mr mahs

Take a look at this article quoting a marine injured in Fallujah and describing what there up against. It's either the Republican guard,Alqeada or Syrian operatives, trust me. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4701323/ Knowing the enemy Wounded U.S. soldiers give an inside look at the Iraq insurgency By Preston Mendenhall Correspondent NBC News Updated: 1:07 p.m. ET April 09, 2004LANDSTUHL, Germany - The hills of southwestern Germany, lush with fir trees and red-tiled houses, are thousands of miles from the theater of war. But for American troops wounded in Iraq, Landstuhl is a first stop on the long road to recovery. advertisement Wards at the U.S. military hospital here also offer rare and fresh details about battles in Iraq, as American troops face the most serious challenge to the U.S. occupation since the fall of Saddam Hussein one year ago. Stretched out on hospital beds, the grime of war still visible on their bodies, soldiers and Marines described their battles against Saddam stalwarts and a Shiite uprising that flared this week. Cash and BMWs "They seemed like they were well-funded," said Garriman Woods, a 30-year-old Marine staff sergeant who was leading a unit guarding a bridge on the edge of Fallujah, the flashpoint in Iraq's Sunni triangle, where insurgents ambushed four American private security officers and strung up their charred bodies. "We captured one of their vehicles. They had a couple hundred dollars in American money. Then they had a lot more money hidden in other places in their car. And they were driving BMWs. There were several vehicles coordinating with one another." Woods, an Indiana native who served a nine-month tour in Iraq during the initial phase of the war, returned in January for another eight-month mission. On Monday, insurgents launched four mortars at his unit. Shrapnel hit his leg. Doctors operated on Woods on Thursday. He is expected to make a full recovery. Casualties increase The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has been a fixture on America's military landscape for more than five decades, serving as midway point for wounded troops returning home for treatment. Since President Bush declared Iraq combat operations over in May 2003, nearly 3,000 servicemen and women have been wounded in action. More than half that number did not return to duty, reflecting the high number of combat casualties, and serious nature of injuries, from Iraq. This week, as U.S. forces battled insurgents and a fierce Shiite uprising, the upsurge in violence has reverberated here in Germany. Hospital officials say there has been a dramatic increase in patients. "I'm trying to catch up with all the new arrivals," said Army Chaplain Richard Ross. Searching for support Cpl. Richard Stayskal, a 22-year-old Marine from San Jose, Calif., arrived in Landstuhl Tuesday after being wounded by automatic weapon fire in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. “I just kind of froze, my body clenched in the fetal position. I fell to the ground," Stayskal said. Stayskal, a sniper, had been deployed to Ramadi to hunt down a "mad bomber," the unit's name for a man who had been seen planting roadside bombs targeted at U.S. and coalition forces. With little warning, a group of 15 armed Iraqis descended on the lightly armed unit. The bullet that hit Stayskal ricocheted off his shoulder, through his lung and exited from his back. It came within inches of his heart and major arteries. Countering the insurgency, Stayskal said, has been difficult for Marines on the ground. In his case, his unit was chronically short of ammunition, and his support unit got pinned down at the same time across town. The two units couldn't help each other. "They weren't giving us nearly enough ammunition for the situations out there. Everyone was running out. Everyone was grabbing each other's ammunition." Knowing the enemy The Marines and soldiers interviewed agreed that the organization of the insurgency was impressive. "We thought we would be up against guys, maybe one or two in a group," Garriman Woods said. Lance Cpl.Miguel Martinez said the precision of the enemy clearly showed the insurgency was not launched by "civilians or anything like that." "We don't really know who our enemy is," the 21-year-old from Simi Valley, Calif., said. "The only way we know to shoot them is they have an AK-47 and they pretty much point it at us." The organization of the enemy, the Marines said, forced U.S. troops to hone their intelligence, and make sure it filters up and down the chain of command. "When the daily intel comes in, we are sure to get it out there, out there to our Marines, so they can adjust their fighting tactics down to the smallest units that we have," Woods said. "We want to make sure the smallest detail is passed down. It could be something as minute as kids playing in the streets. Or someone trying to target us."

