Sanchez: Saddam Fear Hinders Intelligence

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20031111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

<snip>BAGHDAD, Iraq - America's top soldier in Iraq (news - web sites) said Tuesday a "blanket of fear" that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) will return prevents Iraqis from giving U.S. troops intelligence vital to curb the growing insurgency — stepped up attacks underlined by a late night barrage on the heart of Baghdad.

Late Tuesday, insurgents fired mortars toward the U.S. headquarters compound, known as the "Green Zone," in Baghdad. The Coalition Provisional Authority said there was no damage to coalition headquarters, located in the Republican Palace. After one detonation, white smoke could be seen rising from an area just north of the palace.

The top U.S. administrator in Iraq abruptly departed for Washington, amid growing frustration over the inability to halt the attacks on U.S. soldiers and the slow process of turning power over to the Iraqis.

Despite the mounting violence, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez angrily dismissed comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam and said his soldiers will try to balance between the use of massive firepower and the need to win the goodwill of Iraqis. Attacks on coalition forces, he said, now average 30 to 35 a day, twice the number two months ago.

[dreissig]

1. Massive Firepower

"Massive firepower" is bully talk for retaliating against innocent civilians for what the Iraqi armed resistance does. It's cowardly, but then again, the whole thing is cowardly. Eventually even the dim bulbs who comprise the majority of the Republican party will see how chickenshit we look to the rest of the world.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

2. irony

I love the irony of our headquarters in Iraq being in a place called the Republican Palace. so fitting.

[Don_G]

3. Land Mines Have A Lot To Do With It n/t

[TacticalPeek]

4. Heads up! Innocent civilians, out of the pool!

"The most important message," he continued, "is that we are going to get pretty tough ... but we will do everything possible to minimize the impact on the people of the country."

[Unity]

5. I wonder if the new "get tough" policy is a "bone" to the base...

And a prelude to us getting out by next year. We don't have enough troops to get past next spring and will need to start drawing down. But Bush needs to look tough. So they'll bomb some villages to look tough while quietly pulling out. Unfortunately, real people will still get killed.

[Jacobin]

6. The lack of intelligence is in the WH

Which is why we are there.

Idiots. Fucking idiots