Retrophisch

Ooh, she forgot to put "In my opinion" over all that. The left has a lot more to complain about than looting. It's sad that she's ignorant of that fact.

I'd recommend a healthy dose of Ann each week. You'll find she's far from ignorant.

Well, she's plain wrong: the press have been reporting widely on such things as the American troops firing into groups of protesters, the Iraqis' evident displeasure at US occupation, and the fact that there's serious doubt about this al Qaeda link.

Pity she doesn't read much of that, eh?

Her point is that the looting is a minor thing for us to be worried about at this point, relative to the coverage it has gotten.

Is is the fault of the U.S. troops that Iraqi terrorists are using crowds as cover? What are they supposed to do, just sit there and get shot and grenaded? Seeing the trouble coalition forces went through to minimize civilian casualties from the outset, I'm sure these troops did the best they could under the circumstances. I would say that until you've been under fire and had to react while undergoing a massive adrenaline dump that affects your judgment (as it would with anyone else on the entire planet), reserve judgment on the troops.

As for Iraqi displeasure, this seems to be a rather vocal minority of Iraqi citizens; much like the rather vocal far Left in the States.

As for the al-Qaeda link, time will tell as all of the documents are analyzed.

Re: Firing into groups of protesters.
Any armed forces soldier will tell you that protecting their life, and the life of their fellow soldiers takes precidence.
Unless you've choosen to forget, there are still armed forces of resistance living in Iraq.
They hid when the Allies overwhealmed their positions, melding into civilians.
How about the report of the last time the soliders fired into a crowd, did you happen to read that there was gunfire at the Allied soldiers first?

Re the protesters in general:
I am personally glad that they are there.. This is something they could have never done under Sadaam iron fist.

As to the Al Quieda link, so what?
The war on terror was not a war on Al Quieda.
Sadaam Hussain provided payments of up to $20,000 to families of suicide bombers.
That's supporting terrorism.
What about the training camp with the 747 fuselage, where men were taught how to take over and control a plane?

As far as her having to write "in my opinion", she's a Opinionist/Editorialist. I'd think that "in my opinion" would be a given.
However, she at least backs up most of the articles with solid facts, quotes, and statements, unlike many of the fear-mongering far-left liberals.
To each their own,
Ricky, a middle of the road kinda guy..

U.S. troops opened fire into a crowd because someone threw a stone at them...or so sez Al Jazeera - and quoted by the Washington Post. Now, THERE'S a couple of rags we can trust to give honest, objective reporting. (coffee splatter alert). Al-Jazeera is known as the "mouthpiece of Bin Laden". Nuff said.

As for Iraqi's not wanting us there, I honestly can't blame them. It is, after all, THEIR country. But, without us there, the entire country would be such easy prey to some crazy warlord, some angry neighboring country (or three), or would be divided into multiple country-states base on ethnic/religious grounds. None of these are good if there is to be a stable Iraq for, of, and by the Iraqi people. Only time will tell.

"Doubt" about the Saddam-al Qaeda link does not mean that it does not exist. We do know that contact was made. No one can prove anything else. Using "doubt" as a basis for shining a negative light on anything is just plain wrong.
Again...time will tell on this.

The basis of Ann's article is that the Left/Peac-nik/plain-old-anti-Bush nay-sayers have been proven wrong on so many of their reasons for leaving Saddam's tyrranical regime in power. These snobby nay-sayers haven't gotten their way, and have now resorted to pointing their elitist fingers at some petty little items.

What can I say? She's right.

The Iraqi terrorists, if they happened to be in attendance, may well be using crowds as cover. That said, they didn't seem to be doing much: one incident involved gunshots from several blocks away while Iraqi vigilantes shot into the air to discourage some looters at a bank. So no, I did not read that there were shots fired at the troops first - I read that no shots were fired at all. Oops.

As for 'the left' not using quotes, facts and statements, again it seems to be a case of not reading it.

If you come to this site to seek open debate, then it would be appreciated - not to mention courteous - if you would supply sources for these accusations, Raena. For all I know, you are getting your anti-coalition updates directly from Baghdad Bob, or CNN (the Iraqi sellout-channel), or even Pontificating Jacque ...errr, Peter Jennings.
[un]Common sense should make one keenly aware that shots fired "a few blocks away" would not cause troops to have a knee-jerk, Rambo-esque reaction against civilians that were much nearer than the source of the gunfire. That claim simply doesn't wash. Anyone who has been around guns for any length of time can easily distinguish the difference between a gunshot from nearby and one "several blocks away" - especially troops trained for urban combat.

The accounts that I have read regarding both recent incidents lay things out in a much different light.
(1) Tuesday, Apr 29 - U.S. Troops Fire Back at Iraqi Protesters; Up to 13 Killed. U.S. forces insisted they opened fire only upon armed men -- infiltrators among the protest crowd, according to Col. Arnold Bray, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 325 Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division , whose troops were involved in the shooting.
...and...
(2) Wednesday, Apr 30 - U.S. Troops Again Open Fire on Protesters in Iraq. Lt. Col. Tobin Green, commander of the 2nd squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment... said a six-vehicle convoy was shot at and responded with gunfire. "... These are deliberate actions by the enemy to use the population as cover," said Green.
U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar, said American forces fired in response to rock-throwing and weapons fire
[end-quote]
I see nothing about troops responding to shots from "several blocks away". I see troops who are being attacked by armed terrorists hidden in a crowd, and responded as they were trained to do.

Dare I mention that I would take the word of a US soldier before I would heed the rantings of a liberally biased press?

All that aside, I know that it would be next to impossible for me to change your view on this. You will believe what you want to believe - right or wrong. But (futile request forthcoming), give our boys the benefit of the doubt that they genuinely deserve. They are trained far better than the bloodthirsty, racist thugs that the panic-mongering, ratings-seeking, propaganda-spreading, elitist press would have you believe.
(Hmmm.. I wonder if I used enough adjectives in there to show my utter distaste for the liberally biased, media?)