About the bombing in Mosul

[knight_of_the_star]

I am questioning if it was a suicide bomber for the following reason, and I do have non-tinfoil hat reasons for it.

The FIRST call by the people on the ground was that it was some kind of mortar or rocket. It was only AFTER extensive investigation into the attack that it was DECLARED to be a suicide bomber. I personally feel that our soldiers on the ground in Mosul probably DO know the difference between a suicide bomber and an incoming projectile. Also one thing that I heard, I believe in AAR, or maybe it was something to do with Gen. Myers press conference, was that they had NOT found the little bits of the bomber or bits of clothing that are characteristic of a suicide bombing.

Now WHY would BushCo want it to look like just some suicidal insurgent instead of a sophisticated attack using heavy weapons that the rebels aren't SUPPOSED to have?

For that very reason. If it was a suicide bomber, then the blame falls on the base commander for not properly securing the base against such an attack. If the official declaration is that it was some kind of heavy weapon that is supposed to have been secured during the invasion or afterwards, the fault doesn't lay with the troops in Mosul. It lands on the doorstep of BushCo, specifically Rummy and Wolfy because of the failure to ensure that such weapons would be secured. If it is just some suicide bombing, then it can be easily brushed off and swept under the rug.

IF it becomes common knowledge that the rebels have access to either mortars or rocket launchers or other such heavy infantry-portable weapons, that looks VERY bad for the people who planned the invasion. It would lead to further embarrassing questions about the planning of the invasion, questions that HAVE to be avoided considering everything else that is already in the air. Furthermore, if it is known that the rebels have access to such weapons, it shows they are no longer just a group of die-hard fanatics who are on the run. If they have the means to acquire, maintain, and use such weapons with such effectiveness, it shows that they know a GREAT deal more about how our military works than we will admit, it shows they are definitely not being decisively destroyed but are growing in numbers and skill, and that we are in a lot MORE trouble than we already are.

And BushCo CANNOT allow such information to be widely known by the public. If THAT becomes common knowledge, than they WILL lose their majority by 2006 and be looking at a large-scale impeachment by 2007, not to mention the beginning of the end of their party. Right now the dam is leaking, and they are shoving their fingers into every hole that appears. If more of these kind of attacks happen, they will run out of plugs sooner or later.

[madrchsod]

1. there was a report several days after the attack that the chaplains

said it was a rocket attack. since it was confirmed that the Iraqi army and others are forming an "organized" fighting force your idea`s just maybe closer to the truth than this government will ever admit to

[Solly Mack]

2. Factor in that the FBI was brought in to investigate

Our first thoughts were "inside job". Or as you said...they had to know a great deal more about our military and it's SOP.

A rocket requires coordinates...and I don't buy this was some "lucky shot" as was reported early on before the suicide bomber theory...this means a security breach of more than just entrance onto a post.

a suicide bomber changes the dynamics as you've explained.

[Malva Zebrina]

3. I don't think this is tin foil hat

We cannot believe a thing we are told any longer.

There was a chaplin's report that stated that the chaplin thought it was more than one rocket attack. It was definitive. OOPs--that got snuck through apparently.

The reports coming from the government are NOT to be believed any longer. They said so themself that they would lie, if necessary.

We know there is major PR operations concerning Iraq, and we know that much is being withheld from us. So

No this is not tin foil,imo.

They simply do not want to admit a mortar or rocket attack could have been carried out and furtherm, by claiming it was a suicide bomber (those terrible insurgents) they seek to demonize the "terrorists" who kill our soldiers. The American mind is already convinced that Iraqi people are terrorists, so play on it.

There was definate lack of security in that tent area, and this is what is to be hidden from the public, and it looks like it will be. Bush and his team seem to be untouchable. No one is reporting anything else but what they are told to report--and it is often simple lies we are being fed.

[starroute]

4. Also the question of why they were still eating in a tent

One of the reports that was posted here immediately afterwards said that a hardened, concrete mess hall was under construction but had not been completed because (if I recall correctly) the private contractors (Halliburton, I think) were scared to work on it.

Does anybody else remember that? It could be one more thing they're trying to duck the blame for.

Of course, if the Iraqi resistance does have missiles, they'll be using them again, so it will get increasingly difficult to cover it up. We shall see.

[SheilaT]

5. I'm also very puzzled

by the change from being a rocket to a suicide bomber. I would have thought that there's a large difference between the kind of damage each one of those does and so it would be immediately obvious what caused the explosion.

Someone said elsewhere (although not sure exactly where I read this) that the base had had rockets fired at it quite often and that this was just a lucky hit. I have no idea how to evaluate that piece of information either.

It's hard to know which is really worse: a rocket launch that's a lucky hit, a rocket launch with precise coordinates, or a suicide bomber. In reality, all of those are equally bad, because all of those indicate a strong and growing resistance that is well-armed and capable of scoring direct hits (including getting a suicide bomber in place), NOT that we are winning their hearts and minds.