U.S. Military Deaths Iraq + Afghanistan [Archive]

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 09:47 AM

U.S. military deaths

Saturday, September 02, 2006

As of Friday:
In Iraq: At least 2,643 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,102 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The latest identifications reported by the military:

- Marine Lance Cpl. Colin Wolfe, 18, Manassas, Va., killed Wednesday in Anbar province; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Le jeune, N.C.
- Army Sgt. Joshua Hanson, 27, West St. Paul, Minn., killed Wednesday in Khaldea when his vehicle struck an explosive; assigned to the National Guard 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Four soldiers were killed Sunday in Taji when an explosive detonated near their vehicle; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Killed were:
- Army Sgt. Moises Jazmin, 25, Providence, R.I.
- Army Spc. Qixing Lee, 20, Minneapolis.
- Spc. Shaun Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wis.
- Spc. Tristan Smith, 23, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
In Afghanistan: At least 272 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. Of those, the military reports 171 were killed by hostile action.
In Operation Enduring Freedom: At least 56 more members of the U.S. military have died. Of those, two are the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, Djibouti, Eritrea, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Yemen. There was also one military civilian death and four CIA officer deaths.
SOURCE: Associated Press
--------------

When is this insanity going to end? Think its all up to the U.S. sheople!!

Hang Tough

TheBoss(DCA)

09-02-2006, 09:55 AM

And the beat goes on....

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 09:56 AM

There it is Boss and until Americans do not get rid of this "It Don't Effect Me" attitude, this BS will continue Bro'!

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:02 AM

JonBenet, The Beauty...PFC Steven Sirko (Who's That?) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
[Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) " I too lost a beautiful child, he had sandy blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes that had a laugh that danced in his eyes from the minute they opened in the morning until his prayers were said and they closed to dream of wonderful childhood things."
By Summer Lipford, Proud Mother Of PFC Steven Sirko, needlessly taken from my life April 17th, 2005
VAIW, August 28, 2006

The death of a child by the hands of a criminal is horrific, any child, any criminal.

I too lost a beautiful child, he had sandy blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes that had a laugh that danced in his eyes from the minute they opened in the morning until his prayers were said and they closed to dream of wonderful childhood things. He too was in a beauty pagent, against his wishes and the wishes of his dad, however, he won 2nd place, (the judges must have been blind, he WAS the most beautiful 5 year old on the stage)

Just as JonBenet, I have movies, maybe not as many, but I have movies of him being silly, movies in grade school programs, pictures of him graduating from kindergarden, which doesn't seem like that was so long ago, and Christmas morning pictures with a grim that lights the room with delight of what Santa left for him. I have picture of Pop Warner football, pictures holding his oldest sisters baby, Jr. High wrestling, graduation pictures, bootcamp pictures,(there wasn't anytime for growing up between high school and boot camp), AIT graduation. Then pictures taken the last day I saw my baby, the day he was deployed to Iraq, the very last time I saw my child, forever. Just as JonBenet, my pictures where taken at Christmas and a couple of weeks following Christmas Day, as a matter of fact, the last pictures I have were taken January 17, 2005, how many parents actually have the exact date a picture was taken if not a special holiday? There are over 2600 parents that have those same pictures, knowing the exact date they were taken.

Just as JonBenet, my son too was born when I was not a young women, the last of four children and the light of my life, the child I did spend so much time with, the child that made me stay young, the child that was bright and curious and a joy to everyone that met him. The child that was so protected by his brother and sisters, the child that caused the most aggrevation for his older siblings and the child that brought all his siblings home at the same time when he was home for the week end from the army. The child that held the family together. My child was also murdered, in the most literal sense.

Now that I have pointed out the likeness, and I did not mention all of them, just a few, of JonBenet and Steven, my son, let me point out the differences.

