Attack On Marines Near Mosque

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2004
Attack On Marines Near Mosque
54
Wed, 04-07-2004 - 6:22pm
NEWS RELEASE

HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND

7115 South Boundary Boulevard

MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101

Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



April 7, 2004

Release Number: 04-04-07


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


ATTACK ON MARINES NEAR MOSQUE

FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. Marines observed anti-Coalition Forces today firing from the Haj Musheen Abdul Aziz Az-Kubaysi mosque complex in Fallujah. In order to gain access to the compound housing the mosque, Marines used air support to breach a wall located several hundred yards away from the actual mosque structure. One anti-Coalition force member was killed in the attack. There is no report of civilian casualties.

Marines on the ground observed no damage to the mosque. The anti-coalition forces firing from the mosque wrongfully violated the law of war by conducting offensive military operations from a protected structure. As a result, the mosque lost its protected status and therefore became a lawful military target. Nevertheless, the Marines only targeted the wall surrounding the compound in order to prevent damage to the mosque.

Initial reports indicate a platoon-size force was firing RPGs and small arms from fortified battle positions inside of and on top of the mosque. Following the strike, Marines also recovered a fully functional mortar from inside the compound.

This mosque was repeatedly used as a base to target Iraqi and Coalition forces throughout the day. The breach of the wall was a graduated response to the threat.

I Marine Expeditionary Force will continue to employ precision weaponry in order to protect lives of non-combatants, private property, medical facilities, and religious structures in accordance with the law of war.

For more information please contact MAJ JOHNSON at johnsontv@imefdm.usmc.mil or neil.harper.82@d82.army.mil



http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/news_release.asp?NewsRelease=20040407.txt

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 10:37am
Isnt that the reason why they are called extremists?

There are too many of them in this country today, which is why I see many people trending towards the center more and more.

The extremes on both sides continue their slide away from the mainstream part of our culture, and continue to battle each other with ideaology which has less and less place in our society today.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 10:39am
This argument is exactly why I feel that Clinton would have been laughed out of Congress if he had asked them for approval to send ground troops into Afghanistan in response to the attack on the USS Cole.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:02am
There are a couple of people who periodically post conspiracy theories on this board and they're laughed at, generally speaking. Some of them are so preposterous that you sit there scratching your head and wondering how on earth they can be taken seriously!

Your attitude about the left hoping for the deaths of troops in Iraq is in the exact same category only it's not funny--it's poisonous. You seem to seek a way to stifle the opinions of anybody who doesn't agree with the Bush position on Iraq. You look for ways to demonize them and paint them in the worst possible light. Is Senator Joe McCarthy your hero by any chance?

My son was in Iraq, may have to go back and I was and still am against the war. I can't tell you how angry your attitude makes me.

Gettingahandle

Ignorance is Nature's most abundant fuel for decision making.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:07am

The extremes on both sides continue their slide away from the mainstream part of our culture, and continue to battle each other with ideaology which has less and less place in our society today.


I completely agree.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:14am

My son was in Iraq, may have to go back and I was and still am against the war. I can't tell you how angry your attitude makes me.


I sincerely hope that he doesn't get redeployed.


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2004
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:21am
I'm sorry that my attitude makes you angry, but it is my attitude and I truly believe it. Should I stifle saying what I truly believe, too?

I can understand why you wouldn't want your son in Iraq. I wouldn't want either of my sons there either and I have great empathy for your feelings. I am sorry for you that he made this choice and hope that he is unharmed. I do believe that the rhetoric from those who would use this war for nothing more than political purposes are deliberately trying to harm him and those like him, though. Others do not do it purposfully, but the leaders such as Kennedy do. That is what I truly believe.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:36am
That is just plain silly!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:40am
Perhaps you should read more and get your news from a source that is truly "fair and balanced".
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2004
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 11:45am
I think you should.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 12:10pm
I am in the same boat as you. I am branded a right wing loon because I trend more to the conservative side, while I am far from a Pat Robertson, or a Pat Buchannan.

I consider myself to be a moderate, and would possibly have voted for Joe Lieberman if he were the Democratic nominee, as I am not a staunch supporter of GWB, who to me sometimes does embrace the extreme right wing view of things. I also could not see myself voting for John Kerry who seems to be the current standard bearer of the extreme left wing.

I also agree that the extremes on both parties may make up a combined 25% of the entire voting block, if even that much, but it seems as though their voices are the strongest ones out there. It seems a shame that the average person is having less of a voice with respect to their government.

BTW, I like how you can differentiate the colors in your post.