abu Risha, also came under attack today. A suicide car bomber drove into his home, killing five of his guards but leaving him alive.
In Ramadi, the home of a major in the Iraqi Army was attacked and five more people were killed. Maj. Ammir Nayef survived.
Near Kirkuk, three Iraqi police officers were killed and four more wounded when gunmen attacked their patrol on the highway leading to the city, according to a local police commander.
In the west of the country, three marines and one Army soldier were killed in recent days, the American military said today.
And even as Iraqis and Americans stepped up there efforts in Baghdad on day after a bombs killed 61 people in a downtown market, there were at least three bombings that killed 10 people, according to Iraqi officials. The deadliest attack, which left four people dead and six wounded, was directed at people traveling on a public minibus in the Shiite neighborhood of Karrada.
At least one more person was killed in mortar attacks in the southeastern neighborhood of Abu Tshir, the Iraqi officials said.
There was also an increase in the number of bodies found around Baghdad after a brief lull, officials said. At least 20 people were found on the streets today showing signs of torture and execution.
The American military said in a statement today that soldiers captured two members of a rogue Shiite militia cell that is suspected of participating in the kidnapping, torture and murder of an Iraqi Army officer in December 2006.
Neither the Americans nor the Iraqis would comment on the claims of woman who said she was raped by eight members of the Iraqi National Police in Baghdad. The woman made her claims on the Al Jazeera satellite television channel tonight, but they were impossible to verify. The charges, however, threaten to further complicate the already difficult task of restoring faith in the Iraqi security forces. |
