Two years after war, U.S. troops stuck in Iraq training local troops

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An American soldier looked over and saw what was happening. "Hey, tell them to knock that shit off," he yelled.

The interpreter nodded that he would. Then he shouted in Arabic at the detainee, "If you come with us, we will slaughter you."

The detainee, wearing only underwear and a T-shirt, shivered in the cold. Blood streamed down the back of his head. He denied having anything to do with the weapons cache across the street from his home.

While informants gave convincing testament that the detainee that night was an insurgent, it isn't always clear-cut, said Capt. Edward Ballanco, 30, of Savannah, Ga., who heads a 3rd Infantry team that's advising the Iraqi national guard.

"The problem is that some of the guys in power are carrying out family vendettas," Ballanco said. "We think they're arresting people from competing families."

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11152108.htm

Sounds like we've gone into the warlord-creating business.

That always helps build confidence! :eyes:


http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38797


RAMADI, Iraq - The deputy commander of the Iraqi army in western Al-Anbar province was shot dead by US troops at a checkpoint Tuesday night, a police officer said.

"The US forces opened fire at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Brigadier General Ismail Swayed al-Obeid, who had left his base in Baghdadi to head home," police Captain Amin al-Hitti said.

"They spotted him on the road after the curfew, which goes into effect at 6 pm," the officer said in Baghdadi, 185 kilometres (142 miles) west of the capital.

No immediate reaction was available from the US military.

need us to show them how to survive, like they have never done any of this shit on their own before. That is pure arrogance and ignorance on our part. We have a 200 plus year history, their history is measured in thousands of years. I think it would be safe to bet the paycheck on the fact that they've had armies, built buildings, know what it takes to build an oil refinery, did road construction, etd. You know, all that shit we're paying Halliburton, KBR, and the rest of the crooks to do now.