AP: U.S. Says No Evidence of Wedding at Site

note: this coverage of the US positon also includes information that contradicts that position. Read the whole article - it does not make Kimmit look good.

U.S. Says No Evidence of Wedding at Site
U.S. Military Says No Evidence of Festivities at Attack Site on Syrian Border

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq May 22, 2004 — The U.S. military said Saturday it has found "no evidence of a wedding" at the site of an airstrike last week near the Syrian border, and said evidence so far suggested the target was a desert base for foreign terrorists sneaking into Iraq.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, coalition deputy chief of staff for operations, showed slides of military binoculars, guns and battery packs that could be used to trigger roadside bombs found by U.S. troops at the site.

--snip--

Associated Press Television News footage taken at the site Thursday showed broken musical instruments, pieces of bloodied women's hair and the bodies of children. Kimmitt said no musical instruments were found, however.

--snip--

"There may have been some kind of celebration," Kimmitt said. "Bad people have celebrations, too. Bad people have parties, too, and it may have been what was seen as some kind of celebration ... may have been just a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people conducting criminal or terrorist activities."

Members of the clan said, however, that the Americans did not question them after the attack and that when some of the survivors tried to approach U.S. ground troops, they were fired on.

whole article: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040522_853.html

No apologies for mass murder from the Bush Administration.

Suspect there are "bad people" in a house? Blow up the house and kill the people inside.

and possibly, in a few years, resist the American led Iraq and all of it's puppets.

"U.S. Says No Evidence of Wedding at Site"

I believe that about as much as I believe the idiot in thief is a true "Christian". They showed it on the news of the aftermath of that massacre....the band instruments was strewn around the area. Who the phuck are they KIDDING? Damn LIARS.

I remember reading the initial report that they bombed a house out in the middle of nowhere.
Now we learn that target was part of a small village of around 25 houses. Since it was dark, I imagine our soldiers got confused and started attacking more houses than they were supposed to. Or worse, they decided to obliterate the whole town on purpose.

After Abu Graib, I will never trust the military spokesmen again.

edit: sp.

bullshit

:(

ALL

of dead children in Fallujah that, if he did not want to see those pictures, he should just change the channel. Enough said.

I guess they had it coming to them.

How fucking tone deaf can you be, Kimmit?

What's his point? What a lying lunatic. The military must simply be writhing in shame!

He was from Baghdad and prominent an earlier article said. Can't one damn reporter follow up on that story? Imagine if Wayne Newton was "taken out" in an airstrike?

I think it was the celebrity singer's brother, who was also a singer.

This is sick!

This man is not only a liar which is his job, but he's also bad at his job.

This is fucking disgraceful!!! Sorry,...I have to allow that "f" thingy to slide on this sh*t.

At least ABC is being far, far more (I hate to even use the word anymore since it has been SOOOOO TAINTED *LOL*) balanced in its reporting.

done something wrong; the other alternative is to torture (abuse is the Bush euphemism) them instead. Let us have America back. Heaven knows we have become less educated, more provincial, fatter and characterless, but at least in our money-grubbing we were not invading innocent countries and murdering their citizens without cause. This cabal has taught Americans that preemptive is in.

of what was happening on their ground than we would. Were we looking for typical American wedding symbols? Just because we didn't find mothers of the bride in grotesque pink hats, a 20-tiered wedding cake and flowers out the wazoo doesn't mean a wedding wasn't going on.

It also requires everyone to accept that some are more equal than others and THAT is just the way it is.

There's no evidence now after it's been blown all to hell and gone. It's not like wedding trappings are placed in hardended bunkers and made to survive air strikes.

I wonder if these people even know what the characteristics of an Iraqi wedding would be.

you and I were thinking exactly alike!

Kimmit's lying through his teeth. We've all seen pictures of wedding tents and musical instruments. If he'd said the wedding was also hiding guerrilla activity, maybe he could have some kernel of honesty. This dog won't hunt. He's a liar and a murderer!

What would be the typical age of an Iraqi bridegroom? 2? 97? Of course the groom's friends would be there. They certainly strain at gnats, don't they?

I HATE HATE HATE these Nazis who have ruined our country!!!

Yeah, right. :eyes:

:kick:

"Quick, Abib, hide the WMD's!"

the truth had be dragged kicking and sceaming into the light of day...

In the Name of all musicians on the face of the Earth,
In the Name of wedding ceremonies everywhere,
In the Name of Love between Man and Woman and the sacred union thereof,
In the Name of all the murdered Children of Iraq,
In the Name of all the parents who grieve over the murdered Children of Iraq,
And knowing full well that I also call it upon my own head,

I now demand that Justice be done unto the United States of America.

May the Goddess have Mercy upon all our souls. So Mote It Be.

Amen.
Amen.
Amen.

"military binoculars" - I have two pairs of binoculars myself, one for hiking and one for star-gazing. I am sure Kimmet would consider each in its own way suitable for military use as well.

"guns" - If there is one thing we have learned by now, it is that most Iraqis have guns, often pretty impressive guns, like AK-47s. They also fire guns in celebration at weddings, and need them for security, especially since the invasion, so this evidence doesn't mean anything.

"battery packs that could be used to trigger roadside bombs" - they could also be used for video games, stereos, cell phones, electrical appliances (to keep wedding food warm), laptop computers, video recorders, digital cameras, etc.

"He said white powder also was found that could have been cocaine." - it could also have been sugar, or flour, talcum powder, or plenty of other materials you would expect at a wedding, especially with children around.

