GI's sending 'a message' (or at least trying to)

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD -- Following the start of a much-touted offensive against Iraqi insurgents here, American commanders said Thursday that they intended to send the rebels "a message."

But at the site of one of the operation's primary targets, Iraqis said they were uncertain what that message was supposed to be. On the southern edge of the capital, a large building said by U.S. commanders to have been a "meeting, planning, storage and rendezvous point" for the insurgents still stood, despite reports that it had been destroyed. Although the Americans called in an airstrike on the building, Iraqis said that U.S. soldiers had come to the area several hours earlier, announcing the attack beforehand and making sure everyone was evacuated.

The building was strafed, knocking several large holes in its walls and damaging the textile machinery inside.

In the end, no one was detained in the raid. An American military spokesman said later that some "weapons of indirect fire" had been found there, but, asked to be specific, he said he was not sure what they were.

The owner of the building, who said his own guards had been warned of the impending airstrike, spent much of Thursday sifting through the damage. He said the Americans had taken away two AK-47 assault rifles used by his guards.

"Does this look like a military base to you?" asked Wa'ad Dakhil Bolane, the owner, standing in the damaged building, piled high with textile machines. "The Americans came here, told the guards to leave, and then attacked. I don't understand."

(more)

http://www.iht.com/articles/117656.html

[Dhalgren]

1. This is becoming so absurd that words fail me!

Is this just some sort of ridiculous theatre? Ionescue could not have come up with anything so outre.

[NNN0LHI]

2. Hmmm

http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/archive/speech_266.html

Dean Rusk, U.S. secretary of state and General William Westmoreland circa 1968

As 1968 began, U.S. military leadership was still confident that a favorable peace agreement could be forced on the North Vietnamese. Despite growing calls at home for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, hawks like Secretary of State Dean Rusk and General William Westmoreland planned to keep the pressure on the North Vietnamese through increased bombing and other attrition strategies. Westmoreland claimed to see clearly "the light at the end of the tunnel," and Rusk believed that soon the shell-shocked Communists would stumble out of the jungle to the bargaining table. However, on January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched their massive Tet Offensive all across South Vietnam. In the first week of the offensive, countless Allied positions fell to the Communists, including the city of Hu, and for a short time, the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. By the end of February, most of the territory lost to the Communists was regained and the Viet Cong were destroyed, but the unexpected offensive had crushed U.S. hopes for an imminent end to the conflict. In Tet's aftermath, President Lyndon Johnson came under fire on all sides for his Vietnam policy. On March 31, he announced that the United States would begin de-escalation in Vietnam, halt the bombing of North Vietnam, and seek a peace agreement to end the conflict. In the same speech, he also announced that he would not seek re-election to the presidency. On May 3, the North Vietnamese agreed to meet American delegates in Paris for peace talks.

more

[loudnclear]

3. Please get this info to major media outlets.

I am on my way to the nursing home where I volunteer or I would do it myself.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

4. All for show. That sends a clear message that we don't know where...

...the insurgents are, and we don't know how to find them.

[gratuitous]

9. The message is loud and clear

"Arrrr. I don't know what I'm doin'."

You want to send a message? Call Western Union. You want to fight a war? Find an identifiable enemy army. You want to get mired in a guerilla shooting gallery? Attack a country where you don't understand the language, the people, its history or its culture. Welcome to Hell.

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Sounds to me (if true) that the soldiers did not support their "orders"

.. nope, not a criticizim of the "warning", but rather an observation that if the "soldiers" who did the "warning" thought that the people in this building were a threat, they wound NOT have warned them of the impending strike -

.. maybe the soldiers on the ground have a better view of what is really happening than some fatcats sitting in Washington ??

duh

[bobthedrummer]

12. Not when garrisoned they don't and the base camps are taking fire too.

eom

[leftchick]

6. yes but it made great tv for the murkins.....

who believe their great leader is making progress and rooting out evil doers to make the world more peaceful because they hate our freedoms. :crazy:

[David__77]

7. Imperial bluster.

They don't have the ability to eradicate such an insurgency. Of course, the only "solution" is widespread genocide, and there are those who would want this. Of course, such a face for the neo-con "global revolution" isn't exactly what was wanted last spring.

[Jacobin]

8. IraqNam

Theatre of the Absurd Redux

[wtmusic]

10. OUTRAGEOUS

probably this guy's life's work.

Our military leaders suck.

[bobthedrummer]

15. They studied the efficacy of military coup

those neo-conservative traitors did in military think tanks that they dominated over the past 50 years or so. Ever read or hear about the Revolution in Political and Military Affairs/RPMA?
http://www.guerrillacampaign.com/coup.htm

[BadGimp]

11. "Operation Iron Hammer" staged for US consumption...they lied...again

They announced a big couter offensive..."Operation Iron Hammer"
.......................................................
U.S. Launches New Offensive to Counter Iraq Insurgents
By George Thomas - CBN News Sr. Reporter - November 13, 2003

There is a sobering warning from the CIA that a growing number of Iraqis are siding with the insurgents.

CBN.com – Coalition forces in Iraq say they are determined to stay the course following a deadly bomb attack in southern Iraq. The U.S. has launched a new counter-offensive called "Operation Iron Hammer" against Iraqi insurgents. But things could get worse before they get better.

As part of a new "get tough" policy in Iraq, American forces launched the new military offensive overnight, starting with an empty warehouse on the outskirts of Baghdad. U.S. authorities said the location was being used to plan attacks on coalition forces.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/031113c.asp
.......................................................

Which has now been proven to be NOTHING more than a staged demonstration of Amerika's resolve.

But then they flood American TV screens and newspapers with this propaganda for domestic consumption.

Diseminating propaganda in an attempt to influence the American people is illegal. But this administration in exempt from our laws apparently.

I feel shame for I feel I have allowed my government to disgrace the memories of my father and his comrades who fought and some died defending this country for us.

[kayell]

13. Even the name "Iron Hammer" was poorly thought out*

Operation Iron Hammer was a nazi operation against the Soviets in WWII.

http://history1900s.about.com/library/prm/blsecretkg3.htm

*or perhaps extremely revealing.

[qanda]

19. Probably more well thought out than we'd ever like to imagine!

eom

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

14. Good thing there were no aspirin factories in the vicinity n/t

[TrogL]

16. at least it wasn't a milk factory

[Gin]

18. This was another show...to pump you up...aka Ahnold!

Showtime folks....

The owner of the building, who said his own guards had been warned of the impending airstrike, ....this says it all!

Maybe they wanted to send more machinery over via Hallibrton.(so they blew up a manufacturing site)..and then...some american jobs to pump up the iraq economy.

[psychopomp]

17. U-S-A! U-S-A!

F'in textile machines!!! WE RULE! Yeaaahhhhhhh boyeeee!

Now, uh, what are we gonna do about the fact that *we* are still very much in danger in Iraq?

We need to get the heck outta there, pronto.

[R Hickey]

20. They ran out of olive and fruit tree orchards to bulldoze

Last month our soldiers were pointlessly bulldozing Iraqi olive orchards. Our soldiers were pulling up whole orange, date and lemon groves by their roots. Apparently while they were doing this, the bulldozers had speakers mounted on them which were loudly playing American rock music.

This news story, ignored by the Amerikan liberal media, but picked up by DU and the rest of the world, sheds some light on the Bushovic's dark policy.

It appears that the pattern here is that the Bushovics think they can harrass the people of Iraq into giving up their oil.

[psychopomp]

21. Not rock music

It was jazz. I remember because it just added insult to injury.

Why demean the only original American art form by associating it with such brutality?

edit: "contribution to culture" recast as "art form"