They were hustled out of their home and had to sit in their courtyard while their home was searched. The two small boys had their hands up, while the mother cried and the teenage daughter almost hyperventilated. I think they feared for their lives. I don't want our guys to put their lives at stake needlessly, but isn't there a better way to handle that? Can't our guys carry a letter in Arabic that explains that we will not harm them? It was sad.
I'm sure that our troops didn't fear the cab driver last week...until he detonated himself. The realities of war suck. Hopefully this will all be over quickly.
The pregnant woman who screamed for help then blew up her car really makes it tough for our military to be kind. War is hell no way around it, hopefully it will not get much worse.
Which raises another question, why hasn't the US taken over the airwaves? Maybe they have and I just haven't heard about it, but it seems like the best way to communicate with the Iraqi people would be by having one of their own kind <b>speak</b> to them in their own language about what's going on from the American side. It seems like that would be a lot more useful than just dropping pieces of paper on their heads.
War is sad. Thats just part of it. The innocent people over there are going through hell right now. I just hope this thing ends ASAP.
I would think the disconnect between what they are hearing and the reality of their environ is a major contribution to the open disaffection for The Regime that we are seeing increasingly. "The Saddam Hussein Airport is under our control. We have driven out the Americans..."
So you traumatize the innocent civilians? Now thats a good way to get the population on your side, eh? You never know what picture will stick in people's minds and change the nature of the war or the post-war. I have seen the pictures of dead and injured civilians. They make me sick, but they are not intentional (and I believe many Iraqi's still want us there to rid their country of saddam). Having intentional procedures that frighten the hell out of people, when a small modification could totally change the nature of that contact, are not acceptable.
I think they are already traumatized my that regime..........they are scared to say anything negative about Saddam.....fearing they might be killed....
Did u guys notice the marines were yelling in English? Why didn't Army or Marines teach their soldiers some Arabics ? You think an average Iraqi man/woman/kid will understand English orders?
Cohen, what you are not grasping is that Saddam's tactics have *forced* us to operate in this fashion. If he didn't place soldiers in civilian clothing, use civilians as shields and decoys, and hide military forces in residential neighborhoods, none of the tactics that you saw used on CNN would be necessary. This is Saddam's doing, not ours. Because of Saddam, we must go house to house in order to secure the cities. There is no alternative.
Cohen, don't react emotionally to this situation, criticize what you don't understand, and then depart without offering a solution. That is the job of the Liberal.
I see no problem with reacting emotionally when people are involved. Don't act cold and detached when other people are being effected by us. What is it that I don't understand? Maybe you can help. I have not 'departed'. Re. a solution, dod you read my first post?
Originally posted by Trader_Jorge Cohen, what you are not grasping is that Saddam's tactics have *forced* us to operate in this fashion. I grasp that. If he didn't place soldiers in civilian clothing, use civilians as shields and decoys, and hide military forces in residential neighborhoods, none of the tactics that you saw used on CNN would be necessary. This is Saddam's doing, not ours. Because of Saddam, we must go house to house in order to secure the cities. There is no alternative. I don't have a problem with going house-to-house. It is how we interract with the civilians. A simple flyer wirtten in Arabic would probably have alleviated much of their fear.
Careful Cohen. If you disagree even slightly with these posters and their almighty executive branch of our government, if you so much as ask one single question of our military procedures, you will be labeled an extremist freak, a Saddam-sympathizer, an unpatriotic longhair. You will be shouted down and moved to the top of their fantasy torture-n-execution list. (I know T_J, sinushero, and heath have such a list. It is a fact, but I would compromise my intelligence sources if I showed you the proof. We, a coalition of willing BBS citizens, should probably "liberate" their long-suffering hard drives by force, remove the threat of Posts of Max Detraction for the betterment of the BBS, but let's save that for another day).
Alright! Are you back? or could you not resist the impulse to drop in and wisecrack a little? Either way, thanks..
Cohen, you are not grasping this simple concept. We have no *choice* but to proceed with caution. This will help save American lives. Your suggestion to pass out fliers would put American soldiers' lives in peril. The debate is over whether you frighten a handful of children or sacrifice operational security. This is a no-brainer. We are doing what Saddam has forced us to do.
