[ministe van agitatie]

Terwijl de VS (en wat zij het Irakese leger noemen) trachten de hoofdstad in te nemen, valt het verzet hen in hun basis en commandoposten aan.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents launched a brazen coordinated attack on a U.S. combat post Monday, sending in a suicide bomber and clashing with American troops. Two U.S. soldiers were killed and 17 wounded, the military said.

Het geeft te denken over de situatie in Irak.

- de VS en wat zij het Irakese leger noemen, starten hun derde offensief om de hoofdstad in handen te krijgen. Na bijna vier jaar oorlog zijn ze namelijk niet de baas in Baghdad. Ze zijn dat enkel in de Groene Zone.

- Die Groene Zone ligt regelmatig onder vuur. Eigenlijk permanent. Het is dus het centrale hoofdkwartier van zowel de bezettingstroepen als de zgn. regering.

- Het verzet is in staat grote aanvallen en offensieven te lanceren, waarvan de Forward Base Falcon in oktober ll. een doelwit was. Daarover lees je bijvoorbeeld:

The attack suggests that the protected International Zone (IZ), the socalled Green Zone is no longer secure and that US forces are no longer in control.

VIDEO OF BLAST

Click Here to view Videoclip of Explosion


The Herald, 15 October 2006,

"LAST Tuesday night in Baghdad the Iraqi skyline was lit up. In what was believed to be one of the most sustained and ferocious mortar and rocket attacks in three years, there was widespread fear among senior US military personnel that the protected international zone (IZ), formerly the "green zone", was about to experience a direct assault. Major gun battles were being fought in two of Baghdad's districts - Doura and Mansoor. Doura has a large oil refinery, Mansoor is technically an affluent area close to the IZ. Gunfire and explosions were louder than normal and then, at around 7pm, the first large rocket landed inside the IZ itself. Another hit came after 10 minutes, then another two minutes later.

Then a series of different to the daily "normal" rocket attacks, were felt. For those in the IZ, the explosions were so close and so fierce that, even for experienced military personnel, "you could taste the cordite in your teeth". The sustained attacks lasted for two hours, during which Camp Falcon, a major US ammunition and storage dump, was hit.

The attack resulted in what one security official called "a fireworks display". But the display wasn't put on for entertainment. Immediate military feedback pointed to casualties. With the IZ in blackout mode, specific troop and tanks movements were ordered, said to be a precautionary defensive measure. But there was highlevel concern that the fireworks would be followed by something the US military fears - a large-scale assault on the IZ itself. Helicopters were all over the place trying to figure out what was happening and where the attacks were coming from. Tuesday in Baghdad wasn't a good night if you needed to sleep. The official US military line on Tuesday night was that fire had broken out at the weapons dump in southern Baghdad and that "ammunition cooking off" had caused the explosions."
There were no official reports of casualties. The Iraqi interior ministry added little, saying only that neighbourhoods close to the Falcon forward operating base in Doura had been "shaken".

- Irak is voor een groot deel rustig. Dat heeft veel, zo niet alles te maken met het feit dat het land hoofdzakelijk woestijn is. Daar is het altijd rustig. Waar wél mensen wonen, is het onrustig.

- In het Zuiden liggen de Britse bases dagelijks onder vuur. Eén basis kreeg op een week tijd 48 mortieraanvallen te verwerken.

Ik begin die oorlog hoe langer hoe interessanter te vinden.

The assault began with a suicide bomber exploding a vehicle outside the base north of Baghdad, said the military statement. It gave no further details beyond the number of dead and wounded. Residents said U.S. forces fought with militants after the suicide bomber tried to break through barriers around the base near Tarmiyah, about 30 miles north of Baghdad. For hours, helicopters were seen landing at the base and leaving.

Het wordt écht spannend ... !



Met de persvrijheid gaar het in de VS dankzij de oorlog ook bijzonder goed:

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee asked the Pentagon on Friday to remove CNN reporters embedded with U.S. combat troops, saying the network's broadcast of a video showing insurgent snipers targeting U.S. soldiers was tantamount to airing an enemy propaganda film.

"Our responsibility is to report the news," said Laurie Goldberg, a CNN spokeswoman. "As an organization we stand by our decision and respect the rights of others to disagree with it."

Hahahahahahaha! de grapjassen...