No cheering crowds for Powell in Baghdad

[Nambe]

--- Secretary Colin Powell, like hundreds of other Americans on a mission to run and reconstruct Iraq, spent most of his time in Baghdad inside a heavily protected ''security bubble'' on the west bank of the Tigris river. ---

The isolation and obsession with security could be an ominous sign for the future of the U.S. occupation, which faces what Powell called a ''challenging'' security situation. ---

Iraqi security personnel are suspect. The U.S. company which runs the Rashid Hotel, a subsidiary of Cheney's old company Halliburton, prefers Ghurkas from Nepal. Ghurkas guard each of the 12 floors 24 hours a day, at an estimated cost to the U.S taxpayer of more than $120,000 a month. ---

'The Americans really need to wrap this up (the military occupation) as soon as possible or they are going to have big problems,'' said the Arab official. ---

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

[Sagan]

1. we're paing for Ghurkas? Holy crap!

Worse, we're paying Haliburton to pay for Ghurkas. And you KNOW that Haliburton is taking a cut of that $120K per month. The difference between BILL rate and PAY rate.

Jeezus.

[RedSox02]

4. Ghurkas: Are those the guys..

... we used in World War 2 to go after the Japanese in China and that area? Or is that a different group. I think they were a Nepalese group as well. What a joke. We don't see too many flower throwers anymore do we? Notice how the right shut up pretty fast since the "Saddam Statue Day".

[MrBadExample]

7. They're also the guys...

...with those keen kukri knives. Check it out.

[Sagan]

8. that's pretty much them...

They are total badasses. I guess with the U.S. taxpayer footing the bill, Haliburton can afford the best.

Little Ghurka story for you:

Back during the Falklands War, before the Royal Navy go to the islands, several Central American countries were agitating about British Honduras (now Belize). They made a lot of noise and there were rumours that they were going to grab Belize to "show solidarity" with Argentina.

The Brits sent one (1!) battalion of Ghurkas to Belize. All those Central American countries found other things to think about REAL quick.

[Zero Gravitas]

10. Part of the British Army

Left over from the Enpire. People in Nepal still join up as it is a very high paying and prestigous career over there.

They are some of the toughest fighters out there. You don't want to mess with the Ghurkas.

http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/Ghurkas.htm

[lebkuchen]

2. Brown and Root is getting four star treatment wherever it goes

on our tax dollar, but of course.

The security around military bases overseas is equally as intense. The Germans, who are guarding US bases in Germany because our troops have left for lengthy deployments, used a dog to inspect my car today. And that's after showing my DL, ID, and vehicle registration.

The security situation is the same for US embassies. The US is not liked, and for good reason, which the Bushies are all too aware.

[UpInArms]

3. kick

:kick:

at moments like this, words just fail to convey the depth of my disgust :mad:

[underpants]

5. Stockbroker, those Iraqi Rose futures SELL!SELL!SELL!

For the love of GOd I've lost enough SELL!

[Neecy]

6. hey, lookee here!

Bush IS creating jobs...for Ghurkas. On our tax dime.

[jburton]

9. Halliburton needs to hire florists

There is still a shortage of Iraqis with flowers to throw at the liberators.

:eyes:

[fertilizeonarbusto]

11. I'm dying here!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is hee-larious!

[quilp]

12. Gurkhas are men like other men.

Stories that they "don't take prisoners" and "mutilate their enemies" are just that. But they are very brave, professional, competent and loyal. The use of these fine people for such a mercenary purpose is a disgrace. But when did Bushco ever respect anything?

[Sagan]

15. I agree..

I didn't say they were evil. Just that they were not to be messed with.. I have a great deal of respect for the Ghurkhas.

[lebkuchen]

17. Why doesn't Halliburton use the US military rather than the Ghurkas?

for its protection?

It's quite a slight to our troops, don't you think?

Or is Halliburton making an obvious unspoken statement that our military are prime targets for the Iraqis, and the Brown and Root employees, who are insured up the A-hole, don't want to be caught in the crossfire?

[quilp]

20. Dead Ghurkas wont be shipped to Dover AFB

n/t

[Snellius]

13. An "international coalition"? Or an army of foreign mercenaries?

Wasn't the use of foreign mercenaries one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire?

[Francis]

14. Gurkhas are regular army

They are a division of the regular british army

[Nevernose]

16. Not necessarily

There is a Gurkha division of the British Army, but there could very well be Gurkha mercenaries, too. There are these little, private mercenary armies all over the world, but nobody ever talks about them -- it's like they're invisible.

Did you read that story yesterday about the mercenaries from Fiji that we've hired?

[SodoffBush]

18. The US occupation of the hotel reminds me of the UK in Hong Kong

The classic photos are of Brit colonialists being carted around, literally, through the streets of Hong Kong by Chinese, not in rickshaws, but in carriers that required a man on each end.

Those photos represented to me quintessential imperialism, with the Chinese forced into hard labor by their subjugators, just as the Arawok Indians were forced to search for gold when Columbus landed in Haiti/Dominican Republic. They couldn't find any, so their hands were chopped off and they were fed to the dogs.

Iraq is no different.

[roguevalley]

19. Gerkhas are good folks.

I remember going to see the Black Watch in Portland who was doing fundraising for Gerkha veterans. They aren't very well looked after if I can recall. They are as bad in battle as the Turks and tremendously feared.

I have a kukri some place around here. Curved knife, slit throats in the dark. Awesome people.