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April 08, 2003
More on looting in Basra
Basra :: Caroline Wyatt :: 1450GMT There seems to be an orgy of looting going on. We saw someone looting a fire engine yesterday, which is rather a large thing to get away with. And on the way to the outskirts tonight, donkeys absolutely overloaded with furniture. In one case we did see the British Army intervening when a crowd had started stoning another crowd of looters, trying to stop them taking furniture from a building. Posted By Gabriel Syme (Samizdata) at April 8, 2003 11:28 AM | TrackBackComments
Those were donkey-smugglers hiding their cargo. Posted by: zack mollusc at April 8, 2003 11:34 AMFinally a job suitable for the UN...they can be unarmed security guards in Basra. give them a nice uniform, some cool sunglasses, a walkie-talkie. Posted by: Genghis at April 8, 2003 11:35 AMAgreed with the UN... Let them be rent-a-cops... Fitting role Posted by: Original Mark at April 8, 2003 11:36 AMif they are french and german UN patrols, they will probably be worse looters than the local civilians. Posted by: James at April 8, 2003 11:39 AMZack, your comment made me LOL. :) Posted by: Jeannie at April 8, 2003 11:41 AMBasra turns into South Central LA. Sad. I agree on the UN rent-a-pigs. Posted by: phred at April 8, 2003 11:42 AMI bet Jaques Chirac's on commission! Posted by: Cockney Rebel at April 8, 2003 11:54 AMThis would make a great Simpsons episode: Marine sargeant with megaphone:"People of Iraq!Do not panic!The American forces are only here to smash the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and to bring you democracy and..." British officer:"Hey why do you Yanks always forget us Brits?I mean,we did most of the.." "Quiet!!As I said,we Americans and the coalition are here to..." Meanwhile,people on the street:"Quick,Abdul,the store is still open!Did you bring a brick?" CRASH!(glass shattering)... Posted by: JH at April 8, 2003 11:59 AMWhy are there no decent Arab governments? Why can these people not govern themselves? Answer....look at the film. We're in a real mess now. Posted by: Jack at April 8, 2003 12:03 PMWas the fire engine strapped to the back of a donkey? If not, how'd they get it home? Posted by: Robert Crawford at April 8, 2003 12:08 PMWhen you keep people under pressure, and they are poor and wanting, what to you expect when the pressure is removed.... Posted by: Knitting a Conundrum at April 8, 2003 12:11 PMBut I really want to know what they think they're going to do with a fire engine.... Posted by: Knitting a Conundrum at April 8, 2003 12:12 PMThis is world class looting, sez some of the soldiers. They pull out window casings, rip out pipes etc. When it was stolen from you in the first place, is it theft when you take it back? The Brits have made a deal with a local Sheik to help restore order. That doesn't sound very democratic to me, but I'm not an Iraqi. The main thing is for us to "occupy" this place in the same way we "occupied" Afghanistan. Set up a few bases and guard them well. Send out teams on specific missions, but don't set yourself up for the guerrillas by trying to be the government. Post a comment
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