***Scroll for updates…milblog readers mull over questions about the patrol…President Bush is “getting regular updates on the missing soldiers, said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council in Washington”…perhaps he will address the nation tomorrow and underscore the need, as cited by so many of our troops who have volunteered time and again to go to Iraq, to kill the bastards over there before they try and kill us here…Question: Is Nancy Pelosi “sad?” or still in denial about al Qaeda in Iraq?***

Following up on my post this morning, I’m embedding the video of Maj. Gen. William Caldwell’s briefing on the search for the missing US soldiers near Mahmoudiya. I’ll transcribe shortly:

Here’s a transcript:

CALDWELL: This morning, at 4:44am in Iraq, a coalition force team of 8 soldiers—7 Americans and an Iraqi Army interpreter—were attacked 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya. As a result of this attack, five soldiers were killed in action and three are currently missing. At the time of the attack, a nearby unit heard explosions and attempted to establish communications without success. At 4:59am, an unmanned aerial vehicle observed two burning vehicles. Coalition forces arrived within an hour, secured the site and immediately initiated a search. The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending identification and notification of next of kin. Coalition forces are currently using every means at our disposal to find the missing soldiers and we will continue these efforts until all our accounted for. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those killed in this attack and for the missing soldiers and their loved ones back home.

Here are the specifics. Coalition forces heard an explosion at 4:44am this morning approx 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya. Afer an unmanned aerial vehicle observed two burning vehicles, a quick reaction force was dispatched—arriving on scene at 5:40am. The qrf reported findning five members fo the team kia and three others whose duty status and whereabouts are unknown.

Helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle, and fixed-wing assets are being used to search in the vicinity.

Checkpoints have been established throughout the area in a concerted effort to focus the search and prevent potential movement of missing soldiers out of that area. Coalition forces have engaged with local leaders to elicit their support in providing any information they can and these engagements continue.

Make no mistake: We will never stop looking for our soldiers until their status is definitively determined and we continue to pray for their safe return.

There are just a few new details about the ongoing hunt:

Troops surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside, residents said. They then methodically searched the houses, focusing on possible secret chambers under the floors where the soldiers might be hidden, residents said. The soldiers marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.

Soldiers also searched cars entering and leaving the town, writing “searched” on the side of each vehicle they had inspected. Several people were arrested, witnesses said.

Judi McLeod:

Four American mothers had their hearts broken when their children were killed fighting the war in Iraq, on Saturday. Three American mothers had the horror of a Mother’s Day not knowing the whereabouts of their children.

The missing soldiers hardly caused a hiccup on the Web sites of hometown newspapers such as the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Times’ readers–including the grieving mothersÑmust have shuddered when they read in paragraph two that “the five bodies found at the site of the attack, near two burned vehicles, were unrecognizable”.

The Boston Globe carried the story, below the fold on Mother’s Day.

That was Mother’s Day 2007 in the American news media.

Thousands of miles away, U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed that about 4,000 U.S. troops were actively searching for the missing three Americans.

Soldiers are like that. They will keep going until they find their missing comrades.

A few more details from the NYTimes about al Qaeda’s claim:

The Islamic State of Iraq posted its claims of responsibility on jihadist Web sites on Sunday. “Clashes between your brothers in the Islamic State of Iraq and a Crusaders’ patrol in Mahmudiya, southern Baghdad province, has led to the killing and arresting of several of them,” the message said.

If history is any measure, the chances of the Americans surviving capture would be slim. The organization has claimed responsibility for numerous killings of prisoners.

Last June, insurgents captured two American solidiers during a surprise attack near Yusufiya. After a four-day search by 8,000 American and Iraqi troops, the soldiers’ bodies were found about three miles from the site of their kidnapping. They had been tortured, and insurgents had booby-trapped the road leading to the bodies.

Mujahedeen Shura, an umbrella insurgent group that was a precursor to the Islamic State of Iraq and included Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, claimed responsibility for those killings.

Ace notes al Qaeda’s “pressure” campaign timed to coincide with the Democrats’ campaign to undermine Bush:

Mohamad al-Janabi, a reputed al-Qaeda member in the nearby city of Salman Pak, said in a interview that he was unable to contact his comrades in Mahmudiyah to determine whether they were responsible for the attack.

But he added: “I can assure you that we will start pressuring Bush in a new way at the same time he is facing pressures from the Democrats and the American people. And there will be no problem to sacrifice 10 soldiers in order to abduct a single American soldier and get him on television screens begging for us to release him.”

John Hinderaker: “There is something disorienting about following a war that half of our people don’t believe we’re fighting.”

The Counterterrorism Blog features a interview with a foreign fighter from Al-Qaida’s “Islamic State of Iraq.” Note the bolded passage about kidnapping American soldiers. The interview was from April 27 of this year:

- “The brothers in Iraq are kept up-to-date about the events happening in Iraq via the various forums on the Internet… In response to the question ‘what is the best way to prepare yourself while in your country before joining the jihad in Iraq’: O’ brother, there are many military courses distributed by various jihadi websites—such as the Al-Hesbah, Al-Ekhlaas, and the Al-Boraq forums.”

- “The brothers from Algeria, they used to come to Iraq and then return to Algeria. There is coordination between us and them. Once, I met a brother from Tunisia who later died [in Iraq]… Once, I met a brother who was American and his mother was British—and yet in spite of this, he still joined the mujahideen… there are many Moroccan brothers who have joined the Islamic State.”

- “The beheadings are still happening, but we have an order not to broadcast them. Everything is videotaped but we can’t broadcast them. We do seek to capture and imprison American soldiers, but you have to understand that it is very difficult to do so because they patrol in groups, at least 15 soldiers at a time. We hope and pray to capture them.”

Update: I see that Eason Jordan’s Iraqslogger is stirring the pot already by spotlighting “questions about why there were apparently only two vehicles in what is known to be a dangerous area.” Some are also asking why the QRF took nearly an hour to reach the scene.

Milblog readers at Blackfive are theorizing. Commenter Dan Gade, an Army major, responds in comments:

To those wondering what kinds of reasons would have 2 trucks out at that time of night by themselves:

1) Dropping off or picking up a smaller team, such as a 2 man sniper team, especially in restricted terrain like canal roads

2) A field grade commander and an additional truck going to a meeting with an informant or government official

3) A dumb mistake and the jihadis got lucky.

4) Violation of an SOP?

Usually I saw that insurgent activity in my zone was kind of done by about 3 AM, because even the best insurgent has to sleep at night. It may be that they just accepted a little extra risk. I’m sure that some info will come out about it but would bet that one of my scenarios is true. As far as why the QRF took so long, an hour isn’t horrible, particularly if it’s armored vehicles. The roads are crap over there- cross country is impossible where there are canals, etc. Finally, the speculation about helicopter QRFs is a little silly. I think that even most helo-borne units don’t even have combat troops in a QRF role in helos, but rather in trucks. Certainly no mech units would have access to helos.

Thanks for the prayers guys- I know from my personal experiences in 05 that prayers do work.

Dan Gade
MAJ, USA

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