There was not a mass of media coverage when Steven was murdered, one day in the local paper when word came that he died and front page coverage the day of his funeral. No coverage of the mysterious circumstanes that he died under, no droves of police officals investigating his death, infact, it took 4 months for me to get anyone to take a hard look into his death. Even when I did manage to get an real investigation going I was told that it was difficult due to the fact it was in a "War Theater". When did we go to war? What happened to "Operation Iraqi Freedom", what happened to "Mission Accomplished" May 1, 2003? No teams of investigators looking for the guilty party, because they already knew why he died and who did it, so where was the need?

Of course there was a need, but that was never going to happen, not for Steven. He wasn't the child of wealthy parents and his murderers were going to be protected at all costs. If this death was not covered up then maybe a few people might take a different look at the war. Then again, maybe not. Now that I think about it, there hasn't been a public rage of Steven Green, the young man who raped and murdered an entire family. Oh of course not, these things happen in war now don't they.

My son was murdered. I know where the person lives that sent him to his death. I know the person that did the phyiscal killing, both US citizens. One is sitting in the White House, the other walking free living a very happy life. My son died by the hands of the man who sent him to war and by the hands of a US soldier, my son was murdered indeed.

I know how my son died. I know so many facts and cannot get resolution from this administation for a two fold reason. One, this administartion will not take responsibilty for sending my son to an illegal, immoral war, and cannot take responsibilty for having him serve with less than an honorable fellow soldier...no this cannot happen! And who do I turn to for help?

The CID certainly will cover up his death. They have refused to bring the guilty party to justice. The American people will not come together to bring GW Bush, "THE ULTIMATE CRIMINAL" to justice. So, where do I turn?

Would GW be "Staying the course" if more than .04% of the American people were suffering the losses so many have suffered? Would GW be "Staying the course" if parents had their child murdered in a war zone by another soldier for gain and his death being covered up to protect this administration? I think we all know the answer to that!!!!!

Of course not, people would be taking to the streets, demanding answers, demanding an end to this war, demanding this administration to be held accountable. This is not the case, this is not what I can tell my son when I visit his grave everyday. I can only tell him that I am trying, I am begging for the truth, I will not let him down. I love him very much and I miss him so much.

When my children were little and I had to go to work before they woke up in the morning I would put on red lipstick and go to each of their rooms and kiss their foreheads and tell them mommy loved them and I would be seeing them very soon. I also whispered that I would be thinking of them all day and even though I wasn't there I would be protecting them with my heart. I knew when my children looked in the mirror when brushing their teeth they would see that kiss and know I loved them.

The very last day I saw my boy, Steven, just before closing his casket I put on red lipstick and kissed his forehead. I told him I how much I loved him and I would do all I could to find the truth, I told him I hoped with all my heart I would be seeing him very soon. I told him I would miss him and I would be thinking of him everyday and I was so very sorry that I wasn't able to protect him....this has not all come to pass for me. I haven't been able to get the truth even though it is there.

Now who has the answers for me? Where do I turn now? I will keep working for the truth. I will keep seeking out those responsible and I have resolved myself to begging for help, whatever it takes, a mother has no pride when it comes to her children. How I wish I had the cameras flashing and news media parked outside my home pressuring those responsible to bring the criminals to justice, but I don't. All I have is this. I hope it works, no, I pray this works.

I ask God and Steven to bring Devine intervention, because with this administartion I am going to need Devine Intervention for the truth to be exposed.

If only my son and all the sons and daughters lost had the attention given JonBenet our losses would have stopped a long time ago.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

TheBoss(DCA)

09-02-2006, 10:05 AM

There it is Boss and until Americans do not get rid of this "It Don't Effect Me" attitude, this BS will continue Bro'!

Hang Tough~

Yep bruddah and I haven't seen this country so self absorbed since the 80's . :mad: We are regressing as a nation aren't we?

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:06 AM

Rhode Island soldier, 25, dies in Iraq blast

Army Sgt. Moises Jazmin, of Providence, died Sunday when a roadside bomb blasted his military vehicle, killing him and three others.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 2, 2006

BY AMANDA MILKOVITS
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- He had traveled to Baghdad thousands of miles away from this city block on the South Side, where he'd grown up with his family in an apartment house on a closely packed side street.
Sgt. Moises Jazmin was barely 25, a young man from a large family in the inner city, who left Central High School before graduation and joined the Army before he was old enough to vote.

