News Who is to Blame for Baghdad Blast Killing 2 Britons?

[jimmy p]

Taken from The Daily Telegraph

Britons killed in Baghdad blast


Two British civilian workers have been killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the US-led coalition's headquarters in Baghdad, the Foreign Office has announced.

The pair died when their four-wheel drive vehicle exploded 50 yards from one of the entrances to the high-security "Green Zone" in the centre of the Iraqi capital.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said a third Briton was injured and that the victims' names would not be released until their next of kin are informed.

Security sources in Baghdad said the vehicle belonged to a private security firm. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary who is attending a foreign ministers' conference in Brussels, condemned the attack.

"These deaths are shocking and they show the risks which British and other civilians have to take in order to assist the Iraqis," he said.

American soldiers at the scene initially said that four people had died in the blast but Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, a US military spokesman, said two people had died and two were wounded.

He also said the car had been hit by an "improvised explosive device", a term the coalition normally uses to describe a roadside bomb.

US soldiers and Iraqi policemen and firefighters were quickly on the scene to extinguish the flames engulfing the burning car.

Witnesses said soldiers tried to pull people from the car while a US medical unit treated the injured.

Last week a suicide car bomber at another entrance to the "Green Zone" killed eight Iraqis, including the head of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.

And the actual newspaper states

Two British civilians were killed in central Baghdad yesterday when a bomb destroyed the armoured Jeep in which they were travelling.

One of the men was an advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority, who was paid by the Foreign Office, and the second was a bodyguard provided by the London-based Control Risks Group.

The Foreign Office with-held the names of the victims until the families had been informed.

The attack, which was carried out just outside the Green Zone, the most secure compound in the country, brings to four the number of Britons killed in Iraq in recent days.

Witnesses said they believed the attack, shortly after 2pm, was carried out using a car bomb. One said American soldiers had tried to pull the men from the car, which was attacked near a place known as the Assassin's Gate.

Ali Salaman, a restaurant worker, said the car was in a convoy and that the two men in the neigbouring car started shooting wildly after the explosion.

Contract workers, who habitually use armoured cars and carry weapons, have been increasingly targed in Iraq by militants seeking to force out the US-led military forces.

The deaths follow a bloody 48 hours during which American troops attacked two strongholds of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, killing dozens of his fighters.

So, thoughts people. Should we be worried that they arent afraid to attack us right next to the Green Zone? What next? an assualt on the Green Zone? Was this a repercusion due to the attack on the strongholds? Who is to blame?

 

[jimmy p]

BRITON KILLED IN RPG ATTACK WAS LEADING OIL MAN

Britain's top representative in the effort to rebuild the Iraqi oil industry was named yesterday as one of two Britons killed in a terrorist attack in Baghdad.

Bob Morgan, 63, was a retired senior project director for BP working on a six-month contract for the Foreign Office and on secondment to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) advising Ibrahim al-Uloom, the Iraqi oil minister.

Mr Morgan, who came from Buckinghamshire, spoke to Mr al-Uloom on an almost daily basis and was the senior British representative on the coalition unit attached to the oil ministry.

A source in the CPA said last night: "Bob will be very difficult to replace, not just because he was very good at this job, but because people will be even more concerned about their safety now."

Former colleagues at BP said he was an extremely well respected worker who had chosen to stay in the more practical side of project management for the company rather than remain deskbound.

His previous job was helping supervise the construction of a multi-billion pound project drilling gas wells and constructing a pipeline off the coast of Vietnam.

Mr Morgan died when the four-wheel-drive vehicle in which he was traveling was attacked by insurgents as it waited to enter the so-called Assassin's Gate of the Greeen Zone, the heart of the CPA's operation in Baghdad. The vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and destroyed.

A Foreign Office spokesman said that there was no indication that the attackers had known who was traveling in the vehicles, which were similar to many used by both Iraqi and CPA officials in Baghdad since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Mark Carman, one of Mr Morgan's bodyguareds, was the other man killed in the car and another British bodyguard was seriously hurt.

A former CPA colleague of Mr Morgan's said: "He volunteered for this job and was very good at it. He will be greatly missed."

The rebuilding of Iraq's oil industry considered a priority by the CPA and senior workers in British and American companies have been recruited to help.

Mr Morgan retired from BP three years ago. He was not particularly high up the promotion ladder at BP but a colleague attributed this to his desire to stay "at the sharp end".

There were a few interesting points in this article from the Telegraph...

"The rebuilding of Iraq's oil industry considered a priority by the CPA and senior workers in British and American companies have been recruited to help."

What do you guys think?

 

[R0man]

Blaming a specific group or individual for a tragic event like this is not productive or helpful. It is important to first acknowledge the loss and offer condolences to the families of the victims. It is also important to recognize the bravery and sacrifices made by civilians who work in dangerous areas to help the Iraqi people.

In terms of the attack itself, it is clear that the responsibility lies with those who carried it out. However, it is also important to examine the larger context and factors that may have contributed to the attack. The ongoing violence and instability in Iraq, as well as the presence of foreign military forces, create a dangerous environment for all involved.

It is also worth considering if the attack was a response to recent US military actions in targeting strongholds of a radical cleric. While this does not justify the attack, it is important to acknowledge the potential consequences of military actions and the impact they may have on the overall security situation.

Ultimately, it is a complex and tragic situation, and it is important to avoid placing blame and instead focus on finding solutions to bring about peace and stability in Iraq.