Insurgents penetrate Baghdad’s Green Zone 4 Americans among 10 dead in strikes claimed by al-Zarqawi group John Moore / AP Updated: 2:01 p.m. ET Oct. 14, 2004BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents penetrated Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and detonated explosives at a market and a popular cafe Thursday, killing four Americans and six Iraqis, in the first bombings inside the compound housing the U.S. and Iraqi government headquarters. A top Iraqi official said the attacks appeared to have been suicide bombings. The four Americans killed were employees of the private U.S. security firm DynCorp, two U.S. officials said Thursday. Two State Department officials were injured, neither critically, along with another employee of the company, in a blast in a vendor's alley near the U.S. Embassy annex, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Several Americans were injured. Six Iraqis were killed in a second blast in a cafe. Al-Zarqawi group claims attacks The militant group of Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the blasts, saying they were “martyrdom,” or suicide, attacks. The claim could not be Oct. 14: A group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is claiming credit for two explosions that ripped through the Baghdad “By the grace of God, two lions of the ’Martyrdom Brigade’ affiliated with the military wing of Tawhid and Jihad were successful in entering the base of the American embassy inside the Green Zone in the capital Baghdad,” the statement said, referring to al-Zarqawi’s group. Witnesses said two men, each carrying a backpack but not required ID badges, entered the Green Zone Cafe full of Americans and other patrons at around lunchtime, drank tea and talked to each other for nearly half an hour — one of them appearing to reassure his more nervous colleague. One of them then left and soon after an explosion was heard. Then the man who remained in the cafe detonated his bomb moments later, ripping through the building, said an Iraqi vendor who was in the cafe at the time. Fears over security The attacks raised fears over security in the compound and underscored militants’ ability to strike in the capital even as U.S.-Iraqi forces are carrying out a new offensive to suppress them in other parts of the country ahead of January elections. The fact that insurgents were able to penetrate the Green Zone could present a serious setback to the Bush administration's campaign to pacify postwar Iraq. Only Wednesday night, in a speech in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said "we are facing a difficult time in Iraq." He called the insurgents monsters but expressed confidence the U.S.-led coalition would gradually gain the upper hand. Overall, Powell spoke optimistically of President Bush's declared global war against terror. "Every day terrorists have fewer places to hide," he said. Following Thursday's bombings, security arrangements were put under immediate review but it is "much too early to start speculating" on whether they would be overhauled, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. The Green Zone is a four square-mile district of central Baghdad surrounded by barricades and checkpoints that houses the Iraqi government, the U.S. Embassy, and residences, restaurants and entertainment facilities for the hundreds of Americans working there. It is also home to some 10,000 Iraqis, who need IDs to move in and out of the area. link
gynch, what is the point here? I think the vast majority of us who poke around in this forum have heard about it. It's not something that hasn't happened before, so I don't see why it's worth a thread. I'm open to having that explained to me, but my opinion is that you don't serve advancing your positions by posting something like this. Maybe I'm completely off base. We post different info here all the time. What is especially important, besides the tragedy of the act? I think we lost that many soldiers the last couple of days... should we have threads for those as well? Keep D&D Civil!!
Well, I sort of posted it because of the large number of soldiers killed in the last two days. I also believe that it is sginificant in that it occurred in the Green Zone. I'm not aware that this has occurred before, though mortars have occasionally hit into the zone. A very close friend of mine had his son who is an intelligence officer living in the zone and we had been speculating that at least he was fairly safe since his job duties did not rquire him to leave. To me this attack shows that all may not be getting better daily in Iraq as we see daily in the news from "Prime Minister" Allawi or Bush. I do believe that it is worthwhile to occasionally contemplate the actual cost of the war in Iraq. I will agree that this type of story can be irritating both to those of us who oppose the war and to those who still think it was a good thing.
I have a relative and good friend working for a "famous" company, who's based in the Green Zone. Unfortunately, his work causes him to frequently go in Hummers to towns outside of Baghdad. Maybe I'm too close to it. I was listening to the news in the car a while ago, and I think they said this was the first time this kind of attack had occured there, so that would make it news, to be fair. Can anyone confirm that? Keep D&D Civil!!
For those of you who insist we are hearing too much bad news about Iraq, there has been a documented decline in news coverage of the violence there since the turning over of "sovereignty" -- despite the fact that attacks by the insurgents have risen steadily and reached an alltime high.
i don't know if you're including me...but my point is it seems to me we have more than "occasionally contemplated the costs of the war." that's pretty much in the mix here every single day.
