Death by treachery

[babylonsister]

http://www.adn.com/news/military/iraq/karbala/story/9135571p-9051661c.html

Death by treachery

While Fort Rich troops chatted with family, their Iraqi allies melted away as terrorists in disguise entered the Karbala compound

By RICHARD MAUER
[email protected]

Published: July 15, 2007
Last Modified: July 15, 2007 at 11:34 AM

snip//

The Suburbans had big cylindrical antennas on their front bumpers, the kind you see on Army Humvees and contractor SUVs all over Iraq to jam signals used to trigger roadside bombs. And like contractor and Army vehicles, there were placards in the rear windows, warning motorists in English and Arabic to stay back 100 meters.

The men inside were dressed in U.S. Army camouflage and carried American weapons. They knew enough English to bark simple commands and offer polite greetings. They knew exactly how the U.S. soldiers would defend the compound. They knew the compound's most important room was the command and control center with its radio base stations, and they knew that at 6 p.m., the soldiers in the room would be off guard and relaxing. They even knew that the two most senior American officers in Karbala would be in the room next door.

TRAITORS WITHIN?

Who paid for and trained the force about to attack, and who betrayed the Americans, have become among the most troubling questions in the Iraq war. Senior U.S. officers, including Col. Michael Garrett, commander of the Anchorage-based airborne brigade that provided most of the troops at the compound, said the lightning assault was one of the most sophisticated and complex attacks on coalition forces since the fall of Baghdad.

At a briefing two weeks ago in Baghdad, a military spokesman disclosed new suspicions of high-level Iranian involvement in the attack, including the alleged use of Lebanese proxies to train the force.

But while U.S. officials speak about the Iranian role in planning the attack, they have said little about how Iranians obtained the detailed intelligence needed for the raid or who carried it off.

An official Army investigation, completed in February and recently released to the Daily News under the Freedom of Information Act, also suggested Iranian involvement in the attack.

But the investigation also raises serious questions about the role of Iraqi police -- the coalition's supposed ally in imposing the rule of law in Iraq.

more...

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Thanks, Sister

I posted a link to this story in response to another post earlier, but it kind of dropped like a stone. I find this very, very interesting and a preview of what I think we're going to be seeing more and more of as time goes by.

I notice this is Part One. Will you be following the series?

[babylonsister]

2. If I see it, I'll be posting it. I thought of you when I read this; these

were some of 'your' guys, right? So we're again training them so they can turn around and kill the trainees. Past time to get the heck of out there.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Yes, they were our guys

That was a very sad day here in Anchorage. This got a lot of local coverage, but the specifics are just now coming out apparently.