U.S. troops caught in middle as Iraqis feud

[ECH1969]

When U.S. soldiers raced to the scene of a recent gun battle between the guards of a Sunni mosque and the mostly Shiite police commandos assigned to Baghdad's volatile Dora neighborhood, they were appalled by what they encountered.

Members of the force being trained to replace the U.S. military were shooting wildly, spraying everything in sight with automatic fire. Three men were being beaten up. A store was burning, apparently set afire by the police. As the platoon approached, the police shot in the direction of the U.S. soldiers. Two bodies lay nearby.

"It's like we're peacekeepers trying to stop a civil war," said Spec. Edward Levy, 21, of Ottawa, Ill. "If we pull out like everyone's saying we're going to, this country will fall apart."

"If we hang back too much, then you'd have mayhem between Sunnis and Shiites," said Lt. Col. Greg Butts, commander of the 101st Airborne's 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, which is assigned to Dora. But at the same time, he said, "there is a danger of being depended on too much if we're not careful." "It's a balance, and we'll never know if we'll get it right till it's over."

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/world/14590680.htm

[acmavm]

1. So it's called a feud? Okay.

[ShortnFiery]

4. feud = blow the living sh*t out of each other! :( n/t

[shadowknows69]

5. A feud is two hillbillies shooting at each other from their porches

hundreds of people a day and buildings being leveled is civil war.

[rodeodance]

2. what a terrible position for our troops to be in. Lots of 'mistakes' will

be made (continue to be made).

[leftchick]

3. "Who could have predicted"

Why John Murtha!