Yesterday morning, the Pentagon confirmed that Jazmin was one of four soldiers who died Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near their military vehicle in an Iraqi village called Taji, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Army officials told his family about his death Monday morning. His mother took to her bed in despair, one sister said. The rest of Jazmin's family -- his four sisters and three brothers -- are reeling from the news and awaiting the return of his body.
"I don't know that we'll ever recover from this," said Ruth Jazmin, 30, one of his sisters.
Jazmin was only 17 when he told his family that high school wasn't for him. He wanted to join the Army, Ruth Jazmin said. The family wasn't happy and urged him to stay in school. But he pushed the matter, until his parents reluctantly agreed to give him permission, she said.
The military changed him, she said, molding him into a more disciplined young man. He was last stationed in Texas, in the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, of Fort Hood's 4th Infantry Division, when he was ordered to go to Iraq. He left after Thanksgiving last year.
His family worried about him and kept tabs on news of the war, his sister said, but they never knew for sure how dangerous it was for him.
When he returned last monthfor a two-week visit, he seemed different. He'd just turned 25 in July. He was calmer, more mature, and not eager to talk about the war, Ruth Jazmin said. Instead of seeking out his friends, Jazmin wanted to spend all of his time with his family, she said. It was as if he was trying to soak in their presence for as long as he could.
Moises Jazmin, the youngest of the Jazmin sons, did odd jobs around the house on Houston Street, off busy Broad Street, helped to clean up the yard, and spent time talking with members of his family, who live in South Providence and North Providence. "We really bonded," Ruth Jazmin said.
Jazmin left for Iraq Aug. 12, but he continued to stay in touch by e-mailing and calling home. He had three months left on his tour in Iraq, his sister said.
He last spoke to his family the night before he died. "He said he was going out on patrol and not to worry," Ruth Jazmin said.
Jazmin was in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle when a road mine exploded Sunday. Three other soldiers were also killed: Spc. Qixing Lee, 20, of Minneapolis; Spc. Shaun Novak, 21, of Two Rivers, Wis.; and Spc. Tristan C. Smith, 23, of Bryn Athyn, Pa.
At 25, Jazmin was the oldest of the dead.
Yesterday, Governor Carcieri ordered state flags lowered to half-staff to honor Jazmin, who is the 10th Rhode Islander killed in the Iraq war.
"This is a terribly sad day for the family of Sgt. Moises Jazmin and for all Rhode Islanders," Carcieri said in a statement yesterday. "As a community, we are thankful for the sacrifices that soldiers like Sgt. Jazmin make in fighting for our state and our nation. Like the other Rhode Island soldiers who lost their lives since Sept. 11, Sgt. Jazmin was a patriot and a hero, and he will be missed."
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy both offered their sympathies.
"Like others before him, Sgt. Jazmin made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, giving his life, and we are all in his debt," Reed said in a statement yesterday. "My thoughts and prayers are with his family and all of our brave Marines and soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Like others before him, Sgt. Jazmin answered the call and sacrificed himself for his fellow countrymen, and we are all in his debt," Kennedy also stated. ". . . We must always honor and respect the sacrifices our military men and women and their families make every day so that we can live in a free and great democracy."
But Ruth Jazmin wondered when the sacrifices would end.
In everything, she said, there is a beginning and an end. President Bush had a plan to begin the war, she said, but he has never told the country about the end.
"As a president, he's not doing his job," Ruth Jazmin railed on the phone, before hanging up. "When I see soldiers dying out there, where's the ending? When's the end coming for this war? Are you just going to let everybody get wiped out? What's the plan?"

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:09 AM

Yep bruddah and I haven't seen this country so self absorbed since the 80's . :mad: We are regressing as a nation aren't we?

Have to agree with you Bro' - 100%, which to me is very sad!

