Bakersfield sergeant deliberately killed by Iraqi soldier, officials say

Bakersfield sergeant deliberately killed by Iraqi soldier, officials say
Californian wire services | Saturday, Jan 5 2008 10:15 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Jan 5 2008 10:22 PM

The army sergeant from Bakersfield who was buried with full honors Friday was gunned down by an Iraqi soldier trained to fight by the U.S. military, officials revealed Saturday.
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Sgt. Benjamin Portell, 27, was one of two U.S. soldiers killed when a 25-year-old Iraqi soldier opened fire on his unsuspecting allies as a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol he was part of came under insurgent attack in a dangerous neighborhood of Mosul.

Capt. Rowdy J. Inman, 38, of Panorama Village, Texas, was also murdered. Both decorated soldiers were members of the 3rd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

The Dec. 26 attack — which also left three other U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter wounded — is only the second known case of betrayal of American forces by a member of the Iraqi military since the March 2003 invasion.

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/327167.html

There is going to be a weird new phase to this occupation for sure.

I don't understand why this is such big news. I guess I was naive - I thought Iraqi soldiers killed "our guys" all the time, or at least dozens of times a year. I never thought they were all that allied to begin with.

War is Hell, anyone?

Vietnam anyone?