(WP) Iraqi Town's Anger Explodes Into Chaotic Revolt

[copithorne]

wow.

KHALDIYAH, Iraq, Aug. 5 -- The troubles that swept through this rough-and-tumble farm town along the Euphrates River began with a grenade attack Monday on a U.S. convoy parked outside the mayor's office.


A few hours later -- after a staccato series of escalations compounded by confusion, misperceptions and anger -- a mob had ransacked the mayor's office. Its newly painted white walls were scorched from fires still smoldering today. At least two teenage boys were shot and wounded, and the mayor and police chief in charge of restoring order were nowhere to be seen.

In the aftermath, the U.S. military was left pondering what it would take to bring calm from chaos and resurrect its effort to rehabilitate Khaldiyah's municipal government, while some residents of the town of 15,000 were vowing that they would never allow American forces to return. U.S. troops had withdrawn from the town earlier.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21686-2003Aug5.html

[Bob3]

1. Does this story read a little strange to anyone?

Not so much the attacks but the end result.

Hidden in this story is the stark fact that American troops were driven out of a town by the Iraqis. And how many other towns are there in Iraq were there is no american presense at all? I suspect a lot of them since we can't keep Baghdad, the oil fields and the pipelines safe with the troops we got there never mind all these little towns.

This is really dangerous for the troops there - it's like we're creating mini-cambodias for Iraqi gurellias to hide in if it gets too hot in the cities.

Get them home before all hell breaks loose.

[bemildred]

2. Islands in the sea, is what I hear.

But then, those that know have been saying from the outset
that we don't have enough troops to hold the place, and
it does not appear that we can sustain what we have.

All predicted before these morons went in there and started
waving their dicks around.