Boss let me ask ya' this, If there was a draft and little Johnny and Pretty Mary had to go to the "SHRUB" fiasco, ya' think more Sheople would be involved? I sure as hell do --for sure! They would be hitting the bricks protestin' this upsurd BS daily!

Let me know what you think on this Bro'.

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:14 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

As many as 1 of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror evacuated to the Army's biggest hospital in Europe was sent there for mental problems.
Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had "psychiatric or behavioral health issues," according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.
That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems.
The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital.
Also see The Missing Wounded ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).

American Count
Dates and sources of Americans killed in Iraq since 5/1/03 are documented in this file ([Only registered and activated users can see links]). Admittedly the file is incomplete, for the Department of Defense does not maintain old records. All data was compiled from [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])If something is amiss in the data collection, please contact Michael Ewens ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).

Iraqi Civilian Count
We have not set up a database for these numbers, rather we direct you Iraq Body Count ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:23 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

2,944

Total Fatalities

Operation Iraqi Freedom ([Only registered and activated users can see links]): 2,614
Operation Enduring Freedom ([Only registered and activated users can see links]): 330
(Updated August 29, 2006)

[Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) America at War ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Check out the Faces - and this is not counting the wounded!

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:27 AM

Public skeptical of terror war

September 2, 2006
BY WILL LESTER

WASHINGTON -- Doubts about the war on terrorism are growing. Most people worry that the cost in blood and money may be too high, and they don't think al-Qaida kingpin Osama bin Laden will be caught, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
Five years after the attacks of Sept. 11, fully one-third of Americans think the terrorists may be winning, the poll suggests. Worries fed by the war in Iraq have spilled over into the broader campaign against terrorists who directly target the United States.
Half in the poll question whether the costs of the anti-terror campaign are too great, and even more admit that thought has crossed their mind.
The costs are already high:
More than 2,600 U.S. troops dead in Iraq, more than 270 dead in Afghanistan and about 20,000 wounded in both countries. More than $430 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other costs overseas, and more than $250 billion for domestic security.
Increasing skepticism is not surprising to Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the Sept. 11 commission.
43% are embarrassed

"I think what you're seeing now is a pushback," said Hamilton, who noted he still considers the terror threat an urgent problem. "Since 9/11, the security folks have won all the arguments. People are beginning to see that security is a very expensive business. . . . We're seeing some rebalancing of the scales."
But that shift may be unrelated to any reduction in the threat.
Bin Laden is thought to be hiding out somewhere in the mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the conflict in Iraq is edging toward civil war and terrorists are still attempting attacks, as evidenced by the alleged plot, recently foiled by the British, to blow up airliners in the sky.
The AP-Ipsos telephone polling of about 1,000 found:
•Less than half, 46 percent, are confident that bin Laden will be caught -- down from 67 percent in December 2003.
•More than four in 10, 43 percent, say they're embarrassed by the U.S. image overseas.
The big question for Karen Brown of Gainesville, Va., is whether the U.S. efforts are making a difference.
"Things are moving very slowly and not going very well," said Brown. "There's Osama bin Laden still running free. We're deeper into Afghanistan and deeper into Iraq. I don't see any end to it."
Grandchildren's world?

Not everyone agrees the war in Iraq is central to the war on terror, as the Bush administration maintains. Six in 10 polled think there will be more terrorism in this country because the United States went to war in Iraq. Some feel strongly the two wars are separate.
"They've been successful in the war on terrorism as long as you distinguish between the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism," said Eva Washington of Washington, D.C. "We allowed Iraq to become a home to terrorists by going over there."
Some say they're worried terrorists are recruited faster than they can be captured or killed. ''I'm very concerned this is going to be the world my grandchildren are going to be faced with,'' said Carla Sanda of Las Vegas.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:34 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
from the August 29, 2006 edition - [Only registered and activated users can see links] In Iraq, fewer killed, more are wounded

