Remember in Beloe Solntse Pustyni, those three old Arabs with the case of dynamite? If I could dub that movie in English, I'd make a million bucks.
Posted on 11/13/2004 12:10:16 PM PST by mdittmar
FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. Marines charged up the stairs in one of Fallujah's grandest buildings Saturday, seeking the high ground in their battle with insurgents. There, they found three foreign men lying in wait.
But they were unarmed, elderly and infirm - three shaken and hungry Egyptians, kneeling on the floor, waving a white sheet.
One wore a turban, had sallow skin and a distended belly. He held out a note in English - a message from Marines who had swept through earlier. It said the foreigners were not suspected combatants, unlike many in Fallujah.
"Tell them we'll get them out for medical treatment. Not now, but soon they'll have a ride to the rear," Lt. Owen Boyce, 24, of Simsbury, Conn., told a translator. "Tell them we'll take care of them. But we've got a casualty and that's the priority."
The three Egyptians were traveling to Baghdad for medical care when the were caught up in the Fallujah fighting.
The earlier Marine patrol had left rations for the three, but the Egyptians apparently had not understood it was food, or how to open the thick brown plastic pouches. The men had not eaten for days.
Boyce and his squad kneeled with the men, splitting open the packs of wheat bread, processed cheese and chocolate milkshakes, which the Egyptians devoured with trembling hands.
"It's pretty clear these guys aren't fighters," Boyce said as the Egyptians pressed cheap plastic lighters, gifts of gratitude, into his hands.
The gentle treatment for the Egyptians after a week of intense urban combat to retake the city from Islamic militants was not the norm as U.S. forces combed the city for holdout insurgents.
Men of fighting age are blindfolded, handcuffed and led away for interrogation. The Marines say such measures are necessary because it is impossible to tell friend from foe.
"The majority are fighters who have holed up and want to attack us from the rear," said Gunnery Sgt. Brett Turek, 36, of Hinsdale, Ill., serving with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
"We've also found legitimate guys who were taking care of their property who were just in a bad place at a bad time."
Marines in one northern neighborhood said they also liberated two hostages, a Syrian and two Iraqis. So far there has been no sign of foreign hostages, including British aid worker Margaret Hassan or Lebanese-American Dean Sadek.
Each day, Marines smashing their way through a city that was once home to 300,000 people are finding men of military age hiding in Fallujah's low houses and few apartment buildings, near loaded weapons.
Marines use plastic bands called flexcuffs on the detainees' wrists, wrap cloth around their eyes and lead them out into streets filled with broken glass, shrapnel and concrete shattered by bullets or bombs.
Marines show little patience with surrendering fighters and suspect that many of the men have given up, hoping to escape to fight another day.
As many as 90 percent of people found in Fallujah since the fighting began are believed to be insurgents and are treated as prisoners - sent to the rear for questioning. Friday night, for example, Marines led about 40 detainees out of a command post, pushing the barefoot men who winced as they walked across the rubble.
Marines have found suspected fighters from Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Sudan, a Marine officer said on condition of anonymity. They also have captured men in Iraqi police and military uniforms.
"These are the ones shooting at us, aside from the Iraqi mujahedeen," the officer said.
Before Marines struck deep into Fallujah this week, U.S. officers estimated between 50,000 and 60,000 civilians remained in the city. But in the city's northern quarters, reputed to be a rebel stronghold, few were seen.
Officials hope they can clear Fallujah and restore security to open the way for national elections in January.
Yeah the guys who said they were looking for medical attention don't sound like fighters. If I read it correctly they had already been checked out by troops earlier.
I'm glad that their first experience with American troops was a positive one.
"Obviously these weren't "surrendering fighters"."
How do you really know? I might act retarded and weak too if I thought it would save my skin.
bookmark bump
It's hard to believe the three starving men woulnd't have the curiosity or intelligence to open an MRE.
Maybe they thought it was a satchel charge
Helping foreign terrorists?
They should have been shot.
"Starving and lacking the curiosity to aid their own survival sort of sums it up about the masses of illiterate Muslims in the middle east."
They are sick old men. I think perhaps you are generalizing a bit much here... It seems to me that most middle easterners have been aiding their survival for the past 10,000 years pretty well.
You wrote: It's hard to believe the three starving men woulnd't have the curiosity or intelligence to open an MRE.
Maybe. But think about it. It could have been something harmful, like anthrax in that brown packet. These are guys who know that if THEY were on the other side, they'd be killing the infidels. So they're afraid that the Marines will do as they would. And then our guys are kind, which, as soon as the Muslim/Egyptians have a full belly they'll see as a sign of "weakness" and another reason to "kill the infidels."
It's a no-win situation as long as Islam controls the culture of the Middle East. The Muslims must first separate "mosque and state." Once they do that, democracy will roll in like a late summer afternoon thunderstorm.
I get it.
And I agree.
Anyone dressed as Iraqi Nat'l guardsmen or Iraqi police that attacks coalition troops should be executed.
Agree. No mercy to such scum. Take no prisoners.
Good afternoon.
Aren't the Egyptian doctors busy being Al Queda commanders?
Michael Frazier
"You wrote: It's hard to believe the three starving men woulnd't have the curiosity or intelligence to open an MRE."
"Maybe. But think about it. It could have been something harmful, like anthrax in that brown packet."
Absolutely. One of our biggest obstacles in the Middle East has been the toxic, lying media. Remember, these guys have been fed on AlJazeera for years, and they believed Baghdad Bob right up to the end. Who knows what weird sh&t they might believe.
Is there a quick-and-dirty field paraffin test (or something even more high-tech) for gunpowder residue? That would provide an easy way of telling the difference between guys who had just thrown their guns away and real civilians.
Just hang them.
Are you referring to our soldiers or to the Egyptian men? I guess I missed the element of the story which indicated that these three men or the soldiers who helped them were at fault.
Yeah, in the picture today that shows the two dead bad guys, one of the dead guys has the blue police shirt and what looks like body armour vest on. jerks! They are getting what they deserve!
Remember in Beloe Solntse Pustyni, those three old Arabs with the case of dynamite? If I could dub that movie in English, I'd make a million bucks.
There was an article posted here that offered another theory about some of the seemingly dumb or self-destructive things that people seem to do in the Middle East. The article says that, due to a number of factors like poor nutrition and poor education, the IQ level in parts of the world is far below other parts. It's an interesting theory.
Not American doctors. I'll bet they were heading there to hope to see an American doctor.
I'll bet they were in search of American doctors. Our docs are doing most of the hard work there right now.
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