US. Soldier Kidnapped in Iraqi City

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Insurgents have captured an American soldier in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, an Iraqi police spokesman said Tuesday.



Lt. Col. Mohammed Ahmed of Samarra police told reporters the soldier had been seized Monday night by gunmen in two Opel cars. He said U.S. troops were out in force in the streets of the Sunni Muslim city Tuesday.


A U.S. military spokesman said he had no information on the incident. Ahmed said the Americans had alerted Iraqi security forces and asked them to look out for the missing soldier.


U.S. and Iraqi forces stormed Samarra, 62 miles north of Baghdad, in early October as part of the U.S.-backed interim government's campaign to retake rebel areas before national elections scheduled for January.




http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20041102/wl_nm/iraq_soldier_dc

So the US alerts the Iraqi forces, but yet they have no information???:eyes:

gracias.

and... FUCK!

"POW, not "kidnapped"."

Well, from a technical point of view I wonder...

IF they treat him as a POW, and afford him the rights of a POW then yes. POW.

But if they make "demands" and threaten to kill him, then NO.

If we say POW, then we assume that those who hold him, and their commanders, are lawful combatants.

If they then kill him, then those who hold him, and their commanders, are war criminals.

Quite complex.

Status as a POW is determined by international agreements. This soldier should be treated as a POW. Any captured combatants should be treated as POWs. Yes, even in Iraq. Unfortunately what should happen and what will happen is two different things.
The US has not honored the Geneva Conventions in this conflict. We abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib and who knos how many violations we don't know about. If we do not obey the rules of war, how can we expect our enemy to do so?
This is the result of immoral and stupid leadership at the top of this administration. By ignoring international agreements and splitting hairs over whether to grant Geneva Convention protections to our prisoners, the Bush administration has placed our troops at greater risk. The administration created an atmosphere of lawlessness and disgraced our Nation.
Our troops are at greater risk if they are captured, due to Bush and Rumsfeld's immoral leadership. We can expect our troops to be abused in retalion for our own crimes.

I hope this soldier finds his way to safety.

according to U.S., is that the rules only apply to the enemy.

U.S. military adheres to the law of the jungle, except when the jungle gets in the way and then they defoliate it with Agent Orange.

In Iraq, they have been rapidly doing away with the palm trees.

:shrug: somehow I doubt it.

I don't think the Iraqi resistance had time to send a team to the UN after "Shock & Awe." I don't really think it's a top priority for them right now. But, in fact, Iraq signed the convention on FEB 2, 1956.

We are fighting a guerilla army and it does not matter if they have signed a damn thing. The US is still obligated to follow the rules of war. The guerillas are bound only by the persuasive power of the UN. It would be in both parties' interest to obey the rules of war, but neither side has.

US war crimes have made it more dangerous for US troops taken prisoner. US war crimes have also poisoned the atmosphere for us to reconcile after getting out of this quagmire. It is clear that we have hurt our security by ignoring the rules of war. Our influence and position in the Middle East will be weakened for decades due to the stupidity of the Bush administration.

It would also be in the guerillas' interest to abide by the rules of war. It would garner much more international support for their cause if they were seen less as terrorists and more as freedom fighters.

So I'm not sure what your point is. It doesn't matter if our enemy has signed anything. We are still bound by the rules of warfare.

He's a uniformed combatant in a war zone, or more properly a garrison soldier in a occupied territory. He's most especially not a "kidnap victim."

I certainly hope he's treated well, but in a partisan guerilla war in an occupied country that's difficult, both because the people are aggrieved and because there is no possibility for POW facilities, ICRC visits, etc.

The insurgents actually have no incentive to take prisoners except to use as hostages-- they have no effective means for removing combatants from the field and holding them except as occasional individuals.

sorry fella, you can't have it both ways. If this guy isn't a POW then the US military is a terrorist organization. We're at war or we're not. Which is it?

Not complex at all. The US invaded and occupied a defenseless nation. The people of that nation are using any means avaible to defend their country , it's people and it's resources.

Will it get burried in this news cycle? Let's send it to the major ass, I mean news, networks.

:(

Believe it or not.

http://uruknet.info/.?colonna=m&p=6768

There are a lot of things happening in Iraq that we don't (and won't) hear about.

:(

You know these people are not afraid to carry out their threats. If he/she is killed, you can bet the US will retaliate, and kill alot of people.

I hope this person can remeber these words:
Hope IS on the way

Cheers
Drifter

Offcourse the insurgents will follow the rules of the Geneva Convention with our POW just like we followed the rules with the Afghan and Iraqi detainees. If this is true, it will not be pretty.

Apparently whoever leaked the story did not get it approved by US military censors.

The U.S. military denied on Tuesday an Iraqi police report that insurgents had captured an American soldier in Samarra, north of Baghdad.
A U.S. military spokesman said the 1st Infantry Division, whose operating area includes Samarra, had reported "100 percent accountability of their soldiers at this time."

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6688848

wonder who is telling the the lie? :shrug:

and the media.

For the sake of the soldier, I hope that I'm wrong.

U.S. Denies Soldier Kidnapped in Iraq's Samarra

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) - The U.S. military denied on Tuesday an Iraqi police report that insurgents had captured an American soldier in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

A U.S. military spokesman said the 1st Infantry Division, whose operating area includes Samarra, had reported "100 percent accountability of their soldiers at this time."

I heard otherwise on this....man I wish they would get their $hit straight

the only reason things went so hard for him, due to their own total indifference to the suffering of the people we've devastated there.

It would point directly to them, and they won't admit it.