In the BBC eye's we've already failed...The BBC is at it again, reporting gibberish and casting the Syrians in a positive light, it's sickening http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3610413.stm The growing unrest in Iraq is a source of worry for all Arab countries, but in Damascus there is also some satisfaction at the failure of the American experiment in bringing democracy to the Arab world. As they watched statues of Saddam Hussein being toppled, many Syrians wondered whether the day would come when statues of the late Syrian president Hafez el Assad would also be brought down. Syrian officials anxiously watched the events unfold and wondered whether they would meet the same fate as their Iraqi counterparts. But one year on, if there is anything that Syrians and their government agree about, it is that the American way is not the way to bring about change. Breathing space Still, with American tanks just 250km (150 miles) from Damascus, Syrian officials must have had many sleepless nights over the last year. President Bashar al-Assad's regime clings to the hope that the US will remain too busy in Iraq to look next door. Other events in the Middle East are also giving Syria some breathing space. US President George Bush had been about to slap sanctions on Syria when Hamas' spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was killed - the sanctions were postponed so as not to increase tension in the region. But even a week into the Iraq war last year, Washington's sights were already on Syria. The US accused Damascus of supporting Saddam Hussein's regime by sending military equipment to Iraq and allowing Arab volunteers to cross the border to fight American troops in Iraq. It has also accused Syria of supporting radical militant Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Skirmishes The border remains a source of friction, with the US repeatedly accusing the Syrian authorities of not doing enough to prevent fighters from crossing into Iraq. For a few weeks during the war itself, hundreds of young Arab men were bussed into Iraq. Syria says its border with Iraq is too long to control tightly and refers again and again to the difficulties the US faces in controlling its border with Mexico. Last month, one American and one Syrian soldier were killed in skirmishes on the border. Will statues of late Syrian president, Hafez Assad, be toppled one day? Newspapers in Lebanon reported this week that, following the incidents, the US changed jurisdiction of Syria and Lebanon from US command in Europe to Central Command in Qatar. One opposition figure in Damascus, who wished to remain anonymous, said Syria was wrong to think it could get away with doing as little as possible for as long as possible in terms of responding to American demands. "This time Syria will not be let off the hook. The US is serious about its threats towards Damascus," he said. "The US preparations for the Iraq war took several years, from setting up an opposition abroad, to sanctions and so on. But in just seven months, the US has already done all of the same in relation to Syria," he added. Other observers say Washington will not do more than impose symbolic sanctions on Damascus. Challenged Still, there is a growing sense in Syria that the Baath regime can be challenged as it faces uncertain times following the collapse of its Iraqi counterpart. Last month, Kurds in Syria rioted after several were shot by police during a football match. In the following days, more clashes took place and statues of the late president Assad were defaced in the Kurdish areas in the north-east of Syria. But as Syrians watch events unfold across the border, they are worried about the void that would be left behind if the regime was brought down or collapsed. More and more intellectuals and human rights activists are openly calling on the Syrian regime to bring about change itself

Great post Igloo.... I swear I read the NY TIMES and other liberal, biased media and from the reporting done it seems the whole country is against us.. Even last year the lefts portal's of bile were spewing this dooms day picture of death.. People ignore the Iranian connections to SADR, the fighting close to the Syrian border, and the foreign nationality of the corpses rotting on the ground of Fullajah, why? Why is the media ignoring the great strides that have been accomplished in the Kurdish region? aren't they 2/3rds of the equation? Don't they matter? Why is the success being discredited? These loons are praying that we get driven from Iraq, from the negative reporting, to the labeling of the operation as an "Occupation" Occupation? Everytime I hear this term to describe our efforts in Iraq it makes my stomach turn! I will say this again, the country could be turned in to a parking lot if we really wanted to, but thats not the goal...We have gloves on and it's only hurting our cause of bringing democracy to the Iraqi people...They're taking our kindness as weakness and to be honest with you, they can't fathom the military might of our country.. If the majority of Iraqi's were rising against us, thats 15-20 million against 120k, and the end result would be massive american casualties and thats not the case. The facts are, the malitia controlled by Sadar is a minority and the majority of Shiat's condemn the violence of this animal, unless you ask John Kerry who thinks of him as a "legitimate voice"

