Thursday, December 29, 2005
Do Your City Police Use 500lb Bombs?
W and his Bush League minions keep telling us how Iraqis are retaking control of their country and how things are getting better. Why, then, does the US need to use 500lb bombs in law enforcement activities?
Then there's the civilian population's inevitable reaction. How would YOU feel if suspected drive-by shooters in your home town were taken out with a tactical airstrike with "only minimal damage to surrounding structures?" Would you feel happy about the cops getting "tough on crime" or frightened at the thought of 500lb bombs hitting nearby?
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Ten killed in US air strike on Iraqi villageIf the US press release is accurate, it's nice that insurgents planting roadside bombs were stopped. However, where were the Iraqi police? Where were the US troops? What does it say about law enforcement in Iraq generally when suspects must be bombed from the air because no ground forces are close enough to catch them?
(Reuters)
Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:42 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets dropped two 500-pound bombs on a village in northern Iraq, killing 10 Iraqis they suspected of planting explosive devices on a nearby road, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday in a small village near the town of Hawija, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, the military said.
The pilots were flying a routine patrol when they saw three men digging holes by the side of major road and planting bombs in them, a statement said.
When they heard the planes overhead, the men jumped in a car and fled. They were soon joined by another car as the jets tracked them. They drove the cars into the village and tried to hide by parking between two buildings, the statement said.
The pilots then dropped two 500-pound laser-guided bombs.
"They were able to destroy the vehicles while causing only minimal damage to surrounding structures," the military said.
U.S. soldiers later raided the village and found assault rifles, a machine gun and bomb-making equipment in houses near the site of the air strike. They said they also found a bomb by the side of the road where the men were first spotted.
Then there's the civilian population's inevitable reaction. How would YOU feel if suspected drive-by shooters in your home town were taken out with a tactical airstrike with "only minimal damage to surrounding structures?" Would you feel happy about the cops getting "tough on crime" or frightened at the thought of 500lb bombs hitting nearby?
