View Full Version : 25 years ago in Kuwait "the Highway of Death." Another look.
Averageman
05-14-16, 09:22
The article kind of stopped me in my tracks.
At the end of the War my Tank ended up parked at what looks like the first picture in the article. The article itself is highly critical of how we conducted the destruction of the units pulling out of Kuwait City.
I didn't see any quotes from people that I knew were there and it doesn't include any eye witness accounts from anyone in my unit.
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/05/the-highway-of-death.html
On the night of February 26–27, 1991, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians were retreating to Baghdad, after a ceasefire was announced, when President George Bush ordered his forces to slaughter the retreating Iraqi army. Fighter planes of the coalition forces swooped down upon the unarmed convoy and disabled the vehicles in the front, and at the rear, so that they couldn’t escape. Then wave after wave of aircraft pounded the trapped vehicles for hours on end. After the carnage was over, some 2,000 mangled Iraqi vehicles, and charred and dismembered bodies of tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers lay for miles along what came to be known as the “Highway of Death”.
They may have been withdrawing, they at that time had little fight left in them. Any Armored or Military vehicles were engaged, anything moving was completely destroyed.
“The massacre of withdrawing Iraqi soldiers violates the Geneva Conventions of 1949, Common Article III, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who are out of combat,” wrote Joyce Chediac. “The Iraqi troops were not being driven out of Kuwait by U.S. troops as the Bush administration maintains. They were not retreating in order to regroup and fight again. In fact, they were withdrawing, they were going home.”
I don't know how I feel about the article, but the Author might change his opinion a bit had he interviewed some of the people who were actually there that day. There was no small amount of looting going on and many of those vehicles were stolen and had the trunks and rear seats filled with loot.
BS.
The idiots had a chance to leave. They did not.
They all got what they so richly deserved.
FromMyColdDeadHand
05-14-16, 09:45
How you can be 'unarmed' in a tank is pretty interesting.
Eurodriver
05-14-16, 09:51
Why would you even read that article? I'm angry that I even clicked on it.
Averageman
05-14-16, 10:12
Why would you even read that article? I'm angry that I even clicked on it.
It caught my eye, browsed the pictures and got about a paragraph in before it pissed me off.
IDGAF, everything is topsey turvey now, so what does it matter when some skinny jeans wearing Journalism Major lies about history? It is what it is, In the grand scheme of things, that article is a fart in a windstorm.
The guys who were there know better.
The "Highway of Death" thing is where I parted ways with Colin Powell. He was chairman of the JCS at the time and pleaded with Bush to stop the carnage because it was a "slaughter". Forget the fact it was WAR and your job as a general is to destroy the fvcking enemy. No, milquetoast (future RINO and Obama voter) Powell showed his true colors that day. Since he was in such a high military position and had such influence he never got respect from me after that, despite his Vietnam record. Some things overshadow others.
I recall the event took place after the Iraq military missed some deadline of surrender or ignore some ultimatum, but memory fuzzy on that one. I do not recall that to be simple the wholesale slaughter of a retreating military. What I do know is, hostilities were not ended so any and all military vehicles and their support were fair game and targets of opportunity right? Two, the reports that came back from how the people of Kuwait were treated, the mass looting, etc probably added to the go ahead to unleash the dogs of war on the retreating Iraq military.
Must have been a hell of a turkey shoot.
Averageman
05-14-16, 11:01
I recall the event took place after the Iraq military missed some deadline of surrender or ignore some ultimatum, but memory fuzzy on that one. I do not recall that to be simple the wholesale slaughter of a retreating military. What I do know is, hostilities were not ended so any and all military vehicles and their support were fair game and targets of opportunity right? Two, the reports that came back from how the people of Kuwait were treated, the mass looting, etc probably added to the go ahead to unleash the dogs of war on the retreating Iraq military.
Must have been a hell of a turkey shoot.
It was pretty confusing for the most part.