As the controversial war in Iraq continues, Defense Department officials and civilian experts are getting a clearer picture of American combat casualties. Among the emerging details: The fatality rate is markedly less than in previous conflicts. But while all wars are different, the nature of combat in Iraq, plus advances in battlefield medicine, mean that the number of wounded remains relatively high. Enlisted ground troops are most at risk, but the young lieutenants who lead them on patrol are even more likely to be killed or wounded.
Lessons learned and historical context are at stake here. But officials also want to make sure the casualty reporting procedures are accurate and adequate, especially for the families of those lost or wounded.
The US Army acknowledged over the weekend that it is reexamining hundreds of casualty reports in response to criticisms of inaccuracies, such as instances initially attributed to enemy action that turned out to have been by friendly fire.
All unit-level investigations of battlefield deaths are being checked to see if they square with records kept by the Army's Casualty Assistance Center in Alexandria, Va.
Meanwhile, experts at the University of Pennsylvania have examined Defense Department fatality figures for Iraq and Afghanistan to compare levels of risk between the services now and in earlier wars. What they found, said Professor Samuel Preston, a leading demographer, is that the fatality rate among service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan is "very much lower" than it was in the Vietnam War. But at the same time, Dr. Preston says, the relative number of nonfatal casualties is not much different from what it was in Vietnam.
"In part, we're able to keep injured people alive in a better way than we did before," he said.
Because of new body armor and advances in military medicine, for example, the ratio of combat-zone deaths to those wounded has dropped from 24 percent in Vietnam to 13 percent in Iraq and Afghanistan. In other words, the numbers of those killed as a percentage of overall casualties is lower. At this writing, 2,955 American service men and women have been killed (2,622 in Iraq and 333 in Afghanistan), and 20,174 have been wounded.
Experts are also comparing battlefield casualties with other areas of American society, such as young men living in violence-prone urban areas. Young black men in Philadelphia, for example, have a death rate 11 percent higher than troops in Iraq, according to Preston.
Among other things, Preston and University of Pennsylvania student Emily Buzzell found that Hispanics have a slightly higher "death risk" than non-Hispanics and that blacks have a death risk that is lower than nonblacks - both a function of the kinds of units most of those two groups serve in. The Marine Corps, for example, contains a disproportionately higher number of Hispanics than other military branches and also carries a higher casualty rate.
Among both Army soldiers and marines, enlisted personnel have a 40 percent higher mortality rate than officers. The exception is Army and Marine Corps lieutenants - junior officers who typically lead combat patrols and who have a markedly higher mortality rate than all soldiers and marines.
What's not fully clear at this point in the war is the long-term effects of intense combat that involves urban fighting, seemingly random roadside bombs, and suicide bombers targeting US forces. Saving more American lives in the war zones means more people must be treated for amputations and other serious injuries, perhaps for the rest of their lives. Also, the New England Journal of Medicine reported in 2005 that 19 percent of Marine infantrymen and 17 percent of Army infantrymen studied in four units in Iraq and Afghanistan "met the screening criteria" for depression, anxiety, or postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
For the Army and the Marine Corps in particular, which have some of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan, casualty rates can affect personnel recruiting and retention efforts, not only for psychological reasons but because the military must replace the 500 or so troops lost each month to battlefield deaths, injuries, illness, and psychological problems tied to combat.
Still, considering the intensity and duration of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, US losses have been remarkably light, some experts assert.
"Recognizing the political consequences of casualties, US commanders are a good deal more cautious in risking the lives of soldiers than they might have been at Gettysburg or Anzio," says Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.
Critics say multiple war-zone tours and the recent involuntary call-up of reserve soldiers and marines amounts to a "backdoor draft" that further complicates recruiting efforts. Some who supported the US-led invasion of Iraq generally agree.
"The message prospective recruits are getting is that if you never volunteered you won't be called, but if you did volunteer, you can be called again and again, even against your will," says Dr. Thompson. "This seems to be fundamentally unfair. The government demands that a small number of citizens who have already served carry even more of the burden, while it makes no demands at all on the vast majority of people."

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

101Scout

09-02-2006, 10:44 AM

When is this insanity going to end? Think its all up to the U.S. sheople!!

