Riots in Baghdad over affront to flag - US Military Apologizes

VolcanoJen

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Sat Aug-16-03 02:30 AM
Original message

Riots in Baghdad over affront to flag - US Military Apologizes

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/15/1060936053746.html

Excerpt:

The US military has apologised for an incident that deeply angered Iraqi religious leaders in which US soldiers in a helicopter forced down a flag near a mosque in a Shiite district of Baghdad. A large protest followed, leading to the death of one Iraqi and the wounding of four others by US troops.

<snip>

At least 3000 Iraqis joined the protest, said US officials, who added that the troops opened fire after being attacked by small-arms fire and a rocket-propelled grenade.

US officials also said that they were changing the way they set up temporary checkpoints to make them more visible to drivers, after the deaths of at least nine Iraqis in the past few weeks, gunned down at checkpoints by US soldiers.

Related LBN Threads here:

Shiite Group Plans Militia to Protect Holy Sites From G.I.'s

and here:

US army rejects call to stop patrols in Baghad's powder keg Sadr City

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SoCalDem

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Sat Aug-16-03 02:36 AM
Response to Original message

1. Sounds like Somalia..

:(

but wait.. Bush said things are Fabyoolous, Rummy says they are fine and the media is "unhelpful"...and Dana Rohrabacher said they are throwing flowers and having parades..

hmmmmm

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jamesinca

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Sat Aug-16-03 03:21 AM
Response to Original message

2. That does not sound good at all, oh dear.

Guess we will have to just give them a little more American style freedom that they hate. You know they hate us for our freedoms, I have heard that come form some presidents mouth once or twice.

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Voltaire99

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Sat Aug-16-03 04:11 AM
Response to Original message

3. Ready, set, apologize!

What, no apology for the mountains of corpses?

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Rose Siding

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Sat Aug-16-03 04:34 AM
Response to Original message

4. A cleric there tells 10,000 there's no dif between US and Saddam

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A361-2003Aug15.html

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leftchick

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Sat Aug-16-03 07:26 AM
Response to Reply #4

5. can not argue with that logic...

saddam and smirk both have killed thousands of people....

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PATRICK

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Sat Aug-16-03 01:04 PM
Response to Reply #4

10. there is one difference

You can resist the US and the US can't be as brutal- at least in the open manner that Hussein used to effect. We can only make people madder and tempted to find targets. In repression the US is a pussycat and the expected American carrots are not there.

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LizW

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Sat Aug-16-03 08:39 AM
Response to Original message

6. Is this today's official story on the flag incident?

I've heard at least five different versions of how the flag was taken down.

Even this "apology" doesn't explain why the hell the helicopter was near the flag in the first place. Sure, the official story is that we wanted to see what the flag was and perhaps photograph it, but why the heck were we so close?? Why from a helicopter? And why were arms/legs reaching out of the helicopter to grab/kick at the flag?

This "apology" rings pretty hollow without those answers.

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chromotone

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Sat Aug-16-03 12:14 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. Right!

Thursday, NPR (New Prostitutes for Republicans) reported that the helicopter flew into the banner (oops! A parking-lot kind of fender-bender in the air. Sorry!), yet previous reports describe an attempt to physically remove the banner by hand.

Like the Jessica Lynch story, this one will have many versions. And like that one, when many versions of the same event come to light, one can bet they are lying.

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Robin Hood

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Sat Aug-16-03 10:50 AM
Response to Original message

7. Whoa!!!!

"after the deaths of at least nine Iraqis in the past few weeks, gunned down at checkpoints by US soldiers."

How come we haven't heard one bit about the above quote from the press? Except for this fact being buried in the bottom of another story.

Where the hell is our free press?

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Aidoneus

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Sat Aug-16-03 12:47 PM
Response to Original message

9. Sadr City Shiites refuse US apology, vow revenge

Sadr City Shiites refuse US apology, vow revenge
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/16_08_03/art17.asp

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