BAGHDAD, May 12, 2007
Massive Search For Missing U.S. Troops
5 Killed, 3 Missing In Iraq After Morning Ambush
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Search For Missing Troops
A pre-dawn ambush on a U.S. patrol in Iraq left 5 dead and 3 soldiers missing. American and Iraqi forces have embarked on a massive search for the troops. Mark Strassmann has more details.
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Iraqi soldiers take defensive position while on the joint search mission with the U.S. troops near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 12, 2007. (AP)
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Iraqi soldiers take defensive position while on the joint search mission with the U.S. troops near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 12, 2007. (AP)
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The military said the patrol was struck in a pre-dawn explosion near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad — an al Qaeda area where two U.S. soldiers were found massacred after disappearing at a checkpoint nearly a year ago.
A nearby unit heard the blast and the search was launched after communication could not be established with the patrol, the military said, adding that a drone plane later observed two burning vehicles after about 15 minutes.
An emergency response unit arrived at the scene about an hour later and found five members of the team killed and three others listed as duty status and whereabouts unknown.
U.S. military sources tell CBS News that it may take DNA tests to make final identifications, although an Iraqi Army interpreter is believed to be among those killed, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.
Checkpoints were established throughout the area, while helicopters, jets and unmanned drones buzzed overhead.
But such a search is a nightmare scenario for the U.S. military: The soldiers are facing hostile terrain and have no idea whether the missing are captured, wounded or both, reports Strassmann.
AP Television News footage showed Iraqi soldiers picking through cattails and other weeds as they searched fields and canals for clues.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman, said the search would continue throughout the night.
"A lot of our vehicles have thermal capabilities, which sometimes work better at night than they do during the day," he said.
In Other Developments:
The attack in Makhmur, 30 miles south of Irbil, targeted the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Makhmur is not part of the Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq.
The military refused to specify whether the Iraqi interpreter was among those killed or among the missing or give more details about where the bodies were found.
An Iraqi army officer, who was familiar with the search but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said he saw five badly burned bodies inside a Humvee at the attack site, suggesting the remains may not have been recognizable.
(AP)
The Iraqi officer said U.S. troops singled out seven suspects out of as many as 50, including a wounded man who was hiding in a house and confessed to participating. He said most of the houses searched near the attack contained only women and children because the men had fled after hearing news of the attack, fearing arrest.
"I was in my cucumber field when I heard a big explosion followed by shootings. I ran toward my house because I was afraid that I would be arrested if spotted in the field," Mizaal Abdullah, a 37-year-old farmer who was in the custody of the Iraqi army, said by telephone. "This is the third time that I have been arrested. Each time, the real attackers flee the area and innocent people like me get arrested."
The attack occurred at 4:44 a.m. about 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya, a town of about 65,000 people located in a Sunni area dubbed the "triangle of death" for the frequent attacks against Shiite civilians and U.S. and Iraqi forces.
On June 16, 2006, two American soldiers — Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Oregon — went missing after their Humvee was ambushed at a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, to the north of Mahmoudiya.
Their bodies were found days later, tied together with a bomb between one of the victim's legs, but the remains were not recovered until the next morning, after an Iraqi civilian warned that bombs had been planted in the area.
A third soldier, David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was found dead at the scene of the attack.
Five U.S. soldiers also have been charged in the rape of a 14-year-old Mahmoudiya girl and the killing of her and her entire family, and three have pleaded guilty in the March 12, 2006, attack, which was initially blamed on insurgents.
More than 3,380 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. But few have been kidnapped in Iraq, due largely to strict military procedures for those on patrol or at checkpoints.
U.S. troops in Iraq travel in groups of armored vehicles, usually Humvees, and procedures are in place to keep track of troops so no one is left behind, either by accident or because of the chaos of war.
The last U.S. soldier known to have been captured was Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, whose name is also spelled Ahmed Kousay Altaie, an Iraqi-born reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who was abducted while visiting his Iraqi wife on Oct. 23 in Baghdad.
Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was taken on April 9, 2004, after insurgents ambushed a fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier being shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive proof of Maupin's death. He is listed as missing.
Capt. Michael Speicher, a Navy pilot, also has been missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 272 CommentsHere are Senators from Military states that support Everything Bush has done to keep our troops in this Civil War in Iraq! Write them let them know they work for America not Israeli Government!
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
361-A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2541
Web Form: mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm
Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
555 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6342
Web Form: dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.C...
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5972
Web Form: lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contact
Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)
416 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3521
Web Form: chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactU...
Cornyn, John- (R - TX)
517 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2934
Web Form: cornyn.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Inhofe, James M.- (R - OK)
453 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4721
Web Form: inhofe.senate.gov/contactus.htm
If you think Americas sacrifice is worth it contact your ELECTED OFFICIAL and tell them http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
a slow bloody grind - getting picked off one by one.
we'd need an army of 500'000 to control this country - if that's what we wanted.
