I want to re-enforce what Robert is saying about these so called atrocities:
While I was in Iraq, we would get hit with mortars and rockets at least 3-5 times a week, sometimes 2-3 times a day. For several months the insurgents would fire upon us from a grove of trees, to which we would respond with a barrage of artillery. We killed a lot of em that way. Well, one day when I was on the FOB QRF (Quick Reaction Force), we responded to a mortar attack, and when I finished my analysis, it was determined that they fired at us from within the city of Tikrit where my FOB was located. After arguing with our operations center officers, my analysis was in fact proven to be correct. So what did we do? Did we bomb the shit out of the insurgents and risk collateral damage now that they started firing from within the city? NO! We did not. So the insurgents discovered a safe haven to fire at us knowing that we did not want to risk losing the trust that we had worked so hard to gain in this city. So instead we stepped up the patrols throughout the city. Although it cut back on the number of attacks, they still found ways to hit us from within the city. Another example is a friend of mine who was a Fire Direction Specialist. Basically it was his job to tell the artillery where to shoot. His team only trusted one artillery battery that was being run by the Marines to shoot inside of the city he was in. So accurate were these guys that they did not have one single incident of collateral damage and racked up about 50 insurgent KIA's with artillery alone. The only structures that were destroyed were the ones the insurgents were occupying. So to the anti-war establishment on this list, don't sit there and tell me or anyone else that we wantonly go out and kill whoever the hell we feel like 'cause it just ain't true. We go through great pains to do the best we can to avoid collateral damage. Often times at the expense of our safety. And I am speaking for the majority of the military there, not the few rogue warriors who feel that they can do what ever the fuck they want. And as far as the people who lose a loved one due to collateral damage, the answer to that is we pay them a shit load of money for their loss. Now I know that no amount of money can replace the pain and suffering of losing a loved one and I truly feel for these people, but at least we recognize that this happens and we are doing what we can to lessen the pain. And on the Israel deal, I asked a lot of Iraqi's what they thought of the whole thing. Of course they hate Israel just as much as the next Muslim. I asked them what they think about the Palestinians, and of course they feel sorry for them. So I ask them why no Arab nation is helping them. They don't have an answer. Not one of them can give me an answer to this very simple question. I never could figure out why, but now that Robert has offered his thoughts on this, it makes perfect sense. They are nothing more than a huge propaganda machine. Bruce Robert Munn wrote: > When did it become the responsibility of the Israelis to take care of the > people who are trying to destroy their country? The Israelis have done > everything but bend over backwards to help the Palestinians. Israel only cut > them off because they were being attacked with rockets on a daily basis. How > would you react? I would be tempted to hand out a serious ass-whooping via > air strikes on government institutions. The Israelis have shown tremendous > restraint in their actions. > > The rest of the Arab world, meanwhile, continues to let the Palestinians sit > in squalor in Gaza because they are a convenient propaganda tool against > Israel. The Saudis by themselves could re-build the entire economy of Gaza > overnight. They are awash in money. So why don't they do it? Because they > find it more useful for their own political ends to keep the Palestinians in > Gaza living in squalor, and perhaps they see no acceptable partner inside > Gaza at this point, because Hamas isn't interested in re-building the > economy either. And somehow Israel is to blame for all of this? > > As for US smart bombs killing Iraqi civilians, yeah, bad sh!t happens in > war, and innocent people sometimes die. But be careful throwing around the > word atrocity- it implies that there is a systemic campaign by US forces > against civilians in Iraq, and that is a ridiculous accusation to make. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:252826 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
