There were massive amounts of weapons found there as well. On top of that several of the structures had hundreds of beds making it, most likely, a hotbed for travelling fighters, mostly foreign. I don't doubt some innocents died, but I do strongly believe that even more innocents would have died and more damage would have been done to the American forces.
-Rudey
Quote:
Originally posted by RACooper
Then why can't Cent. Com get it story straight....
First they claimed that military aircraft on patrol recieved hositle fire, and they responded with deadly force.
Next it comes out that they had been monitoring the location as a crossing point for foreign fighters, and an attack was made to exploit favourable conditions.
Next we here that it was a planned attack involving ground and air forces, to neutralize the threat posed by foreign fighters.
FOX News reports one side, Al Jazerra reports the opposite... the truth is most likely in the middle. Sure the site could have been a site used by foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, but that doesn't mean that any gather of people is related to that activity. In a war were intelligence relys on "native" intel. then local feuds and personal power plays may be made (see Chibali).... any mistake can be extremely dangerous to the public perception (whether justified or not) of the coalition forces, and therefore care must be taken in any action taken; unfortunately the sharp option is too often chosen by the US forces (which is what the latest leaked Brit memo expressed concern over).
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