IRAQ: 10 killed, 40 wounded in blast at Jordanian embassy

[ShaneGR]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/07/sprj.irq.main/index.html

ALSO, 2 US soldiers killed in an unrelated firefight. US forces say it is not there responsibility to guard embassies. Huh?

(snip)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A car bomb has exploded outside the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, killing up to 10 people, including five Iraqi guards.

As many as 40 people were wounded in the blast, according to Lt. Col. Eric Nantz, a U.S. military spokesman.

"There were no American forces that were there protecting that location," said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq. "That is the Iraqi police's responsibility and in this case the Jordanian Embassy's responsibility to provide the protection."

Sanchez said that U.S. forces in the area had responded as soon as the attack occurred.

Crowds rushed the embassy after Thursday's explosion, looting parts of the facility and burning pictures of Jordan's present King Abdullah II and his father, the late King Hussein. U.S. officials then cordoned off the area.

[ShaneGR]

1. Wake up maggots!

There's a war going on!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. Who's a maggot?

[CWebster]

2. Started to listen to this story on the BBC this morning

but got sidetracked by an interesting PBS program on Gore Vidal.

Why Jordan? Isn't that where Saddam's daughters received sanctuary ( required Muslim practice) Was it a deliberate target or just an accessible location?

Gees, all we need now is for Jordan to be drawn in. Wonder what is going on behind the scenes.

[ShaneGR]

3. Jordan supported invasion

There's your answer.

[CWebster]

4. Yes!

Right there in front of my face. ;-) Duh.

Gee, it's made all those Middle-Eastern countries so much more secure, hasn't it?

[graham67]

7. I don't understand this...

Jordan has been very sympathetic to the Iraqis. Queen Noor has been on almost every channel criticizing the war and the aftermath. Why on earth would that embassy be a target??

[NNN0LHI]

9. They allowed troops to be stationed there for use during the invasion

Though it was under the guise of the US playing "war games". They also allowed overflights for our planes and cruise missiles. Several dud cruise missiles landed in Jordan. They were not a friend of Iraq leading up to, and during the invasion. Don't make no difference what Queen Noor says now. She wasn't the one calling the shots on Jordans behalf.

Don

[graham67]

10. Yes...

you're right. :-(

I guess humanitarian aid and the dowager queen's support doesn't offset Jordan's role in this war.

[NNN0LHI]

11. Don't know if I would be too receptive of humanitarian aid...

...from the people who helped cause my need for the humanitarian aid. Write them a check for their part in this fiasco, and do a lot of apologizing in public for the huge mistake they made would be more appropriate. Same thing from us. Anything we do will not be appreciated by the Iraqis. It will be more like reparations to them I think? If we had found something in Iraq like a ticking nuclear weapon armed and ready to fly to the US, or Osama bin Laden hiding in a bunker in Baghdad, it may have been a different story? But causing all of this death and destruction for nothing more than to satisfy this countries collective paranoia? That is not going to set well with the Iraqis or the rest of the world.

Don

[ShaneGR]

12. It's a double-edged sword

Not only did they allow troops to be stationed in Jordan, which pissed off the pro-Saddam people, they are harboring Saddam's daughters, which pissed off the anti-Saddam people.

[NNN0LHI]

6. The Jordanian embassy has been the first soft target in Iraq so far

I fear there may be more of these. Seems like our military gets one thing figured out and they change to something different. They are adapting to the US presence very quickly. The US military is not adapting to them at all. Its just get hit and react by swinging out at anyone within killing distance. Can't win that way. All the F-16's, Stealth bombers, fancy helicopters, and huge and deadly M1A1 tanks in the world can't win this kind of war. Even if the US had won every battle there is, we will still lose. We are flucked. Probably be best to bring the soldiers home now.

Don

[Gin]

8. Jordan was listed in the new " Futures" market...remember?

interesting...

[graham67]

14. Honestly....

I didn't even know Jordan had an open embassy in Iraq at this time. I thought most countries had sent all their people home where it's, uh, safe. Do the European countries that did not support the war have active embassies in Iraq?

I agree that we'll be seeing more attacks on non-military targets. It'll be interesting to see if the insurgents start taking out the US-backed contractors.

[NNN0LHI]

15. Pretty sure Russia, France, Germany, China, and other countries...

...have active embassies that stayed in Iraq throughout the war. Jordan may or may not have had an embassy in Iraq during and before the war? I am not sure.

Don

[spanone]

13. Geez and I thought the "major" fighting was over........