7.7.03
Iraqis "Bring it on"
Ahh, the good old days, when the war wasn't over! Protesters raged in the US, and in solidarity, American troops storming Baghdad formed a black bloc, ransacking the airport there. The first stop (as always) was the duty-free. Way to go, boys! Can't wait for your homecoming at SFO!
Since then, these fresh faced black blocers in desert camo havent been faring so well. 3 soldiers dead and scores wounded over the 4th of July weekend. The violence is spreading to soft targets such as journalists, the international presence, and Iraqi police (7 killed, scores injured).
Meanwhile, American media can't seem to report the casualties correctly. Apparently centcom is classifying "death by bullet" as a non-combat injury to keep the tally down, and wiener dog journalists are toe-ing that line, reporting the death tally as only the number officially "killed in action" since May 1st. A tally inline with reality is available here. In brave defiance of the obvious, planners think maybe more troops are the solution.
So, in the spirit of the 4th, Iraqis prefer to fight for their freedom, rather than have it "given" to them. And boy, they do fight dirty, which is frustrating to the good natured and well intentioned Americans who came bearing "freedom" on a silver platter!
Ahh, the good old days, when the war wasn't over! Protesters raged in the US, and in solidarity, American troops storming Baghdad formed a black bloc, ransacking the airport there. The first stop (as always) was the duty-free. Way to go, boys! Can't wait for your homecoming at SFO!
Since then, these fresh faced black blocers in desert camo havent been faring so well. 3 soldiers dead and scores wounded over the 4th of July weekend. The violence is spreading to soft targets such as journalists, the international presence, and Iraqi police (7 killed, scores injured).
Meanwhile, American media can't seem to report the casualties correctly. Apparently centcom is classifying "death by bullet" as a non-combat injury to keep the tally down, and wiener dog journalists are toe-ing that line, reporting the death tally as only the number officially "killed in action" since May 1st. A tally inline with reality is available here. In brave defiance of the obvious, planners think maybe more troops are the solution.
So, in the spirit of the 4th, Iraqis prefer to fight for their freedom, rather than have it "given" to them. And boy, they do fight dirty, which is frustrating to the good natured and well intentioned Americans who came bearing "freedom" on a silver platter!
"I don't want say anything bad about these people, but the way they're attacking us is just so...sneaky," [an anonymous soldier] says.So it comes to this. "Troop Morale has hit rock bottom," or so one officer says. Wonder if he was around during the Vietnam War. He should know better, in either case. The US Army has yet to see self-inflicted wounds, service refusal, fragging, etc of any kind. If officers are already kvetching like this, you have to wonder if there is any hope for the Iraqi project, or indeed, for American imperialism in general. This lends boatloads of credence to the idea that US power peaked in the 60's and has since been in decline.
