Pentagon: Mosul an Inside Job

We have the now have the Pentagon pledging to find out how a suicide bomber got into a mess hall at Foward Operating Base Marez, and killed 22. Maybe the right question is "what took him so long" given this grunt-eye description of the base from earlier this summer:

HAJJI SHOPS: These are located through out the FOB. All of them owned and operated by an Iraqi citizen and all of their stores remind me of 99 Cents Only stores back home. Most of the stuff they sell is pure crap. But they sell junk food, sodas, ice cream. These guys are making a fortune off Joe. A lot of them also sell bootlegged DVD's, Cuban cigars, refrigerators, washing machines, bicycles, and if they don't have it, they can get it for you.

MINI AAFES PX: What's cool about this place is you can shop with your ATM card or Star card here. Buy all your soap, shaving, foot power stuff. They also sell DVD players, TV's, Protein Powders, Magazines, CD's and DVD's. What's interesting is that they sell condoms at the PX (Trojan non-lube). People buy them too, which makes you kinda wonder.

THE FRUIT JUICE STAND: Located next to PX, owned and operated by an Iraqi lady and her husband. For two bucks you get a big cup of banana strawberry smoothie or whatever fruity combo you want. Which are great on the extremely hot days here when you just want to chill out with a cold drink. I'll usually buy like 2 of them when I go there.

…

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: is available on FOB Marez. But is very unreliable. They run when ever they feel like it, and they don't drive on Fridays, its like a holiday or day off for them in this country. We've got Iraqis driving these third world looking buses around the FOB, that are un-air conditioned most of the time, but they play authentic middle eastern music. Sometimes they won't even pick you up, they'll just drive right past you. Your best bet is to hitch hike a ride from a civilian contractor.

More on FOB Marez here and here.

Comments

[RandyAyn]

JIHAD HALLOWEEN SHOPS: These are located near each of the entrances to the FOB. All of them owned and operated by an Iraqi citizen, always jam-packed with Iraqi men looking for bargains. They remind me of one of those Halloween superstores we used to go to in the mall. They have 'fake' Iraqi and US army uniforms for Halloween, along with other disguises, sunglasses, fake id cards, and these really interesting pack harnesses you wear underneath your uniform. You can fill the packs with DVDs, junk food, sodas...

[thoreau]

Inside job? Has anybody checked on what actress Sarah Clarke and actor Harris Yulin were up to when the bomb went off?

[FooButtski]

Hmmm, here's an original thought: why don't we just get out of Iraq and spare everybody concerned (Iraqi's and U.S. soldiers alike) any more death and maiming.

Merry Fucking Christmas.

[Rick Barton]

What FooButtski said, sans the rough salutation.

[kwais]

BTW, of course they sell concoms here. There are chicks in the army. There are chicks here, not many of them and they are not cute, but they will do when you have been without for a couple of months.

[kwais]

um...that would be condoms, not concoms.

[jag]

Why of course, if we leave no one else will die.....it will be just like the Iraq of old....where no one died, where the Kurds lived blissfully, where the UN administered the "Oil for food" program admirably and effectively, where Iraq didn't invade Kuwait (and didn't murder women and children) or attack Iran and give support and sanction to various terrorists....

Why everything would be hunky dory again and we'd have nothing to fear of some other Islamic fanatic or general despot getting their hands on billions of oil revenue.

Why can't people see this? Why?

[matt]

I was stationed at the base in question for about 8 months and Iraqis have been on the base providing services the entire time. This is not uncommon or rare in ANY war.

For instance, we had to burn our shit, literally, until Iraqi waste removal was able to be hired for the job.

Iraqi civil defense corps are also on the base, we train them, we feed them, etc. Several died in the blast as well.

Generally checkpoints are secure, searches being done, etc. While I was there a guy was shot who tried driving through the gate. The problem here is not the fact that iraqis are operating on the base, the problem is security. Perhaps a US guard trusted an iraqi worker and stopped searching him every day.