Saturday
(1)Iraqis are not just depending on government to protect their new liberty. According to this report from the Coalition Provisional Authority, they are armed and dangerous... to terrorists:
Elsewhere in Baghdad, individuals inside a white Opel fired small arms at ICDC personnel at the Al-Amil gas station. The Civil Defense Corps soldiers returned fire, and Iraqi customers waiting for fuel also fired at the Opel. The assailants broke contact, and a search of the area met with negative results.
Is it just me or does this paragraph sound like something out of an L Neil Smith novel?
In isolation, yes, this incident sounds a bit like something out an L. Neil Smith novel. However, outside this incident, it's worth noting that coalition forces - especially the Brits - have been on a fairly aggressive victim disarmament binge the last year.
Posted by Russell Whitaker at January 3, 2004 01:25 AM
Also note that the line at the gas station is almost certainly due to price controls (5 cents per liter, last I heard) and associated shortages.
Posted by Bill Newman at January 3, 2004 04:10 PM
Actually it seems the long gas lines are due to profiteering by gasoline retailers.
As for the customers shooting at terrorists I'd like to point out that most terrorists in Iraq seem to be outsiders and that the vast majority of victims seem to be Iraqis. At this point I assume that most Iraqis would tend to shoot them out of self defense.
Which is why I oppose the policy of disarming the populace. Considering how many weapons there are in Iraq, and how available they are, any attempt that disarming the populace is doomed to failure. The Coalition should simply form a new reserve militia and just go ahead and enlist every Iraqi military age male into it. Those enlisted won't really ever have to serve, unless it's some sort of major catastrophy, and it'll allow for both a hard hitting weapons control law and for the legal ownership of firearms by the populace.
Similar to that of Switzerland perhaps.
Posted by ed at January 5, 2004 02:44 AM
Which is why I oppose the policy of disarming the populace.
Is someone trying to disarm the Iraqis? I thought all the coalition was doing was picking up things like missiles and bombs that are not suitable for self-defense, but was leaving rifles and pistols alone. That is hardly "disarming."
Posted by R. C. Dean at January 5, 2004 09:47 PM
(Sorry it took so long for my reply. Trying to get back into the work groove after the holidays)
No the Coalition is actively disarming the public. I think they are offering a very small bounty for weapons that are turned in, based on what the weapon is, but that amount is certainly far less than the weapon is worth on the black market.
Personally it's a foolish thing to do. There are so many weapons in Iraq from Saddam's bizzare habit of parking munitions dumps all over the place. Also there's a very profitable and lively arms smuggling business in the middle east that's been in operation since firearms had been invented.
Beyond foolish IMHO.
Posted by ed at January 6, 2004 02:51 AM
