Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who was confirmed today to be the top US commander in Iraq, have told lawmakers that thwarting President Bush’s plan for a troop surge in the Mid-East nation would "embolden" terrorist forces.
But a new Pentagon report concerning the deaths of four US soldiers in Karbala last Saturday shows that insurgents are already as bold as they can possibly be.
According to the report, which confirmed an earlier Associated Press account, between 9 and 12 English-speaking men dressed in US Army uniforms entered the compound in two GMC suburbans of the type used in military convoys. They went through the checkpoint at the US installation without incident, and then proceeded to a building in the compound where the servicemen were a meeting.
The attackers threw a grenade and opened fire with automatic rifles as they grabbed two soldiers inside the compound. Then the guerrilla assault team jumped on top of an armored U.S. Humvee and captured two more soldiers, the U.S. military officials said. (AP from Yahoo News)
The armed insurgents made their escape. The abandoned SUV and the bodies of their four hostages were located 25 miles away some hours afterward. Four suspects were arrested 3 days later.
Now here are the problems with what happened:
• First, that the insurgents were able to pass through a checkpoint without being detained;
• Second, that they were able to secure uniforms, weapons and transportation that matched those used by the US military;
• Third, that they were able to penetrate a US military installation in a war zone and escape;
• Fourth, the fact that the raid took place so quickly speaks to a familiarity with the base and schedules; and
• Lastly, that the military initially chose to cover-up the details of the raid.
I’ve had numerous occasions to travel within the confines of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. During peace-time, traffic through the base is monitored at checkpoints. Armed MPs examine driver’s licenses and vehicles being driven to make sure that neither poses a threat. So again, how did insurgents secure so much military material to be used in the raid? Was it stolen? Was it bought? All these questions need to be answered.
But that such an incident could take place shows how wrong the proposed troop surge is. How can opposition to bad policy further embolden an enemy who already can come and go at will?