U.S. military admits bombing wrong Iraqi house Associated Press http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1105189697856_37/?hub=World BAGHDAD, Iraq — The United States military said it dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on the wrong house outside the northern city of Mosul on Saturday, killing five people. The man who owned the house said the bomb killed 14 people, and an Associated Press photographer said seven of them were children. The strike in the town of Aitha, 50 kilometres south of Mosul, came hours before a senior U.S. Embassy official in Iraq met with leaders of the Sunni Muslim community to apply political pressure against their threat to boycott Jan. 30 elections. The Arab satellite broadcaster al-Jazeera said the Sunnis asked the Americans to announce a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal. Violence also continued, with at least eight Iraqis killed. American officials repeatedly have insisted the vote go ahead, but it is an extremely delicate time, with Iraq's government perceived by many as closely tied to the U.S.-led coalition. Late Saturday, a U.S. military statement said an F-16 jet dropped a 225-kilogram GPS-guided bomb on a house that was meant to be searched during an operation to capture "an anti-Iraqi force cell leader.'' "The house was not the intended target for the air strike,'' the military said in a statement. "The intended target was another location nearby.'' The homeowner, Ali Yousef, told Associated Press Television News that the air strike happened at about 2:30 a.m. and American troops immediately surrounded the area, blocking access for four hours. The brick house was reduced to a pile of rubble, said an Associated Press photographer at the scene. The AP photographer said 14 members of the same family _ seven children, four women and three men _ were killed and six people were wounded, including another child in the house and five people from neighbouring homes. By evening, all 14 victims had been buried in a nearby cemetery, Yousef said. The U.S. military statement said coalition forces went to the area to provide assistance and said five people were killed. It said there was no other damage. "Multi-National Force Iraq deeply regrets the loss of possibly innocent lives,'' the statement said, adding that an investigation was underway. The U.S. military recently sent more troops to Mosul, which has seen heavy clashes in recent weeks between insurgents and American forces. U.S. officials acknowledge the area is still too strife-ridden for the elections to take place there safely. The election is the first democratic vote in Iraq since the country was formed in 1932, and the Sunnis are certain to lose their dominance to the Shiites, who comprise 60 per cent of Iraq's 26 million people. Sunni leaders have urged that the vote be postponed, largely because areas of Iraq where they dominate are far too restive for preparations to begin. In particular, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a powerful Sunni Muslim group, has demanded the vote be put off and threatened a boycott. On Saturday, a senior embassy official met in Baghdad with members of the group, U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said. He described the surprise meeting as an "exchange of views.'' "A senior officer in the embassy met with them to discuss how participation would benefit the Sunni community,'' Callahan said. He would not identify the American official who participated, but he said it was not Ambassador John Negroponte. Earlier, al-Jazeera reported that the Americans met with Harith al-Dhari, the association's general secretary, and several others. It reported that al-Dhari asked the United States to announce a timetable for withdrawing its forces from Iraq. Callahan would not say if that was discussed, but it is unlikely the United States would consider such a request. In Washington, President George W. Bush expressed optimism Friday about the Jan. 30 elections, saying they will be "an incredibly hopeful experience,'' despite rising violence and doubts that the vote will bring stability and democracy. Authorities in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit said Saturday that gunmen abducted a deputy governor of a central Iraqi province and two other senior Sunni officials after they met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite leader. A fourth person also was abducted after the meeting in the holy city of Najaf to discuss the elections. The officials were kidnapped about 65 kilometres south of Baghdad on Friday. The area is in the so-called "triangle of death,'' a string of Sunni-controlled towns that has been the scene of frequent attacks. The U.S. military said the delegation was travelling in two cars, one of which escaped the ambush. "Those insurgents and terrorists who intimidate and resort to kidnapping public officials are the true enemies of the Iraqi people,'' U.S. military spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien said. A Shiite Muslim cleric close to al-Sistani said the kidnappings of Tikrit's deputy governor and three other officials was meant to "prevent any contacts'' between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The insurgents are believed to be primarily Sunni. "They don't want to see a delegation from Tikrit visiting a Shiite religious leader,'' Jalaludine al-Saghir said. At least eight more people were killed in ambushes and attacks, capping a brutal week of assassinations, suicide car bombings and other assaults. The attacks killed about 100 people, mostly Iraqi security troops, who are seen by the militants as collaborators with the American occupiers. ----------------------------------------------- possibly innocent? come on...you accidentally murdered 14 people. if this happened in the US, it would be a terrorist act. is the american army becoming terrorists to the innocent people of iraq? or is it just a misfortunate event like when the Americans accidentally bombed and killed 4 canadian soldiers (http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/boi/USnews2-18apr_e.asp).
