Terrified U.S. soldiers in Iraq

[Cocoa]

Run time: 01:56 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPYmIQXZ-nk   Posted on YouTube: November 10, 2006 By YouTube Member: 6iraq Views on YouTube: 161434   Posted on DU: November 28, 2006 By DU Member: Cocoa Views on DU: 2365

 

[bridgit]

1. where's their goddamn air support...

who the fuck is fighting this idiot's war of g.w. bush
well guess what shit fer brains...they brought it on

[Renew Deal]

11. Air support for a mortar attack?

I don't know if they can get any that fast. Perimeter support is a better question. My bosses cousin is a marine. He said that anyone within 75 feet of an exploding mortar is dead. Mortar attacks are generally not accurate, but they can be deadly.

[bridgit]

17. apparently you didn't see them take out a mortar position just the...

other day in Sadr City...the point here; my point, is is that NO-ONE is planning a damn thing in advance over there, likely even further they don't even want to waste flight time of a drone why

do you somehow disagreed with that? that we should be supporting our troops while there with at least a semblance of proper war planning?

[Renew Deal]

19. I think we agree in principle.

We're just talking about tactics which is meaningless anyway.

[bridgit]

20. fair enough...

[Hobarticus]

22. A mortar by its nature is highly mobile....

It's a tube, a stand, and maybe three guys. By the time they had air support in the area, the mortar and it's crew is long gone.

And we don't know where these guys are, or the surrounding area.

If air support just happens to catch them in the act, a mortar crew can set up a mortar in an alley, on a rooftop, in a backyard...which puts civilians at risk if you attack their position. You literally have to get there on foot, in situations like that. It's just one of those things that they can do little about, and one more reason why these guys are sitting ducks.

[bridgit]

29. drones are able when deployed in advance of a given operation....

to circle an operational sight picture offering a tremendous support capability, as you may know they are real-time & float above what should be a plan below; that is part of what they were designed for having been rigged with hellfire missiles to extend their lethality; when used in conjunction with ground forces (and here is where i find this war completely absurd in that they have to be deployed as a support option) they are lethal beyond doubt...the problem is is that bush, cheney & rumsfeld's pentagon don't give a shit about the people on the ground let alone our troops and they are dying for it

sadly, assets have not been deployed in what can be considered any reasonable fashion since the start of this piece of shit war

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle

[Hobarticus]

30. Okay...so predict when and where the next mortar will be set up...

It takes less than ten minutes to set, sight, and fire several rounds from a mortar.

Then, you must decide if you want to launch those Hellfire missiles on those mortars that are set up in civilians neighborhoods. In backyards. Rooftops. Alleys. Hell, schoolyards.

Kill some more innocent Iraqis. Inspire even MORE Iraqis and resistance fighters to learn how to kill Americans. It's a vicious circle.

We've found ourselves fighting a "dumb" war with the smartest weaponry on the planet. Not an enviable place to be.

The one I'll agree with you is, this is indeed a piece of shit war.

[bridgit]

31. it's simply not being understood here, an operational sight picture is just that...

but you need to be smart, or forward thinking enough to 'reckon' from where your most likely activity will be seen next, to say it's like chess is too simple but there it is...

in the point i had made some days ago (it seems like), the sight picture was indeed keyed upon Sadr City as part of a larger activity that day and guess what...yup, that's where the mortars where seen streaming from and that's the little point on the ground on top of which ordnance was called upon, taking them out from the report

i'm not talking about killing innocent iraqi's though i for one would like to see 'insurgents' stop hiding amongst them, i'm referring to the so-called war planning we never had; all this money; the largest defense budget in the freaking world being spent on the most expensive armed forces in the cheney, bush, rumsfeld, carlyle stock portfolios and they can't even get a fucking drone up in the air to support a little walk about in Sadr City...eh fuck it!

maybe our guys & gals don't deserve any support, they seem to only be taunting innocent iraqi children out the backs of their transports with plastic bottles of recycled city water anyway :shrug:

[sniffa]

2. oh this guy in the comments is definateLy a soLdier

Nickgupplies (2 weeks ago)
Pussies. We soldiers know what we are going into before we sign up. And no, it is NOT a game, which is why these pussies are crying, they didn't realize that death is eminent at every corner during time of war. These are the kind of soldiers that remain privates and keep us further from our goal of victory.

[Cocoa]

3. I bet Nickgupplies never cries during "Ghost Recon"

he's a big man.

