The Iraqi Goodbye Fireworks
Someone I know who is in Iraq tells me we are on schedule in the withdrawal at this time and the troops have been moving to rural bases over the last few weeks,but even this is not a safe and bloodless affair.Some are not just waving us goodbye but shooting us in the back as we go. Last Friday as one of our trucks was coming back to the base it was blown up by a IED (Improvised Explosive Device) . All the men in the truck were badly wounded . When other troops came to their aide another IED was set off wounding all of them also, this was the devious plan. Ten men total were hurt, and my friend stayed with them and helped keep them stabilized until they could be flown out to a hospital better equipped to handle their needs which was 24 hours later. I don't know their status as he was not allowed to say much about it until families are notified.
It is very hard to detect and avoid these IEDs since they are usually buried in the sand where they cant be seen. They are mostly munitions and bombs taken from Sadam's old storage caches. Here are some they found in a house in Bagdad
They may look crude but they are powerful and deadly. They are hidden by the road and rigged to trigger by a guy watching from a distance using a cheap cell phone, a pager,or even garage door opener. Hiding in a building, behind a rock or sitting in a vehicle they wait for our trucks and then dial the cell phone which is wired and taped to the side of the bomb setting it off. They have even used infra red light beams ,you know the kind in your TV remote. They learned the method from the Irani's who learned it from the IRA who learned it from the British Army in the early '90s . The IRA acquired the technology from a botched undercover British Army operation. Many of the IEDs being used against coalition forces in Iraq were originally developed by the British Army who unintentionally passed the information on to the IRA. We always seem to train those who will be our killers. These technologies are not really necessary because when nothing else is available they can simply be set off by a buried wire running to the hiding spot of a trigger man. Here is an IED captured set off by the military in a controlled situation, notice the power and flying particles of debris, each piece like a bullet.
Sunday, ten more men from the same rural base were hit by the same IED tactics. Bomb the first truck and then when help comes bomb it too. Our men are caught between a rock and a hard place, the choice is to leave wounded friends, who are in need of immediate help, where seconds count if they are to survive, or wait to check for more IEDs. Our soldiers do not wait for their friends to die, they rush to help their buddies as they know those men would do the same for them.
Monday there was a blinding sandstorm which grounded all helicopters, so teams in trucks had to go and retrieve some stranded troops, and when trucks are used there is always the danger of IEDs because trucks are the cherry targets, that trophy the IED is made for. I suppose also that it is easier for them to think of it as blowing up a truck rather than thinking of it as blowing up people. Fortunately on this day the bad guys couldn't see either so their remote IEDs were useless and the trip was non "eventful".
The Iraqi Army and Police are not ignorant about these attacks,the preparation and the perpetrators are known to them. I was told that the day before the first attack two Iraqi police had seen some men digging outside the base next to the road but the police did not investigate, what would men be digging for on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere? Those policemen knew what was going on they were just not interested in helping us,maybe they were paid in cash or promises to keep quiet. Whether these attackers are trying to kill our troops out of hatred of their own, or they are being paid by somone to do it for other reasons is not yet clear , but for our guys the result is the same.
As can be expected my friend who is a Medic is very disappointed in the Iraqis.We talked talked to him on Skype and saw him, he looked and sounded tired and discouraged , I hardly recognized his voice. His wife detecting it also said "Honey, you are not supposed to get bitter." He replied ," I know, I know, I am just tired, been up 24 hours straight. You know all we do is try to help these people and you would think they could show us a little kindness and appreciation, but the corruption is so bad here.I just need some serious rest."
He means corrupt in that money and favors determine everything in the country of Iraq now. Most are just trying to survive another day and money buys food and water and more time to live. Our troops are simply caught or I should say placed in the middle where most of the time they are more valuable blown up than alive. The politicians who cook up these wars never have to see a day of the devastation and deprivation they cause.
Remember our troops as they try to move out of there, because it seems that though they are leaving they are certainly not out of danger.
This just posted by the same friend on his facebook page : From the AP, 30 June 2009: "The American military completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities";"The withdrawal that was completed on Monday" IF THIS IS TRUE THEN WHERE THE HELL AM I AT?!?!?!!?!
It is very hard to detect and avoid these IEDs since they are usually buried in the sand where they cant be seen. They are mostly munitions and bombs taken from Sadam's old storage caches. Here are some they found in a house in Bagdad
They may look crude but they are powerful and deadly. They are hidden by the road and rigged to trigger by a guy watching from a distance using a cheap cell phone, a pager,or even garage door opener. Hiding in a building, behind a rock or sitting in a vehicle they wait for our trucks and then dial the cell phone which is wired and taped to the side of the bomb setting it off. They have even used infra red light beams ,you know the kind in your TV remote. They learned the method from the Irani's who learned it from the IRA who learned it from the British Army in the early '90s . The IRA acquired the technology from a botched undercover British Army operation. Many of the IEDs being used against coalition forces in Iraq were originally developed by the British Army who unintentionally passed the information on to the IRA. We always seem to train those who will be our killers. These technologies are not really necessary because when nothing else is available they can simply be set off by a buried wire running to the hiding spot of a trigger man. Here is an IED captured set off by the military in a controlled situation, notice the power and flying particles of debris, each piece like a bullet.
Sunday, ten more men from the same rural base were hit by the same IED tactics. Bomb the first truck and then when help comes bomb it too. Our men are caught between a rock and a hard place, the choice is to leave wounded friends, who are in need of immediate help, where seconds count if they are to survive, or wait to check for more IEDs. Our soldiers do not wait for their friends to die, they rush to help their buddies as they know those men would do the same for them.Monday there was a blinding sandstorm which grounded all helicopters, so teams in trucks had to go and retrieve some stranded troops, and when trucks are used there is always the danger of IEDs because trucks are the cherry targets, that trophy the IED is made for. I suppose also that it is easier for them to think of it as blowing up a truck rather than thinking of it as blowing up people. Fortunately on this day the bad guys couldn't see either so their remote IEDs were useless and the trip was non "eventful".
The Iraqi Army and Police are not ignorant about these attacks,the preparation and the perpetrators are known to them. I was told that the day before the first attack two Iraqi police had seen some men digging outside the base next to the road but the police did not investigate, what would men be digging for on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere? Those policemen knew what was going on they were just not interested in helping us,maybe they were paid in cash or promises to keep quiet. Whether these attackers are trying to kill our troops out of hatred of their own, or they are being paid by somone to do it for other reasons is not yet clear , but for our guys the result is the same.
As can be expected my friend who is a Medic is very disappointed in the Iraqis.We talked talked to him on Skype and saw him, he looked and sounded tired and discouraged , I hardly recognized his voice. His wife detecting it also said "Honey, you are not supposed to get bitter." He replied ," I know, I know, I am just tired, been up 24 hours straight. You know all we do is try to help these people and you would think they could show us a little kindness and appreciation, but the corruption is so bad here.I just need some serious rest."
He means corrupt in that money and favors determine everything in the country of Iraq now. Most are just trying to survive another day and money buys food and water and more time to live. Our troops are simply caught or I should say placed in the middle where most of the time they are more valuable blown up than alive. The politicians who cook up these wars never have to see a day of the devastation and deprivation they cause.
Remember our troops as they try to move out of there, because it seems that though they are leaving they are certainly not out of danger.
This just posted by the same friend on his facebook page : From the AP, 30 June 2009: "The American military completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities";"The withdrawal that was completed on Monday" IF THIS IS TRUE THEN WHERE THE HELL AM I AT?!?!?!!?!
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