The Command Post - Iraq - U.S. Troops Risk Lives to Save Woman

March 31, 2003

U.S. Troops Risk Lives to Save Woman

"Capt. Chris Carter winced at the risks his men would have to take. Engaged in a lightning-fast raid for this Euphrates River town, they were battling for a bridge when - through the smoke - they saw the elderly woman. She had tried to race across the bridge when the Americans arrived, but was caught in the crossfire."

AP Article

Posted By Patrick at March 31, 2003 06:57 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Now, if we were the Iraqi army, we'd have just shot her. After all, it's not like she was important to anyone...

Except her family. And herself.

Here you see the difference between them, and us.

Posted by: JLawson at March 31, 2003 07:53 PM

What a shame that captain carter wasn't at that other bridge, the one at Nasiriya where
US Marines turn fire on civilians at the bridge of death (London Times, 30th March Registration Required) or also available here.

Posted by: stu at March 31, 2003 08:33 PM

Civilian deaths are never easy. War is hell.

But come on ... You can't be making the implication that it's our fault?

"Bad news filtered back. Earlier that morning a US Army convoy had been
greeted by a group of Iraqis dressed in civilian clothes, apparently
wanting to surrender. When the American soldiers stopped, the Iraqis
pulled out AK-47s and sprayed the US trucks with gunfire.

Five wounded soldiers were rescued by our convoy, including one who had
been shot four times. The attackers were believed to be members of the
Fedayeen Saddam, a group of 15,000 fighters under the command of Saddam's
psychopathic son Uday."

and

"I was shooting down a street when suddenly a woman came out and casually
began to cross the street with a child no older than 10," said Gunnery
Sergeant John Merriman, another Gulf war veteran. "At first I froze on
seeing the civilian woman. She then crossed back again with the child and
went behind a wall. Within less than a minute a guy with an RPG came out
and fired at us from behind the same wall. This happened a second time so
I thought, 'Okay, I get it. Let her come out again'.

She did and this time I took her out with my M-16." Others were less
sanguine."

God love them. They don't have a choice. Let's not forget that it's Sadaam's fault he's put his people in this position.

Posted by: Patrick Grote at March 31, 2003 09:35 PM

Patrick G, I think that 2nd incident was in Mogadishu.

Posted by: Larry at March 31, 2003 11:32 PM