Marine-led campaign killed friends and foes, Iraqi leaders say -KRN

[Rose Siding]

By Hannah Allam and Mohammed al Dulaimy

BAGHDAD, Iraq - When foreign fighters poured into villages with jihad on their minds and weapons in their hands, some Iraqi tribesmen in western desert towns fought back.

They set up checkpoints to filter out the foreigners. They burned down suspected insurgent safe houses. They called their fellow tribesmen in Baghdad and other urban areas for backup.

And when they still couldn't uproot the terrorists streaming in from Syria, tribal leaders said, they took a most unusual step: They asked the Americans for help.

The U.S. military hails last week's Operation Matador as a success that killed more than 125 insurgents. But local tribesmen said it was a disaster for their communities and has made them leery of ever again assisting American or Iraqi forces.
...
In interviews, influential tribal leaders and many residents of the remote border towns said the 1,000 U.S. troops who swept into their territories in the weeklong campaign that ended over the weekend didn't distinguish between the Iraqis who supported the United States and the fighters battling it.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11663302.htm

[Larkspur]

1. Don't worry, this incident won't inflame anti-American passions as long as

Newsweek ignores it. :sarcasm: