Wrong Number
 

IBRAHIM AL MARKHUR, Iraq — One misplaced cell phone and one savvy interpreter equaled one dead insurgent, several pieces of intelligence and a whole lot of captured weapons.

On a routine patrol, U.S. troops with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor came upon a house in the midst of dense greenery and at the end of a dusty country road.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicodemus, 33, said he immediately noticed that no Iraqi men were around.

Suddenly, a cell phone inside the home rang, said Nicodemus, of Altoona, Pa.

“The interpreter went in and answered the phone, and on the other end of the phone the person said, in Arabic, ‘Hey, coalition forces are here, go ahead and run away,’ and he specifically said, ‘Go and run into the palm groves all around here,’ ” Nicodemus said.

The troops then fanned out into the palm groves and found several weapons including several rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, two AK-47s and a new sniper’s rifle, Nicodemus said.

They also found a hand-written map of a U.S. military base, diagrams on how to build rockets and a CD-ROM with several thousand files written in Arabic, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Greer, 35, of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

If that weren’t enough, the insurgent kept calling the interpreter back to ask what the Americans were doing.

The interpreter kept the act going.

“He’s basically acting like, you know, he’s watching us ... making sure everything is fine,” Nicodemus said.

The U.S. troops knew the insurgents were coming back and decided to lie in wait for them.

Many troops said they were psyched by the prospect of killing the person on the other end of the phone.

“I love this [expletive],” said Sgt. Nicholas Hake-Jordan, 23, of Springfield, Ore.

The troops didn’t have to wait long.

Shortly after U.S. troops set up, the insurgents called the interpreter and said they would be by in about 10 minutes to attack the Americans, said Staff Sgt. Art Hoffman, 30.

When seven insurgents got to the house, they ran into a wall of U.S. fire, said Hoffman, of Baltimore.

“The first guy that came in the door just dropped like a rock. The other two guys behind him got hit pretty hard, too. The rest grabbed their wounded and just ran back off,” said Hoffman.

One insurgent was confirmed killed in the fighting and the other two were in bad shape, he said.

Afterward, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, 42, praised his soldiers’ actions.

“The initiative demonstrated at the platoon level is exactly how you win this fight,” said Fisher, of Sioux Falls, S.D.

What a great story.

How does a society successfully absorb back into the fold, persons who are "psyched about the prospect of killing" other humans?

it is psyched out about killing the humans that want to kill you.

Call me naive, but I don't think it's healthy to be "psyched" about killing humans. I understand the situational necessity of such abominable acts, but the thought of anyone actually taking pleasure from these things should be disturbing to all of us.

They are the enemy. They are trying to kill you. You kill them before they kill you. Every one you kill is one less that is trying to kill you. Also they are responsible for the deaths of your friends.

Call me naive but if you cower instead of getting "psyched" when someone is trying to kill you, its a safe bet that you wil never feel pleasure again.

Perhaps in the psychology of war, when you are constantly under the threat of being on the receiving end of gunfire as "bait" for the enemy, it's a relief to finally be on the "giving" end...

I would not have believed it either, but there are folks that actually find fun and joy in murder.

This is war, not murder. However, I believe there are people like that who enjoy murder.

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviours of my life. So be it .. . until there is no enemy ... but peace. Amen.

Call me naive, but the intentional taking of sentient viable human life should be disturbing, no matter the situational necessity of such acts. Taking pleasure from any of these acts is a clear sign of unacceptable anti-social behavior; behavior which is antithetical to a healthy and productive social order.

True. Our prisons are filled with them.

Exactly!

We should have captured them and had them appear on Dr. Phil. :dizzy2:

Zeit is naive.