U.S. Probe Rejects Iraqis' Shooting Claims

[norml]

U.S. Probe Rejects Iraqis' Shooting Claims

Saturday August 6, 2005 8:01 PM


AP Photo BAG118

By ROBERT H. REID

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An internal U.S. military investigation has rejected claims by Iraqis that U.S. troops opened fire on civilians after a suicide bombing attack on Iraqi army recruits in a northern town, a U.S. Army spokesman said.

Iraqi police said 52 people were killed and 93 wounded on July 29 in Rabiah, 230 miles north of Baghdad. Most were killed by a suicide bomber wearing a belt of explosives who blew himself up among Iraqi army volunteers.

The U.S. military put the casualty toll at 10 dead and 21 injured.

Iraqi police, doctors and residents said some survivors of the suicide bombing were shot after the attack when U.S. and Iraqi soldiers opened fire at the scene.

Lt. Col. A.L. Hance Sr., a spokesman for Task Force Freedom in Mosul, Iraq, said the Tiger Squadron commander ``has conducted an internal investigation and finds no facts to support this claim.''


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http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5194504,00.html

[Benhurst]

1. Yeah. Sure. NT

[frylock]

2. maybe colin powell was in charge of the investigation?

He didn't find anything to substantiate claims that US service personnel were responsible for the wholesale massacre of civilians in Mi Lai.

[BillZBubb]

3. Surprise, surprise!

I would have never expected that outcome. :sarcasm:

[daleo]

4. And with that finding, dozens more "insurgents" are born. n/t

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LiberalVoice]

6. I dont know...

Why is there a 2:1 ratio of Civilian/Insurgent killings by american soldiers? Thats what doesnt make sense. Maybe the troops(like they have been saying for 2 years) are shooting "anything that moves",

[hobbit709]

7. Panic

They're all on edge, one of them hears or sees something and opens up. The rest of them do a "monkey see, monkey do". It happens all the time when combat troops are stressed to the max.

[daleo]

8. Yes, panic and survival instinct

The instinct would be to just live long enough to get out of Iraq, whatever it takes. Self preservation is the first priority - who could blame anyone for that?

The panic happens when a bomb goes off. It wouldn't happen to everyone, but a few. A few is all it takes to start a chain reaction of firing.

Also, frustration plays a role - soldiers were told they would be treated as liberators and find out that they are considered to be occupiers. You begin to hate people if they hate you, especially if they are either trying to kill you or seem to be helping people who are trying to kill you.

These are all natural reactions, and reasons that war shouldn't be pursued for the wrong reasons i.e. Bush's invasion, which had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction or September 11.

[Roy]

9. Or liberating the Iraqi people...

Or nuclear weapons, Nuclear programs, or nuclear related programs, or babies being pulled from incubators, or bringing democracy to Iraq, or insert just about anything else not having to do with Iraqi resources.

[cyberpj]

10. I'm SICK of "internal investigations" being acceptable!

And I'm SICK of living in a military industrial complex!

I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!