Not Tet Iraq is not Vietnam. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the text of a speech made by Arizona Republican senator John McCain on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, April 7, 2004. Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I take the floor to respond to comments made by Senator Byrd, but also to general comments that have been made over the last 48 hours as we all recognize this is a very difficult time for us in Iraq. I do not have to review with any of my colleagues the events of the last few days and the tragedies in the loss of these brave young Americans who are fighting and sacrificing for someone else's freedom. I have also heard a number of observers, including some Senators, who have compared events in Iraq to what we went through in Vietnam. I happen to know something about Vietnam, and I know we do not face another Vietnam. I need not go into the long history of our involvement in that nation, the reasons for our failure, but the realities on the ground in Iraq are clear. There is no superpower that is backing these minority of Shias and Sunnis who are seeking to gain political power through the use of a gun, and there is no comparison as far as the sanctuary which this enemy has. We grant them no sanctuary. Some have stated we are on the defensive. I would argue that, as we speak, in Fallajuh and other places, our Marines and Army are on the offensive, dedicated to the proposition that no group, no matter what their ethnic or religious beliefs are, will take control of Iraq. Control of Iraq will be the result of a democratic process and a representative one, part of which is the turning over of power to the Iraqi people on June 30. We have had this argument back and forth: Should we turn over power of the government to the Iraqis on June 30? I say yes, and I say yes recognizing two realities. One is that it will be a difficult process, and we have a lot more planning to do between now and June 30 for that transition to take place. The other reality, as far as the security situation is concerned, is that America's military will be there in force for a significant period of time, and the American people need to be told that. This is a long, tough, hard struggle. It is hard for countries to adopt democracies. It is incredibly difficult when they have never known democracy and freedom in the past. A little later, I want to talk a little bit more about what happens if we fail, as well as what happens if we succeed in Iraq. Again, in Vietnam there was superpower support. There were arms and political support. We did not have a clear plan for victory, and dare I mention that in Vietnam many times we had more casualties in a week, sometimes less than a week, than we have had in a year in Iraq. To make these comparisons with the Tet offensive or the entire Vietnam conflict is not only uninformed but I think a bit dangerous because, of course, the specifics of our involvement in that conflict fade, as they should, in the memories of the American people. What is happening in Iraq today is we have a Sunni insurgency that consists of ex-Baathists and Saddam loyalists. They obviously are the only people who were better off during Saddam Hussein's regime because they were the favored minority that were of the same religion as Saddam. They realize they will never run Iraq again because they are in the minority. Because they are in the majority, the Shia will probably dominate that government, but we also have a constitution in Iraq that guarantees the rights of minorities. We are there and a new government will be there to guarantee those same rights. The realities are the Sunni minority will never control Iraq again. We have a small minority of Shias who are trying to grab some political power before the July 1 transition. There is very little doubt that Sadr's followers are in a distinct minority and the majority of Shias still owe allegiance and have allegiance to the Ayatollah Sistani, who has argued, perhaps not forcefully enough, that we do not have the kind of armed conflict that we are seeing today. Is this a difficult political problem? Yes. Is it the time to panic, to cut and run? Absolutely not. The vast majority of Iraqi people are glad we are there and they state unequivocally that they are better off than they were under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Lest time dim our memory, let us remember the mass graves that we discovered, the 8- and 9-year-old boys coming out of prison in Baghdad, the despotic, incredibly cruel practices of his two sons. The people of Iraq and America and the world are better off with Saddam Hussein gone. Now, we can argue about intelligence; we can argue about weapons of mass destruction. That is why we have commissions. That is why tomorrow, in an almost unprecedented fashion, the National Security Adviser to the President will testify before the 9/11 Commission. I am confident she will perform admirably because she is an incredibly intelligent and capable individual. The fact is, to argue that we should have left Iraq under the rule of this incredibly cruel person who used weapons of mass destruction, who had weapons of mass destruction in 1991, was continuing to attempt to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and if in power would continue to try to acquire those weapons, certainly flies in the face of the facts about Saddam Hussein's regime. Senator Byrd says we should not have gone into Iraq in the first place and that we should not be there now. I respect the view. I strongly disagree with it, and I think the facts indicate that is not the case. We could argue for days about it, but right now at this moment we need to send a message not only to the Sunnis in Iraq and the minority of Shias in Iraq who are taking up arms and killing Americans that we are there to stay. We are there to stay and we will see it through. If we fail, if we cut and run, the results can be disastrous. Those results would be the fragmentation of Iraq, to start with, on ethnic and religious lines. The second result would be an unchecked hotbed of training ground and birthing of individuals who are committed to the destruction of the United States of America. We will never solve the war on terror as long as there are millions of young men standing on street corners all over the Middle East with no hope, no job, no opportunities, no future. They are the breeding ground. They are the ones who are taken off the streets and taken into the madrasahs — funded by the Saudis, by the way — and taught to hate and kill, and who want to destroy America, the West, and all we believe in. Their hatred is not confined to the United States of America, as the citizens of Spain have found out, much to their dismay and tragedy. What happens if we win? What happens if we see this thing through? It will be hard and it will be difficult and perhaps we need more troops. I have said for a long time that we needed more troops of certain types, but we have to see this thing through. And what will happen? What will happen is that we will affirm the profound and fundamental belief upon which this Nation was founded, that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and they are not just in the Western Hemisphere; they are not just in the United States of America; they are not just in Europe. The people in the Middle East have the same hopes, beliefs, and yearnings for freedom and democracy, and they have a right to determine their own future just as have our own citizens and citizens throughout the world. When they achieve that — and it will be long and hard and difficult — it will send a message to every despotic regime, every religious extremist throughout the Middle East, their day is done because in a democratic, free, and open society the people want to live in peace with their neighbors and with the world. So there is a lot at stake. I grieve every moment, as every American does, for the loss of these brave young Americans' lives. They have made a supreme sacrifice, and we will honor their memory, but at least their grieving families will know they sacrificed in the cause of freedom. At this particular moment of crisis — and it is a crisis — I urge all of my colleagues and all Americans to join together in this noble cause. Yes, we are free to criticize; yes, we are free to make recommendations and suggestions; but the awesome responsibility lies with all of us, led by the President of the United States, as we attempt to carry out what is the most noble act that no country in the world has ever done besides the United States of America, and that is to shed our most precious blood and expend our treasure in defense of someone else's freedom in the hope that they may enjoy the fruits of a free and open society in a democracy that is guaranteed to all men and women by our Creator. I yield the floor.

