More from Steve Bell

Showing Them We've Got Teeth

An Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed Friday — apparently shot down by insurgents — killing all six U.S. soldiers aboard and capping the bloodiest seven days in Iraq for Americans since the fall of Baghdad.

In retaliation, American troops backed by Bradley fighting vehicles swept through Iraqi neighborhoods before dawn Saturday, blasting houses suspected of being insurgent hideouts with machine guns and heavy weapons fire.

"This is to remind the town that we have teeth and claws and we will use them," said Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment...

Late Friday, U.S. troops fired mortars and a U.S. jets dropped at least three 500-pound bombs around the crash site, rattling windows over a wide area in an apparent show of force.

Associated Press
6 U.S. Soldiers Die in Iraq Copter Crash
November 7, 2003

Or maybe he's just a Monty Python fan:

Captain Carpenter: We've been on red alert for three days sir, and still have no sign of Mr. Neutron.

General: Have we bombed anywhere? Have we shown 'em we got teeth?

Captain Carpenter: Oh yeah, sir. We've bombed a lot of places flat, sir.

General: Good. Good. We don't want anyone to think we're chicken.

Monty Python's Flying Circus
Mr. Neutron

Phooey on Tough Talk
by Charley Reese

The president has said that the "terrorists and killers" want us to run, but America will not run. That is, of course, expressing geo-political strategic concepts in the language of schoolboys. But to use that language, we "ran" from Vietnam, from Lebanon and from Somalia, and we might yet "run" from Iraq.

To use more adult language, in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia, the United States decided that what it was doing was not worth the costs and simply withdrew. That might or might not happen in regard to Iraq, but adult language rather than churlish childish language would help the American people understand the situation better.

In the first place, the Iraqis killing our people are not trying to scare us. They are resisting occupation. No doubt they see themselves as patriots, not as terrorists. Their message is simple: As long as you occupy our country, we will try to kill you. Resistance to occupation is always legitimate but never the result of a democratic vote. Nobody got the Iraqis together and said, "Those who want to resist raise your hands, and those who want to collaborate raise your hands." Probably most just want to keep their heads down until the matter is settled.
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  thanks to Yolanda Flanagan

Between a Hammer and an Anvil...
by Riverbend

I haven’t written these last few days for several reasons. I could barely get an internet connection and when I did connect, it was very slow. I gave up yesterday. I’ve also been a bit tired with Ramadhan. It’s not the fasting that makes me tired, but the preparing for breaking the fast in the evening. There’s always so much to do. After we’ve eaten, I’m just to exhausted to do anything besides sit around with the family, drinking tea, abusing the smokers and discussing the usual topics families discuss while gathered together these days- the occupation and politics.

Even the kids are involved with the news and current situation, but in a smaller way. My cousin’s younger daughter is infatuated with one of the anchors on Al-Arabia. Every time he’s on tv, the usually loud 7-year-old stands, bedazzled, in front of the television, absorbing every word of the dry, detached commentary. Her mother, who can be impressively conniving, is tricking the poor kid into being good simply by saying things like, “But what would that nice man on Al-Arabia say if he saw you didn’t eat your potatoes?!”

So many things have been happening this last week. The various UN organizations began pulling out their volunteers and employees. The Red Cross is currently doing the same. Someone asked me why Iraqis seemed to have so much faith in UN organizations. It’s not that we have unrealistic views about the capabilities of the UN or humanitarian organizations; it’s simply that when organizations begin to pull out their people, you know things are going downhill. While being threatened with war, we used to watch the UN people very carefully and when they’d start packing up and leaving in helicopters, we’d know things are going to get difficult.
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Galub Memdeshen..

These last few days have been a bit tiring- a few visitors (relatives) and a couple of friends who we haven’t seen since July. It’s ridiculous- we live in the same city but it feels like we’re all worlds apart. Everyone is so consumed with their own set of trials and tribulations these days- the son that lost a job, the daughter that lost a husband… the problems feel endless and everyone has their own story to tell. As my mother constantly says, “Kul wahid yihtajleh galub memdeshen”, or “every person [you listen to] requires an brand new heart”. This is usually said when anticipating a sad, frustrating story. Every story begins with a deep *sigh* and ends with an “Allah kareem”.

Our latest visitor has left us more than perturbed. A friend of E. passed by, a junior in the electrical engineering department at Baghdad University. He sat, for an hour, describing an incident that occurred last week at the university which we had heard about, but didn’t know the details. It has been the biggest problem yet in Baghdad University.
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Americans sow seeds of hatred
Patrick Graham in Falluja meets angry Iraqi tribes who say they, not Saddam's forces, are shooting down US helicopters

Sarab rolls up her sleeve and looks at the thick scar across her upper arm. The eight-year-old says she was playing in the bathroom of her house when the shots were fired but cannot remember anything else.

'It is their routine,' said her grandfather, Turk Jassim. 'After the Americans are attacked, they shoot everywhere. This is inhuman - a stupid act by a country always talking about human rights.'

Last September, US forces shot dead Sarab's two-year old sister, Dunya, and wounded two other girls in her family, 13-year-old Menal and 16-year old Bassad. The family belongs to the Albueisi tribe who farm the rich land along the Euphrates river south of Falluja. The Albueisi fought against the British and even Saddam Hussein found them difficult to control. Since April, at least 10 members of the tribe have been killed by US forces, including five policemen
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