US troops announce curfew (Baghdad; Lethal force against anyone seen)

[Barrett808]

Baghdad - US troops on Monday patrolled Baghdad's Haifa Street, where at least 13 people were killed and 55 wounded in clashes between insurgents and US soldiers the day before, heralding a strict night-time curfew.

Shouting in Arabic through loudspeakers mounted on military vehicles, soldiers said the curfew would come into effect from 20:00 to 04:00 along most of the busy commercial street, said shopkeeper Alaa Mohammed.

"Keep away from windows and doors. Stay at home to ensure the safety of your sons. Anyone spotted during this time will be considered a terrorist and lethal force will be used against them," the message said.

Shopkeepers were unhappy with the curfew.

"This means I have to close my shop at 19:00. What can I do? Since the Americans came, they have done nothing for us. When the Americans leave we will be all right, because without the Americans, who's going to fire?" said Mohammed.

(more)

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1588377,00.html


Interesting that the Allawi "government" didn't announce the curfew.

[bemildred]

1. Another brilliant move ... nt

[jumpstart33]

15. Spreading democracy around the world.

The ungrateful scum. How could they not love us?

[bemildred]

20. You gotta understand.

This means they are going to patrol and stuff.
And more idle hands among the Iraqis.
A recipe for lots more dead people, dead soldiers,
dead iraqis, dead, dead, dead. Even dumber than
it sounds at first, it is. A desperate attempt to
restore the appearance of order in the run-up to
the election is what I would guess is the motivation,
gotta try to do something about those mortar attacks
on the safe zones behind the Bremer Walls(tm) and
all that.

[underpants]

2. Hey 16 hours of liberty a day is more than some people have

Think about it like that not in the holy-hell-this-thing-is-REALLY-close-to-going-tits up. 'Kay?

[Cocoa]

3. elections in four months

al Jazeera shut down, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops, every city becoming a no-go area, curfew in the capital, what a freaking joke those elections are going to be.

[DoBotherMe]

4. Free fire zones?

"Keep away from windows and doors. Stay at home to ensure the safety of your sons. Anyone spotted during this time will be considered a terrorist and lethal force will be used against them," the message said.

[htuttle]

13. Yes, all of Baghdad will apparently be a free fire zone at night

Q. How many clauses in the Geneva Convention does this violate?
A. A lot of them.

[jumpstart33]

16. People never had to do this when Saddam was in power.

Think about it. Is Iraq better off? Are we more safe?

[Walt Starr]

5. Well, they hate us for our freedoms

so we have to make sure they never get any.

[saigon68]

6. sounds like the NAZIS IN WARSAW circa 1939-1943

Juden Raus

[leftchick]

10. Did they even try this in Vietnam?

I just can not believe the same fucking mistakes they make over and over again. I am afraid it seems to be by design.

[saigon68]

34. There was a curfew in Saigon

It was selectively applied, as the MPs could shoot first and ask questions later.

[0007]

12. Did you read John Steinbeck's short story "The Moon is Down"?

Many similarities between the U.S. occupation in Iraq and the Nazi's occupation in a small town in Europe.


http://www.khealey.com/TheMoonIsDown.html

[Ms. Clio]

24. The parallels are stunning, beginning with the rape of resources

From your link:

"First, the motivation of the invading military was the extraction of coal from local coalmines--pure and simple. In their meetings with the local conquered leaders, the invaders were quite straightforward: they explained that they had come because they needed coal, and they would use all means necessary to get it.

The second and more important point that struck me is that in his aim to show the perseverance of the human spirit against tyranny, Steinbeck seemed to advocate what we would now call terrorism. Towards the end of the novel, the conquered locals began to organize resistance. They asked their allies for weapons, and what they received was hundreds of small packages of dynamite dropped from allied airplanes. Soon the local townspeople were planting explosives on the train tracks from the coalmines, sabotaging the invaders' efforts to extract their resources. In the final scene, as the explosions increase in frequency, the town doctor remarks wryly that "the flies have conquered the flypaper."

