Iraqis Forced to Take in Uninvited Troops

[Judi Lynn]

Iraqis Forced to Take in Uninvited Troops

By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
Associated Press Writer

October 27, 2005, 2:20 PM EDT

HADITHA, Iraq -- The Marines call it a necessary evil -- taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives.

In a recent offensive in Haditha, the headmaster of one school where Marines were based pressed them for a departure date so he could resume classes. At another school, Marines fortified the building with blast walls and sandbags for long-term use.

A trembling woman wept when Marines tried to requisition her home to set up an observation post with a view of a nearby road where a bomb had been planted. The Marines quickly left, using her neighbor's rooftop instead.

"We try to be respectful and not destroy anything in their homes," said Cpl. Joseph Dudley of Los Gatos, Calif., with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. "We just borrow their house and try to complete our missions."
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-iraq-taking-over-houses,0,2386287.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[IChing]

1. Gee, I tend to remember something in the American Revolution about

British Troops doing the same thing.

After this episode, the British responded with passing the"(5)Coercive or Intolerable Acts(5)."

The first, (#1)the Boston Port Bill, closed the port of Boston until the tea was paid for -- an action that threatened the very life of the city, for to prevent Boston from having access to the sea meant economic disaster.

Other enactments (#2)restricted local authority and (#3)banned most town meetings held without the governor's consent.

(#4)A Quartering Act required local authorities to find suitable quarters for British troops, in private homes if necessary.

Instead of subduing and isolating Massachusetts as Parliament intended, these acts got everyone else in the other colonies mad!!! If the British could do that to Massachusetts, they could do it to us!

[Larkspur]

3. Yep, you know your history

This could be why our Founding Fathers warned against getting entangled in foreign affairs.

[leftchick]

14. exactly why

They knew from experience. And the MFers in charge are the exact people they warned us about!

[rodeodance]

23. kicky

[newspeak]

52. right on!!!!

forced billeting by "lobster backs" into homes---way too familiar--and sadly, we are now the enemy that our forefathers and mothers fought against.

[Jacobin]

5. Yep. Its actually unconsitutional here to do that

[MindPilot]

7. Yeah, and that's OUR guys.

Imagine if the situation were reversed.

[Zenlitened]

8. Heck, it even made the Top Ten list

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.txt

[The_Casual_Observer]

24. Bork would probably disagree.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Bingo

and why it is againt Ameican law to quarter troops

[madmark]

18. First thing I thought too, quartering.

[Inland]

19. See 3d Amendment, Bill of Rights

Article
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

[saigon68]

26. Its a Little thing called the 3rd Amendment

The hoodlums who happen to run the military say "fuck you" to the (pick a disparaging name for the Iraqis)

[BiggJawn]

39. I think the Iraqis are already pretty pissed without the "quartering".

Over 2,000 former "Precious Feti" give mute testimony to THAT fact.

But we can't say anything about where this country is headed until Bush kills HIS 6,000,000.....Oh, no, that "Dishonours" those who died before....

[Festivito]

45. We have lost ourselves, and this war. /nt

[Zenlitened]

2. Holy crap. We really are the redcoats now.

:crazy:

http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_072900_quarteringac.htm

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

21. yep- IRAQ is now our COLONY--not for cotton and tea but for OIL!!! and

they will beat us the same way we beat the British->Guerilla Warfare -AKA "Terrorism"

[fshrink]

4. Pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

[MindPilot]

6. Just think if that was you, your house, your school, your business

and maybe the troops were Chinese or Korean. They are just "trying to complete their mission". Would you be mad? Or would you be glad to have those soldiers here to liberate us from the tyranny of the Bush regime?

[YDogg]

9. Damn. Tough question!

[KansDem]

16. It all depends on whether or not they were "spreading democracy"

I mean, who could argue with "spreading democracy?"


:sarcasm:

[knitter4democracy]

40. They'd still be foreign invaders.

I grew up in redneck country, and I can tell you there's no way any foreign invader would ever be welcome in anyone's house here--no matter how good the excuse.

[cantstandbush]

10. This is US occupation, pure and simple.

This administration and its officials must face a war crimes tribuanal. i can't even understand why they are having a trial for Saddam without having one for Bush at the same time.

[MindPilot]

13. Wow! Just think if Saddam & * were tied together, one bu...

What? TRIED together?

Never mind.

[Ms. Clio]

12. This violates the Geneva Conventions

Of course, those are just quaint, old-fashioned notions.

Just more war crimes by the neofascists.





(picky style edit)

[CoffeeCat]

15. We have become the aliens in "War of the Worlds"!

We are the monsters. The invaders. The "aliens" who enter someone's house, kick the inhabitants out and do what we will.

How in the hell is this freedom?

Gee, I wonder if the shiny, new Iraqi constitution guarantees the Iraqis property rights?

As Tim Robbins said in "War of the Worlds, "Occupations NEVER work!".

I'm so sick of the monstrosities committed with my tax dollars and in my name. Sick of it!

[LynnTheDem]

17. Winning hearts and minds...

my ass.

[Solly Mack]

20. We're quartering our troops? King George better watch out - the Basra Tea

Party is coming. The Battle of Bunker Hillah to follow

[knitter4democracy]

42. My thoughts exactly.

I yelled out, "We're quartering troops now?!" before reading your post.

Disgusting.

