March 2, 2005

The Other Iraq

THE BRILLIANT, BRAVE AND AMAZING Michael Yon continues with his upclose and personal reports from Iraq. One is from a town where things seem to have improved in many major ways, not the least of which are in terms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness:

Once in Dohuk, American soldiers removed helmets and body armor, and carried only their weapons. The commander set them free, with orders to return later that day. I walked with some soldiers to a department store where we passed by the kiddie rides outside. The storefront may well have been in Colorado Springs, or Munich. There were big push-carts for the adults, and little carts for the children.

Inside the store was a grocery section, where the people smiled, fresh canteloupes smelled sweet, the apples red and green and yellow. There were oranges, bananas, and more. Nearly half a year had passed since I had seen such things.

[Be sure to take note of Yon's photographs of the market.]

Another report is from from Mosul where things are quite different and the "tactics" of the men called "insurgents" continue:

Recently, an insurgent hid behind a child in order to attack Americans. The tactic came as no surprise to the soldiers here. Terrorists routinely play wounded or feign their surrender in order to get close enough to launch an attack on Coalition or Iraqi Forces. In January I wrote about one bomber who grabbed the hand of a small child while she was playing on a sidewalk. Smiling, he walked with the child in hand, approaching some Iraqi police, and exploded. Americans standing close by were unharmed.
Tell me again about the "heroism" of Muslim terrorists. Tell me again about the need to "understand" them.

Posted by Vanderleun at March 2, 2005 7:18 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Yes, Gerard, the formula is: vast equanimity extended to terrorist child-murdering slime and a hyperventilating "gotcha" eagerness to portray the American military as worse than the terrorists.

Posted by: Doug Anderson at June 4, 2005 11:35 AM