Iraqi Village Scarred After U.S. Offensive

[Barrett808]

Iraqi Village Scarred After U.S. Offensive
By MOHAMMED BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
Mon May 16, 2:10 AM ET

ROMMANA, Iraq - For nearly a week, this dusty farming village near the Syrian border was surrounded by armored troop carriers on the ground and helicopter gunships overhead. Then, suddenly, the fighting stopped.

The U.S. military declared a major offensive against followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist officially over Saturday, and farmers here went back to tending their potatoes and pistachios.

Flattened homes, bullet-pocked walls and two charred personnel carriers at the entrance to the Sunni Arab village stood as testimony to the violent upheaval. One of the walls of the local mosque had collapsed, and dozens of buildings were damaged by shells and machine-gun fire.

A gaping crater in the bridge linking Rommana and Husaybah reduced traffic to a crawl across the Euphrates River.

...

"The village witnessed heavy fighting, but despite that they (the Americans) were not able to enter it," said one man, who gave his name only as Abu Abdullah.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050516/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_scarred_village

[wtmusic]

1. Fallujah #2

But at least they're free... :eyes:

[ananda]

2. how many..

.. Fallujah's are there by now? More than a few....

Sue

[merwin]

4. The question is, how many AREN'T Fallujah's by now

[booksenkatz]

3. 'Scarred' is a mighty pretty word for flattened, dontcha think? NT

[lebkuchen]

9. At first I thought it said "scared"

Either way, the shoe fits.

[leesa]

10. Talk about minimizing death and destruction.

[Zerex71]

11. Quote from Dr. Strangelove

“There is no question but that a terrorist that's willing to die can kill other people. We've seen that here in the United States. Is it going to change the outcome? Not a chance. The United States is going to win this, and we're going to win it with a minimal loss of life on the part of the Iraqi people because it's not a war against Iraq, it's not a war against the Iraqi people, it's a war against the Iraqi regime, and they're going to be gone.” (Rumsfeld, March 30, 2003)

Yeah, those terrorist pistachio farmers are a real threat!!!

[Briar]

5. This is so crass and so devious

"Prosperity will prevail in Rommana and Husaybah," one of them read. "We thank residents for their calls on the local number which helped us capture armed groups," read another.

Obviously trying to set the villagers against one another and breed an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and distrust. The American military will stoop to anything.

[Rose Siding]

6. "the civilian toll remains uncounted"

:(

The U.S. military said it killed an estimated 125 insurgents during the campaign through villages along the Euphrates River to the Syrian border. Nine Marines also died, but the civilian toll remains uncounted.

[aneerkoinos]

7. 9 my ass

That 9+ is just the near Qaim, Syrian border. All in all reported US fatalities in the operation were about 20. That means about 150+ casualties, 15% of the reported 1000 men. WP reported 60% casualties in one platoon (=one squad left of three).

This seems to be the picture:
Marines suffered heavy losses allready on route along Euphrates, from Ramadi to Haditha, which they just faught through suffering heavy casualties and didn't even try to hold, leaving the supply route unprotected (supply columns hit every day, lots of coalition casualties), ending up practically surrounded and "not able to enter" the village in question, according to Abu Abdullah.

Your classic Napoleon goes Russia scenario, resistance avoiding decisive battle and fighting effective war of attrition against invaders. Marines got badly beaten and went back tail between their legs.

[Amonester]

8. Ummm...

Not bad for a war that wasn't necessary...



:scared: