Iraq Crisis: 'It Is Death Valley. Up To 70 Per Cent Of Them Are Dead'

[Purveyor]

Source: Telegraph UK

By Jonathan Krohn, aboard an Iraqi Army helicopter on Mount Sinjar

8:00AM BST 10 Aug 2014

Mount Sinjar stinks of death. The few Yazidis who have managed to escape its clutches can tell you why. “Dogs were eating the bodies of the dead,” said Haji Khedev Haydev, 65, who ran through the lines of Islamic State jihadists surrounding it.

On Sunday night, I became the first western journalist to reach the mountains where tens of thousands of Yazidis, a previously obscure Middle Eastern sect, have been taking refuge from the Islamic State forces that seized their largest town, Sinjar.

I was on board an Iraqi Army helicopter, and watched as hundreds of refugees ran towards it to receive one of the few deliveries of aid to make it to the mountain. The helicopter dropped water and food from its open gun bays to them as they waited below. General Ahmed Ithwany, who led the mission, told me: “It is death valley. Up to 70 per cent of them are dead.”

Two American aid flights have also made it to the mountain, where they have dropped off more than 36,000 meals and 7,000 gallons of drinking water to help the refugees, and last night two RAF C-130 transport planes were also on the way.

However, Iraqi officials said that much of the US aid had been “useless” because it was dropped from 15,000ft without parachutes and exploded on impact.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11024037/Iraq-crisis-It-is-death-valley.-Up-to-70-per-cent-of-them-are-dead.html

[msongs]

2. of course the Islamic world is rushing to their aid and condemning the atrocities nt

[philosslayer]

33. Muslim bashing again?

Some things never change.

[JCMach1]

69. KSA and other Gulf countries are supporters of ISIS...

so you will be hearing crickets...

[politicman]

3. nice try..

Oh I have a feeling the Islamic world is watching and thinking that Muslims have had worse happen to them at the hands of the U.S and Israel.

I am sure the Islamic world is thinking back to the battle of Fallujah where Iraqi Sunni bodies were lying in the streets and getting eaten by dogs, I am sure the Islamic world is currently looking at Gaza and watching the West wholeheartedly support Israeli bombs that are blowing children to pieces.
I am sure the Islamic world is looking back at the 500,000 Iraqi children who died because of decade long sanctions against Iraq, or the 100,000s that died as a direct consequence of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


So yeah, I don't really think the Islamic world is going to band together to help the Yazidi's when Muslims all over the middle east have faced and are currently facing slaughters of their own.

But nice try at trying to make the Islamic world look like they are indifferent to the predicament of the Yazidis, its more like the Islamic world has and is facing its own predicaments, many caused from within themselves, and many caused from outside forces who covet Mideast oil.

[aquart]

52. So you didn't notice your claim that Muslims don't give a fuck for anyone's misery

but their own?

And it seems to be our fault and Israel's fault but never ever their fault?

With friends like you...

[aquart]

55. We haven't figured how to drop food from a height yet?

That's insane.

[politicman]

64. again nice try to ..

No, my claim isn't that Muslims don't give a fuck for anyone's misery, but if you like I can expand on my comment by saying that America and a huge number of Americans don't give a fuck about Muslims.

If America can sit on the side lines and watch Muslims being slaughtered by Israel, if America can personally slaughter 100,000s of Muslims to get control of their oil, If America can actively support with weapons and money dictators in the region who oppress, torture and slaughter their own people

AND

then turn around and want to use military intervention to help only those people that deems worthwhile to help, like the Yazidis and Christians, then that shows America doesn't give a fuck for anyone's misery but their own kind's.

Maybe, just maybe the Muslim world isn't banding together to save the Yazidis because the Muslim world is dealing with its own problems at the moment.

[joshcryer]

4. The Yazidis are probably done for.

Even if the US hits columns of ISIS fighters there will be reprisals for years. It's likely that the only ones left will be in the diaspora.

[jambo101]

5. I'm all for humanitarian intervention but

Whats happening now will happen again as soon as America stops with the air support, we are dealing with a faction of uncivilized savages whos only goal in life is the killing of innocent citizens. I'd say go in with an international force and wipe these terrorists out but isnt that what we've been doing over there for the last 10 years?

[CJCRANE]

9. Just cut the purse strings.

Someone is funding all this. Freeze their bank accounts.

And freeze the extremists Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Facebook and Twitter are acting as the recruiting and propaganda arm of ISIS.