OK here's a question for you... If we go ahaed with the planned handing over of power on June 30th and the country plunges into turmoil who are you going to blame?

Don't give SADR too much credit.

Take the news out of Najaf where Governing Council member Sayyid Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, himself a Shia cleric, has said that Muqtada al-Sadr refuses to speak with representatives of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's religious establishment: Muqtada's petulant behavior counters any suggestion that he and Iraq's religious establishment will unite in a common front. Indeed, on April 7, Sistani's office issued a statement calling for calm, pointedly refusing to endorse Muqtada. News from other cities is also positive. In Nasriyyah, a predominantly Shia town famous as the site of the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch, leading local Shia cleric, Wael al-Rukadi, explained, "Triggering the violent incidents were people from the outside, to be exact, from Fallujah and the Western part of the country... A withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq at this time would lead to an all-out civil war."

I agree.

Good read and I mposted a aryticle from Al JAZEERA of all places that talked about how optimistic the Kurds were and how they condemn the insurgents as terrorists... Iraqi Kurds dance to a different tune http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B078FEB0-8180-411F-A09A-EA2DBDAE316D.htm I posted that article about the Kurds optimism and Raver had this to say... Whats this about Kurds all the time? Dude, they are a minority, and DO NOT speak for all the Iraqi people. People attacking occupation soldiers is not terrorism, otherwise this country and countless others are based on terrorism.

I have it printed and was going to read it on the bus home. I hate reading his articles between phone calls at work it takes away from his message. But I am dying to see how the pundits at the major media orgz are spinning her testimony. So far from reading her opening statment she didn't directly attack or contradict what Dick Clarke said but she did imply the threat was inherited and we weren't prepared. I was hoping she would tatoo Clarke's testimony, but politically the fallout of her doing that would have been negative. Either way from what I've heard she handled herself well, as expected.

This is what the clueless clowns who debated this WAR wasn't the right thing to do, should read over and over again. And as we attack the threat at its sources, we are also addressing its roots. Thanks to the bravery and skill of our men and women in uniform, we removed from power two of the world's most brutal regimes -- sources of violence, and fear, and instability in the region. Today, along with many allies, we are helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to build free societies. And we are working with the people of the Middle East to spread the blessings of liberty and democracy as the alternatives to instability, hatred, and terror. This work is hard and dangerous, yet it is worthy of our effort and our sacrifice. The defeat of terror and the success of freedom in those nations will serve the interests of our Nation and inspire hope and encourage reform throughout the greater Middle East.

