Oops they did it again.... Iraqi's "very upset" at America...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite politicians raged at the United States and halted negotiations on a new government Monday after a military assault killed at least 16 people in what Iraqis claim was a mosque. Fresh violence erupted in the north, with 40 killed in a suicide bombing.

The firestorm of recrimination over Sunday's raid in northeast Baghdad will likely make it harder for Shiite politicians to keep a lid on their more angry followers as sectarian violence boils over, with at least 142 dead since Sunday. A unity government involving Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is a benchmark for American hopes of starting to withdraw troops this summer.

The U.S. military said in a statement that "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation." It said the raid targeted a building used by "insurgents responsible for kidnapping and execution activities."

The military said the building had been under observation for some time and that gunmen opened fire as Iraqi special operations troops closed in with U.S. forces in a backup role.

"In our observation of the place and the activities that were going on, it's difficult for us to consider this a place of prayer," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman. "It was not identified by us as a mosque, though we certainly recognized it as a community gathering center. I think this is frankly a matter of perception."

Associated Press reporters who visited the scene Monday said the site of the attack clearly was a neighborhood Shiite mosque complex. Television footage showed crumbling walls and disarray in a compound used as a gathering place for prayer. It was filled with religious posters and strung with banners denouncing the attack.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabr angrily rejected the U.S. account and demanded a "clear explanation."

"Entering the Mustafa Shiite mosque and killing worshippers was unjustified and a horrible violation from my point of view," Jabr said on the Al-Arabiya TV network. "Innocent people inside the mosque offering prayer at sunset were killed."

President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said he called U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and that they decided to form an Iraqi-U.S. committee to investigate.

"I will personally supervise, and we will learn who was responsible. Those who are behind this attack must be brought to the justice and punished," Talabani said.

The United Iraqi Alliance, the largest Shiite bloc in parliament, canceled Monday's session of negotiations to form a new government because of the raid, said lawmaker Jawad al-Maliki.

"We suspended today's meetings to discuss the formation of the government because of what happened at the al-Moustafa mosque," al-Maliki said, adding that the alliance was expected to decide Tuesday when to resume the talks.

The Baghdad governor said he cut ties with U.S. forces and diplomats. And all 37 members of the Baghdad provincial council suspended cooperation with the United States in reconstruction projects planned for the remainder of the year, as well as political and security coordination, said council chairman Moeen al-Khadimi.

He said the local government would try to rely instead on the budget allocated to it by the Finance Ministry and on the money that comes from donor countries.

Explaining the mosque raid, Iraqi police said gunmen fired on the joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol from a position in the neighborhood but not from the mosque. Police and representatives of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who holds great sway among poor Shiites in eastern Baghdad, said all those killed were in the complex for evening prayers and none was a gunmen.

Police said 22 people were killed. The al-Sadr officials put the death toll at 17.

Other AP video from Sunday night showed a tangle of dead male bodies with gunshot wounds on the floor. The cameraman narrating the video said it was taken in the living quarters of the imam of the small mosque, part of a compound once used by Saddam Hussein's government. It also now houses a Shiite political party office in addition to the room for prayers and quarters for the imam.

The video showed 5.56 mm shell casings scattered on the floor. U.S. forces use that caliber ammunition and have provided it to Iraqi special operations troops.

The U.S. statement described the kidnappers and killers they were targeting as "insurgents," which was unusual because the operation took place at a Shiite facility. The insurgents who have been carrying out nearly daily bombings are Sunnis, while those believed responsible for execution-style slayings are primarily Shiite militias or death squads working inside the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry, which runs the police.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060327...2avDWys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

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Bravo Bravo.. Support the Troops! The war is won!

 

It seems to me that you think that the troops and the government is the same thing, it's not. The army consists of normal people, with a normal background, just like you and me. Their daily actions has very little to do with the leadership of your country.

Anyway, why do you blame America and not the Iraqis themselves. They voted for a Shia-based constitution. It's the constitution in Iraq that bears many of the blame. Now Iraq is in need of more foreign troops. If the constitution would be ok from the beginning then the pressure on the soldiers there would be eased a lot.

I am sure that it will be a lot more of mess if we step out of Iraq now, like you seems to prefer.

 

At this point in time I think the war is no longer about the poor Iraqis or what they want, it is a propoganda war between the Bush administration trying to cover their tracks and the world at large that is totally dissgusted with what is happening in America.

 

Imagine that, terrorists hiding behind a "supposed" mosque. Never heard that one before

The U.S. military said in a statement that "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation." It said the raid targeted a building used by "insurgents responsible for kidnapping and execution activities."

Nothing wrong with a few little kidnappings and executions.

 

Hmm who to believe.. the military... or the AP and the interior minister...
Associated Press reporters who visited the scene Monday said the site of the attack clearly was a neighborhood Shiite mosque complex.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabr angrily rejected the U.S. account and demanded a "clear explanation."
"Entering the Mustafa Shiite mosque and killing worshippers was unjustified and a horrible violation from my point of view," Jabr said on the Al-Arabiya TV network. "Innocent people inside the mosque offering prayer at sunset were killed."

oh wait I know! It's another conspiracy to bring america down! Everyone knows the military never kills innocent people!

 

I'm sure we'll see that question on "Who wants to be a Millionaire." As if there is any doubt? It's not like it's molten steel

 

War is hell and bad things happen. Soldiers are people too. Many are young kids without an education in anything except fighting. What do you expect in a total war situation?

 

Sorry market... if I can't expect more than this from them, then I can't support them. I can't stand by and support the sloppy murdering of thousands of people.

Maybe the army should change their slogan from "an army of one" to "SHIT HAPPENS"

 

As I said before, these soldiers go through a hard process in life. They want to survive, but they now that they are surrounded by people that wants nothing more than hang up their heads on the wall, as a decoration.

What would you do if you felt that you was threatened under an operation. Pray to god?

 

Well, that's your choice. The more educated and intelligent among us are not grunts on the battlefield. Those that serve are usually the commanders, strategists and so forth. The day-to-day operations are in the hands of soldiers who are trained extremely well to follow orders, kill and operate military based functions with extreme precision. They don't get years of training in International law, human rights and so forth.

Their job is simple: perform military tasks and stay alive.