Airport Road a Deadly Gauntlet for Troops

[chrisesq]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37-2003Jul16.html?nav=hptop_tb

The palm-lined road to Baghdad International Airport is six miles long, six lanes wide and one of the most critical commercial and military arteries in this crippled city. It also has emerged as a deadly shooting gallery for attackers trying to kill U.S. soldiers

-snip-

The U.S. military's top commanders maintain offices at the airport, which has been closed since the war, and they often travel down the road to meet with the U.S. civilian officials overseeing the occupation of Iraq. And when the airport reopens to commercial traffic, the road to it will be a vital link in the rebuilding of Iraq, where merchants, contractors, diplomats, humanitarian relief officials and others will need to travel safely.

-snip-

Thomas said he and other soldiers had been fired upon by snipers on the rooftop of a house, in what he called a coordinated attack with those who fired the grenades. A group of neighborhood residents standing nearby said that was impossible, because people sleep on the rooftops and would have seen any snipers and stopped them.

Thomas shook his head. He said they were lying. He said things are just like that in Baghdad, murky and confused and deceptive, which makes the security situation all the more devilish in places like the airport road.

"Unless you put a tank every 10 feet," he said, "there's nothing you can do."

Honestly, I'd like to have a some remark about this total SNAFU going on over there, but I think the statements adequately speak for themselves.

[LauraK]

1. That's the road to Burger King! Bring em on.

[tnlefty]

2. Welcome to DU!

n/t

[pw]

3. So put a tank every #$@#$ feet!

What makes my blood boil more than anything else is the apparent attitude, "We don't have enough people or equipment to do this occupation right, so we're just going to continue doing a half-assed job and hope no one notices."

Not enough personnel to patrol and keep the peace, not enough to secure vital facilities. Whatever happened to that doctrine of overwhelming force?

[I AM SPARTACUS]

4. "Whatever happened to that doctrine of overwhelming force?"

...it was a doctrine, not a reality...