Soldiers in Sunni Town Run Into Wall of Silence - (Shows what a tough job it really is...)

WASHINGTON POST.COM ^ | DECEMBER 23, 2004 | JOSH WHITE

[CHARLITE]

SAMARRA, Iraq, Dec. 22 -- The soldiers kicked the wooden doors open and swarmed through the houses, rolling up rugs, looking through cabinets, searching boxes, pushing aside couches. Within minutes, they had lined up the Iraqi men they had found inside. The men were taken outside and made to squat in the late-night darkness, their breath streaming out in faint, wispy clouds as their hands pushed flat against a concrete wall.

The soldiers were from the U.S. Army Special Forces, the Iraqi National Guard and Apache Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment. They were looking for a suspected insurgent, but the insurgent was not there.

The Sunday night raid was what soldiers here call a "dry hole." They received an intelligence tip, and it led to nothing. They broke down doors and interrogated people who appeared to have no connection to the war the United States is waging. The soldiers paid the families in U.S. dollars for the broken door jambs and the splintered cabinet doors that hung askew.

[jolie560]

..."...The residents do know who the bad guys are. They're afraid. It's a daily struggle that we have to fight. We just always have to get ahead" of the insurgents, he added. They're pretty good at getting their message out."
The message is carried in mighty explosions that rock this city, in AK-47 assault rifle fire, in mortar attacks, and even in carefully placed propaganda that warns Iraqis that cooperation with the Americans will not be tolerated. Masked men arrive at the doors of Samarrans who have been seen talking to soldiers. The residents are told if they provide any assistance to the soldiers, they will be killed."...

[conservlib]

Arafat use to do the same thing, and the mafia did the same thing intimidate and silence the people by FORCE. I guess for us to control 25 million angry people with 120 thousand soldiers is a mathematical impossibility. The sooner that we recognize that the better it is for our soldiers.

[bitt]

Every town and province that is under control and is peaceful, gets the bennies. All other towns that don't toe the line and where they will do nothing to help themselves or the soldiers, THEY GET NOTHING. No electricity, no water, no food handouts, no nuttin. Let's see how those residents tolerate seeing their peaceful neighbors get the goodies while they suffer in compliance with our enemies. Leave the cell lines available for tips. Give them code words for picking up rewards at a later date.

[Eagles6]

25 million angry people? Where do you get your info, cnn? Everybody that I know who has been there or is there says that the vast majority, except for a few hotspots in the sunni triangle, of the country is relatively stable. It also sounds like the tactics used in gang areas in America. I guess we should pull out all of the cops from there too.

[Wolverine]