I don't see what's wrong this being a thread. It's newsworthy that these attacks are happening and killing Americans. It's always of note when attacks kill Americans.
Here's coverage from the BBC: Iraq bombs prompt security boost The Green Zone is not as safe as once thought. The US military says it is stepping up security in Baghdad, after a twin bombs rocked the heavily-fortified Green Zone of the Iraqi capital. Ten people died in the attack - the first to take place in what is supposed to be the safest place in Iraq. The blasts took place within seconds of each other - one in a cafe, the other in a street lined with souvenir stalls. Supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - who the US says has links with al-Qaeda - have claimed the bombings. In a statement posted on an Islamic website, the group led by the Jordanian militant described the attack as one of their "most successful operations". A US military statement said security would be "significantly increased for an undetermined period" in the Green Zone and at other key locations in and around Baghdad. The new measures include more armed patrols, intensified security at Baghdad airport, and air patrols. The Green Zone, where the US and UK embassies are also located, is often targeted by mortars. There have been suicide bombings at its entrances - but this was the first time an attack had been carried out from within. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3745026.stm Keep D&D Civil!!
Have we really? It seems to me that both sides focus less on the costs (human as well as financial) and more on the abstract reasoning behind the war Dem Poster: Bush lied. There are no weapons of mass destruction. The war is unjustified. GOP Poster: Bush didn't lie. He got bad intelligence. But we removed a tyrant who supported terrorism. The war is justified. I would love to see a discussion that deals directly with the dilemma of balancing casualities with policy goals.
Platoon defies orders in Iraq Miss. soldier calls home, cites safety concerns By Jeremy Hudson jehudson@clarionledger.com A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday. The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook. Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday. The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders, punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five years confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate professor of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C. No military officials were able to confirm or deny the detainment of the platoon Thursday. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said he plans to submit a congressional inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an investigation into whether they are being treated improperly. "I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped," said Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq. "President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but if this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has been with the country," Thompson said. The 343rd is a supply unit whose general mission is to deliver fuel and water. The unit includes three women and 14 men and those with ranking up to sergeant first class. "I got a call from an officer in another unit early (Thursday) morning who told me that my husband and his platoon had been arrested on a bogus charge because they refused to go on a suicide mission," said Jackie Butler of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year reservist. "When my husband refuses to follow an order, it has to be something major." The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., whose daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained. McClenny, 21, pleaded for help in a message left on her mother's answering machine early Thursday morning. "They are holding us against our will," McClenny said. "We are now prisoners." McClenny told her mother her unit tried to deliver fuel to another base in Iraq Wednesday, but was sent back because the fuel had been contaminated with water. The platoon returned to its base, where it was told to take the fuel to another base, McClenny told her mother. The platoon is normally escorted by armed Humvees and helicopters, but did not have that support Wednesday, McClenny told her mother. The convoy trucks the platoon was driving had experienced problems in the past and were not being properly maintained, Hill said her daughter told her. The situation mirrors other tales of troops being sent on missions without proper equipment. Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in recent presidential debates. Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the severity of disobeying orders. But he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip. "He told me that three of the vehicles they were to use were deadlines ... not safe to go in a hotbed like that," Patricia McCook said. Hill said the trucks her daughter's unit was driving could not top 40 mph. "They knew there was a 99 percent chance they were going to get ambushed or fired at," Hill said her daughter told her. "They would have had no way to fight back." Kathy Harris of Vicksburg is the mother of Aaron Gordon, 20, who is among those being detained. Her primary concern is that she has been told the soldiers have not been provided access to a judge advocate general. Stevens said if the soldiers are being confined, law requires them to have a hearing before a magistrate within seven days. Harris said conditions for the platoon have been difficult of late. Her son e-mailed her earlier this week to ask what the penalty would be if he became physical with a commanding officer, she said. But Nadine Stratford of Rock Hill, S.C., said her godson Colin Durham, 20, has been happy with his time in Iraq. She has not heard from him since the platoon was detained. "When I talked to him about a month ago, he was fine," Stratford said. "He said it was like being at home." http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041015/NEWS01/410150366/1002
Why is this relevant to this thread? Not criticizing, just checking to see if I missed some connection.
Sorry Hayes Didn't want to start another thread. But felt it kind of dovetails into how the situation in Iraq is going.
I agree this deserves its own thread. Interesting story with alot of issues though. Are our soldiers equipped well enough? Should these troops be charged with disobeying orders or were the conditions they were being sent into so bad that it would be "suicide" for them to undertake the mission? If a mission like this is considered suicidal what does it say about the overall state of Iraq?