[840high]

27. When Isis captures a town

they take all - banks, money, houses.

[Jackpine Radical]

53. "Someone" is the House of Saud.

Just walking on the Sunni side of the street, you might say.

[MrMickeysMom]

6. Yay, drones! They're the best!

[SamKnause]

7. Who in their right mind

thinks you can drop cases, or pallets of bottled water and food from 15,000 feet without them exploding ????

Who gave the orders to drop the supplies without parachutes ???

Who is training our military ???

It seems our government and military are not prepared or trained for the majority of situations that arise.

Our tax dollars continue to be squandered by those in charge.

How did these inept clowns get their positions of power ????????????????????????

[newfie11]

8. I agree

I can't imagine the dispare to have much needed food and water destroyed right before your eyes.

[joshcryer]

10. I agree that they should've dropped much lower.

However I suspect they're afraid of MANPADs in the hands of ISIS and didn't want to put the pilots at risk so they did the (unlikely to succeed) high drop.

[jtuck004]

11. Had to be someone with experience...

[U4ikLefty]

65. Okay, I hate that I think this was funny.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. This story is bullshit

I doubt very much that pallets were dropped without chutes. The U.S. has done these sorts of airdrops for decades.

Cargo planes dropped parachuted crates of food and water over an area in the mountains outside Sinjar, where thousands of members of the Yazidi minority where sheltering, according to witnesses in the militant-held town, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-u-s-aid-to-stranded-civilians-came-just-in-time/

It boggles the mind why DUers are suckers for any bullshit spewed out there - notably from so-called "Iraqi officials" who essentially aided and abetted this disaster.

[watoos]

13. I thought the same thing as you,

I can believe that maybe one of the chutes didn't deploy, but it's too much for me to believe that we would drop water jugs from 15,000 feet without a chute. We can't be that stupid?

[BumRushDaShow]

16. The operative sentiment in the piece appears to be

to claim that little reached the ground so "send more"... Meanwhile, where the hell are the supplies from the Iraqi government?????

DUers need to think twice about believing the propaganda spewed by the incompetent Iraqi government when it comes to humanitarian aid.

This article seems reasonable for reportage regarding drops in the remote mountains -

Tens of thousands of Yazidis who fled the militants are trapped on a barren mountain, and U.S. cargo planes dropped food and water to them. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in New Delhi that 60 of the 72 crates dropped on Mt. Sinjar early Friday had reached those needy people.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-us-launched-first-airstrikes-in-iraq-20140808-story.html#page=1

The above would probably be reasonable in terms of the conditions of the location (as a comparison, when planes fly over to try to put out wildfires and their success rates with multiple passes).

Unfortunately we have alot of "we'll hold your hat-ism" out there around the world.

Edit to add - Mt. Sinjar's summit is about 4400 ft above sea level so folks can do the math.

[Cha]

14. Anything that helps feed their rage against the USA.. it doesn't have to be true..

Look at all the RT shit posted around here.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Ain' that the truth?

[leftynyc]

59. Depressing, isn't it?

Hope you weather your two storms with little drama.

[Bosonic]

21. C 17 Humanitarian Air Drop over Norther Iraq (centcom 8 Aug 2014)

Chutes are obvious in video.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Thank you for posting that

Cool video.

As I understand it, the pallets roll down a ramp out of the cargo bay. In post #22 I linked to an article about the training of 'chute riggers here - http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/10/14/parachute-riggers-ensure-troops-receive-supplies.html

[aquart]

57. Thank you!

I needed that.

[Zaggs]

66. Couple of problems

Couple of problems here. First, the Yazidis on the mountain took what they themselves could carry and quickly ran onto the mountain. So where are those lights coming from? Second, why are they dropping supplies to people who have nothing at night? Are they hoping the supplies literally land on top of them.

[Rapillion]

29. It does seem like nonsense

Where does the 70% number come from? Who drops relief supplies from 15,000 ft?

It's the Telegraph, a standard neocon media outlet. We believe at our peril.

[n2doc]

31. Agree. Pure BS. n/t

[DisgustipatedinCA]

47. There was a piece on NPR that was pretty much opposite this report

They were saying that up to that point, the Iraqi army had been dropping supplies from helicopters without parachutes, but that the US would be bringing C130's and doing parachute drops. The report went on to say that the US was really good at this kind of thing, having done it for decades, etc. that report was in stark contrast to what the Iraqi spokesman is saying here.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. THAT is the key question. Or questions.

