Posted on 11/04/2004 8:43:46 AM PST by TheBattman
LOS ANGELES — Explosives were looted from the Al-Qaqaa (search) ammunitions site in Iraq while outnumbered U.S. soldiers assigned to guard the materials watched helplessly, soldiers told the Los Angeles Times.
About a dozen U.S. troops were guarding the sprawling facility in the weeks after the April 2003 fall of Baghdad when Iraqi looters raided the site, the newspaper quoted a group of unidentified soldiers as saying. U.S. Army reservists and National Guardsmen witnessed the looting and some soldiers sent messages to commanders in Baghdad requesting help, but received no reply, they said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sounds to me (assuming this is an accurate report...)like there are some commanders who fell down on the job. I would hope appropriate actions will be taken. Was Kerry's clone in charge?
Does someone want to explain to me why troops assigned to guard these bunkers did NOTHING to stop the looting. I'm not blaming these guys, I'd just like to know what really happened at this site.
"... the newspaper quoted a group of unidentified soldiers as saying. "
Yeah, right. Unidentified and working at the AP.
Sounds like anecdotal evedence to me. Besides that it would seem that if these soldiers were lweft to GUARD the site they should have engaged the looters. The fact that the soldiers allegedly called for help and received "no answer" smells fishy to me. Then of course we have to consider the source.
Ping for later
It would have been easy for any soldier to have stopped that. Get a mile away and open fire. A couple of bullets into RDX or PETN, and the problem is solved. No explosives and no looters.
This looks really phoney. Unidentified sources again, so no way we can check this out, right? What a crock. Someone needs to debunk this pronto.
Oh, yes, and thanks, FAUX NETWORK. Sheesh.
We already knew there was looting anywhere and everywhere. When the Baathists lost control, there was a vacuum of authority. This is history. Bush, Rumsfeld, and the Franks have all taken the heat, not just from those who were after political gain. "There was no plan to win the peace." People expect nothing short of perfection. But there were only a handful of developments that could be adequately planned for as priorities.
In any case, do you agree with me that the looting of this facility, while a terrible development, was of a piece with the other things happening at that stage? Maybe I am forgiving too much.
Another thought...maybe it was prudent to NOT be shooting even just rifle rounds in a
munitions dump...
I should have engaged brain before my previous post.
I find it hard to believe that the soldiers did nothing. But, if they did stand by and watch, then I do blame the soldiers, or at least their local commander.
Typical AP story. Probably written by a fudge packer for Kerry, and AP is afraid to put his name on the story.
Tomorrow's headline will reveal that US troops actually loaded the munitions onto the looter's trucks, washed their windows and checked their tire pressure.
If they were National Guard, their officers had them policing the grounds for cigarette butts. If you've been in the Guard, you'll know what I mean.
I bet this really happened. Sigh. (/sarcasm)
I haven't been in the Guard, but thanks for the laugh and also for your service.
I don't buy it.
If the soldiers were armed, and I assume they were, there is no excuse for this................IF it is true.
..or at least their local commander......Yes.
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