None of his evidence is worth a damn. They have been known to lie about their negligent mass homicides in the past (as well as other whoppers like the Jessica Lynch story), so this is the most likely explanation here as well.

On edit - "According to Lt. Col. Ziyad al-Jbouri, the deputy police chief there, between 42 and 45 people died, including 15 children and 10 women. A local hospital doctor put the death toll at 45." - Kimmet is also accusing his allies of lying. I presume he considers the deputy police chief an ally.

2 million Dinars! I imagine it was seed money for hiring and training a new crop of terrorists!!

(how big of a terrorist organization do you think can be funded with $1300.00?)

n/t

This is appalling. Nobody seems to challenge the notion that this is even an appropriate act even if these were people who intended to engage in terrost activities! What the FUCK are they even supposed to be guilty of? "Planning" terrorism? Prove it!

How many "fine Amurikan soldiers" even exposed their butts??

This is murder by remote control, even if these were "sand backs." Preemptive capital punishment for crossing an open border? Bullshit!

:eyes:

Under the regime of GWBush, all family celebrations will immediately cease.

So we attack and decapitate small children in other countries because we think there might be some "bad people" in the same building. This suprises you? How are you going to feel when it starts happening on a regular basis within our own borders?

,...has actually incited and increased anti-Americanism around the globe due to their reckless, arrogant, stingy, greedy, imperialistic notions of global dominance,...

,...I'm not real sure how I will feel about the retaliation that this f*cked up predatory administration has incited against our people. I do know who the hell I will blame: MR 'BRING IT ON'!!!!

How's about you, sweety?

Who will you blame for starting this world war?

By the way, Love, Welcome to DU!!! :hi:

Hope you learn alot and find yourself comfortable in this part of the cyber-world. :)

:kick:

and say what a good job he's doing and that he's the best command we could have, since that seems to be his standard reaction to the failure of his men. Then Cheney can pipe in and tell everyone to get off his back!

I'd like to know if soldiers went through the camp and had an opportunity to grab any wedding videos & cameras.

While searching for "foreign fighters" and "terrorists."

Do you have a reference for this?

With all the news stories covering this event, I have yet to see a time line.

The first coverage suggested that coalition troops were in the area during the day of the wedding but left many hours before the air attack. Did they call for an air strike at that time? If they did, why? None of the evidence cited now by General Kimmit was known then.

Later during the day villagers saw military aircraft overhead that came and left. Were pictures taken from the air? What would they have shown other than people gathering for some kind of meeting?

Then somebody hundreds of miles away (nobody has come forward to take responsibility) gave the order for a saturation bombing raid on a site where they knew people would be gathered. Again, none of the evidence cited now played a role in the decision that was made then.

Finally, Coalition forces are now at the site sifting through the rubble and turning up the evidence cited by General Kimmit. How long did it take them to get there? If the tribe had left by then, why wouldn't they have taken with them whatever wedding gifts and leftover food was not buried under the rubble? And if cash was discovered in the rubble, how do they know that it wasn't brought as a wedding gift?

(I have chosen not to comment on the arrogance, incompetence, and brutality of what happened in order to focus on the details of the cover up. That's all we have left to chew on.)

Welcome to DU!!! :hi:

If you find any news or info that provides answers to your poignant questions, be sure to post them here because we just want the truth!!!

Thank you for bringing important fact-finding issues to bear!!!

Hope you'll find this board fulfilling.

:yourock:

He said they had found 2 million Iraqi dinar. I'm told the exchange rate would equate that to about $1,300, certainly not a large sum of money among 45 people.

He cited that "large sum of money" as evidence they were terrorists.

Also, the bride was interviewed from a hospital with her leg blown off. The most famous wedding singer was killed there and buried a day later in Baghdad.

These guys are lying through their teeth. The press is completely asleep/controlled, or whatevr, but it is obviously completely useless.

Yeah, probably no 3 tiered wedding cake, banks of flowers, bridal bouquet and all that sort of stuff.

because this is what they want to believe.

The US Military puts this story out there so that those people can grab on to it and not lose their "faith" in the USA.

folks don't buy it. Each time a few more get to the point where they can no longer abide the almost constant state of cognitive dissonance brought about by unfolding events and trying to keep buying the admin. line. Unfortunately for the Admininstration - these stories and the follow up with their attempt to give a plausable cover story for some to grab onto - are happening in very quick succession. And each time a small part of their supporters begin to break away.

Well then by all means bomb the hell out of em, kids and all!

We must keep this story going and not allow Kimmit's explanation to become truth by lazy default. Thanks for the link.

Maybe Americans can be fooled by this cover up but Iraqis now know
how BushCo and it's Storm Troopers operate.

Just who is the "U.S." why don't they just give names and titles of who the U.S. is. They certainly don't speak for me or millions of other U.S. citizens. They....can't hide forever behind us.

he is really setting himself up for criminal charges. They really should have taken the "Unfortunate error" defence.

His CIC told him to "Hunt them down and smoke them out"! Which means,
"Lie, Steal and Kill"...do whatever it takes to "get our oil from under their sand".

monkey SAY monkey Do!

Kimmit makes me :puke:

I don't think this guy has a normal heart or pulse. If anything it is black and he could use the names of Cheney's doctor. Must keep these zombies going for murca.
:puke:

They are trying real hard to make the sheep believe this "no evidence of wedding" crap. Shouldn't be too hard.

Kermitt is such a moran I expect him to face charges at the ICC as well.

and we believe in no child left behind.


alive, that is.

Dear god. We need some grown-ups, somewhere, fast.