MSNBC: US Commander In Iraq Says Attacks Are From Iraqi Citizens Angered At US.

U.S. worried about revenge attacks

Commander tells newspaper angry Iraqis, not just insurgents,
may strike GIs

NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 17 — The commander of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq said in an interview published Wednesday that U.S. forces, already under pressure from a guerrilla-style resistance, now face revenge attacks from ordinary Iraqis angered by the occupation.

NORTH OF BAGHDAD, there were at least three separate attacks on U.S. forces with roadside bombs in less than 1½ hours Wednesday morning. Witnesses reported injured soldiers, but details were unclear. The attacks hit U.S. Humvees about 12 miles north of Baghdad near al-Taji.

While U.S. forces increasingly patrol Iraqi hotspots with American-trained local militiamen, citizens have voiced growing anger over tactics that are seen as heavy-handed and insensitive to Iraqi social and religious customs.

“We have seen that when we have an incident in the conduct of our operations, when we killed an innocent civilian, based on their ethic, their values, their culture, they would seek revenge,” Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez was quoted as telling The Times newspaper in London.

Coalition forces were seeking “to ensure that when a mistake has been made and when we have inadvertently wound up killing someone that we go and do the right thing culturally to take care of those families.” The Times’ report did not elaborate on those steps.

Sanchez’s remarks came after the friendly fire killing late last week of eight Iraqi policemen by American soldiers near Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad. The military and the U.S. administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, have apologized.

SYRIA IMPLICATED IN IRAQ ATTACKS
In addition to the attacks on American forces by Iraqis, a senior Bush administration official said Tuesday that Syria is allowing militants to cross its border into Iraq to kill U.S. soldiers.
John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, told a House hearing in Washington that Syria “permitted volunteers to pass into Iraq to attack and kill our service members during the war and is still doing so.”
Syria’s foreign minister, Farouk al-Shaara, rejected the claims and said in Damascus that Syria was willing to meet “reasonable” demands within the framework of international legitimacy.

“What Powell said about Syria’s cooperation, I ask: Who is cooperating with America as America wants?” al-Shaara said at a news conference. “America has too many demands. If they are reasonable and realistic Syria is ready to cooperate.”

U.S.: GUERRILLAS NOT U.S. CITIZENS

Meanwhile, eight suspected guerrillas jailed in Iraq who claimed to be American and British citizens were found to be lying, a U.S. general told NBC News on Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who is in charge of coalition detention centers in Iraq, said the men’s claims quickly unraveled under investigation. She said the coalition forces are holding 241 non-Iraqis from 22 countries, but added that none of the prisoners are Westerners.
The Associated Press reported earlier on Tuesday that six men claiming to be Americans and two claiming British citizenship had been held 12 miles west of Baghdad at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, where Saddam Hussein imprisoned many political opponents.
The U.S. death toll rose Monday when an Army soldier died after an attack in Baghdad — the 156th American to die in Iraq since President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1.

The men were arrested on suspicions of participating in attacks against coalition forces in Iraq.
In Tikrit, U.S. troops from the 4th Infantry Division killed two Iraqis and wounded two in a battle outside an ammunition dump. One man was captured and two others fled in the apparent attempt to loot the depot, spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle said.
The U.S. death toll rose on Monday when an Army soldier died of wounds he suffered in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in central Baghdad. He was the 156th American to die in Iraq since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1. In heavy fighting before then, 138 soldiers were killed.
A guerrilla threw a grenade at Albanian soldiers in northern Iraq, injuring at least one Albanian and 13 Iraqis, the U.S.-led occupation authority said Tuesday. That attack took place Monday outside a local authority building in the city of Mosul, spokeswoman Lt. Tate Noble said.
Details of the incident were sketchy, but the injured Iraqis were apparently bystanders, Reuters reported.





The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

Also, as pointed out on MSNBC, contradicts the standard administration line that the attacks are all from former Saddam goons, or terrorists. As was asked on Countdonw, are we going to call everyone who disagrees with us a 'terrorist'?

 

Well, let's see....



*It was the second leading story on MSNBC last night.

*As they said on that 'liberal' station, it completely contradicts what the administration is saying.

*It is, as the article itself says, a very troubling issue in termf of what it means for US support in Iraq.

*As the commander of US forces himself says, it is a very serious concern, and not limited to 'pockets'...and has a huge strategic impact in that it limits the effectivensess of the current strategy of heavy patrolling in certain areas deemed high in concentration of old Saddam supporters/terrorists. If "ordinary Iraqis" are getting into this, that strategy goes out the window, and our already stretched resources will be further spread out/vulnerable to attack.


Seems to me that if the US commander himself, and 'liberal' media sources like MSNBC think that this is big news, than to say it isnt is the view here being effected by partisanship, not reporting the facts.

 

Huh?


Max...I was under the impression that we were told that we would be greeted with open arms. In fact the administration itself has admitted that we have encountered more opposition than we expected, and that was before this latest revelation.

 

We were told that the ordinary Iraqi would see us a 'liberators' not invaders. We were told that we would be celebrated. This general is attributing these attacks,not to pockets of resistence...not to Saddam supporters...not to terrorists...but to " ordinary Iraqis."


Question: How long before Sanchez is recalled?

 

We were told that Saddam's likely strategy would be to fight us in the cities, yes. But I never , ever heard the administration say that the citizens would join in. I can find quotes where we were told we would be seen as "Liberators not invaders."...even Powell, who I respect, said this.


Do you have any quotes where we said that the Iraqi citizens would rise up in these firefights? Honestly, if it was said, I missed it.

 

I thought that this kind of " If you disagree with the war you're unpatriotic/enjoy us losing/Saddam loving" crap was passe...