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| Iraq |
| U.S. Forces Ready to Give Aid to Refugees |
| 2003-03-21 |
| Severely edited. Along with ammunition, U.S. troops are loading thousands of bright yellow packages filled with pasta and beans as they prepare to advance into Iraq. The packages are emergency rations for refugees. Commanders hope they will not have to hand out many of the rations. They fear large numbers of civilians fleeing the fighting could slow down what is planned as a rapid, rolling offensive toward Baghdad. ``If they are on the roadways they are a threat to us, not in the sense of a danger to us, but they can endanger our operations. They can hold up the forward movement,'' said 1st Lt. Clint Mundinger of Omak, Wash., an intelligence officer with the 709th Military Police Battalion. Leaflets being dropped over Iraq and radio broadcasts are urging civilians to stay in their homes and away from military forces. But how the Iraqi population will react amid the chaos is anyone's guess. ``Nobody knows what will happen when we cross into Iraq. But we're preparing for the worst-case scenario,'' said Col. David MacEwen, the V Corps' assistant chief of staff for civil military affairs. One early test case may come at An-Nasiriyah, the first major urban center along the attack route of V Corps, which includes the 3rd Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Most of the 400,000 residents of An-Nasiriyah, about 120 miles from the Kuwait-Iraq border, are members of the Shi'a Muslim sect that rose up against Saddam Hussein in southern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War and was ruthlessly crushed. ``If the offensive is fast, there will be fewer refugees. It's the long, drawn-out battles that force civilians out of cities,'' Mundinger said. Should refugees swarm toward U.S. troops for whatever reason, the military police, civil affairs teams and psychological operations units will wave them away from the major attack and supply routes. Soldiers will be discouraged from giving MREs, the military field rations, to civilians. Those who refuse to return to their homes will be directed to temporary shelters and then eventually more permanent facilities. ``The idea is a carrot to draw them away from supply routes,'' Mundinger said. MacEwen, of Girard, Pa., said equipment will be put in place ahead of time to erect at least a dozen temporary shelters in the V Corps area, but the camps will not be built in advance so as not to draw civilians from their homes. Very basic humanitarian assistance, MacEwen said, would be provided to the displaced people, including water, medicine and HDRs, or Humanitarian Daily Rations. These include at least 2,200 calories worth of mainly vegetarian food to satisfy the dietary and religious preferences of refugees. The military police have been briefed about the possibility of infiltrators among the refugees, but Mundinger said this is unlikely to prove a major threat. ``From those we have talked to, we believe that most of the civilians will greet us as liberators, although they might be a bit suspicious given the history of Iraq,'' the intelligence officer said. ``We think the displaced civilians will point out any bad guys among them.'' "Excuse me, Mr. American Soldier?" "That's Sargeant to you. What I can do for you, Mr. ...." "My name is Abdulhamid. May I tell you something?" "Yes, but make it fast, I got a busy day." "Yes, Effendi, yes, but you see, I wanted to point something out to you." "What's that?" "Do you see those men over there?" "Yes, over the—... oh my God, you mean those men swinging on those lamp posts?!?!?!?" "Yes, Effendi. I just wanted to point out that those men used to be infiltrators." "Oh ..., well then, ah, thanks Mr. Abdulhamid." "No problem, Effendi, the pleasure was ours." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Supposedly, its on tape, waiting to be distributed. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-21 11:05:31 |
| #1 from Foxnews "U.S. forces took the border town of Safwan, where residents waved. A woman threw herself at the Marines' feet until a man hurriedly came and led her away. Another man said he welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops: "We're very happy. Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam Hussein a butcher."" The liberation has begun. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-21 08:56:57 |