U.S. soldier killed in Baghdad convoy attack
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed Wednesday in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad, bringing the number of American battle deaths in the Iraqi conflict to 148 surpassing the 147 killed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
From ABCNews.com on July 16, 2003:
A Big Letdown
F A L L U J A H, Iraq, July 16— The sergeant at the 2nd Battle Combat Team Headquarters pulled me aside in the corridor. "I've got my own 'Most Wanted' list," he told me.
He was referring to the deck of cards the U.S. government published, featuring Saddam Hussein, his sons and other wanted members of the former Iraqi regime.
"The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz," he said.
He was referring to the four men who are running U.S. policy here in Iraq — the four men who are ultimately responsible for the fate of U.S. troops here.
From Reuters and WashingtonPost.com on July 16, 2003:
U.S. General Says Iraq Has Become a Guerrilla War
U.S. troops are facing a classic guerrilla war in Iraq spearheaded by Saddam Hussein loyalists, and American forces need to adapt their tactics to crush this increasingly organized resistance, the head of the U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday.
This contrasted with an assessment given by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on June 30 that it was not "anything like a guerrilla war or an organized resistance."
But Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid, who commands U.S. forces in Iraq, said a guerrilla war is exactly what U.S. troops are confronting.
Well, as long as we've got that straight!
From CNN.com:
From ABCNews.com:U.S. soldier killed in Baghdad convoy attack
CIA chief testifies before Senate panel
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 Posted: 10:12 PM EDT (0212 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed Wednesday in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad, bringing the number of American battle deaths in the Iraqi conflict to 148 surpassing the 147 killed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Thirty-three of those deaths have come in attacks since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1.
The convoy from the U.S. Army's 3rd Corps Support Command came under small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire Wednesday morning near the Abu Ghreib prison in western Baghdad. Three soldiers also were wounded.
Meanwhile, in an unsuccessful attack on U.S. forces Wednesday, Pentagon officials said a U.S. military C-130 transport plane was the target of surface-to-air missile fire when it was flying into Baghdad International Airport.
The missile fire did not hit the aircraft, which was able to land safely, the officials said. Officials said there had been intermittent incidents with missile fire in the past. It was unclear if Wednesday's missile attack would delay planned reopening of the airport to commercial traffic.
Gen. John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. Central Command, said U.S. forces are facing "a classical guerrilla-type campaign."
The resistance appears to be organized "at the regional level" and composed of mid-level members of Saddam's Baath party, Iraq's intelligence services and remnants of the Special Republican Guard, he said.
"It's low-intensity conflict in our doctrinal terms, but it's war however you describe it," Abizaid said. He said U.S. troops are doing "a magnificent job" combating that resistance.
U.S. military leaders -- including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Abizaid's predecessor at Central Command, Gen. Tommy Franks -- have until now resisted characterization of the opposition American troops face in Iraq as guerrilla warfare.
Abizaid said there is no sign of central command-and-control among Iraqi resistance groups, but a regional command structure appeared to be developing.
"It is getting more organized, and it is learning," he said. "It is adapting. It is adapting to our tactics, techniques and procedures and we've got to adapt to their tactics, techniques and procedures."
U.S. troops also face attacks from terrorist organizations such as Ansar al-Islam, a radical Islamic group that operated from Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq before U.S. warplanes bombed their camps during the invasion, Abizaid said. There also are fighters that are either members of the al Qaeda terrorist network or their "look-alikes," Abizaid said.
But he said the remnants of Iraq's ruling party are the "primary threat" to American and allied forces.
Tenet testifies to Senate
CIA Director George Tenet testified Wednesday at a closed hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he was expected to face questions about his agency's handling of President Bush's State of the Union speech.
Tenet said July 11 he should not have allowed the January speech to retain a reference to a now-discredited report that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa.
Many Democrats have said the administration exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and that it lacks a coherent Iraqi policy.
U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said Tuesday that the United States went to war against Iraq "under false pretenses."
The Bush administration has "undermined America's prestige and credibility in the world," Kennedy said in a speech delivered at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, said the administration had an interest in resolving the issue.
"Listen, it wasn't just the CIA involved here," Hagel said. "We had the vice president and his office involved, [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, [National Security Adviser] Condi Rice, [Secretary of State Colin] Powell's people. This wasn't just a one-man show."
Hagel voted to give Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq, but he said last week the Bush administration's case for war was looking "weaker and weaker." On Monday, he told CNN, "There's a cloud hanging over this administration." (Full story)
Other attacks in Baghdad
In another attack Wednesday, a U.S. soldier from the 1st Armored Division was wounded in an explosion outside a bank in Baghdad's Mansour district, a military spokeswoman said.
In addition, a U.S. Marine died Tuesday after falling from his guard post on top of a building in Baghdad, according to U.S. Central Command.
On a highway near Baghdad International Airport, an apparent mine explosion wounded two U.S. soldiers.
According to the Pentagon, 222 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq, including 148 in hostile fire, since the conflict began in March. In the Gulf War, there were 147 battle deaths and 145 deaths in nonhostile incidents.
Other developments
• The U.S. military is investigating the killing of Hadithah Mayor Muhammed al-Jighaifi and one of his sons. Hadithah is about 120 miles (192 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.
• The Pentagon is considering one-year tours of duty for Army units in Iraq as part of its rotation plan to maintain the current troop level in the country at about 148,000, U.S. military officials said. If approved, it would be the longest U.S. combat deployment since the Vietnam War. However, officials said that no decision has been made. If the one-year rotation policy is approved, the Pentagon then is likely to fashion a new "leave" policy that will allow troops an extended vacation at the midpoint of their tours of duty.