You're blind if you think this man isn't a terrorist..

You have the chain of events ALL messed up bud... We bombed the mosque after avenging the killings of civilian contractors who's killers were using the mosque to store weapons and fire on americans. . They were the first to claim Fallujah is the cemetary of AMERICA . Problem is there too stupid too realize this only hurts their cause.. If they play nice like the Kurds, then this whole operation wouldn't be happening, actually the faster they follow the majority of the country the faster they obtain sovereignty, bottomline!

Inside firing on troops.

Mass killing? You don't think these animals realise that if they gather in a mosque the likely hood of it being bombed is lessened? The insurgents closely watch the political and media environment in this country and the fact we are debating this only encourages them to use holy sites as camoflouge. Yesterday the gloves came off, these slugs can't hide and if they do we should level the building, period. The people inside should notice these rag heads firing on troops and should flee immediatley, if the are being forced to stay then the word should get out that the insurgents are using innocent Iraq's as human shields... It's time for the majority to step up and voice their opposition to the terrorists action's,because in the long run it's only delaying democracy and the hand over of power. Although some people have conspiracy theories about our true motives the US military doesn't wan't to stay in Iraq one day past whats necessary...

Even if we're taking fire from Disneyland it's fair game....Send them in and let GOD sort them out...

Your sister

Did you take your hippie tough guy pill today?

anyone smell anything? Oh pussy boy.... where you at?

Exactly! Ironic isn't it?

I can just see the "legitimate voice" comment in a Bush ad in the near future

Joe Scarborough just mentioned this tonight on his show... Kerry: Shiite Al-Sadr 'a Legitimate Voice' In an interview broadcast Wednesday morning, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry defended terrorist Shiite imam Muqtada al-Sadr as a "legitimate voice" in Iraq, despite that fact that he's led an uprising that has killed nearly 20 American GIs in the last two days. Speaking of al-Sadr's newspaper, which was shut down by coalition forces last week after it urged violence against U.S. troops, Kerry complained to National Public Radio, "They shut a newspaper that belongs to a legitimate voice in Iraq." In the next breath, however, the White House hopeful caught himself and quickly changed direction. "Well, let me ... change the term 'legitimate.' It belongs to a voice — because he has clearly taken on a far more radical tone in recent days and aligned himself with both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is a sort of terrorist alignment." But Kerry again seemed to voice sympathy for the Shiite terrorist when asked whether he supported al-Sadr's arrest. "Not if it’s an isolated act without the other kinds of steps necessary to change the dynamics on the ground in Iraq," Kerry told NPR, in quotes first reported by the New York Sun. "If all we do is make war against the Iraqi people and continue an American occupation, fundamentally, without a clarity as to who and how sovereignty is being turned over, we have a very serious problem for the long run here," Kerry added. "And I think this administration is just walking dead center down into that trap." On March 28, the U.S.-led coalition authorities closed al-Sadr's newspaper, al-Hawza, for 60 days, the Sun reported. L. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, charged that the newspaper had published false stories blaming the coalition forces for local acts of terrorism.

Where is your answer ghost? Your a cunt!

nah still stale.... My opinion? Your the herb pal.. Complaining and blaiming the U.S about a NATO led operation in response to your bretheren filling mass graves. Milosevic is being tried by a international court JERKOFF that means the WHOLE WORLD condemened his and your lowlife scum of the earth people. I don't have a ounce of sympathy for you or your people, you want to do something? go back to the BALKANS and make a diffrence, get the fuck out of my country we don't want people like you here.... My comments never hold weight? It's not me who distorts and twists curerent events to somehow resemble your twisted logic that filling mass graves was warranted. Ask any sane person on the street who was wrong in you country, see what they tell you.. You can't argue with out hurling insults and making some lame comment about video games because I had as pic in my avatar. You're a lightweight son always have, always will be.. Now go cry in your room about the big bad U.S.A.....I'm tired hearing you bitch about spent uranium and muslims banging your cousins in the BALKANS... FUCK YOU

Really? That's an odd view...