This is a LOSE -LOSE situation - no upside, no light at the end of the tunnel.
Just video clips of dead American heros sacrificed by an egotistical lightweight.
But George W. Bush, grinning inanely(*) behind a wall of security so tight they won't even let him appear before anti-war audiences, IS NOT GOING TO LOSE HIS NERVE !!!
(*) Bush at the Commencement Ceremonies at St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania, yesterday:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/images/20070511-8_p051107jb-0249-1-250h.jpg
The three missing were probably taken prisoner, soon to appear in an insurgents' video.
But George W. Bush, grinning inanely(*) behind a wall of security so tight they won't even let him appear before anti-war audiences, IS NOT GOING TO LOSE HIS NERVE !!!
(*) Bush at the Commencement Ceremonies at St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania, yesterday:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/images/20070511-8_p051107jb-0249-1-250h.jpg
GREAT WORK DUMBYA ... keep sending more TARGETS
GREAT WORK DUMBYA ... keep sending more targets
Posted by tbweb at 10:19 AM : May 12, 2007
Because history has proven, brutal military suppression has alway slead to democracy. You know, democracy... the "reason" we invaded a foreign country. Do you think that massive military suppression will not just create morerand more terrorist. That will just lead to more desperate acts, and decades and decades reprisals on us.
"If our missing soldiers show up in some ungodly web video with the unthinkable happening to them let those responsible listen loud and unmistakeably clear..."
The man responsible is GW Bush.
Are you going to hold him responsible or are you just going to let him go because he's a Republican?
He started the war, he put those troops there, and he's the one who came up with the idea for the surge.
It's time you Republicans face up to the facts - GW Bush is responsible for this mess.
Open your g*ddamn eyes for once.
I profoundly sympathise with your point. But I think you are missing something - Iraq does not belong to us. We remain in the country at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Indeed keep in mind the fact that our presence does not even have the total sipport of the Iraqi people anymore. Even if, as you seem to suggest, US commaders are given freedom to do "whatever they want" we will succeed in unifying both Shiite and Sunni against us - not just within Iraq but externally as well.
If that happens there will be mutual mass slaughter. We will slaughter them and they will slaughter us too. We are paying a heavy price in Iraq and it is sad to see innocent life squandered so meaninglessly. However, to ocuppy, liberate and occupy again is utter madness that will back-fire spectaluary. We have seen enough of failed, short-term policies in Iraq. We do not need more.
Ask yourself a simple question, what is our objective in Iraq? What are we trying to achieve? Let us set ourselves realistic, achieveable and timebound objectives and get out. Our continued purposeless presence in that country is what is killing our troops.
Let us think carefully about our next decision - it may be our last.
Because history has proven, brutal military suppression has alway slead to democracy. You know, democracy... the "reason" we invaded a foreign country. Do you think that massive military suppression will not just create morerand more terrorist. That will just lead to more desperate acts, and decades and decades reprisals on us.
Posted by joelan at 10:28 AM : May 12, 2007
joelan,,,
Our enemies in Iraq have their own rules of engagement! Its obvious to me this is a dog-eat-dog conflict where there are no rules. The enemy chose these rules and we should fight by them as well. Its time to deal with this type of adversary in their own language and a language they understand. We are sitting safe behind these computers while our forces are at a complete disadvantage dying with restrictive rules of engagement. My advice is simple, protect yourself at all times, do what you need to do to stay alive and let the chips falls where they may. And go get our soldiers back and do whatever you need to do to do it!
If the Iraq invasion isn't about enriching the defense industry captains, then what is it about?
I profoundly sympathise with your point. But I think you are missing something - Iraq does not belong to us. We remain in the country at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Indeed keep in mind the fact that our presence does not even have the total sipport of the Iraqi people anymore. Even if, as you seem to suggest, US commaders are given freedom to do "whatever they want" we will succeed in unifying both Shiite and Sunni against us - not just within Iraq but externally as well.
If that happens there will be mutual mass slaughter. We will slaughter them and they will slaughter us too. We are paying a heavy price in Iraq and it is sad to see innocent life squandered so meaninglessly. However, to ocuppy, liberate and occupy again is utter madness that will back-fire spectaluary. We have seen enough of failed, short-term policies in Iraq. We do not need more.
Ask yourself a simple question, what is our objective in Iraq? What are we trying to achieve? Let us set ourselves realistic, achieveable and timebound objectives and get out. Our continued purposeless presence in that country is what is killing our troops.
Let us think carefully about our next decision - it may be our last.