Iraqi units were separated and confused, all command and control was gone. You couldn't count on what you were going to get when it came to a fight. Some surrendered immediately some wanted to fight and others were pretty brutal.
One group had surrounded a mobile Navy Hospital and decided shooting it up was a good way to spend the evening. We were attached to the USMC and got the order to protect it. The Night Vision and fire from our M240's ended the fight pretty quickly.
When we got to the Highway we still had some movement out there, a couple of Tanks were still trying to get out of Dodge when we pulled in, but not many. The first night we were there I saw a lot of dismount movement, by the size of some of the images it kind of looked like kids mixed in with adults.
It was pretty confusing for the most part.
Iraqi units were separated and confused, all command and control was gone. You couldn't count on what you were going to get when it came to a fight. Some surrendered immediately some wanted to fight and others were pretty brutal.
One group had surrounded a mobile Navy Hospital and decided shooting it up was a good way to spend the evening. We were attached to the USMC and got the order to protect it. The Night Vision and fire from our M240's ended the fight pretty quickly.
When we got to the Highway we still had some movement out there, a couple of Tanks were still trying to get out of Dodge when we pulled in, but not many. The first night we were there I saw a lot of dismount movement, by the size of some of the images it kind of looked like kids mixed in with adults.
That's a damn shame, but if you mix your civi and kids into a big military column during hostilities, bad things will happen no doubt. In retrospect, knowing the fog/nature of war that existed and other factors, was the green light on the column justified in your view?
Averageman
05-14-16, 11:45
That's a damn shame, but if you mix your civi and kids into a big military column during hostilities, bad things will happen no doubt. In retrospect, knowing the fog/nature of war that existed and other factors, was the green light on the column justified in your view?
After they were shooting in to the hospital tents, I figured they had it coming.
I'm not sure that they were kids, or who's kids they would have been. You see something like that report it and you may never know what happens afterwards.
They were moving with the little people in front of the big people and moving in a wonky kind of wedge. It was likely 0200 hrs when I called it in, I got it confirmed and as they were moving away they weren't a threat to us. They were definitely using the highway and a handrail to move at night and moving quickly.
Later the next day we saw a SF guy with a large group of what looked like Filipinos all armed to the teeth. We fed them and gave them water and they just moved back in to the City. For all I know it could have been them.
yeah nice propaganda !!!!!
first sentence says it all
Twenty five years ago, one of the most brutal massacres in war history occurred in Iraq
After they were shooting in to the hospital tents, I figured they had it coming.
I'm not sure that they were kids, or who's kids they would have been. You see something like that report it and you may never know what happens afterwards.
They were moving with the little people in front of the big people and moving in a wonky kind of wedge. It was likely 0200 hrs when I called it in, I got it confirmed and as they were moving away they weren't a threat to us. They were definitely using the highway and a handrail to move at night and moving quickly.
Later the next day we saw a SF guy with a large group of what looked like Filipinos all armed to the teeth. We fed them and gave them water and they just moved back in to the City. For all I know it could have been them.
Thanx for the intel. Getting the perspective from those who lived it and experienced it is always very different than reading some article (biased or otherwise) or some aseptic AAR. Who ever said "hindsight is always 20/20" should get his own monument.
A guy I grew up with was a 2nd LAR Marine. Gunner on an LAV-25. Sometimes we'd get deep into the makers mark, and he'd pull out "the photo album" from the highway of death. Pure carnage.
He said compared to what he saw in Kuwait by the hands of the Iraqis...well, he doesn't have any problems sleeping at night.
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FromMyColdDeadHand
05-14-16, 13:12
The "Highway of Death" thing is where I parted ways with Colin Powell. He was chairman of the JCS at the time and pleaded with Bush to stop the carnage because it was a "slaughter". Forget the fact it was WAR and your job as a general is to destroy the fvcking enemy. No, milquetoast (future RINO and Obama voter) Powell showed his true colors that day. Since he was in such a high military position and had such influence he never got respect from me after that, despite his Vietnam record. Some things overshadow others.
