Post by BOLO on Jan 8, 2005 15:08:11 GMT -5
Now this bothers me. having been where they are I do not like it.
Why are they unarmed? What we are talking about here is PC.
PC kills.
I have seen this before. For some reason the Politicians love to experiment with the troops.
Lets send the 500+ Politicians over there and let them supply the aid and deal with the danger.
I have served on three humantarian Missions. I was armed on all three.
These troops should be armed. It is well known that there is a war going on in this area in fact two or three different ones.
Politicians disgust me.
I'm letting mine know what I think.
No family should recieve a letter saying Your Family Member was killed while on a Humantarian Missiion. (BTW he/She was unarmed because this was after all a Humanitarian Mission and we thought everything would be fine and we did not want to scare the natives or give them the wrong impression and oh what the heck we really thought they would be safe and after all this is a delicate situation since a great many of them want our aid but not our presence and aside from that well you know, that's just the way it goes.) {Stay tuned for the Eulogy it will be a doozy and should make everone feel better.}
Pardon the sarcasm but it is right on the money. Our Troops are members of the ARMED FORCES of the United States. ARMED. That says it all.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia's military has stepped up patrols for separatist rebels in tsunami-stricken northern Sumatra island after isolated skirmishes in recent days raised fears the conflict could hamper the relief effort.
Officials from the United States and Australia, which both have unarmed military helping the massive aid effort, said on Saturday that they had assessed potential threats and were satisfied that Indonesian forces were providing adequate security.
Separatist rebels in the fiercely independent northern Sumatran province of Aceh have been fighting a low-intensity war against Indonesian troops for an independent homeland for more than 20 years. Indonesian forces are accused of brutality in the region and are generally hated.
The conflict was abruptly interrupted by the Dec. 26 earthquake off Sumatra and the tsunami it spawned, which killed more than 100,000 people and left five times that number homeless. The Free Aceh Movement, known by the acronym GAM, declared a unilateral cease-fire and the military said it would not target suspected rebels during the emergency.
But clashes have broken out in recent days. Marine Lt. Col. Bambang Sus said Indonesian troops on Wednesday ambushed a group of alleged rebel fighters in the northern Aceh town of Seunudun, killing two in a one-hour gunbattle near a refugee camp.
Another spokesman, Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, blamed the rebels for resuming hostilities and said military patrols had been increased.
"Our operations are continuing against GAM, especially as we get reports that the rebels are creating unrest," Basuki said.
The Indonesian government lifted restrictions on outsiders traveling to Aceh after the disaster, and thousands of workers from scores of aid agencies have rushed into the region.
Adding to security concerns is the appearance of Laskar Mujahidin, an extremist group with alleged links to al-Qaida, at an aid camp near the airport in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. The group said it was there to take part in the relief effort and to offer Islamic counseling.
Security analysts said they feared extremist groups known to operate in Indonesia will be looking for any opportunity to launch terrorist attacks on American or other Western targets.
But Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said on Saturday that American troops taking part in the relief effort have taken precautions against possible attacks, though he said the likelihood of such strikes was remote.
"This is a time for helping human beings who are in distress. This is not the kind of field for people to come in and undertake violent acts," Kelly said during a visit to Juala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill, who visited the Sumatran city of Medan on Saturday, said Australian troops were unarmed in Aceh and were relying on Indonesian forces for security.
He said the separatist conflict wouldn't have any bearing on Australia's involvement in the aid mission and was unlikely to trigger tensions between Australia and Indonesia's troops.
Security analysts say launching a terrorist attack on anyone helping tsunami victims would likely backfire by souring any hope extremists might hold of winning popular support. But they say radical groups may try to stir up anti-American sentiment in Aceh
Officials from the United States and Australia, which both have unarmed military helping the massive aid effort, said on Saturday that they had assessed potential threats and were satisfied that Indonesian forces were providing adequate security.
Separatist rebels in the fiercely independent northern Sumatran province of Aceh have been fighting a low-intensity war against Indonesian troops for an independent homeland for more than 20 years. Indonesian forces are accused of brutality in the region and are generally hated.
The conflict was abruptly interrupted by the Dec. 26 earthquake off Sumatra and the tsunami it spawned, which killed more than 100,000 people and left five times that number homeless. The Free Aceh Movement, known by the acronym GAM, declared a unilateral cease-fire and the military said it would not target suspected rebels during the emergency.
But clashes have broken out in recent days. Marine Lt. Col. Bambang Sus said Indonesian troops on Wednesday ambushed a group of alleged rebel fighters in the northern Aceh town of Seunudun, killing two in a one-hour gunbattle near a refugee camp.
Another spokesman, Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, blamed the rebels for resuming hostilities and said military patrols had been increased.
"Our operations are continuing against GAM, especially as we get reports that the rebels are creating unrest," Basuki said.
The Indonesian government lifted restrictions on outsiders traveling to Aceh after the disaster, and thousands of workers from scores of aid agencies have rushed into the region.
Adding to security concerns is the appearance of Laskar Mujahidin, an extremist group with alleged links to al-Qaida, at an aid camp near the airport in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. The group said it was there to take part in the relief effort and to offer Islamic counseling.
Security analysts said they feared extremist groups known to operate in Indonesia will be looking for any opportunity to launch terrorist attacks on American or other Western targets.
But Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said on Saturday that American troops taking part in the relief effort have taken precautions against possible attacks, though he said the likelihood of such strikes was remote.
"This is a time for helping human beings who are in distress. This is not the kind of field for people to come in and undertake violent acts," Kelly said during a visit to Juala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill, who visited the Sumatran city of Medan on Saturday, said Australian troops were unarmed in Aceh and were relying on Indonesian forces for security.
He said the separatist conflict wouldn't have any bearing on Australia's involvement in the aid mission and was unlikely to trigger tensions between Australia and Indonesia's troops.
Security analysts say launching a terrorist attack on anyone helping tsunami victims would likely backfire by souring any hope extremists might hold of winning popular support. But they say radical groups may try to stir up anti-American sentiment in Aceh
Why are they unarmed? What we are talking about here is PC.
PC kills.
I have seen this before. For some reason the Politicians love to experiment with the troops.
Lets send the 500+ Politicians over there and let them supply the aid and deal with the danger.
I have served on three humantarian Missions. I was armed on all three.
These troops should be armed. It is well known that there is a war going on in this area in fact two or three different ones.
Politicians disgust me.
I'm letting mine know what I think.
No family should recieve a letter saying Your Family Member was killed while on a Humantarian Missiion. (BTW he/She was unarmed because this was after all a Humanitarian Mission and we thought everything would be fine and we did not want to scare the natives or give them the wrong impression and oh what the heck we really thought they would be safe and after all this is a delicate situation since a great many of them want our aid but not our presence and aside from that well you know, that's just the way it goes.) {Stay tuned for the Eulogy it will be a doozy and should make everone feel better.}
Pardon the sarcasm but it is right on the money. Our Troops are members of the ARMED FORCES of the United States. ARMED. That says it all.
