GIs razing homes of suspected Iraqi insurgents
GIs razing homes of suspected Iraqi insurgents
Families say they were given 5 minutes to get out
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1069138364307900.xml
BY JEFF WILKINSON
KRT NEWS SERVICE
TIKRIT, Iraq – In a tactic reminiscent of Israeli crackdowns in the West Bank and Gaza, the U.S. military has begun destroying the homes of suspected guerrilla fighters in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle, evacuating women and children, then leveling their houses with heavy weaponry.
At least 15 homes have been destroyed in Tikrit as part of what has been dubbed Operation Ivy Cyclone II, including four, leveled Sunday by tanks and Apache helicopters, that allegedly belonged to suspects in the Nov. 7 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter that killed six Americans.
Family members at one of the houses, in the village of al Haweda, said they were given five minutes to evacuate before soldiers opened fire.
The destruction of the homes is part of a sharp crackdown on insurgents in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where guerrillas have downed at least two U.S. helicopters – one a Chinook in Fallujah on Nov. 2, killing 16 U.S. soldiers, and the other the Nov. 7 downing of the Black Hawk. On Saturday, two more helicopters crashed, after one of them may have been fired upon, killing 17.
U.S. forces struck dozens of targets yesterday, killing six guerrillas and arresting 21 others, the military said. The operation is expected to continue through tomorrow, said Col. James Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division.
Hickey said the four homes were destroyed Sunday because enemy fighters lived and met there. Leveling the homes will force the fighters to find other meeting places, he said.
“Those four people used those houses as sanctuary, and we’re not allowing them to have sanctuary,” Hickey said.
“We’re going to turn the heat up and complicate their battlefield,” driving them into the desert, he said. “There they will be exposed and we will have them.”
It was unclear whether the decision to destroy the houses was part of an overall strategy approved in Washington. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to comment specifically, referring questions about the razings to the Defense Department, but he praised the military’s efforts to get tough with Iraqi insurgents.
“There are terrorists who are seeking to spread fear and chaos in Iraq, and we are on the offensive and taking the fight to the enemy,” McClellan said. “Our coalition forces are doing an outstanding job working with Iraqis to bring these terrorists to justice.”
Officials at the Department of Defense referred questions to Central Command in Tampa, which oversees all military operations in Iraq. Spokesmen there declined to comment.
Yesterday, angry residents of al Haweda, where three of the destroyed homes were, said the tactic will spawn more guerrilla fighters and perhaps spark an Iraqi uprising similar to the Palestinian intifada in the West Bank and Gaza.
“This is something Sharon would do,” said 41-year-old farmer Jamel Shahab, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “What’s happening in Iraq is just like Palestine.”
The Israeli military’s practice of demolishing the homes of families of convicted or suspected terrorists has brought widespread condemnation from human rights and other governments – including the United States.
The State Department’s 2002 human rights report, released in March, said such policies “left hundreds of Palestinians not involved in terror attacks homeless.” In September, department spokesman Richard Boucher criticized Israel for destroying a seven-story apartment building in Gaza during a raid on a suspected Hamas militant.
There was no official reaction in Washington.
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested yesterday that the tactic was not sanctioned in Washington. “I can’t wait to see alJazeera’s presentation of it,” the official said, referring to a satellite TV network viewed widely throughout the Middle East.
The military had promised a tough crackdown in response to the recent surge in American military deaths and has launched two operations, Operation Iron Hammer around Baghdad and Ivy Cyclone in the heart of the Sunni Triangle.
Hickey said counterstrikes against fighters around Tikrit have been continuous, but that Ivy Cyclone II represents a higher level of coordination using more advanced weapons.
Comment:
America in its desperation at losing the battle of hearts and minds in Iraq is now resorting to following Israeli tactics which they condemned in the past. How long before they follow tactics used by the evil Russians and wicked Nazis, time will tell but don’t be surprised if they eventually do.
