Iraquis to US: "Why are you blocking us from rescuing our people?"

[playahata1]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/international/middleeast/18SCEN.html

THE SCENE
On Streets Lighted by Flames, Angry Crowds Clamor to Help
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

Published: March 18, 2004


AGHDAD, Iraq, March 17 — Heider Abbas stumbled through the rubble, calling out: "Shovels! Shovels! We need shovels!"


(snip)

These were the chaotic first moments after a large explosion rocked Karada, an upscale neighborhood in Baghdad, on Wednesday night, bringing down an apartment building, shearing off the facade of a hotel and killing at least 27 people.

American soldiers arrived minutes later. They jumped out of their Humvees in bulletproof vests and tightly laced combat boots. They cordoned off the streets and pushed the crowd back.

"Move! Move! Move!" they shouted. When some Iraqis resisted, the soldiers pointed their guns in people's faces. "We're not kidding. Get out of here."

(snip)

"Why are you blocking us from rescuing our people?" asked Faiz Sadeh, a construction worker.

(more)

[Warren Stuart]

1. Tightly laced combat boots?

This is like hob nailed boots? I don't get it.

Quite frankly, it is hard to pass judgement from thousands of miles away, in situation like this I'm sure the Standard Operating Procedure is to secure the area.

Oppostion forces have been know to plant delayed reaction bombs to injure the rescuers. And of course opposition groups will sieze upon any provocation, for use against the US Forces.

Such a pity, we never should have gone to war with Iraq in the first place. Bush took valuable resources that were used in a legitimate war on terror, for this bogus war.

If recent events are any indication of what's coming down the pike then Saturday is going to be a day from Hell.

[DulceDecorum]

2. So what else is new?

The U.S. response to the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya has been troubling in several respects. Unless quickly corrected, Washington's international image will be further hurt and the anger that fuels such terrorist attacks may be increased.
First, the United States needs to take quick action to comfort and compensate ALL those injured and families members of those killed in the bombings. This will help reduce the damage done by the reports that U.S. Marines in Nairobi concentrated initially on rescuing American personnel and securing the embassy building, barring local rescuers from looking for Kenyan citizens inside the embassy and ignoring the wounded and dying trapped in the rubble of the neighboring Ufundi building. "The ugly side of Americans," declared an editorial headline in one of Nairobi's leading dailies, which accused the Marines of being "insensitive" and "heavy-handed" Rambos. (New York Times, Aug. 13)
http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/archive/bombing_body.html


NAIROBI, Kenya -- Stung by criticism in some press accounts that U.S.
marines callously prevented "good Samaritan" volunteers from aiding
Kenyan wounded and dying victims of the U.S. Embassy bombing here, an
Embassy spokesman on August 13 said such judgments were unfortunate.

"Let me make it as plain as I can," he said. "We did and do appreciate
the good will of the African good samaritans. Kenyans are gentle
people and some of them undoubtedly must have been shocked by the
brusque way they were treated. We also understand their anger. But the
criticisms in the newspapers are directed against the wrong people.
Like them, we're victims. And the perpetrators are monsters who were
willing to kill more than 20 Kenyans for every dead American."
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98081306.htm