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Fed marines singing hotel california { March 31 2003 }

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   http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030331-97558602.htm

"They told me they wanted to go to America after the war. I said, 'Where?' They said, 'California.' I said, 'Why?' They said the song 'Hotel California,' and they left singing 'Hotel California.' "

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030331-97558602.htm

Marines get hot meal from grateful Iraqis

Published March 31, 2003

RAFIT, Iraq (Agence France-Presse) — Iraqi civilians fleeing heavy fighting have stunned and delighted hungry U.S. Marines in central Iraq by giving them food as guerrilla attacks continue to disrupt coalition supply lines to the rear.
Sgt. Kenneth Wilson said Arabic-speaking U.S. troops made contact with two bus loads of Iraqis fleeing south along Route 7 toward Rafit, one of the first friendly meetings with local people for the Marines around here.
"They had slaughtered lambs and chickens, and boiled eggs and potatoes for their journey out of the front lines," Sgt. Wilson said.
At one camp, the buses stopped and women passed out food to the troops, who have had to ration their army-issue packets of ready-to-eat meals because of disruptions to supply lines by fierce fighting further south.
As troops munched on their feast, one medic warned that the food could have been deliberately contaminated. The Marines paid him no mind, forging ahead to make a fondue out of a donated tin of Australian processed cheese. The potatoes were eaten before the cheese could melt.
"Man," one Marine said, "I never thought a boiled egg could taste so ... good."
Civilians have remained largely out of sight since the invasion began 10 days ago. Towns and villages are virtually deserted, prompting speculation that most shifted to safer ground before the fighting began.
Corpsman Tony Garcia said the food donation was an act of appreciation for the American effort to topple the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"They gave us eggs and potatoes to feed our Marines and corpsmen. I feel the local population are grateful and they want to see an end to Saddam Hussein. It was a lovely, beautiful gesture."
Khairi Ilrekibi, 35, a passenger on one of the buses, which broke down near the Marine position, said he could speak for the 20 others on board. In broken English, he told a correspondent traveling with the Marines, "We like Americans," adding that no one likes Saddam because "he was not kind."
He said Iraqi civilians living near him are opposed to Saddam and that most are hiding in their homes and are extremely tired. Lance Cpl. David Polikowsky guarded 70 prisoners of war near the broken-down bus, saying how grateful he was for the food, which included oranges, cooked and donated by the locals.
Looking on warily at the POWs he was guarding — including two Jordanians as well as an Iraqi colonel, captain, major and second lieutenant from special forces and the regular army — he said he was moved by comments from local civilians. They told him: "We welcome you. What is your name? We will pray for you."
"They told me they wanted to go to America after the war. I said, 'Where?' They said, 'California.' I said, 'Why?' They said the song 'Hotel California,' and they left singing 'Hotel California.' "
Forces with this Marine division, on the east of a two-pronged thrust toward Baghdad, have seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war so far. They battled their way through heavy fire at Nasiriyah, Sharat and Rafit before pausing to resupply within 180 miles of Baghdad on Thursday.
Prisoners have been taken, and pockets of displaced people carrying white flags have been seen along the way. Some have waved. Others have asked the Marines for cigarettes and water.
But U.S. troops have been keeping a wary distance from civilians, mindful of reports that some Iraqi forces are mingling with civilians to drift through American lines and start surprise attacks.
Ambushes and harassing fire along the massive communications lines to Kuwait in the south have caused casualties and disrupted supplies of water, food and fuel to the frontline troops.
American medics attached to a shock-trauma platoon with the Marine Expeditionary Force have treated about 20 civilians for war-related wounds in the past five days.

Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.



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