Palestinian mortar kills soldier, wounds 6 others in Gaza

[bemildred]

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed by a mortar shell Thursday during a gun battle with Palestinian militants near the southern Gaza settlement of Morag.
The soldier was identified as sergeant Michael Chizik, 21, from Tiberias.

Palestinian gunmen hit an IDF position with mortars and sniper fire, wounding six additional soldiers, three of them seriously.

Hours later, IDF troops backed by tanks pushed into the surrounding area in a search for militants.

Haaretz

[beniciodeltoro]

1. These Palestinians need anti-tank weapons!

Come to think of it, so do the Iraqis.

[bemildred]

2. This is unusual on two counts.

They hit something with the mortar.
They got away.

I have read recently of the Palestinians using an ATW against
an Israeli tank in Operation Days of Penitence, but don't quite
know what to make of it. They can't have many or things would be
quite different.

The Iraqis seem to be doing fine with RPGs and stolen RDX. I have
seen reports in Muslim online sourcces of ATW and SAMs in use in Iraq
but not elsewhere, and so am not inclined to give them a lot of weight.
There are limits to how much you can cover up in the age of video cell
phones and such.

But it's good to keep an open mind.

[Dem_Loyalist]

3. I am totally against * and his lackeys

But to wish harm on our own troops in the military? Thats our own brothers and sisters over there. That's not right.

[JasonNeedlemeyer]

4. I agree

but, I can see the frustration that our fellow DUers are feeling too. Look noone wants to see our guys die at the same time we are conflicted with our guys being used as pawns to line the pockets of shrub and his cronies. Thank goodness President Kerry will straighten this mess out.

[Dem_Loyalist]

5. I couldn't agree more

Lord knows they're probably there just to make Halliburton more evil cursed money.

It's so obvious it's the wrong war for the wrong reason at the wrong time. I HATE that the cons got us into this mess but I can never wish evil on our brothers, sisters and cousins that are stuck over there.

[Ardee]

6. where is that phone booth, anyway?

The one in which Predisent Kerry gets into his Superman costume......The crisis in the middle east has been ongoing for decades and will benefit not at all from a change in this administraion. The Israeli lobby in the US will simply not allow a sane policy towards the Palestinians desire for a homeland or the naked Israeli empire building!

A few hundred dead Israeli's and several thousand dead Palestinians sounds like sane policy to you?

[bemildred]

7. It appears to me this little sub-thread is satire or parody.

It's difficult to tell whether it was intentional or not, though.

[Ardee]

8. All too often

life itself seems a satire or a parody...so sad, so true.