The U.S. has the military capability and know-how to avoid all these casualities and death to our forces. What is the point of having the technology and advantage if we are not going to use it and keep our people alive? I don't believe we should die in large numbers especially if it can be avoided for rules of engagement that only we are using! This is war, war is war.
Asked about security in Baghdad, Vice President Dog Cheney told reporters, "I have to rely on reports, because obviously I spent the day here basically in our embassy in the Green Zone."
But he said based on conversations he had throughout the day, Iraqi leaders felt that sectarian violence was "down fairly dramatically."
"I think everybody recognizes there still are some security problems, security threats, no question about it," Cheney said.
Lets see those Republican Congressman feeling the heat, when the hostage vids start coming out.
"Our enemies in Iraq have their own rules of engagement! Its obvious to me this is a dog-eat-dog conflict where there are no rules. The enemy chose these rules and we should fight by them as well. Its time to deal with this type of adversary in their own language and a language they understand. We are sitting safe behind these computers while our forces are at a complete disadvantage dying with restrictive rules of engagement. My advice is simple, protect yourself at all times, do what you need to do to stay alive and let the chips falls where they may. And go get our soldiers back and do whatever you need to do to do it!"
Like it or not, Iraq is their country, not ours.
While our troops are there, they will always be a target.
This is the price we pay for listening to a madman who claims that god spoke to him and told him to invade.
What a freaking joke.
Keeping our troops in Iraq will ensure that more of our brave troops are slaughtered to protect what's left of GW's shattered reputation.
I hope that g*ddamn @sshole dies a painful death for the misery he's caused.
You are factually correct on a number of points. But I think you misunderstand that our technological and tactical advantage is in convential - not guerilla warfare. Do not forget many of our tactical assets are already being deployed in Iraq - Apache helicopters, unmanned drones, F-16s and precision munitions. This yawning advantage has not delivered victory in last four years and will not do so in next 100.
Indeed this is not my view, General Petraeus is of the view that the war cannot be won militarily. Generals Abizaid and Casey were also of this opinion. I therefore do not follow this part of your argument. The only way we could "win" the war in Iraq is if we carpet bombed the Sunni triangle and the restive neighbourhoods of Baghdad and turned them into self-illuminating glass. But how realistic is that?
There will be no decisive military victory in Iraq. Don't believe me, believe the Generals.
Posted by WDRussell1 at 10:58 AM : May 12, 2007
,,,WDRussell1
Genocide is an extreme term and no one is talking genocide or slaughter so get a grip. I was in Vietnam and I didn't commit genocide or any war crime but I didn't take any chances either and if an error was made it wasn't made on my end because obviously I'm sitting here typing this now! Our guys on the battle field know exactly what I'm talking about and thats all I have to say about that. I lost 21 close friends doing stupid things so I know first hand how the rules are not in our favor in combat, so think what you will.
"The U.S. has the military capability and know-how to avoid all these casualities and death to our forces. What is the point of having the technology and advantage if we are not going to use it and keep our people alive? I don't believe we should die in large numbers especially if it can be avoided for rules of engagement that only we are using! This is war, war is war."
Are you saying that the US military is purposely allowing soldiers to die?
Interesting - I thought that's what GW was doing.
Mission Accomplished.
Hang that b@stard.
Posted by heetseeker at 11:03 AM : May 12, 2007
,,,heetseeker
Like I mentioned before, General Petraeus is basing that opinion on the current rules of engagement trust me!
- Posted by tbweb at 11:07 AM : May 12, 2007
The no-holds-barred attitude towards war was tried by the Japanese back in the 30s and 40s.
It led to a lot of incidents like the R*ape of Nanking and the Bataan Death March, but it did not lead to victory for Japan.
What is did lead to, was a hatred of Japan throught east Asia that continues to this day.
But what are you suggesting here? What tactics do you think we need to employ? Be specific. What changes would you make to the rules of engagement? And who exactly is going to tolerate this?
You are assuming a compliant, almost docile Iraqi public. Iraq is a tinderbox. We can do nothing in Iraq without the consent the Iraqi's. I fear for any ideas that while, in effect, turn Iraqi's general poipulation into an insurgency.
Get our soldiers out of Iraq.
We are not gaining anything over there, it is all losses we CAN stop if only someone in our government would find some guts! It is amazing to me someone hasn't taken him down by now.
- Posted by bessc2007 at 11:13 AM : May 12, 2007
He's not hiding it very well.
It's as plain as the grin on his face.
Bush doesn't want to withdraw from Iraq, because he'd be admitting that the centerpiece of his whole administration, the war in Iraq, was a mistake.
Bush is trying to save face.
Did I hit some truths media doesn't want printed?
