US forces use schools for cover
'United States special forces have taken up strategic
positions in three secondary schools located in a densely populated
residential area of a city in northern Iraq. The schools, which have been
closed since the war began, are located near a prominent Christian church
and within 200 metres of a United
Nations complex. The decision to locate the special forces in
a residential area appears to run counter to US policy. The Defence
Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, recently
criticised Iraq for placing key military units and weaponry in and around
mosques, hospitals and schools in both Baghdad and Basra' (
Sydney Morning Herald )
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See also this CSM article
Poverty, Military Service Seem to Go Hand-in-Hand
' "There's no jobs around here," Pettry says.
"There's no employment. Most of them go into the service because
they know the government will pay well and they'll come out of it with
some training." '
( Roy MacGregor via Common Dreams
)
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See also this column by Fergal Keane,
this article by Farai Chideya from
yesterday, and this Observer article
from last weekend
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Update: See also this AP article from
Thursday, about the 31,000 non-citizens serving in the US military
