For Marine Unit, Fallouja Is 'One Big Ordnance Dump'

[bemildred]

Mentions al Qaqaa, and interesting because it's about Fallujah
and you can sort of see the writer searching for the right spin.

Although it is unclear where all the weaponry has come from, some of Iraq's largest munition dumps were looted when they went unguarded or underguarded by U.S.-led troops who invaded the country in March 2003. At the sprawling Al Qaqaa ammunition site south of Baghdad, hundreds of tons of high-grade explosives apparently were hauled off in trucks, according to U.S. troops, who said they were unable to halt the theft because they were outnumbered.

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Dailey, who has spent 15 of his 23 years as a Marine in the explosive ordnance disposal unit, served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and in missions in Somalia and Kosovo. Somalia, he said, was packed with explosives. "It was an EOD technicians' playground."

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There are indications that when the Iraqi economy was in near-collapse, ordnance became a kind of currency, with civilians being paid with grenades or rockets, which could then be bartered for food and other goods.

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To a degree unanticipated when the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, insurgents have proved resourceful in cobbling together roadside bombs to kill and maim U.S. troops. Larger munitions, such as antitank shells, have been known to destroy even the sturdiest of U.S. vehicles.

LA Times

[NYC]

1. Shinseki. --because they were outnumbered--

Nobody wanted to listen to Shinseki.

And to this all I can say is good heavens:

...There are indications that when the Iraqi economy was in near-collapse, ordnance became a kind of currency, with civilians being paid with grenades or rockets, which could then be bartered for food and other goods...

[benburch]

2. We are SO screwed.

We need to cut and run and do it yesterday. A full strategic retreat, abandoning in place anything that cannot drive itself out of there. Yes, there will be a paroxysm of violence, but nothing can prevent that eventuality now. Perhaps the Iraqis will be better at solving their internal differences if allowed to do so than we suppose.

[leftchick]

3. "it is unclear where all the weaponry has come from"!!??

Pulease... only the most uninformed american will have no clue where the hell they came from. Okay, that means most americans. :(

[acmavm]

4. They know, but they can't admit the truth because they would then have

to admit that they're nothing but delusional fools. That's what keeps some of the smarter ones from turning. They know, they know who's to blame, and they know the reasons why. They just can't face the fact that they supported them and their bloody attack.

I hope they burn in hell for an eternity. And that's not wrong, no one will ever make me believe that it is. Hell only makes sense when you realize that there would be no reason for its existence except for thugs, liars, murderers, and imcompetents like bush** and his supporters.

[daleo]

5. "For Marine Unit, Fallouja Is 'One Big Ordnance Dump'"

For several hundred thousand Iraqi people, it used to be their hometown. It will be again, if they can drive the U.S. forces out. To me, this encapsulates why the occupation cannot succeed in the long run.