U.S. Hunt for Weapons, Insurgents Underline Cultural Clash in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

Gosh. The Iraqi people don't like armed soldiers kicking in the doors of their houses in the middle of the night while their women are not dressed decently and terrorize their children. Who woulda thunk?.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQWE38UHD.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops raiding Iraqi homes in search of weapons and suspects are trampling on a particularly important Muslim sensibility - the sanctity of the home.

Many Iraqis see the pre-dawn raids as the single most offending practice of the U.S. occupation. They're part of hundreds of cultural clashes that occur daily between Iraqis and Americans.

U.S. troops have been raiding homes in search of members of Saddam Hussein's toppled regime and illegal weapons since the fall of Baghdad. But the raids have become much more frequent in recent weeks, focusing on areas north and west of the Iraqi capital where the former dictator enjoyed his strongest support.

Iraqis complain the raids expose women to soldiers when they are not properly dressed - raising questions of honor in much of Iraq - and terrify children. They say the soldiers force doors open rather than use keys on offer, go through personal belongings and humiliate the men in front of their families by cuffing their hands and ordering them to lie face down on the ground.

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[Frances]

1. It isn't until the last paragraph that

I learned that these visits damage the homes

"Capt. Michael Calvert, the regiment's spokesman, said that in cases when intelligence that led to a house raid was found to be false, U.S. troops returned to the raided dwelling and carried out repairs."

I think it's time we left the country. Let the Iraqis sort it out.

[ginantonic40]

2. Their first taste of American judicial system...

the no-knock warrant.