Military base turned over to Iraqi forces is looted the next day

[DarrylS]

Guess the Brits abandoned a base and turned it over to the Iraq defense forces, poof the next day it is completely looted.. guess we are doing a great job of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Cannot fathom why we continue to stay there..

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/15363243.htm

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hours after the British turned over a military base to Iraqi control, looters picked it clean, driving up in trucks and making off with roofing, windows, and plumbing after clashing with outnumbered Iraqi soldiers.
About 1,200 British forces withdrew on Thursday from Abu Naji, a camp near Amarah in southern Maysan province. The base had been targeted repeatedly with mortar fire, and shortly after the British left, members of the Shiite-controlled Mahdi Army passed out pamphlets claiming credit for the British retreat. The camp had been targeted for mortar and rocket fire almost daily.
Looters arrived at the camp within hours after the final British soldiers left at noon on Thursday. Iraqi soldiers put up resistance and later fired on the crowds who had gathered. There were reports of some injuries for both Iraqi forces and civilians but no fatalities.
The looting was an indication of the tenuous hold Iraqi authorities have on the countryside, though a police spokesman for the region denied any looting occurred. An Iraq Army source said that as many as 2,000 people surrounded the camp at one point.
Spokesmen for the Iraqi Defense Ministry and the British military said the departure was part of what was a planned relinquishing of control to local Iraqi forces.

[Harry Boy]

F-cking animals, Bush is keeping them out of America, I pity their women their kids and their donkeys.

[Real World]

Originally Posted by GJAJ15

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hours after the British turned over a military base to Iraqi control, looters picked it clean, driving up in trucks and making off with roofing, windows, and plumbing after clashing with outnumbered Iraqi soldiers.

sh!t, really? Hmmm....Sounds just like New Orleans to me. We should pull out of NO immidiately.



New Orleans Police Station Attacked As Looters Rampage

The areas hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina are unfortunately also those hardest hit by looters while the police trying to stop them in New Orleans came under attack when two men with AK-47s opened fire on their police station.
Fox News reporter Jeff Goldblatt said two men with automatic weapons opened fire on a downtown New Orleans police station late Tuesday in an apparent retaliation against an officer who tried to stop looters earlier in the day from carting off clothes and jewelry from stores in the area.

As conditions deteriorated on the Gulf Coast, with no electricity, no water, and rising flood waters, looters were running wild in the streets, first looting grocery stores and later pharmacies, clothing and jewelry stores.

"It's downtown Baghdad," a tourist in downtown New Orleans said. "It's insane. I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not."

[DarrylS]

If we spent 1/2 as much on rebuilding NOLA as we did in Bagdad this would be a non-issue, one of the big issues in NOLA is fed Gov't red tape, and one of the issues in Bagdad is no bid, no oversite contracts.

[Real World]

I'm simply pointing out that a base being looted during a poorly planned transfer is not something worth posting. Arguing money spent in Iraq versus money spent in NO is a totally different animal. I happen to believe the fed should pay for little. Possibley only infrastructure. Roads, bridges, etc. Personal loss shouldn't be paid for with my dime. That's what insurance is for.

[DarrylS]

Originally Posted by Real World

I'm simply pointing out that a base being looted during a poorly planned transfer is not something worth posting. Arguing money spent in Iraq versus money spent in NO is a totally different animal. I happen to believe the fed should pay for little. Possibley only infrastructure. Roads, bridges, etc. Personal loss shouldn't be paid for with my dime. That's what insurance is for.

Your dime has been paying for payouts all of your life, the Steel industry, the airlines industry, DEPCO in RI on and on...our dime continues to pay for the faux pas of our major industries, worst of all is the mounting debt that our heirs will be paying on for the next couple of decades. You can say all you want to pay for is infrastructure, and I probably agree, the american way is to foot the whole bill...in NOLA we are paying twice once in the collection basket of our church and when the churches are then reimbursed for their expenses by FEMA.

Regarding the base being looted, all contingencies should have been prepared for to insure a smooth transition...my point is that instead of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people...we continue to alienate and polarize very much like we do in this country and political structure.

[Real World]

Originally Posted by GJAJ15

Regarding the base being looted, all contingencies should have been prepared for to insure a smooth transition...my point is that instead of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people...we continue to alienate and polarize very much like we do in this country and political structure.

I'm all for smaller government and individual accountability. Fiscal insanity is reaching a point of government bancruptcy. I will open a bottle of champagne the day the government closes due to a lack of funds.

As for hearts and minds. I just don't understand what the referenced story has to do with that. I'm not sure why the story was posted to begin with. Ah, wait, it was a bout a mutiny that didn't happen. Now I remember.

[Chevy]

Originally Posted by GJAJ15

If we spent 1/2 as much on rebuilding NOLA as we did in Bagdad this would be a non-issue, one of the big issues in NOLA is fed Gov't red tape, and one of the issues in Bagdad is no bid, no oversite contracts.

No, the biggest problem in NOLA is NOLA. The government has already sent $42 billion, yet the state and local governments are too busy with their focus groups and comittees to put the money to use.

The gulf coast of Mississippi was hit far harder, levees or not, yet they're moving along nicely with their rebuild efforts.

[wistahpatsfan]

Originally Posted by Real World

I'm simply pointing out that a base being looted during a poorly planned transfer is not something worth posting. Arguing money spent in Iraq versus money spent in NO is a totally different animal. I happen to believe the fed should pay for little. Possibley only infrastructure. Roads, bridges, etc. Personal loss shouldn't be paid for with my dime. That's what insurance is for.

What do you think of your dimes being spent on Iraq rebuilding?

[DarrylS]

Originally Posted by Chevy

The gulf coast of Mississippi was hit far harder, levees or not, yet they're moving along nicely with their rebuild efforts.

What is your source for this, everything I have read does not typify this response?? The whole thing is bogged down, blame the local authorities, blame the state authorities...but someone needs to take charge and insure things are done and done well. There is a boat load of money available, however it takes quite a bit to get it. OTOH, in Iraq we continue to give out reams of $$$ on no bid contracts to industrial giants who supposedly have the means to get things done. Reading this AM, Blackwater, has been given contracts, some $$ spent fraudulantly, and still give more money..Haliburton pretty much the same.

The fed gov't needs to provide leadership to get jobs of this magnitude done, to insure it is done right and within specific parameters. Why don't they just appoint a rebuilding Czar, the feds love this term, someone probably of military background who will insure that things can get done, identify issues and act as a conduit for the whitehouse. I find the whole response situational and nothing but a big photo op for our incumbent president.