• Gen. John Abizaid, the chief of the U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday that plans are in progress to replace the remainder of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division "most likely" during September. Abizaid said the units that replace them could spend as long as a year in Iraq. On Tuesday, officials disputed reports that the troops would be in Iraq indefinitely. The division's 3rd Brigade already is returning to Fort Benning, Georgia, via Kuwait. At its peak, the 3rd Division had about 16,500 soldiers in Iraq, according to Army officials.
CNN Correspondents Rym Brahimi, Nic Robertson and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
From Reuters and WashingtonPost.com:A Big Letdown
Soldiers Learn They’ll Be in Baghdad Longer Than Expected
By Jeffrey Kofman
F A L L U J A H, Iraq, July 16— The sergeant at the 2nd Battle Combat Team Headquarters pulled me aside in the corridor. "I've got my own 'Most Wanted' list," he told me.
He was referring to the deck of cards the U.S. government published, featuring Saddam Hussein, his sons and other wanted members of the former Iraqi regime.
"The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz," he said.
He was referring to the four men who are running U.S. policy here in Iraq — the four men who are ultimately responsible for the fate of U.S. troops here.
Those four are not popular at 2nd BCT these days. It is home to 4,000 troops from the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. The soldiers were deployed to Kuwait last September. They were among the first troops in Baghdad during the war. And now they've been in the region longer than other troops: 10 months and counting.
They were told they'd be going home in May. Then in early July. Then late July. Then last week they heard that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had mentioned them on Capitol Hill.
"The 2nd Brigade is — the plan is that they would return in August, having been there something like 10 months," said Rumsfeld.
He added: "The services and the Joint Staff have been working with Central Command to develop a rotation plan so that we can, in fact, see that we treat these terrific young men and young women in a way that's respectful of their lives and their circumstances."
Solid words from a solid source. Soldiers called their families. Commanding officers began preparations.
‘I Don’t Care Anymore’
Now comes word from the Pentagon: Not so fast.
The U.S. military command in Iraq said Tuesday it plans to complete the withdrawal of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division by September, but officials said they could make no hard promises because of the unsettled state of security in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
"If Donald Rumsfeld were sitting here in front of us, what would you say to him?" I asked a group of soldiers who gathered around a table, eager to talk to a visiting reporter.
"If he was here," said Pfc. Jason Punyahotra, "I would ask him why we're still here, why we've been told so many times and it's changed."
In the back of the group, Spc. Clinton Deitz put up his hand. "If Donald Rumsfeld was here," he said, "I'd ask him for his resignation."
Those are strong words from troops used to following orders. They say they will continue to do their job, but they no longer seem to have their hearts in the mission.
"I used to want to help these people," said Pfc. Eric Rattler, "but now I don't really care about them anymore. I've seen so much, you know, little kids throwing rocks at you. Once you pacify an area, it seems like the area you just came from turns bad again. I'd like this country to be all right, but I don't care anymore."
Wondering Why
What they care about is their families. Sgt. Terry Gilmore had to call his wife, Stacey, this week to her that he wouldn't be home in a few weeks to see her and their two little children.
"When I told her, she started crying," Gilmore said, his eyes moistening. "I mean, I almost started crying. I felt like my heart was broken. We couldn't figure out why they do it. Why they can keep us over here right after they told us we were coming home."
Sgt. Felipe Vega, who oversees the platoon, sat alone in the platoon quarters, writing a letter. A photo of his wife, Rhonda, was taped to the wall above him.
It is Vega's job to maintain morale. That's not easy, he told me, when the Army keeps changing the orders.
"They turn around and slap you in the face," he said.
When asked if that's the way it feels, he said, "Yeah, kicked in the guts, slapped in the face."
Losing Faith
The 2nd Brigade originally came to Kuwait for six months of exercises. Then they stayed to fight the war. Like the others, Vega thought that would be the end of it.
"What was told to us in Kuwait," he said, "was the fastest way to go home was through Baghdad. And that's what we did."
But more than three months later they are still here.
"Well it pretty much makes me lose faith in the Army," said Pfc. Jayson Punyhotra, one of the soldiers grouped around the table. "I mean, I don't really believe anything they tell me. If they told me we were leaving next week, I wouldn't believe them."
Fighting words from men who are eager to put down their weapons.Copyright © 2003 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.
Reuters
U.S. General Says Iraq Has Become a Guerrilla War
Wednesday, July 16, 2003; 3:17 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops are facing a classic guerrilla war in Iraq spearheaded by Saddam Hussein loyalists, and American forces need to adapt their tactics to crush this increasingly organized resistance, the head of the U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday.
This contrasted with an assessment given by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on June 30 that it was not "anything like a guerrilla war or an organized resistance."
But Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid, who commands U.S. forces in Iraq, said a guerrilla war is exactly what U.S. troops are confronting.
"It think describing it as guerrilla tactics being employed against us is, you know, a proper thing to describe in strictly military terms," Abizaid said during a Pentagon briefing.
He said U.S. forces are fighting remnants of Saddam's Baath Party throughout Iraq.
He said mid-level officials of Saddam's government, including from the old intelligence and security agencies and the Special Republican Guard, "have organized at the regional level in cellular structure."
Abizaid said they "are conducting what I would describe as a classical guerrilla-type campaign against us. It's low-intensity conflict in our doctrinal terms, but it's war however you describe it."
"The level of resistance, I'm not so sure I would characterize it as escalating in terms of number of incidents. But it is getting more organized and it is learning. It is adapting -- it is adapting to our tactics, techniques and procedures. And we've got to adapt to their tactics, techniques and procedures," Abizaid said.© 2003 Reuters
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