Author Topic: questionable tactics (Read 1450 times)

Pongo · « **on:** February 18, 2004, 05:00:48 PM »

Stuff happens but this seems like realy interesting tactics that have interesting implicaitons for the state of the occupation.

"
Three Iraqi civilians, including a 10-year-old girl, have been killed by a stray US mortar round which hit the backyard of a home near the main American military base in Baghdad.

US troops fire mortar rounds across the Tigris River from their base several times a day.

US commanders describe the firings as part of a harassment-and-interdiction operation, which is designed to prevent insurgents from setting up firing positions in meadows across the river to attack the base.

A spokesman says it is not known how or why the latest mortar round went astray.

The other two victims have been identified as young adults, one male and one female.

"

ra · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:14:39 PM »

Link?

Sounds like a strange way to discourage attacks. Wouldn't it make more sense to plant a couple of snipers with night-vision googles?

Boroda · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:17:45 PM »

Unbelievable.

I told this to my friend who spent two years in Afghanistan... He said they never had such a nice idea to fire several mortar rounds somewhere aroubd the neighbourhood in Kabul or Bagram just to scare some imaginary bandits.

If it is a joke - it's too mean.

If not - then what can we expect next time?...

Lizking · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:19:26 PM »

Source it please.

takeda · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:23:59 PM »

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1047356.htm

Yeager · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:25:37 PM »

Hope its not true. Wouldnt surprize me it it was......

Boroda, hows Putin doing these days? I read an article this morning talking about how Putin was trying to re-posture the russian military back to its leading role as a nuclear equalizer against the united states (sounds good to me). During this military excercise that Putin was observing aboard a sub, another sub was launching missles when two of the missles had to be destroyed due to a technical faliure supposedly involving satelites. You guys in country hear anything similar?

FUNKED1 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:27:16 PM »

You guys never heard of H&I fire?

cpxxx · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:27:41 PM »

Sounds very implausible and unmilitary. Random firing into a civilian zone? Why not just machine gun streets ahead of convoys or tie hostages to the front of Humvees? Hardly normal practice with the US military. There should be a link or a source. If not it sounds like a propaganda piece designed to discredit the the US.

ygsmilo · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:29:37 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Boroda
Unbelievable.

I told this to my friend who spent two years in Afghanistan... He said they never had such a nice idea to fire several mortar rounds somewhere aroubd the neighbourhood in Kabul or Bagram just to scare some imaginary bandits.

If it is a joke - it's too mean.

If not - then what can we expect next time?...

Ya you Russians really know how to treat folks good.

cut and paste, link below

Chechnya has been intermittently at war with Russia for centuries, with the most recent conflicts taking place from 1994 to 1996 and 1999 to the present. It is now a nation of warlords and anarchy. In the last nine years, between 180,000 and 250,000 Chechens have been killed and 350,000 have been displaced, out of a population of just 1.1 million. That means that roughly half of the population has been killed or displaced by fighting. Compare that to Kosovo, where 0.6 percent of Kosovars were killed, and you get a sense of the nightmarish brutality of the conflict.

With that conflict has come a human rights disaster of historic proportions. Amnesty International reports, “Men, women, and children have also been tortured, including raped, in detention in ‘filtration camps.’ Over a thousand simply ‘disappeared’ in custody. The dead bodies of some people who have ‘disappeared’ after being detained by Russian forces are later sold to the relatives by the military or are found in mass graves.” According to the International Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, “The numbers of disappeared Chechens in recent months indicate a continuing assault against the Chechen people that borders on genocide.”

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/007703.php

Lizking · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2004, 05:39:42 PM »

H & I does not really apply to the situation of that base in Iraq. That is a war crime if true.

mrblack · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2004, 06:02:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by ra
Link?

Sounds like a strange way to discourage attacks. Wouldn't it make more sense to plant a couple of snipers with night-vision googles?

I think they where trying to discourage them from firing motars at us(us troop).

If that be the case Snipers against a hidden motoar launcher prolly would not do much good.

Then you have to take into account range wind Is It uphill downhill?

Trust me though I think they screwd the pooch on this one.
A very bad choice they made just chunking motars into a neihborhood like that:(

FUNKED1 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2004, 06:06:17 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Boroda
Unbelievable.

I told this to my friend who spent two years in Afghanistan... He said they never had such a nice idea to fire several mortar rounds somewhere aroubd the neighbourhood in Kabul or Bagram just to scare some imaginary bandits.

If it is a joke - it's too mean.

If not - then what can we expect next time?...

Why don't you take a trip to Grozny to see how Russian army handles such problems?

Pongo · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2004, 06:22:03 PM »

I think it is more interesting as an insight into the situation they are in then any silly criminal alligations. Its war. Since when is it illegal to target civilians in war? Why they are there is a debate for polititians, not the troops on the ground.
They used Canadian snipers to take down mortar pits in afganistan, but even if you planned on shootting 2.5k again that is only half the range of an 81mm so its not much of a tactic.

The tactics are facinating to me, to surrender the area(on the other side of the river) to anything but random harrasment fire..increadable, once again because it gives alot of insight into the situation they are in. Obviosly you would foot patrol out there and take control of the area, if you were willing to risk the associated casualties. But to so obviosly surrender the initiative in that area...increadable.

FUNKED1 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2004, 06:23:23 PM »

I see what you mean now. I'm guessing they either have some manpower restrictions or they are just hunkering down and waiting for it to end.

Reminds me of the story in Band of Brothers, when the US patrol (squad plus LMG team) contacted a German company's flank, in the night, and the Germans just ignored it after the initial contact. Cpt Winters called up the rest of the platoon and at dawn they slaughtered the German company and routed two others. All because the German company commander was too lazy or incompetent to deny the American patrol the good firing position.

ra · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2004, 06:24:06 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by mrblack
I think they where trying to discourage them from firing motars at us(us troop).

If that be the case Snipers against a hidden motoar launcher prolly would not do much good.

Then you have to take into account range wind Is It uphill downhill?

Trust me though I think they screwd the pooch on this one.
A very bad choice they made just chunking motars into a neihborhood like that:(

If there is a field that the US army thinks may be used to stage a mortar attack, they should monitor the field, either with snipers or with sensors. Then, if anyone enters the field to set up a mortar, the snipers can take them out or call in a mortar strike. Shelling the field at random sounds not only dumb but ineffective. So I won't believe this story unless some other sources confirm it.