If true about the drops.......it does appear incompetent.

We will get the whole story in the coming days, most likely.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Why would one accept this to be true?

I hate to say but the U.S. military, although far from perfect, is the best in the world - mainly because we spend so much of our GDP on it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Apparently ISIS has been firing on the planes and choppers

I have been browsing international papers on the web, the stories seem congruent.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. I can understand that

but this doesn't mean that someone dismantled the pre-configured drop crates to remove the parachutes and just tossed the stuff out the cargo bay. As a side note, the mountains are about 4400 ft above sea level so if a plane was up at 15,000 ft, one can do the math to get the real distance between the plane and the mountain.

There's an interesting article about riggers here - http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/10/14/parachute-riggers-ensure-troops-receive-supplies.html

[jambo101]

28. Sam i'd like to read up on that

Re post 7; As it sounds absurd to drop supplies from 15K ft with no parachute, what would be the point?

[Jackpine Radical]

54. I think Monty Python got the contract for that.

Eric just couldn't stand being idle any longer.

[Ruby the Liberal]

19. "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"

[Jackpine Radical]

56. The greatest line in one of the greatest shows of all time.

And so, so sick in the present context.

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys food canisters could fly"

[aquart]

58. Amen. The greatest line.

[another_liberal]

23. At the risk of ruining this moment for those who want to march us off to war again in Iraq . . .

Aren't some of these reports coming out of Kurdistan starting to remind you a bit of the, "Pitiful little, premature babies pulled out of their incubators and thrown on the floor," in those hospitals in Kuwait City, back at the start of our first war on Iraq?

Lets try not to buy wholesale into every horror story the Military/Industrial Complex might want to feed us. Things are clearly horrible enough in northeastern Iraq and Kurdistan without our simply accepting as the official truth what may well later be shown to have been emotionally charged hyperbole.

[BumRushDaShow]

25. That's exactly what it is.

although not necessarily out of the U.S. MIC (they have their irons in many other fires) but Nouri al-Maliki's desperation.

[another_liberal]

26. Good point . . .

Maliki has a lot more to lose than our "Masters of War" have to gain if the Islamic State continues their successful advances. Maliki's government does seem to be facilitating the spread of this information as well.

[DCBob]

30. I suspect by the time you are convinced there is a crisis they will be 100% dead.

[another_liberal]

35. You misunderstand me . . .

There is an obvious humanitarian crisis in Kurdistan and Northeastern Iraq. We should move heaven and earth to try and help the thousands of refugees.

Our military, on the other hand, has no other part to play than helping deliver relief supplies. No matter how much we may want to believe dropping bombs from jets and Hellfire missiles from drones is not going to protect those people. If anything, our air strikes will only kill a few of their tormentors and leave the rest even more fanatically determined to seek revenge.

"The cause of a problem can never be the solution."

Our military interventions in Iraq are, "The cause."

[DCBob]

39. Dropping relief supplies on dead people doesnt do much good.

[candelista]

40. +1.

[KoKo]

60. Agree...CNN had an Anchorwoman interviewing some correspondent

(a man in a suit) saying "Beheaded babies heads are being put on sticks and waved before the crowds...the women are being raped in front of the men" and she was so fervent in repeating whatever that "correspondent" said that I wondered when she'd mention the Iraq babies being pulled off of incubators lies and top it off with they found WMD and Torture Implements used by Saddam in the hands of ISIS.

I couldn't believe that CNN would be doing this kind of stuff when they've been caught out time and time again with their lies.. I haven't watched CNN much in the past few years and only watched Friday because this was news that CNN should be good at reporting...but...lies and lies... Wolf Blitzer is the worst but this anchorwoman was someone I didn't recognize and I wouldn't want to be alone in a room with her. She was quite scary in the authoritarian glee of her "reporting."

[another_liberal]

61. That is so like them . . .

Though I have to admit that it's well beyond what I expected even from them.

What is that I hear? Sounds like war drums approaching.

[ancianita]

32. Exploded on impact? What the hell? Now we don't even know how to drop supplies safely?

[philosslayer]

34. How much of this is exaggerated?

I say this with all seriousness. I have heard reports of beheadings, and crucifixion.... yet has anyone seen ONE picture of any of this? Is this a reprise of "Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies our of incubators"? I don't say this to be insensitive, but my spidey senses tell me their might be a larger objective from all of the "reports" we have been seeing.

