How could they possibly hate us? An American missile hit a bus carrying Syrian civilians on a bridge just inside Iraq near the Syrian border, killing five and wounding at least 10. A U.S. spokesman said the U.S. "regretted" the loss of life, but went on:
"The bus stopped on the bridge and was hit by munitions already released prior to the bus approaching the bridge," it said. However blame for the incident was ultimately placed on the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. "We regret the loss of innocent life brought on by this regime's non-compliance of UN resolutions," the statement added.
Okay, try to figure this one out. There's a bridge on the road from Iraq to Syria near the border, used by civilians. Iraq is being invaded from the other side of the country, as well as being mercilessly bombed. There are probably no Iraqi troops or weapons of any significance between the bridge and the border, since most will be in the eastern part of the country fighting against the invading forces, or waiting around Baghdad for the attack there. What would the bridge be used for in the next week or two? My guess is that almost all of the traffic would be refugees or others escaping the war by heading west to Syria, just as the people on the bus were doing. Still, without any warning or doing anything to prevent civilians from being on the bridge, our military launches a missile from far away to blow up the bridge. Unless they figure that Syria intends to join the war in support of Iraq, the bridge offers little to support the Iraqi military effort. Destroying it simply serves to trap refugees inside Iraq.
Even if there were some legitimate excuse for destroying the bridge (not that there is really any legitimate excuse in this war), given the air superiority that the U.S. and British forces enjoy, it would have been relatively simple to protect civilians who might be crossing the bridge when the missile arrived. A fighter-bomber could have bombed the approaches to the bridge when there was no traffic to prevent vehicles from getting on the bridge. Some sort of barracade could have been dropped or erected to block the approaches, or probably even soldiers parachuted or helicoptered in. This would have prevented anyone from being on the bridge when the missile hit, but apparently there is no real concern for civilian casualties sufficient to take these reasonable measures. And blaming it on Saddam just makes us look all the more pathetic.
"The bus stopped on the bridge and was hit by munitions already released prior to the bus approaching the bridge," it said. However blame for the incident was ultimately placed on the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. "We regret the loss of innocent life brought on by this regime's non-compliance of UN resolutions," the statement added.
Okay, try to figure this one out. There's a bridge on the road from Iraq to Syria near the border, used by civilians. Iraq is being invaded from the other side of the country, as well as being mercilessly bombed. There are probably no Iraqi troops or weapons of any significance between the bridge and the border, since most will be in the eastern part of the country fighting against the invading forces, or waiting around Baghdad for the attack there. What would the bridge be used for in the next week or two? My guess is that almost all of the traffic would be refugees or others escaping the war by heading west to Syria, just as the people on the bus were doing. Still, without any warning or doing anything to prevent civilians from being on the bridge, our military launches a missile from far away to blow up the bridge. Unless they figure that Syria intends to join the war in support of Iraq, the bridge offers little to support the Iraqi military effort. Destroying it simply serves to trap refugees inside Iraq.
Even if there were some legitimate excuse for destroying the bridge (not that there is really any legitimate excuse in this war), given the air superiority that the U.S. and British forces enjoy, it would have been relatively simple to protect civilians who might be crossing the bridge when the missile arrived. A fighter-bomber could have bombed the approaches to the bridge when there was no traffic to prevent vehicles from getting on the bridge. Some sort of barracade could have been dropped or erected to block the approaches, or probably even soldiers parachuted or helicoptered in. This would have prevented anyone from being on the bridge when the missile hit, but apparently there is no real concern for civilian casualties sufficient to take these reasonable measures. And blaming it on Saddam just makes us look all the more pathetic.
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