U.S. troops defend raid, say Iraqis faked "massacre"

[kpete]

U.S. troops defend raid, say Iraqis faked "massacre"
27 Mar 2006 22:50:30 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Alastair Macdonald

BAGHDAD, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. commanders in Iraq on Monday accused powerful Shi'ite groups of moving the corpses of gunmen killed in battle to encourage accusations that U.S.-led troops massacred unarmed worshippers in a mosque.

"After the fact, someone went in and made the scene look different from what it was. There's been huge misinformation," Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq, said.

He rejected the accusations of a massacre that prompted the Shi'ite-led government to demand U.S. forces cede control of security but declined to spell out which group he believed moved the bodies.

Government-run television has shown footage of bodies lying without weapons in what Shi'ite ministers say is a mosque compound run by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The security minister accused Iraqi and U.S. troops of killing 37 unarmed men.

more:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC479911.htm

[Webster Green]

1. These assholes have no credibility whatsoever...

They lie about everything.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

3. That's not to say it couldn't happen though!

I'd be just as willing to believe the troops' side of the story.

[Webster Green]

9. Either way, it's time to get them all out of there.

I distrust everyone involved in the BFEE, including their generals.

[Ron Green]

2. Haven't we always been at war with Eastasia?

:crazy:

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. THOUGHT CRIME! THOUGHT CRIME!

We are at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia.

[Jacobin]

5. Hmm. Lemme see.......

The Sunnis hate us for overthrowing Saddam.

Now, the Shiites who are the majority hate us and have even suspended talks with us. They are 'in control' of the government, such as it is.

Now, what will smirky do to piss off the Kurds?

Then there will be NO faction whatsoever left to ask us to stay and take their oil.

[tabasco]

6. This is what happens when you promote the yes-men ...

and retire all the officers with moral courage to speak their minds.

The only thing on the agenda for these officers is cover the ass.

If it means lying their asses off, they do it.

Our military may never recover from the corruption of the Bush corporate cabal.

[Neil Lisst]

7. What happened to "we'll leave when they want us to leave?"

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. It has been changed to...

"We'll leave when the Iraqis are able to defend themselves."

[Neil Lisst]

11. "We'll stand down as they stand up."

Gosh, I am having that deja vu thing.

R .. R, I'm getting an R.

Repub ... Republic!!

Republic of ...

V ... V... Vi ... Vietnam!!

Yeah, that's the ticket!! When ARVN is trained and ready, they'll take our place and we will be back in the world! Hallelujah, it worked once and it'll work again!!

[gratuitous]

10. Wait; how does Gen. Chiarelli know the murder scene was disturbed?

I don't know who to believe in this, but one fact seems pretty irrefutable: 37 people who were alive last week are dead this week, and our military was involved at some level of participation. The people or Iraq aren't going to be too interested in the nuances of where the corpses were positioned or whether the bodies were moved post mortem. And if weapons were removed, as Gen. Chiarelli implies, where are the casualties on "our" side of this purported gun battle?