Debka says the “Syrian” bus we blew up was filled with Palestinian fighters.

Debka ^

[Southack]

"The official line is the bus came into view after the weapons had already been released and unable to be recalled. The bus drove onto the bridge and was destroyed."

12 years ago when we were actually destroying bridges in Iraq, that spin would have been believable, too.

Hey, anybody notice that the Iraqis have a lot of "ex-military" fighting in civilian clothes?!

[RightWhale]

I can't imagine a missile going off course that badly

The missile was right on target--the bridge. The bus was on the bridge. How a bus happened to be moving across a CLOSED border is still a mystery.

[Mark17]

Take DEBKA with a grain of salt -- but one can only hope, 'eh?

Yes, we hope it is true, and if it is, they never knew what hit em.

[maxamillion]

uh, wha, whats the UN? seem like I heard of them someware...
just can't placem...

[Lijahsbubbe]

I agree. Even if it's not true, oh well. Palestinians love hearing about death and destruction so here's some for 'em.

[twigs]

Actually, there has been a lot of traffic on the road in Baghdad if you watch the live daytime footage. I've been amazed that anyone would venture out of their house. However, I agree with you that the story is interesting.

[b4its2late]

Too bad we only lit up 5 of them......

[paolop]

My feelings exactly. If not Palestinian, then still highly suspect.

[w1andsodidwe]

I read DEBKA with a grain of salt, but how is it more or less accurate than FR?

DEBKA proports to be a news source. FreeRepublic is a discussion forum. You questions is idiotic.

[maxamillion]

Hurry men, we got to take out the garbage...

[G.Mason]

"I read DEBKA with a grain of salt, but how is it more or less accurate than FR?"

TOUCHE!!!!!

[phasma proeliator]

"uh, wha, whats the UN? seem like I heard of them someware... just can't placem... "

I've got a "place" for 'em..!

[G.Mason]

My apologies to all in using a frog expletive.

I vow to be more mindful in the future.

[maxamillion]

is it too much to ask if a stray missil was to hit the UN building,,, OOOHHH maybe sooo...

[DWPittelli]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is Debka and why should it not be trusted? Anyway, it would make sense if that were the case. I can't imagine a missile going off course that badly, if at all, and then landing exactly where a Syrian bus happens to be.

Go to www.debka.com to see what it is. Basically, a pro-Israel site on terrorism and war fomented by muslims. Given how many outrageous claims they make -- some of which are even true -- their record of also being wrong a lot doesn't change the fact that they're worth reading.

I think the idea is that the plane blew up a bridge, and either the bus had really bad luck at appearing at the last minute, or the pilot was ordered to go for a two-fer.

[asformeandformyhouse]

Don't trust Debka, but I hope they're right about this one.

I usually trust Debra, the woman in the cube next to me, more than I do Debka.

But if they're series, this is hugh.

[maxamillion]

better watch out for Debra, she will break your heart... LOL

[truthandlife]

This story might explain it:

Syrian Volunteers Reportedly Head for Iraq

[dep]

from Rick Brookheiser:

Debka is the name of an Israeli folk dance. The site comes from Israel, and seems to run the leavings of Israeli intelligence. Some of their items are stuff that was new yesterday, and hence, though true, is no longer vital, and so gets passed on to Debka. Some of it is stuff that an intelligence officer said, "Why are you putting this crap on my desk? Give it to Debka!" There is also a steady tone of marginally anti-American doomsaying. In the big picture, Debka supports the United States, thought 9/11 was terrorism, etc., etc. But in virtually every specific case, it takes the view that Americans are dumb cattle who don't know what they're doing. I assume this attitude is compounded from 1) the desire for sensationalist copy 2) Israeli arrogance--more common before the intafadas than now, but still sometimes surfacing: only we understand the region, only we know how to fight, and so forth and so on.

dep

[gridlock]

I read DEBKA with a grain of salt, but how is it more or less accurate than FR?

FR itself is neither accurate nor inaccurate. Almost every story has a verifiable source, and the readers will accept or reject that source based on reputation or their own, unique, prejudices. This is what people are doing with DEBKA. For good reason, IMHO.

Now, if somebody posts that they have seen something personally or a vanity post, you have to view that with a good deal of skepticism. But if you know the poster to be a reasonable person, you can glean some useful information. I tell you, when breaking news happens, I turn on CNN as background noise and head straight for FR!