"possibly innocent" That's pretty f'n sick. Does anybody care about this GIGANTIC FREAKING DEBACLE that Iraq is? Red America, this is your mess. You chose this. Do something about it.
Red America is doing something about it. They are supporting our troops. They aren't only highlighting the negatives every chance they get -- like some people.
For those who aren't good at math, let me clarify for Sam. War does not equal troops. For instance. "This war is a mistake," does not equal "The troops are a mistake." or "I hate this war," does not equal "I hate the troops." or "Our army made a mistake," does not equal "Our troops did this on purpose and are murders." This message brought to you by the coalition for BBS sanity.
So I suppose in your world Army Spc Thomas Wilson and the two thousand soldiers who cheered him are also "against our troops" for saying negative things eh?
There is a big difference between requesting additional armor and doing what Sam and the other liberals do. Sam and the other liberals belittle the accomplishments of our armed forces on a daily basis. They rush to post links to any story that may contain a failure of our troops. They only highlight the negative, and they rarely, if ever, talk about the positive things our troops have accomplished. So with that in mind, it looks like your clever little comparison is rendered invalid, EH?
This thread and TJ's antics are actually a perfect microcosm of the way the Right addresses Iraq. Distract and then ignore the problem (that they created) while people continue to die and more and more money and resources are wasted. As Israeli intelligence told us last year around this time, you've already failed, now it's simply a matter of how much more humiliating you want to make it.
Sam, why is it so hard for you to answer this question: When was the last time you said something positive about our armed forces? Why can't you answer it?
How about the issues instead of the sidestepping questions. I think a more important question would be - "what the hell is going on over there and why are 'possibly innocent' people dying?"
Trader_Jorge The U.S. Military has been incredibly brave in the face of a rising insurgency.... there! That doesn't change the fact that being in Iraq is using our military reserves in ways it was never designed for. The Army flat isn't big enough for Iraq and anything else. The administration/Pentagon FAILED to be welcomed as a liberator. This is a signifigant falure of both intellegence and leadership. The losses in Iraq and the extended use of the Army reserves threatens our nation more than anything Saddam was up to. The numbers of U.S. casualties aren't made up, and you can look them up for yourself any number of places The numbers speak for themselves, and the insurgency has been more killing more troops, not less, as time has gone by here here PDF of DOD's own numbers] Nevermind that we shouldn't even be there in the first place, how about the fact that our military didn't have the armor and weapons they need. We are fighting a close quarters, gorilla war and our guys are armed with M-16's. M-16's, as you may or may not know have good range, but are no match for RPG's that seem to be everywhere in Iraq. Why aren't we supplying our troops with something more suited to the war we're fighting (say, a modern sub-machine gun)? Why aren't you hearing about this on a daily basis? Thousands of M113 Gavins are sitting in storage while our troops are fighting a non-linear war and driving around in freakin Humvee's... armored or not, they don't belong in Iraq... I'm in Louisiana, I've never been to Iraq, and I've known this was a problem for a long time... Why didn't our leadership do something about it until they were publicly called out? You won't find a bigger fan of the U.S. military than myself and if you think that blindly following = support than you are just an idiot. By God, I DO support our troops and this is unacceptable. None of those shortcommings were news to Rumsfield, unless he is an idiot... and I'm pretty sure he's not that.. Maybe if he signed those letters of condolences himself, it would have hit home that our soldiers are dying needlessly... You say you support our troops, how about supporting whatever it takes to bring them as many as possible home, alive. my sole interest is in the security of the United States, not who's fault it is. I'm neither a Democrat or a Republican (anymore- just conservative I guess ) But there IS fault to what is happening and to ignore who is responsible for what's happening in Iraq threatens our security because it allows the status quo to continue. We can't stay in Iraq forever, we can't leave it as it is, and we've lost a good deal of our flexibility to respond to any other threat around the world as a result of the Iraqi invasion. Good thing that North Korea and Iran aren't bigger threats than Saddam was..... They don't have any Nuclear programs or anything- like that I heard that Iraq bought some Aluminum tubes....
Sam, I'm still waiting for your answer. Why is this so hard for you? When was the last time you said something positive about our armed forces?
