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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (69294)	12/21/2004 6:20:54 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

BUSH: "Bombers are having an effect" Well, duh! Financial Times: Rocket and mortar attack kills 24 in Iraq By John Reed in Baghdad and Peter Spiegel in London Published: December 21 2004 Insurgents struck a US military base near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul with rockets and mortars on Tuesday, killing 24 and wounding at least 60 in the bloodiest single attack on coalition forces since the war began. The blast occurred around noon local time in the base's dining tent as hundreds of soldiers from the US army and Iraqi forces sat down for lunch. A reporter for a Virginia newspaper embedded at Camp Marez said the explosion engulfed the roof of the tent in a huge fireball. Shrapnel flew through the dining area, blowing people off their feet and out of their chairs. The Pentagon would not say how many of the dead and injured were US soldiers. Brigadier General Carter Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia the division responsible for security in northern Iraq said Iraqi troops and American and foreign contractors were among those killed. The two previous deadliest incidents in Iraq were both attacks on helicopters in November 2003, which killed 17 and 16, respectively. The base's dining tent had been targeted more than two dozen times in the past year but the timing and accuracy of the attack suggested a new level of sophistication in the insurgents' technical or intelligence capabilities. Coalition facilities are regularly hit by rockets or mortars, but most attacks miss their mark and few are fatal due to the inaccuracy of targeting. US commanders have long suspected Iraqi security forces have been infiltrated by insurgents; Iraqi National Guard troops also operate from Camp Marez, which surrounds an airfield on the south side of the city. Informants were widely blamed for helping guerrillas trap and execute nearly 50 Iraqi national guardsmen who were travelling home from their army base on the night of October 23. Even if the attack is not the result of compromised Iraqi forces, it heightens concerns over security surrounding next month's planned Iraqi elections. American and Iraq officials have vowed to move forward with the vote despite calls for a delay. Tony Blair, British prime minister, on Tuesday made a surprise visit to Baghdad to bolster the election efforts. Officials said the attack was caused by rockets witnesses described two or three explosions but the radical Muslim group Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the blast, calling it part of a “martyrdom operation”, the term usually associated with a suicide bombing. Ansar al-Sunna has attempted to wreck next month's elections by threatening polling stations. It has also claimed responsibility for several beheadings of foreigners in Iraq. The attack comes just 24 hours after President George W. Bush acknowledged that “bombers are having an effect” on Iraqi morale. *** SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, IMPEACH BUSH NOW!