Iraqi lawmakers protest U.S. guards
Same story different day!
TV-Legislators walk out of parliament, complaining that troops at Green Zone entry points are overly aggressive and humiliate them.
Dozens of Iraqi lawmakers walked out of parliament Wednesday to protest what they view as overly aggressive and humiliating treatment by U.S. soldiers as representatives enter Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, where the legislature is located.
“I and many of my colleagues who live outside the Green Zone face a lot of problems,” said Feryad Rawandozi, a high-ranking official with the Kurdish parliamentary bloc. U.S. soldiers “are very arrogant and impolite when they talk to us, especially with those who don’t speak English.”
Legislators, like everyone else entering the Green Zone, must submit to a gauntlet of physical searches, and allow their vehicles to be inspected by bomb-sniffing dogs. They must line up with the throngs of other residents and employees seeking to enter the area, which is also headquarters to U.S. operations in Iraq. The process can take up to two hours.
“This is unacceptable,” Rawandozi said.
UPDATE
YAHOO-U.S. sponsorship of Sunni groups worries Iraq’s government
The American campaign to turn Sunni Muslims against Islamic extremists is growing so quickly that Iraq’s Shiite Muslim leaders fear that it’s out of control and threatens to create a potent armed force that will turn against the government one day.
December 1st, 2007 at 10:14 am
Good post John. Everyone wants to be the first to canonize our troops, but…
I’ve said all along, I’d take one well trained, professional soldier over twenty average joes with the most advanced equipment. This is a great example why.
This is also a great example for Joe Oliva to see why his “let’s use the Army as a rehab facility for our thugish youth’ plan.
Let’s double the base pay for enlisted personnel and make the Army one of the better jobs for kids leaving high school. When they line up at the recruiter’s door, we can pick and choose the best of the lot. Not only would the effectiveness of the military increase exponentially, but our armed forces would no longer be a source of entitlements and welfare.
December 2nd, 2007 at 12:00 am
Aubrey
I agree whole heartedly. The worst thing would be dying because of someone else’s ineptitude.
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:59 am
Bill,
I’ve thought about that before I went to the sand box: I know my sh%t is squared away, but am I gonna get nailed because Smith and his squad spent their time on the xbox instead of training.
Better soldiers would make a huge impact on our image too. No more Abu Gharaibs, no more Iraqi PMs compaining about a lack of respect, etc. We need professional killers, not Joe Oliva’s prison system castoffs.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Protest…
Good post by Controlcongress. His view on protest is ……