Good question bro... but we both know the answer to that one. Remember what it took to finally pull the plug on Nam bro? Yep, us vets who started to shove the shit right back down their (lifers) throats over there. That was the key back then bro... and it will be the key in this fiasco now. It will be the sheeple in uniform who bucks the system.... the neocon system in order for the Pentagon to say the hell with it and pull the plug. Thing is... this has to happen before the Iran frag is rolled into the living rooms of America! Not much time is left!

:hiding:

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:45 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

CIVILIAN DEATHS IN IRAQ NOW
MORE THAN 100,000
Click here to read about
the Lancet Study...

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Don't miss the new Important Links ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) page!

[Only registered and activated users can see links] I concentrate here on videos, pictures, and information about casualties that we do not hear about.
We rarely see in the media the entire story of what is happening over there, the horrific bombing and killing of civilians, the bloodshed of children, men and women, the violence.
And we are not allowed to honor our own soldiers with a simple picture of a coffin, so I include them here as well (acquired through the Freedom of Information Act by thememoryhole.org ([Only registered and activated users can see links])), as well as pictures of the faces of those who have given their lives because of the lies of the most corrupt regime we have ever had. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...
[Only registered and activated users can see links] Pictures and Photo Essays ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Photos of Military Coffins ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Movies ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Civilian Casualties & the Lancet Study ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Military Casualties ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Amputees ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Brain Injuries ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Mental Trauma ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) Military Medicine ([Only registered and activated users can see links])War Crimes ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Chemical Weapons Used by U.S. Forces ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Torture by U.S. Forces and Contractors ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) new! DEPLETED URANIUM ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) new! Intentional Targeting of Independent Journalists ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) new!False Pretences... ([Only registered and activated users can see links])Miscellaneous Articles ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) Pictures and Photo Essays From the site below: "One of the family members who was looking for dead relatives, shared these photos which were taken from that book. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told of what he saw in his village during the last few weeks.
The Americans shot every boat on the river because people were trying to escape Fallujah by the river. They shot all the sheep, any animal people owned was shot. Helicopters shot all the animals and anything that moved in all the villages surrounding Fallujah during the fighting.
He said that none of the roads into Fallujah, or around Fallujah were passable because anyone on them was shot.
I know one family that were all killed. There are no signs on these roads that tell people not to use them-so people don’t know they aren’t supposed to use them. No signs in English or Arabic

-------------------------

A site worth checking out, see where your Tax Dollars are going.

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 10:55 AM

Good question bro... but we both know the answer to that one. Remember what it took to finally pull the plug on Nam bro? Yep, us vets who started to shove the shit right back down their (lifers) throats over there. That was the key back then bro... and it will be the key in this fiasco now. It will be the sheeple in uniform who bucks the system.... the neocon system in order for the Pentagon to say the hell with it and pull the plug. Thing is... this has to happen before the Iran frag is rolled into the living rooms of America! Not much time is left!

:hiding:

Ya' know Bro', you may be right on that above. Yup, those lifer medal and rank hunters in Nam that wanted to benefit off the blood of the regular and drafted G.I. were free-ken pathetic and needed a lesson or two - and got it in most instances.

The SOB'S where I was - when we did see the sorry pukes, learnt to keep their mouths shut --real fast!

Like I told ya' before Bro', big difference in a Lifer Pig and a Career Soldier, and we had a Career Soldier as a Platoon Sarge. Humped in Korea as well as the Nam, his main mission - losing nobody! Would never ask anyone to do anything he wouldn't do. Had our respect and loyalty and gave us back the same.

But I know exactly what you mean by those spit shine suck azz lifer SOB'S, who never spent a free-kin day in the boonies and went home sportin' a Combat Infantry Badge - WTF ! They deserved what the hell they got--the sorry scumbag F**ks!

