Details emerge of gunmen, posing as soldiers, attacking U.S. troops in Iraq

Real Cities ^ | Jan. 21, 2007 | Leila Fadel and Hussan Ali

[TexKat]

KARBALA, Iraq - Chilling details emerged Sunday of gunmen posing as American and Iraqi soldiers in an ambush on U.S. troops in Karbala a day earlier that killed five Americans and wounded three.

On Saturday, a civil affairs team of American soldiers sat with local leaders in Karbala's provincial headquarters to discuss security for Ashoura, a Shiite commemoration of the massacre of the revered Imam Hussein that began Sunday.

Outside, danger was approaching. A convoy of seven white GMC Suburbans sped toward the building, breezing through checkpoints, with the men wearing American and Iraqi military uniforms and flashing American ID cards, Iraqi officials said. The force stopped at the police directorate in Karbala and took weapons but gave no reason, said police spokesman Capt. Muthana Ahmed in Babel province.

A call was made to the provincial headquarters to inform them an American convoy was on its way, said the governor of Karbala, Akeel al-Khazaali. But the Americans stationed inside the building, which acts as a coordination center for Iraqi officials, Iraqi security forces and U.S. forces, had not been informed, Iraqi officials said.

As the U.S. soldiers and the Iraqis scrambled to figure out if the men were Americans or an illegally armed group, the convoy arrived and the gunmen tried to break in.

The gunmen launched grenades, mortars and small arms fire, according to a U.S. military statement. The U.S. military said Sunday it was still not clear if the gunmen were Sunni or Shiite militia. Abu Abdullah, a commander in Karbala of the Mahdi Army, the militia led by firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, on Sunday denied involvement in the attack.

[devolve]

Bump -

[adam_smith_76]

If we lived in the real world this attack would be justification for a 'take no enemies' campaign by the American troops...

This is why I wanted us out four years ago. We are so scared that we'll be viewed as barbarians by the world that we'll let ourselves be martyred first. The world is going to hate us no matter what. If you can't be loved, then be feared. We are doing neither.

[La Enchiladita]

If you can't be loved, then be feared.

Machiavelli! I've always admired that view...

[Cindy]

Right-on-target...thanks for the ping Seadog Bytes.

[La Enchiladita]

Thanks for the information. However, would there be Sunnis at the Karbala end to help set this up, as there appears to be? Also, the meeting being held in the compound was to plan security for the SHIITE Ashura pilgrimage, yet not one of those Shiite police officers or soldiers were killed or even shot at. The target was purely U.S. soldiers....


???

[potlatch]

Re-Bump!!

[devolve]

PC war and pansy Congress

Would the US let Germany or Japan tell our Generals what to do in 1949?

[Mr_Tiki]

Justa,
First, I admire and commend your efforts in Iraq.
I meant to say Hilla is on the west. But I guess you are familiar with the area.
Actually, I am an Iraqi American born in Najaf, not far from Karbala and Hilla!
When I first heard of this incident, I immediatly thought it is Sunni insurgents, because I know they are much more capable than the bandits of Sadr. Now with the news that those involved spoke English, etc, it makes me think that they are some highly organized Al-qaeda perhaps.
I guess we will know more in the coming days.

Its heart breaking to hear of these loses. Its also bad news as it would make the cooperation between US and Iraqi troops even more complicated.
Stay safe, and best wishes.

[jwparkerjr]

At some point we are going to have to adopt the policy that we don't go in unless we intend to use our military forces as they are designed to be use.

In retrospect I confess I was taken in by the tough talk of the administration, not to mention the way they handled Afghanistan. I really thought we had learned our lesson and this war would be different. Sigh.

I think most of us realized we were in trouble when the forces would sweep through a town or area, claim victory, and them move on to the next one, only to have total lawlessness break out as soon as they left. Rampant looting and roaming gangs of armed men were the unmistakable signs of a big problem.

I must hasten to mention though that all of this is in hindsight and based on what we see there now.

We're a day late and a dollar short, but we have got to get serious and let our troops do what troops do or bring them home. And this, of course, is the Democratic Plan, the same plan they used with great success in Vietnam. Make so much noise, be so disruptive and so obstructionist that the war in Iraq goes on and on, until they can cut off funding and withdraw.

The scary part is that it's going just like it did with Vietnam, almost like it's on auto pilot. Talk, talk, talk. Plan, plan, plan. Meanwhile the citizenry are growing tired and tireder and American lives continue to be lost on a daily basis.

I am old enough to have lived through the Vietnam debacle and our defeat by the MSM/Lefties. Trust me, this is exactly the way it went then. I was in the news business and recall vividly how every report from there was bad news, making it look like we were losing on every front. Meanwhile our troops were doing exactly what they are the best on Earth at doing, defeating enemy troops. And the harder they fought to win, the more we were told how it was hopeless and we losing battle after battle.

We keep hearing that this is not Vietnam. And that's true, right now. But it won't be true in a couple of years unless someone with some authority recognizes the pattern of winning the war militarily, but losing in the MSM.

[La Enchiladita]

Vietnam, that was when the media divorced the civilians of this country from the military.

[TexKat]

Soldier remembered in upstate NY hometown as hardworking, quiet

January 23, 2007, 10:15 AM EST

HOMER, N.Y. (AP) _ Shawn Falter wasn't the star football player or the boisterous center of attention when he was in high school, but people in this upstate New York village will forever remember him.

Falter, a 25-year-old Army private, was killed along with four fellow soldiers Saturday when insurgents attacked a building in Karbala, Iraq, as officials met to plan security for Shiite pilgrims.

"He knew how to lighten a moment just when you needed it. He was an easygoing kid," said Homer High School Principal Fred Farah.

The high school, located 25 miles south of Syracuse in Cortland County, held a moment of silence in Falter's memory on Monday. He graduated from the school in 1999.

Farah said Falter was quiet but hardworking. He had a subtle sense of humor and would rather make a funny gesture or expression than crack a loud joke, he said.

"Shawn was a great kid," said Lawrence King, director of instruction and evaluation in the Homer Central School District. "He was the kind of kid that was able to sort of float between different groups ... he was accepted by each one, the kind of kid that you would like to have as a friend. If you needed something, Shawn was always there."

Falter's two older brothers joined the military, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps, King said. "That was another thing about Shawn, once he locked onto something, he was pretty determined to accomplish his goal."

Falter, who was single and had no children, enlisted in August 2005. He was deployed from Fort Richardson, Alaska. His family declined interviews, said Sgt. Raymond Swift, the family's casualty assistance officer.

http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--iraq-soldierkille0123jan23,0,475094.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[La Enchiladita]

Very, very sad.