A U.S. general said the one attacker captured in the bombings that killed 34 Monday had a Syrian passport, fueling suspicions that foreign fighters were behind a rising tide of violence. <\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling of the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division said police shot and wounded the man when he got out of a car and tried to hurl a grenade at a Baghdad police station. The car carried three mortar rounds and was packed with TNT, he said. <\/p>\n
“He’s a foreign fighter. He had a Syrian passport and the policemen claim that as he was shot and fell that he said he was Syrian,” Hertling told a news conference. <\/p>\n
Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Ahmad Ibrahim told the news conference the wounded attacker was now unconscious in hospital.<\/i><\/p>\n
[LINK<\/a>]<\/p>\n I don’t believe Hertling. Contrast his statement with those made by Brig. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of the First Armored Division, whose responsibility is the security of Baghdad.<\/i><\/a> speaking of the rocket attack on the Baghdad Hotel:<\/p>\n No one claimed responsibility for the Rashid attack, but General Dempsey suggested it was probably people who would like to see a return to power of Mr. Hussein, or at least of the Baath Party.<\/p>\n “We have a very good idea of who’s attacking us in Baghdad,” he said. He said that information came from men who had been captured in the process of preparing attacks and from Iraqi citizens.<\/p>\n He did not provide details, but he largely ruled out foreign terrorists.<\/p>\n “We have not seen any infusion of foreign fighters in Baghdad,” he said.<\/p>\n His assertion was somewhat at odds with what the chief civilian administrator in Baghdad, L. Paul Bremer III, said on Sunday. Appearing on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” Mr. Bremer said there continued to be infiltration of Syrians, Sudanese and Yeminis into Iraq through Syria.<\/i><\/p>\n It’s also curious that this NYT’s article also mentions this:<\/p>\n The attack, which officials suggested was probably carried out by men loyal to Saddam Hussein, blasted balconies off two rooms and shattered windows elsewhere in the hotel. American military officials said the attack might have been planned as many as two months in advance and involved some surveillance and rehearsal.<\/p>\n For that reason, they said, it was unlikely that Mr. Wolfowitz was a target. His visit was not announced in advance.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, a senior military official said, “We knew this was coming.” The official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, declined to give details, but said several precautionary security measures could have been taken, including moving Mr. Wolfowitz and his delegation out of the hotel, increasing the security alert and increasing patrols around the hotel. None of those things happened, he said.<\/i><\/p>\n The same criticisms <\/a> about ignoring warnings were made when the UN headquarters were bombed and Syria was immediately blamed by some as well.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A U.S. general said the one attacker captured in the bombings that killed 34 Monday had a Syrian passport, fueling suspicions that foreign fighters were behind a rising tide of violence. Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling of the U.S. Army’s 1st … Continue reading