Support: February 21, 2003

Archives

During the 1991 Gulf War, U.S. troops advancing in Kuwait were overwhelmed by 69,000 Iraqi troops trying to surrender all at once. Thousands of other Iraqi soldiers had already deserted, and many more were seen walking, or driving, back to Iraq. This time around, the U.S. Army is readying thousands of military police (MP) units to deal with surrendering Iraqis. The MPs are being taught how to deal with large numbers of prisoners. This includes what degrees of force, including lethal force, can be applied under what situations. The troops are also learning key Arabic phrases and brushing up on martial arts moves. About a third of the reserve MPs are women, and there is some concern that at least a few Iraqis will react badly to being ordered around by female American soldiers. While Iraq is one of the more liberal Arab nations, when it comes to the treatment of women, most Iraqi men are not accustomed to taking order from a woman, even a woman with a gun. 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close