Fatal shooting of teacher illustrates why Iraqis fear U.S. convoys

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/11902609.htm

<snip>

A high school Arabic teacher, she'd left home five minutes earlier, and she was 15 minutes from work. In the American convoy were soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. They were out on a ride-around to get to know the community. The usual crowd was gathered at the traffic circle - the shepherd and his 20 sheep, the kabob shop owner, the drivers waiting for someone to rent one of their trucks.


Everyone heard a gunshot from the third Humvee. The soldiers at the rear of the convoy thought they saw a suicide bomber, said Funk, and they'd fired a warning shot, then kept firing. The Iraqi men in the circle said they looked up and saw only a frightened woman in a careening car.

<snip>

Others think the shooting of innocent people is a reflection of the Americans' nervousness and their lack of intelligence about the insurgency."People are frustrated. So far, neither the government nor the multinational forces have proven that they can handle the security issues, and it is worrying the citizens," said Huda al-Nuami, a political science professor at al-Mustansiriya University. "There is a sense of distrust between the people and the security apparatus."

At the Iraqi Assistance Center, which pays families for damage caused by American forces, the head of the compensation section said the center receives 1,000 requests a month, but most of them are for property damage. The head of the center, Col. Chester Wernicki of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command from Staten Island, N.Y., said he doesn't keep information on how many claims have been filed for deaths.

[Karenina]

1. "The chick got in the way."

...

[slor]

2. Yep...I think that quote was when I...

realized that as long as our troops were there, the situation would never improve.

[NEOBuckeye]

3. How many more innocent people must perish?

[oblivious]

4. Guilty of living on top of a sea of oil.

[rainbow4321]

5. Is it any wonder why they resent us being over there?

Uh-huh..no official "record" of death claim$..ok, so does an investigation have to be done before any family gets money?? Cuz look who is in charge of the investigations. The very people who have murdered the Iraqi victims.
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From original article:

The head of the center, Col. Chester Wernicki of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command from Staten Island, N.Y., said he doesn't keep information on how many claims have been filed for deaths.


A police commander at the Sadiya station said the Iraqi police aren't looking into the shooting: "If the Americans are part of the investigation, we don't investigate. We have no authority over the Americans."

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. please tell me exactly how this is different from NAM?

And by the way, the old maxim should apply, know thy enemy