Monday, December 25, 2006
A good op
Here's the lede graf from the New York Times:
Sounds like great news, right?
Especially when you consider the house of horrors the British and Iraqi troops found:
But if you were just scanning headlines, you wouldn't know a damn thing:
British Troops Raid Iraqi Police Station, Killing 7
You also wouldn't know the rather relevant detail that the perps, in this case, weren't Al Qaeda or Ba'athist diehards, nor were they Mahdi militia types - they were elements of a corrupt and brutish police organization.
Which is surprising to me, given that back in '03 and '04, all we were hearing about was how much better the British were at this stuff than the Americans.
Nice going, Pommies!!!
Splash, out
Jason
Hundreds of British and Iraqi soldiers assaulted a police station in the southern city of Basra today, killing seven gunmen, rescuing 127 prisoners from what the British said was almost certain execution and ultimately reducing the facility to rubble.
Sounds like great news, right?
Especially when you consider the house of horrors the British and Iraqi troops found:
More than 100 men were crowded into a single cell, 30 feet by 40 feet, he said, with two open toilets, two sinks and just a few blankets spread over the concrete floor.
A significant number showed signs of torture. Some had crushed hands and feet, Major Burbridge said, while others had cigarette and electrical burns and a significant number had gunshot wounds to their legs and knees.
The discovery of the fetid dungeon added to a string of abuses by the Iraqi security forces, highlighting the continuing struggle to combat the infiltration of the police and army by militias and criminal elements — even in a Shiite city like Basra, where there is no sectarian violence.
But if you were just scanning headlines, you wouldn't know a damn thing:
British Troops Raid Iraqi Police Station, Killing 7
You also wouldn't know the rather relevant detail that the perps, in this case, weren't Al Qaeda or Ba'athist diehards, nor were they Mahdi militia types - they were elements of a corrupt and brutish police organization.
Which is surprising to me, given that back in '03 and '04, all we were hearing about was how much better the British were at this stuff than the Americans.
Nice going, Pommies!!!
Splash, out
Jason
Comments:
Well, I remember a certain Journalist who warned and warned of the mess that Iran's newest western providence had become and of the inability or worse of the Brits to do anything about it.
I also remember that Steven Vincent
was murdered for his actions.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Post a Comment
I also remember that Steven Vincent
was murdered for his actions.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
