U.S. forces kill 24 insurgents, but only because they attacked first

BAGHDAD (Reuters)—U.S. troops killed 24 insurgents and wounded seven in a battle on the outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday after the guerrillas attacked a U.S. position, the American military said…. It is rare for insurgents to attack U.S. positions head-on in large numbers, with most of them preferring hit-and-run guerrilla tactics or attacks with roadside bombs.

The very rarity of the story draws our attention: when do we ever see news of U.S. troops killing the insurgents? Normally, all we hear about is Americans as passive targets, getting blown up like Eloi as they drive along Iraqi roads. Other than the U.S. attack on Fallujah and a couple of other insurgent strongholds in late 2004, there has been no U.S. action against the enemy. Even in this instance, it was the enemy that initiated the battle and the U.S. that fired back.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 21, 2005 10:18 AM | Send