Iraqis throw rocks at troops

[UpInArms]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050513/NEWS06/505130512/1012

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqis unleashed their fury at weeks of relentless bloodshed Thursday, throwing stones at police and U.S. forces they accused of failing to protect them at the scene of a car bomb that set buildings and vehicles ablaze in the middle of a jammed commercial district.

The unexpected protest by Baghdad residents followed a wave of Sunni-led attacks that have killed more than 420 people in the two weeks since Iraq's first democratically elected, Shiite-dominated government came to power.

<snip>

The violence came as U.S. troops were in the midst of a major offensive near the Syrian border, 200 miles northwest of Baghdad. Fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of the town of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at U.S. forces.

Families were fleeing in trucks packed with luggage and footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the town. U.S. forces pounded the area with air strikes, artillery barrages and gunfire in the first days of the offensive aimed at rooting out followers of Iraq's most wanted militant leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

...more...

[LynnTheDem]

1. Those were very rare, very beautiful ROCK-FLOWERS, silly!

With choccie centres.

:eyes:

[rodeodance]

3. We have unleash unspeakable horror for both our troops and the Iraqi

people.


.......Scores of Iraqis in Baghdad vented their frustration, beating two Iraqi photographers and throwing rocks at Iraqi police and U.S. forces at the site of the car bombing near a market, cinema and mosque.

The blast killed 17 Iraqis and injured 81, including women and children, police said. About 15 minutes later, the fuel tank of a burning car also exploded, wounding three more people, police said.

In all, four car bombs hit Baghdad on Thursday, two of them suicide attacks, said Master Sgt. Greg Kaufman, a U.S. military spokesman. At least two of the attacks targeted U.S. patrols, he said, but there was no word on casualties.

Police said a suicide car bomber targeting an American convoy on a highway injured two civilian bystanders. Another car bomb in eastern Baghdad wounded three civilians, the U.S. military said.....

[ClintonTyree]

17. I'm surprised...

the US Troops weren't ordered to open fire to quell this. A few more like this and I suppose they will be, it's just a matter of time. Freedom is marching right down their throats. I wonder how many Iraqi's wish they had Saddam back now? :shrug:

[rodeodance]

5. reminds more of the Palistine's--we hear of rock-throwing all the time

[LynnTheDem]

2. "Sunni-led attacks"...sigh.

Some day, when the facts come out, and when the "MSM" are forced to admit they were only saying "Sunni-led" insurgency and "Sunni-led" attacks because BUSH & CARTEL TOLD THEM TO...remember that I told ya so.

When did the US StenoMedia decide to not bother with fact-checking anymore??? *sigh*

[rodeodance]

4. I do not think anyone knows for sure WHO is doing what over there (the

attachs).


420 people in one week!! -whow. how horrible.

[rodeodance]

7. "In Iraq's insurgency, no rules, just death"-- (related article)--says US

strategy is losing.



http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GE13Ak01.html


> May 13, 2005
>
>
>


> In Iraq's insurgency, no rules, just death
> By Ehsan Ahrari
>
> In the very initial phase of evolution, Iraq's insurgents decided that Iraq would not be governed by the American-appointed government. After the elections of January 30, they also determined that a government elected under the American-written constitution would not govern it. But how are they are going to impose their will? Their decision all along seems to be that one side has to be either eradicated or defeated.
>
> The American side cannot be eradicated, but the insurgents seem to have decided that they will not be defeated, as long as they are willing to die for their cause. One US Marine recently described the battle with insurgents in Ubaidi, 15 miles east of the Syrian border, by observing, "They came here to die. They were willing to stay in place and die with no hope. All they wanted was to take us with them." How do you develop an effective strategy to fight those who follow no rules, except their willingness to die for their cause? No one on the American side seems to have an answer.
>
> The insurgents in Iraq comprise a variety of groups. First and foremost are the Ba'athists and pan-Arabists, including persons of civilian bureaucracy and armed forces under Saddam Hussein. They had careers and retirement plans. They had guaranteed sources of income to support their families. Even in the uncertain political environment of Iraq under a dictator, they did not harbor grave doubts about having a secure means of earning a living, as long as they did not antagonize the wicked regime. Today, almost 90% of them have no job, no income and no future. Thus, they form a majority of the Iraqi insurgency. A large number of army personnel are reportedly well trained in urban warfare. They are eager to destroy the current evolving system, which, from their point of view, is highly illegitimate because it is created by the United States.
>
> Then there are the Sunni Islamists who wish to see their country ruled under the banner of Sunni Islam. There is also the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, whose goals of having an Islamist Iraq may not be too much different than that of the Sunni Islamists, like Ansar al-Islam, and its offshoot, Ansar al-Sunnah. They are driven by the jihadi frame of mind. The "super-Infidel" is occupying the land of Islam, according to this perspective, and should be driven out, no matter the cost. In this frame of reference, there is no compromise, just death, either for them, or for their enemy, or for both. Consequently, Iraq has gone beyond a point where it could be described as "hell".......
>
>

[Toots]

21. That is wrong.. We know Iraqis are dying over there

That FACT is indisputable. The question is why, since the mission was accomplished over a year ago.

[0007]

6. What picture doesn't junior get? Thing will get better now that

Negroponte is head of Intelligence and Bolton heading the U.N. This country is disgrace to humanity.

