The Falcon
Flew Away
A Turning
Point in the Iraq War?
It happened in the night between
October 10 and 11 and I failed to take notice right away – another
bomb,
another calamity in Iraq, what is the difference to normality there?
Only with
10 days delay, I was made aware that this might be the crucial American
defeat,
only to be covered up until the elections in the USA on November 7. But
I am
still not sure (Oct. 28, 2006), so I drained the Internet for
information.
The mainstream media [MM]
reported of it right away, and retrospectively it is evident that
something
bigger than usual had occurred: “The night's earth-shaking explosions,
which
caused no casualties, sent shock waves across southern and central
Baghdad
shortly after 11 p.m. Fireballs and plumes of smoke could be seen
rising
hundreds of feet into the night sky from the area in south-western
Baghdad
where Camp Falcon is located,” LA Times informed [[1]] the day after. The attack started
at 10:40 p.m. on the 10th and the MM told us it lasted two
hours.
Through a precise and or lucky hit in the middle of the ammunition
deposit,
however, you can assume that it lasted less than 5 minutes, then the
Iraqi
resistance fighters could pack up their equipment, the rest was a
self-igniting
process. The camp is situated 13 km South-West of Baghdad and its
destruction
caused memory of the bombardment of the city in March 2003. The flames
were
flaring up over the city and repetitively, new explosions occurred –
which can
be experienced by viewing the TV News recorded live. Even when you do
not
understand Arab, it is worth opening the link to Google Video (if still
active)
[[2]]. Having seen this, I wonder if the
calamity did not really make a larger impression on the ground, as can
be seen
on the pictures below:
The
attack was claimed by both the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Conquering
Army [[3]]. A mortar round fired from the Abu
Dsheer area of southern Baghdad caused the fire. Three 82mm
mortar rounds and two Katyusha rockets did the job. “WMD in Iraq! Looks
like we finally found them – in our own ammunition dump at Camp
Falcon,” Mark E. Smith
commented [[4]].
The Americans accused Iraqi translators of having leaked information on
the
location of arms and ammunition depots to the resistance – after having
given
up to claim it was an accident. If you are brainwashed to believe the
official
report, I shall give you the occasion: “Despite triggering
multiple explosions and causing fire crews to work overtime, there were
no
casualties, and little damage was sustained to the buildings and
vehicles
positioned throughout the large military base” [[5]]. The
same report claims there were only 100 soldiers at the camp during the
attack.
There must have been some celebrating outside because 3 battalions, including tank and infantry
units, are stationed at the base.
The other side claims 3-5,000 plus some Iraqi
forces. In June 2006, the camp was claimed to be the host of 6000
troops [[6]]. Some 50
tanks and Humvees were totally burned out, along with a number of
helicopters.
Damages of approx. 1 billion $ were reported.
According to the
official propaganda, nobody were killed by the attack. And according to
the
other side, equally to be regarded propaganda, more than 300 American
and 125
Iraqi troops died [[7]]. Nine large
American military transports with prominent Red Cross markings were
observed by
members of the foreign media taking off, laded with the dead and the
wounded.
The same source gives a long list of names for the American casualties
received
at the US military hospital at al-Habbaniyah located some 70km west
of Baghdad [[8]]. A more
specific number, 422 dead American soldiers, was published on Oct. 22,
without
revealing its source [[9]].
Knowing the strategy for reporting casualties in Iraq, both
extremes, nobody and several hundred killed, may have more than a grain
of
truth in themselves. The occupiers count only those as dead who are
killed –
directly and immediately – by the enemies weaponry. If somebody was
standing
where the morter grenade landed, he fulfills this criteria, but not if
he was
killed by the succeeding explosion of the American ammunition. Add to
this that
extensive burns rarely cause immediate death, which is following after
hours or
days of extensive suffering. Anyhow, this calamity comes in the month
with most
casualties after the American conquest of Iraq in March-April 2003,
both for
the American and British forces. If the truth will ever come out, the
cover-up
can be expected to last some weeks, after the Mid-Term Elections – if,
after all,
the hacked election machines do not suffice to give the Republicans the
expected majority, it is better to keep it secret till then.
If you have some stocks in a firm
and some insider-knowledge that something there is going wrong, you may
abuse
this knowledge and sell your shares (as the Israeli General Dan Halutz
did just
hours before the Israeli attack on Lebanon [[10]]). Similarly, politicians and
military from both occupying nations indicated indirectly that
something
terrible had occurred. Without sharing this knowledge, I had saved the
following statement fro immediately after the assault of Camp Falcon:
“The head of Britain's army
said the presence of British troops in Iraq was exacerbating the
security
situation on the ground and they should be withdrawn soon” [[11], 13/10]. The surprise was even
greater as Blair claimed that he “agreed with every word of his
devastating
assessment of British policy in Iraq” [[12], 14/10].
“After
George Bush conceded .. that America may have reached the equivalent of
a Tet
offensive in Iraq, Pentagon admitted defeat in its strategy of securing
Baghdad” [[13], 20/10]. Suddenly thereafter, a
strange competition started: “Senior Republicans are moving into open
revolt
against what they see as a rapidly deteriorating situation and Bush's
bullheadedness in still believing that Iraq will somehow become a model
for
democratic transformation in the Middle East” [[14], 21/10].
The
success of the Iraqi resistance may also be confirmed by the following
quotations: “US and UK seek Iraq exit strategy - UK urges engagement
with Syria
and Iran as officials review options after this week's surge in
violence in
Iraq” [[15], 21/10]. And it was reported that
the Americans had kept secret meetings with the Iraqi Resistance in
Amman [[16], 22/10].
After
the Camp Falcon disaster surfaced, the following quotations were
registered:
James Baker is also leading a panel that is preparing recommendations
for
alternative strategies in Iraq though the panel’s recommendations will
not be
issued until after the Nov. 7 elections [[17], 23/10]; “Blair gives Iraq 12
months to be ready for handover” [[18], 23/10]; “America's most senior
general has signalled a dramatic shift in strategy, saying Iraq will be
responsible for it's own security in 12 to 18 months” [[19], 25/10]; and “For the first time
since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, active-duty members of the military
are
publicly appealing members of Congress to end the U.S. occupation” [[20], 26/10].
No
hard feelings? Not quite. “US helicopter bombs Al-Sadr's office South
of
Baghdad” [[21], 23/10] and “Iraqi special forces
went into Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mehdi army militia, overnight
to try
to capture "a top illegal armed group commander" who directed death
squads in eastern Baghdad” [[22], 25/10]. There is, however, little
indication that Al-Sadr was involved in either event. The death-squads
have
recently been linked to the former Premier Chalabi, a US marionette [[23]].
In summary, there are multiple
indications that the Americans have met their crucial defeat in Iraq
but for
interior political reasons are trying to keep it secret for almost a
month. We
should not help them with this secrecy!
[1] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-101106iraq,0,896939.story?coll=la-home-headlines
[3] http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications219606&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
[9] http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.politics/u_s_base_camp_falcon_destroyed_422_killed_u_s_corporate_15657312m.html
[11] http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-10-12T220640Z_01_GEO743062_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-2