[another_liberal]

36. One thing is certain . . .

Some very powerful people are clearly trying very hard to march us off to war again in Iraq.

Say no to another Iraq war!

[candelista]

41. Yes.

Big media push on this. The US government wants an excuse to attack IS, which is taking over all the oilfields. Now they have the excuse.

[candelista]

45. Well, here's a "picture." (Warning: pseudo-graphic "material.")

Another casualty of the Syrian Civil War has been honest and accurate reporting. Much of what is relayed from the civil war torn nation is overt propaganda and evidently biased depending on which side the reporter or news agency is supporting.

Recently, a picture has been making the rounds on the interwebs showing a woman being stoned to death by angry, Muslim men for the ostensible reason of having a Facebook account.

When one searches “Syrian girl stoned to death for using Facebook account” you get 294,000 results. iCNN, The Daily Mail, Breitbart, Tundra Tabloids, Examiner, India Today, Global Times, Israel Hayom, Daily Bashkar, FrontPageRag and numerous other news sites and blogs reported the story.

One immediately notices something wrong with the picture, it looks to be a still from a movie and indeed it is: The Stoning of Soraya M.

http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/02/18/fake-picture-of-syrian-girl-being-stoned-by-rebels-for-having-facebook-account/

[EX500rider]

46. Yes i have seen MANY disturbing pictures of ISIL fighters holding up heads..(graphic pic)

And machine gunning prisoners in ditches..etc..

?resize=900%2C509

[Igel]

63. Or maybe there's not a larger objective.

Rumors spread and are reported as fact.

One incident happens and it's suddenly "this is happening"--with the understanding that it's happening often.

People are scared, panicked, and the quotes that the same breathless character.

Apart from fear and panic on the ground, there's also the fact that these are opposing sides. And opposing sides always exaggerate, because you really don't want your enemies to be fully human. You also minimize problems for friends and allies because you don't want to be associated with people who are bad. This kind of over-generalization and even stereotyping based on nearly no information is a human trait, and you and I do it just like Obama and this Iraqi general does it.

The choice of words and phrasing is certainly no help. Often what's said is actually true but put in an ambiguous way. But the person listening and making inferences makes the biggest possible inference possible. "This is a Republican proposal" that we like because it suits us or that we want to diss as utterly ridiculous and hateful might just mean that a single Republican working at some think tank proposed it 20 years ago in conjunction with 300 pages of other proposals in a working paper for discussion at a meeting, at which it was derided and promptly forgotten. Or it might mean that 80% of the Republican congressfolk are behind it, along with most (R) governors, it's an important part of their campaign strategy, and 80% of registered (R) agree. I've seen the same kind of warped (mis)presentation done for "Democratic proposals" and such.

Then there's the reporting itself. And the translators. Sometimes the reporters get things slightly wrong, rearrange things to mean something a bit different from what was originally meant, etc.

[Autumn]

37. I call BS on the drops. No way would our military drop pallets without a parachute.

On that alone I doubt the rest of this story. Is this Iraqi official named curveball?

[candelista]

42. +1.

[KoKo]

62. +1

[harun]

67. +1

[Kaleva]

68. +1

[TwilightGardener]

38. I have severe doubts about this story.

[candelista]

43. There is good reason for doubt, based on past experience.

[TwilightGardener]

44. My husband was in the AF for 20 years. He was part of an air crew for a time.

They're very rigorous on proper procedures and training.

[roamer65]

48. This is starting to resemble Cambodia under Pol Pot.

The best thing to happen to Cambodia after the fiasco we created was the Vietnamese invasion in 1979. Maybe the Iranians will turn out to be the savior of these peoples.

[flamingdem]

49. Note on ISIS mentality and reports about exploding supplies

If you check out their social media you'll see they really get off on humiliating the USA and especially Obama, or rather wanting to do that. It's their big fantasy. That plus inflicting more damage than Al Queda. Anyway, this kind of report seems to be that same mentality, US fail fail impotent against our grandness.

In other words it's probably propaganda especially without an official source that is named. And it makes me wonder if the Iraqi army, some of them, support Isis.

[philosslayer]

50. Or....

ahem... cough cough... (Republicans)...cough cough

[flamingdem]

51. True. McCain could float such an idea

though it would reflect more on the military than on Obama. Still, they'd like to paint him as incompetent as much as ISIS! Plus, weirdly Gramps keeps pushing to arm his buddies in Syria and doesn't understand that they're quasi-Isis.