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2003-11-13 Iraq

The Bombing and its Aftermath in Nasiriyah

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Posted by Bulldog 2003-11-13 2:41:52 PM|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Italian troops were also on hand in Mogadishu in 1993. There were allegations that they cooperated with the various Somali militias, alerting them to American and other UN ops, but little evidence for this has surfaced.
What we do know is that it was an Italian force that went to the rescue of ambushed Pakistani troops on June 24, 1993. This was the incident that precipitated the attempt to capture Mohammed Aidad and, eventually, the famous Blackhawk Down battle of October 3.
33 Pakistanis were killed (not 24, as widely reported, 9 bodies were never recovered).
Word of what the relief force found and saw, the all but unspeakable butchery the mobs and their Al Qaeda allies inflicted on the Pakistani dead (some of whom, unfortunately, were probably still alive when it started), spread throughout the Italian forces, including the Carabinieri.
Every Italian soldier I have spoken to in recent years (a fair number) is aware of this and it significantly colors their view of Islamic guerrillas and terrorists.
The Italian military is with us in this struggle and so is Berlusconi.
The large idiotarian and LLL element in Italy will wail and moan and regurgitate the rhetoric of their masters in the French and American Left, but it cannot change the resolve and clarity of thought that I see among the real people of Italy.
Remember, too, that Oriana Fallaci is an Italian, and she is worth several campuses full of jihadi tools anytime.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2003-11-13 8:07:53 PM|| 2003-11-13 8:07:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 AC,
Thank you, I had heard the rumor that the Italians notified the Somali militia each time the choppers took off in Mogadishu, because they thought we were being too heavy handed. I took it as gospel. I was deployed somewhere and didn't understand why we cut and ran after being bloodied. I had held the Italians complicit until this day.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-11-13 8:20:15 PM|| 2003-11-13 8:20:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 You're welcome, Super Hose.
Interestingly, one Italian account I read of the June 24 incident cited the "enormous deterrent value of M-60 tanks" (which the Italians in Mog had) as a crucial factor in the rescue of the surviving Pakistanis.
This was before US SecDef Aspin and President Clinton refused the local American commander's request for a small armored force, apparently on the grounds that it would look bad on TV. Most accounts indicate that the presence of a single platoon of M-1s and accompanying Bradleys could have made all the difference in the world on October 3.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2003-11-13 9:30:53 PM|| 2003-11-13 9:30:53 PM|| Front Page Top

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