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March 28, 2006
They "Claim," We Don't Know
Note the story here:
Shiite politicians raged at the United States and halted negotiations on a new government Monday after a military assault killed at least 16 people in what Iraqis claim was a mosque. Fresh violence erupted in the north, with 40 killed in a suicide bombing. ... The U.S. military said in a statement that "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation." It said the raid targeted a building used by "insurgents responsible for kidnapping and execution activities."...
"In our observation of the place and the activities that were going on, it's difficult for us to consider this a place of prayer," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman. "It was not identified by us as a mosque, though we certainly recognized it as a community gathering center. I think this is frankly a matter of perception."
Associated Press reporters who visited the scene Monday said the site of the attack clearly was a neighborhood Shiite mosque complex.
Here's what's probalby going on. Even after three years of occupation, the troops on the ground haven't learned that Shi'ite shrines don't necessarily look like mosques.
That's how bad things are.
Of course, Post can't just come out and say it so they say "military assault killed at least 16 people in what Iraqis claim was a mosque." Can you imagine if they reported everything that way: Last weekend in Seattle, a gunman entered a compound that the survivors claimed was a house and killed six people inside...
Posted by zeynep at March 28, 2006 08:20 PM