US Helicopter crash in Iraq

[Kiting for Boys]

1.46pm Baqouba reports of a US military crash.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlates...950181,00.html

Bad news on bad news

[Mooney12]

We should pull out of Iraq and leave the Iraqi people to it, see how they like it then.

[The Swinging Monkey]

Mooney,

Although I hate to admit it, I do now think you are right.

We undoubtably won the battle, but I see no way of winning the war. Lets stop wasting the lives of ALL servicemen, irrespective of nationality, and let the *******s sort it out themselves.
Hope the crew and pax all made it out safely.

regards
The swinging Monkey

[DeepC]

Whilst it is not an ideal situation to be in and a situation largely of our own making, the alternative to staying in Iraq is far far worse.

Think of a fertile Al-Quaeda recruiting ground with acres of space for training. Millions of pounds worth of Oil. Perhaps not best left in the hands of the fundamentalists who are currently making the most noise in Iraq.

Massive sympathy to the blokes and lasses stuck out there fighting and peacekeeping but it is now an important job for the stability of the entire region and wider afield.

Leaving Iraq to fight it out will split the Muslim world into it's rival factions and the same factions in other nations will soon wade in to the civil war leaving massive casualties and suffering all blamed on Messrs Bush and Blair.

Cue hundreds of thousands of disaffected muslim young people feeling as trampled on as the Palestinians.

'Hearts and Minds' does not seem to be working at all in Iraq. We are now receving incoming from both sides of the muslim divide in the country. How did that happen?

DeepC
(Not Mil but the Mil Forum has some good intelligent discussions which make for good, healthy sharing of opinions)

[X-QUORK]

This isn't meant to be a dig at the Yanks, but is it an over-simplification of the situation to state that the general populace in the MND area commanded by the British in the south of Iraq seems to be somewhat more stable? Is this purely because the area is primarily populated by the slightly more pro-coalition Shi'ites as opposed to the Sunnis in the US sector, or have the British Army applied a bit more restraint as learned from experiences in Northern Ireland and the Balkans?

I have nothing but respect for the forces serving out there, regardless of nationality, but are some better at winning the hearts and minds battle than others?

[soddim]

I think our transatlantic cousins are learning the hard way that their style of democracy does not suit every country. They should have learned that lesson in Africa where benign dictatorships that worked were replaced via multi-party elections with governments that did not work. When Tito died the Balkans went out of control and when Saddam was ousted Iraq went the same way. One has to conclude that where there is deep rooted hatred among factions or tribes a dictatorship works but democracy does not.

[West Coast]

No possibility that the sector assigned to the Brits is the one that is the most open and accepting to the war. Look to the area in the North where the Kurds reside. Not a lot of activity there as the locals welcome the troops. Its not under Brit control, they just like anyone but SH. The area that is and has been the hotspot is one that benefitted most from SH in power and the one who being the shia minority will be the ones most likely to be persecuted by fellow countrymen. The unrest of the past week has spilled in to the southern region where Brit troops are located.

If you want to maintain that famous level of superiority, feel free to do so but make sure its not an apples and oranges comparison.