[leftchick]

22. PHOTOS of the Occupiers in Iraqi Homes....

An Iraqi man makes his way through sleeping U.S. Marines inside his house in Hit, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 28, 2005. The Marines call it a necessary evil, taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)



A U.S. Marine smokes while sitting on an Iraqi's bed while another Marine holds up a doll found in a house in Parwana, near Haditha, Iraq, on Aug. 6, 2005. The Marines call it a necessary evil, taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)



U.S. Marines sleep in a house in Hit, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, June 28, 2005. The Marines call it a necessary evil, taking over houses and buildings

[nguoihue]

28. Yep

Winning hearts and minds.

[Bridget Burke]

33. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yet another Flashback.

[Nihil]

34. I think those photos show *exactly* how much respect is there.

Of course the "guests" will treat the Iraqi hosts well.

Of course those "diplomats in camo" will respect their new quarters.

Of course the Iraqi child whose doll was being played with was a heavy
smoker and doesn't mind the "guests" lighting up in her bedroom.

Of course the "hosts" are only too happy to have their homes trashed,
their places of worship defiled and their property looted whilst they
joyfully bury the bits of their children that can be found.

And some bastard will come along to justify this crap in a heartbeat.

[ContraBass Black]

38. I'd be mad as hell if somebody smoked and put his feet on the furniture

In my house.

[knitter4democracy]

41. Me too!

Quartering is illegal for a reason.

[Judi Lynn]

43. Thanks for posting these photos.

Gives you the feeling there are a LOT of householders who are ready for the end of occupation. It would be nothing short a nightmare.

[CrispyQ]

47. This makes me so angry & also ashamed of our troops.

Your mothers would be ashamed of you, you fucking a-holes. Either take your fucking shoes off or lie on the floor. Leave the people's property alone & stay out of their bedrooms.

BTW, I suppose the schools we've taken over are the brand new ones that we built? extreme :sarcasm:

We are the monsters now.

[MountainLaurel]

49. Good god.

Next thing you know we'll be conscripting Iraqi boys for the military.

[oneold1-4u]

50. Rather odd- -

This posting about who can take what ever they need.
Just suppose, down your street, a nice bunch of democrats meet next week to discuss changes in todays political structure under the current regime. Homeland Security was formed for the purpose of legally removing people, taking property,(including your humvee) for any necessary action against any presumed insurection by any group to the "laws"!(new ones every month)
Waco might not be the best example until you recall the picture of a tank going through a wall!
When they climb to the roof of your home to watch and listen to your neighbor they would shoot you in a heartbeat with any refusal and it would all be legal under the "NEW" regime laws!
Just consider that the president a couple of weeks ago proposed possible quarantine of areas if Bird flu arrived! Are you frightened of the flu (60 possible deaths worldwide) or of your own government. (over 2000 americans dead in Iraq and over 1000 in LA)
A quarantine would be enforced by the military if necessary!

[Bonescrat]

25. One of many in the long list of repeated injuries and usurpations...

detailed in the Declaration we should all know.

"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us"

He being King George III of course.

[Cults4Bush]

27. This is so freaking sad and bad on so many levels. K&R'd

Bad bad bad, sad sad sad....

[saigon68]

29. kick

[Zhade]

30. You just know, somewhere an Iraqi girl is getting raped.

Now, I'm not saying all troops are rapists. Far from it. But we all know, when this kind of insane ILLEGAL policy is followed, it creates lots of opportunities for the kinds of soldiers that DO look for opportunities to get away with whatever they can get away with.

This is so beyond fucked-up. This is occupation at its most intimate, most brutal level.

I am ashamed to be an American.

(Needless to say, I recc' it.)

[Judi Lynn]

31. How many "jokes" over your lifetime have you heard of "travelling salesmen

or "the farmer's daughter?" All of them making stupid, clumsy references to the thought of strange people quartered overnight with families with young daughters. In those "jokes" the "travelling salesmen" weren't armed to the teeth, and able to vaporize the farmer and his entire family if they didn't run themselves ragged trying to keep the visitors happy.

Not exactly a lesson in democracy.

[pinniped]

32. They're a sovereign country and they have to take in foreign invaders...

in their homes.

Unless...they're not really sovereign and it was all a sham.

[malaise]

35. Was a sham?

It is a sham. They make me sick!

[Jed Dilligan]

36. And the Marine unit was called...

The 15th Hessian Dragoons?

[callady]

37. Pure f**ckin evil

Kickin' down doors, and doing what you want in others peoples worlds.

Grotesque.

[Hissyspit]

44. 'Necessary Evil?' Um, no, this war was not necessary. nt

[tuckessee]

46. Please Support the Troops!

It's very difficult for our first rate Hometown Heroes to have to requisition and live in squalid third world homes.

Many of these homes lack the basics our Boys and Girls are used to, like well stocked fridges & pantries, X-Box gaming systems, CD's with the hottest newest tunes, fancy colognes & perfumes, etc.

Please consider sending a care package to the troops fighting for your freedumbs so that their home invasions are made more comfortable.

Without your support, none of these acts of democracy and nation-building would be possible.

[xxqqqzme]

48. the additional danger is

that the homes - schools used as a 'necessary evil' then taint the occupants as collaborators endangering their lives even after the troops leave.

[DaytonOHDem]

51. I found out about this last night and I am still fuming. I cannot

believe this is happening. I was telling my 10 yr. old son about this and I asked him, how would you feel if we were invaded by a foreign country and their troops came and took over our house? He said there would never be foreign troops in our house because he would not let them in. Then he told me he could not believe we were doing this and that it must be George Bush's fault. What a smart boy.

[Disturbed]

53. Those friendly troops have also been occupying Mosques.

It has been reported that US Troops have occupied many mosques. So far, only one photo has emerged.

[Blue_Tires]

54. wow..next thing you know, we'll be employing mercs over there as well

just as the brits did...

oh...nevermind, we already are