http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030909/ts_nm/iraq_usa_marines_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480<snip>Conway, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said U.S. Marines in the city were enforcing rules banning armed militias on the streets of Najaf.
Hundreds of militiamen assumed protection of religious and political leaders in the city after the bombing. But Marines now have warned the militiamen that they will confiscate all unlicensed weapons.
"It was getting to be a little bit problematic. People were ranging outside of the assigned area, conducting vehicle checkpoints. They weren't always identifiable to us," Conway said. Conway added the Marines, after Hakim's death, have told various clerics that "if you want to increase the size of your protection detail, you can do that," but the security detail would have to be in the "exact location" of the cleric.
Conway on May 30 said U.S. intelligence was "simply wrong" in leading military commanders to believe U.S. troops likely would face attack with chemical weapons by Iraqi forces during the war, and said "it was a surprise to me" after the war that such weapons had not been found.
more
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