I read Colin Powells book and from then on I never liked him.
This type criticism written decades later is revisionism whose purpose is rewriting history to fit within the authors'(and their group's)world view. That the event is removed from context is irrelevant to them. Common sense dictates that war results in death and destruction, and unfortunately collateral damage can include the innocent. John Wayne movies never showed burned, decapitated corpses or body parts hanging from trees or shrubs. Perhaps they should have.
If America is your Satan, then it's time to change religions
Averageman
05-14-16, 19:33
A guy I grew up with was a 2nd LAR Marine. Gunner on an LAV-25. Sometimes we'd get deep into the makers mark, and he'd pull out "the photo album" from the highway of death. Pure carnage.
He said compared to what he saw in Kuwait by the hands of the Iraqis...well, he doesn't have any problems sleeping at night.
I'm pretty sure the night we pulled in and put a ring of tanks around that Hospital some of those guys died learning a hard lesson. A muzzle flash was usually met with nice well measured bursts from the co-axially mounted M240's from several Tanks at a time.
In the morning some of the Iraqi's walked in with their hands up making motions that they wanted food and water, I had a real hard time with that. I'm not sure what could have proven as to who was doing what that night, but I wouldn't have taken issue if all of them were lined up and shot on the spot.
I was there with 8th Marines, and got the chance to fly over it in a Huey. Hell of a sight. We were pissed they stopped the war, we wanted to keep going to Baghdad, we said when we were there, that someone else would be back in 10 years, and we were right.
I'm pretty sure the night we pulled in and put a ring of tanks around that Hospital some of those guys died learning a hard lesson. A muzzle flash was usually met with nice well measured bursts from the co-axially mounted M240's from several Tanks at a time.
In the morning some of the Iraqi's walked in with their hands up making motions that they wanted food and water, I had a real hard time with that. I'm not sure what could have proven as to who was doing what that night, but I wouldn't have taken issue if all of them were lined up and shot on the spot.
Pretty much his sentiment as well.
Stop clicking links that feed the traitors' bank accounts. Seriously.
I propose finding and drafting every skinny jeans hipster twat and/or SJW for front line combat - unarmed of course. We send them in as unarmed peace emissaries against the most bloodthirsty savages in existence. Sort of like the Special Forces, as in short bus special.
I wish I was born a decade or two earlier so I could have had a chance to actually partake in what the author so strongly chastises.
I reckon we just put em in the front line unarmed and say we took your words and voice to heart so we are going to fight just like those great peaceful folks you say we are slaughtering who are innocent !!! and since we know they are not the ones doing anything bad you will be safe !!! hurry along your family is already on the front line :)
Stop clicking links that feed the traitors' bank accounts. Seriously.
I propose finding and drafting every skinny jeans hipster twat and/or SJW for front line combat - unarmed of course. We send them in as unarmed peace emissaries against the most bloodthirsty savages in existence. Sort of like the Special Forces, as in short bus special.
I wish I was born a decade or two earlier so I could have had a chance to actually partake in what the author so strongly chastises.
If Bush 1 had made all of Iraq look like that the world would be a better place.
Averageman
05-16-16, 08:10
We were standing by, rearming and refueling and ready to go for the first 24 hours.
We did an assault in to a military barracks and captured over 3000 AK's still in plastic, untold numbers of small arms ammo, lots of LMG's to include a brand new M240 set up for Infantry. Until that time I hadn't seen it used any other way than as a coax.
At the 36-48 hour mark the order to pull back and reorganize was given and we pretty much new we were standing down and a cease fire had been reached.
The Division Band had become graves registration and they had a pretty gruesome job at that point. They were very respectful of the bodies, but the dogs were having a hell of a feast and they were running them off to get the Iraqi's in Body Bags.
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