For instance, how big was the check Cheney took with him to try to bribe the Iraqi government to not take a vacation? This whole *** mess has been about money since the beginning. When will our government realize, Commander-in-chief or not, he can be stopped when charged with all the war crimes he has committed? I thought that was WHY we elected the Democratic Congress.
tbweb
But what are you suggesting here? What tactics do you think we need to employ? Be specific.
Posted by heetseeker at 11:12 AM : May 12, 2007
,,,heetseeker
My solution is simple but it requires a lot of work and effort. The U.S. and Iraqi's need to gut all the living spaces and start fresh. What this means is creating living areas from scratch making sure that all who enter are unarmed initially and coming and going from then on, its a time comsuming process. The way things are now an armed enemy is mixing in with the general population and there is no way to stop the violence. This needs to be done all over Iraq and once this is done and anyone who is not in those protected spaces is fair game! Simple actually, but a lot of work!
- Posted by tbweb at 11:24 AM : May 12, 2007
"There is nothing new under the sun,"
says the Good Book.
This was tried in Vietnam. They were called "Strategic Hamlets."
Alas, poor Yorik, it didn't work.
The Strategic Hamlet Program:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Hamlets
"Bush is trying to save face."
Indeed.
One thing is for sure - he'll go down in the history books as a failure who wasted the lives of many thousands of Americans.
This was tried in Vietnam. They were called "Strategic Hamlets."
Alas, poor Yorik, it didn't work.
The Strategic Hamlet Program:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Strategic_Hamlets
Posted by Iceman_1960 at 11:30 AM : May 12, 2007
Iceman_1960,,,
That was then and this is now and there were lessons learned from those failures and this is 2007 not 1969! It can work if done correctly and the right way.
It's striking that one after another, the mistakes of Vietnam are being repeated in Iraq.
Winning Hearts and Minds... the Domino Theory... Strategic Hamlets... "If we don't fight the Viet Cong in Southeast Asia, we'll have to fight them on the beaches of California"... "America: Love it or Leave it..."
And the plaintive cry of Johnson and Nixon: "I will not be the first President in American history to lose a war!"
"Commander-in-Chief or not, he can be stopped when charged with all the war crimes he's committed."
Get real, if he had committed war crimes, don't you think Nancy would have already brought them up by now? Congress gave him the power to do what he did; and please don't tell me he lied to them.
tbweb;
The solution is simple,
very simple, get these troops out of Iraq.
They have killed hundreds of thousands of people and distroyed a country. What more can they do?
"The Strategic Hamlet program backfired drastically and ultimately led to a decrease in support for Diem%u2019s regime and an increase in sympathy for Communist efforts...
Posted by Iceman_1960 at 11:41 AM : May 12, 2007
Iceman_1960,,,
The current U.S. Green Zone is proof that it can work, its working right now! Except for a few security lapses U.S. type Green Zones can be duplicated all over Iraq with even better setups and security from lessons learned from the current U.S. Green Zones errors! It can work trust me, it just requires a lot of work and planning and like I already mentioned its working right now! We have a "live" successful example to look at!
----- IRAQ'S PARLEMENT IS SAYING LEAVE -----
Bush is trying to save face.
Posted by Iceman_1960
I agree almost completely. One exception. He has stated the true reason for this war twice in the last several months. Can you Imagine the Extremist in charge of the worlds second largest known oil supply. It seams as though, War For Oil, is no longer simply Conspiracy theory. I hate it when their right.....
- Posted by Iceman_1960 at 11:41 AM : May 12, 2007
They weren't anyway.
As seven-pesos may remind us some day, Jefferson Davis lost one in the 1860s.
I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WENT AHEAD WITH THIS SURGE!
NOW WE ARE GOING TO FIND THE MUTILATED CORPSES OF THESE SOLDIERS AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE TO BLAME!
Here are Senators from Military states that support Everything Bush has done to keep our troops in this Civil War in Iraq! Write them let them know they work for America not Israeli Government!
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
361-A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2541
Web Form: mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfmn
Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
555 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6342
Web Form: dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Con
tactInformation.C...
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5972
Web Form: lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contact
Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)
416 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3521
Web Form: chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fu
seAction=ContactU...
Cornyn, John- (R - TX)
517 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2934
Web Form: cornyn.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Inhofe, James M.- (R - OK)
453 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4721
Web Form: inhofe.senate.gov/contactus.htmn
If you think Americas sacrifice is worth it contact your ELECTED OFFICIAL and tell them http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
----- IRAQ'S PARLEMENT IS SAYING LEAVE -----"
- Posted by j-whitman at 11:46 AM : May 12, 2007
Jalal Talabani, the George Washington of Iraq [ :) ] wants us to stay "one or two years" while he "recruits" the Iraqi army and police.
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