[Barrett808]

28. "The flies have conquered the flypaper." Ooh, that's nice.

Thank you, John Steinbeck.

[reprobate]

32. Sir, how dare you compare the * administration with the Nazis?

Historically, one might say that Adolph is the war hero, while bush is the deserter. Hitler was a decorated WWI hero. Bush is an asshole.

[LibDemAlways]

7. "Since the Americans came,

they have done nothing for us. When the Americans leave we will be all right, because without the Americans, who's going to fire?" said Mohammed.

Mohammed speaks the truth and a boatload of common sense. Too bad no one in Washington is listening.

[Arianrhod]

8. They're not listening because people are not what this is about.

The * regime cares nothing about human beings; they're in Iraq for the money and power, as they are with everything they do.

[dqueue]

17. also not listening...

because the US signed over sovereignty, so why isn't the new Iraqi "government" instituting a curfew?

<grr!>

[shrub chipper]

33. too true!!

and quite sad and transparent

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Let freedom reign!

squeeked the awol chimp.

[Career Prole]

11. Boy, that should ring a bell...the "free fire zone" war-crimes of Vietnam

DoD policy returns.
Of particular interest is the second paragraph which states that
the use of free fire zones increased civilian resistance.
John Kerry knows the criminality of free fire zones all too well...something shrub never learned. But then, shrub never attended that particular school, did he?

"But despite the GIs’ confusion, international law enjoins armies to avoid targeting any but military objectives and assures protection to civilians, in almost any circumstance. Free fire zones as defined by Department of Defense doctrine and the rules of engagement are a severe violation of the laws of war for two reasons. First, they violate the rule against direct attack of civilians by presuming that after civilians are warned to vacate a zone, then anyone still present may lawfully be attacked. The rule prohibiting direct attacks on civilians provides no basis for a party to a conflict to shift the burden by declaring a whole zone to be “civilian free.” And second, they violate the rule against indiscriminate attack by presuming without justification in the law that warning civilians to leave eliminates the legal requirements to discriminate in targeting its weapons.

Where the protection of the Geneva Conventions does not provide a mantle to civilians is when they take “a direct part in hostilities.” There were, of course, occasions when Vietnamese civilians directly attacked U.S. troops, but those which drew the attention of news reporters were overwhelmingly those in which a village was labeled a free fire zone and innocent lives were taken in outbursts of indiscriminate fire and brutality.
http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/free-fire-zones.html

[hatrack]

14. So if an amublance, responding to an emergency, rolls through Baghdad . .

Oh, never mind, we've already seen that movie at checkpoints countless times.

What a lovely fucking war.

[Barrett808]

21. Not just checkpoints; snipers have fired on ambulances

Of course, insurgents were using ambulances to carry weapons.

[Catfight]

18. They hate us for our freedom. I can stay out as long as I want. n/t

[tom_paine]

19. That's Freedom, Amerikan Style. I ptiy the poor bastards

alive in Imperial Amerika 2100.

It will be an ugly place, indeed.

[w4rma]

22. The Nazis did the same exact thing in Poland when they occupied it. (nt)

[Ms. Clio]

23. What about emergencies? What about pregnant women giving birth?

Especially since ambulances are now apparently considered legitimate targets?

My god. The only way anyone can still think we have "liberated" the Iraqis is if they have their heads firmly inserted into their asses.

[jayfish]

27. More Checkpoint Disasters I'm Sure. -NT-

Jay

[Ms. Clio]

29. Iraqi babies don't deserve to be born--they are all potential terrorists

Problem solved.

[daa]

25. Mr. President, Iraq is sovereign Condi eom

[daleo]

26. This way, the streets will be a free-fire zone during those hours

They can kill anyone, and say they broke curfew so they had to be terrorists.

[Skittles]

30. I FEEL SAFER

YES INDEED

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

31. "emergency, emergency, everyonr to get from street"

alan arkin from "the russians are coming, the russians are coming"