[rodeodance]

8. pitting the" Shi'ites and Sunnis"--for short tem security.

......The above dispatch makes some very important pro and con points. It states, "As a short-term counterinsurgency strategy, such forces have several advantages. First, they and their families are less subject to intimidation than when the forces are in their own area. Also, as Iraqis, they are far more familiar with the territory and less likely to be viewed as occupiers than are US troops." However, it goes on to note "... by pitting Iraqis from different religious sects, ethnic groups and tribes against each other", this tactic "also aggravates the underlying fault lines of Iraqi society, heightening the prospect of civil strife ..."

As sectarian strife between the Shi'ites and Sunnis is increasing, one wonders who in his right mind would devise such a dangerous tactic only to attain short-term security? The insurgents might not be wrong if they were to read this as a desperate move.

The decision of the Bush administration not to engage in constructive dialogue with Iran and Syria is another tactical mistake of utmost significance. According to some reports, Syrian intelligence is actively involved in recruiting and training Iraqi insurgents. Iran is also accused of being involved in similar activities. However, given the fact that such reports are coming from Kurdish sources, one wonders how credible they really are. After all, the Kurds have a lot to lose if the current formula for the evolution of democracy in Iraq were to fail.

Regardless of whether such reports are credible or aimed at promoting the partisan perspectives of the Kurdish groups in Iraq, the US government must engage Iran and Syria if it is serious about stabilizing Iraq. As long as those two countries equate the emergence of a stable and democratic Iraq as a threat to their respective national securities, they would do everything to minimize the chances of the emergence of that reality. ........

[UpInArms]

10. that falls right in line with

*Co's "uniter" theory - whereby the polarization of the citizenry rips the entire fabric of countries apart.

:sigh:

[Disturbed]

9. When the Shi'ites majority get sick and tired of

the U.S. Occupation many more U.S. troops will die and be maimed. How high does the death toll of Amerikan troops need to go before Amerikans start screaming....ENOUGH?

[leftchick]

11. 58,000

give or take a few, :(

[0007]

13. ....and Washington D.C. will have another cenotaph that will be a mark

and badge of ignorance.

[halobeam]

24. And maybe all in one big boom??!!??

Didn't Iran say the US is not the only country that will exert a "pre-emptive" strike? How is it that some people even toy with the denial that they would do this, if feeling they will be attacked? I don't know if we'll even make it to June before Iran makes the first strike. Honestly, don't ya think they know they are next, and don't ya think, they will NOT wait for that?

I'm enjoying every day, as if it were my last. That's the power I have. I know it sounds fatalistic, but I'm having a hell of a time.

[dbt]

12. Amerika just lost the propaganda war right there.

"We" bombed the Iraqis back to the Stone Age. Now the stones fly at our troops. The Iraqis have nothing left but the most primitive of weapons, so they take them up. They are fully aware that none of this upheaval would have come about without the Amerikan Invasion.

I want to see the White House spin the fact that Iraqis hate us so badly that they will throw rocks at our troops. That's a hell of a long way from Rummy's flowers!

[truthisfreedom]

15. oh, they'll spin all right. "in a Democracy, such as the lovely one we've

helped the Iraqis achieve, there will always be bumps in the road, and people are free to express themselves... with rocks."

[rodeodance]

19. they do not have to explain it if the media ignores it.

.......I want to see the White House spin the fact that Iraqis hate us so badly that they will throw rocks at our troops. That's a hell of a long way from Rummy's flowers!........

[sattahipdeep]

14. Radiation rockets on sale to ‘terrorists’ Rummy's flowers!

THREE radioactive rockets capable of contaminating a
city centre were offered for sale last week to a Sunday
Times reporter posing as a middleman for Islamic
terrorists.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1602963,00.html

[ClintonTyree]

16. Roses, not rocks....

definitely a spelling error by the reporter. They are greeting our liberators with "ROSES", not "ROCKS", silly. :silly:

[LynnTheDem]

18. DAMN that librul media!!! They're tossing ROCK CANDY and JAW-BREAKERS!

Sheeeesh!

[pie]

20. Very rare, very beautiful rock-flowers AND rock candy!

Where do I sign up?

(Jaw-breakers.. hehehehe, that cracks me up.)

[LynnTheDem]

25. The jaw-breakers was hubby's line.

Cracked me up, too. :D

[PATRICK]

22. "Unexpected?"

n/t

[daleo]

23. Is there anger over "lack of protection"

Or is their anger directed at Bush, and the fact that Bush's invasion and occupation is the direct cause of all this grief. U.S. troops and their puppet police are the only available targets for their wrath, so naturally it will be directed at them.

[The_Casual_Observer]

26. "kick their ass and steal their gas"

The US public doesn't give a shit about this, in exactly same way the german public didn't give a shit about what was going on in germany and poland.

[Voltaire99]

27. Draft the right wing bloggers!

They'll fit right in: they've got rocks for brains.

[Fire Walk With Me]

28. This is a sign of progress, of DEMOCRACY

Before we brought democracy to Iraq, these people couldn't throw rocks. It was physically impossible for them to do so, but now, through the magic of an illegal invasion, they can throw rocks! I say it's a miracle. Praise Bush.

[Az_lefty]

29. this isn't anything new...

they were throwing rocks at our convoys back in 03'. There was one kid we called "slingshot boy". Little brat was pretty accurate with that wrist rocket.