[wakeme2008]

4. Combat is easy for the 101st Keyboarders

:rofl:

[greenman3610]

5. Ok, so imagine iraqi 6 year olds being subjected to this as well.

you think the Iraqis are a violent people now.....?
just wait till the Bush generation grows up.

[Cocoa]

6. with much less protection than the U.S. troops

and much longer tours than the U.S. troops. :-(

[NVMojo]

7. Bring em home NOW! Goddammit!!

[luckyleftyme2]

9. ELECT A LOSER LOSE A NATION

THIS IS MORE LIKE A BATTLE SCENE THAN THOSE ARMCHAIR WARRIORS REALIZE. AND SNIFFA IF YOU HAVE SEEN BATTLE YOU KNOW THIS IS TRUE.
I'VE SEEN GROWN MEN CRY,MEN FREEZE,MEN PANIC,MEN RUN,AND MEN DIE BRAVELY.
WAR IS HELL,AND THEIR IS NO GOOD WAR.
IRAQ IS A LOST CAUSE,BECAUSE IT WAS PLANNED TO LAST,THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN A QUICK IN AND OUT.
AND ONLY A TRAITOR COULD LIE TO A COUNTRY AND SAY IRAQ IS NOT IN CIVIL WAR STATUS.
IT IS AND HAS BEEN FOR MONTHS.
THINK ABOUT IT,WE TRAINED AN ARMY IN 16 WEEKS TO GO TO WAR;WHERE THE HELL IS THE IRAQI TRAINEES? IT'S BEEN 2 YEARS. NOW CONNECT THE DOTS!

[kikiek]

13. My reaction also. All of them now.

[Gato Moteado]

8. i'm not really sure what it is i just saw......

....just a video of the floor with some people laying down and a voice that keeps asking the lord to make it stop.

[luckyleftyme2]

10. even if its staged

even if its staged it resembles battlefield reactions.
it ain't make belive when live ammo is used

[Gato Moteado]

12. i wasn't suggesting it was staged......

...i was just pointing out that we have no idea what we were really looking at.

[tousiswritten]

14. I don't think it was staged

 What we saw was the first few seconds of an ambush.it's a
gorilla tactic,Troops encounter a large explosion then snipers
shoot anybody left standing.During the next few seconds if
these are inf.their own training will kick in.

 BTW: These guys probobly arn't as afraid as they are
"adled" if thats a word,the big bang affect.

 Still more: I have three and half years experiense at this
kind thing as a member of a rifle platoon in Korea and Vietnam
so I'll make a prediction,580,000 troops couldn't get us
Vietnam and 1,000,000 troops won't get us Iraq.

 

[spillthebeans]

15. Here you have one where it's certainly not staged

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f17b629ef5

[Why Syzygy]

16. How come they are not aiming

any guns at the entrance? Not a fire arm in sight.

[Hobarticus]

21. It's a mortar attack, a rifle won't help them...

If they need a weapon, the perimeter will sound an alarm that they're under attack. They're at greater risk from schrapnel if they get up and move around. They're smarter keeping flat on their faces.

[vincent_vega_lives]

26. So where the heck are their vests then (n/t)

[Hobarticus]

27. We don't know where these guys are....

They appear to be in a barracks, which implies to me that they're in some kind of a secure zone. They could be off-duty infantry, MPs, mechanics, or they could be clerks. Hard to say.

You'd be hard-pressed to find troop who'd wear that heavy vest if they didn't have to, in a secure area. That's a lot of weight to carry around in the heat, all the time.

That's the insiduous nature of weapons like mortars and artillery. They negate your sense of safety and distance from the combat zone, by bringing the combat zone right to your door. You're literally not safe anywhere, anytime. And you don't know what's going on until the first round hits. There's very little time to find shelter. It's psychologically devastating, as these guys show here.

[mzmolly]

18. I've recommended this.

Everyone should see it. Those poor people, Iraqi and American alike.

[tousiswritten]

23. I have to agree

I have to agree with Hobarticus, I was thinking those were rifle shots but I watched it carefully and it could be a small mortar which can have a devastating psychological effect.

In Vietnam we sent out listening post at night and daylight patrols to try to prevent what is happening there and they themselves would be ambushed as I described above.

[Hobarticus]

24. Sounds like they're "walking the rounds in", too...

They're getting closer. Whoever's firing those mortars knows what they're doing.

Thanks for your service, by the way.

[MsMagnificent]

25. How sad

and all for what, exactly?

[Dangerman]

28. I feel sorry for them...

Damn you Bush for sending the troops like lamb to the slaughter!