Order, peace elusive in Iraqi city of Samarra

[kliljedahl]

By Tom Lasseter
Knight Ridder Newspapers

SAMARRA, Iraq - The gunfight by the Tigris River was over. It was time to retrieve the bodies.

Staff Sgt. Cortez Powell looked at the shredded jaw of a dead man whom he'd shot in the face when insurgents ambushed an American patrol in a blind of reeds. Powell's M4 assault rifle had jammed, so he'd grabbed the pump-action shotgun that he kept slung over his shoulders and pulled the trigger.

Five other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division scrambled down, pulled two of the insurgents' bodies from the reeds and dragged them through the mud.

"Strap those motherf-----s to the hood like a deer," said Staff Sgt. James Robinson, 25, of Hughes, Ark.

The soldiers heaved the two bodies onto the hood of a Humvee and tied them down with a cord. The dead insurgents' legs and arms flapped in the air as the Humvee rumbled along.

Iraqi families stood in front of the surrounding houses. They watched the corpses ride by and glared at the American soldiers.

Fifteen months earlier, when the 1st Infantry Division sent some 5,000 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers to retake Samarra from Sunni Muslim insurgents, it was a test of the American occupation's ability not only to pacify but also to rebuild a part of Iraq dominated by the country's minority Sunnis.

More than a year later, American troops still are battling insurgents in Samarra. Bloodshed is destroying the city and driving a wedge between the Iraqis who live there and the U.S. troops who are trying to keep order.

Violence, police corruption and the blurry lines of guerrilla warfare are clouding any hopes of victory



Keith’s Barbeque Central

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Winning hearts and minds, all right

the people of the city will be traumatized for years, the hatred and resentment will last for decades, I fear. Any freepers out there reading this-how would you feel if you saw one of your neighbors slung over the hood of a truck like a deer? I shudder when I realize the fellow who suggested this is from the state where I currently reside. Wonder how he'll act once he gets home? Will he ever be able to find himself again, ever have feelings towards other human beings? This is the second part of the tragedy of this war-it destroys not only the lives of Iraqis, but the souls of our soldiers.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. winning hearts and minds...

hey you! :hi:

[kliljedahl]

3. Hey lady

Just checkin' things out. Like my new avatar?



Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. it's beautiful.

:)

[newyawker99]

5. kliljedahl

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NYer99
DU Moderator