Hang Tough~

Christine

09-02-2006, 11:01 AM

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:01 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Christine

09-02-2006, 11:05 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

This will knock the wind out of you if nothing else does

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:11 AM

Osama Bin Laden is Kicking George Bush Ass ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

READ MORE: 9/11 ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Iraq ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Dick Cheney ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), 2006 ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Afghanistan ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), CIA ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Bill O'Reilly ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Israel ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Saddam Hussein ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Hurricane Katrina ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), George W. Bush ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

An ass kicking isn't just getting bitch slapped, it's getting viciously, relentlessly pummeled to the point where you are forever changed.
To get a handle on how badly George Bush's ass is being kicked recquires going back at least as far as the early 1990's.
Osama Bin Laden, enraged by U.S. efforts to dominate Middle Eastern governments, culture and economics dating back decades, flips his lid when secular Saddam Hussein, a former U.S. puppet who gassed his people keeping Islamic Iran at bay, invades Kuwait, drawing the U.S. military into Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, home of Mecca, Islam's holiest site.

He sees Hussein and the Gulf War as proof the U.S. is creating too many problems at the expense of Muslims. In order to remove what he perceives to be a serious threat to the cultural of Islam posed by U.S. military, economic and cultural hegemony, a perception not shared by a majority of Muslims until 2006, he decides the U.S. must be driven from the Middle East.

Neo Cons and conservatives like Bill O'Reilly interpret "driven from the Middle East" to mean "wiped off the face of the earth." You don't wipe 25% of the world's oil market- the economic engine driving explosive growth in oil consumption- off the face of the earth if you come from the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden correctly recognizes Arabs "can't drink the oil." The petroleum industry is the life blood of the Middle East. The fact that America still exists given the vulnerabilities this country faces five years after 9/11 tells you what Al Qaeda wants.
Bin Laden's only way to reduce American influence in the Middle East is to make the cost of dominating the region outweigh the benefit. Bin Laden realizes he can't bankrupt the U.S. with just one attack. America is too vast and strong and supported for even a massive terror attack to create the sustained economic blood letting required to get the U.S. to quit the Middle East. While devastating, any single attack will only wake a sleeping giant, making further attacks on U.S. soil harder and harder to pull off. Each subsequent gashing will be smaller and less effective, only making it harder to bleed America from within. However Bin Laden believes if 9/11 comes off as planned the U.S. will invade Afghanistan, where he may be able to bleed the US like he did the Soviets in the 80's. If he can gain access to enough U.S. assets on AQ controlled turf he's confident he can prick us to death. Bin Laden knows he will have one shot at an attack on American soil sufficient to lure the U.S. into a decisive military move in the Middle East. It's a weak plan. The U.S. is no Soviet Union. But it's all Al Qaeda has.
Bin Laden said to anyone listening he wants to get the U.S. military en masse in the Middle East. Today's Iraq shows why he worked so hard to make that happen. The tragedy here is that Bin Laden was wrong- he could never have bled us to death in Afghanistan. Had Bush immediately gone into Afghanistan with overwhelming numbers and sealed the border Bin Laden would be dead by now, he could have forced Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop supporting terrorists and 9/11 would not have been a turning point in world history. But Bush, it turns out, wanted Iraq all along, and skimped on Afghanistan so he could have Iraq. When Bush invaded Iraq he made Bin Laden's desperate snow ball's chance in hell strategy pay off. Lucky guy, that Bin Laden. The price of dominating in the Middle East is getting higher by the day- Israel is less secure, oil prices are way up flooding the coffers of terrorist organizations, Iran is now the rising power in the region, Iraq, once under sectarian control is now under the control of radical elements, and Al Qaeda has brushed off Bush's feeble Afghanistan invasion and regained control there. Our government is bankrupt and our power in the region is all but gone. Bush is being forced to quit Iraq, opening the door for Iran to walk right in. America is rapidly becoming a paper tiger. Made of chinese paper. And a chinese type horoscope tiger like on menus in chinese restaurants.
November 2000. The newly elected Neo Con compliments AQ plans quite nicely. Bin Laden knows Neo Con Nation, obsessed with a morality only they understand, wants to use U.S. military power to re-create the world in the likeness of George Bush, especially in the Middle East. Perfect. An attack on the U.S. is far more likely to result in an Afghan invasion with Neo Cons in power. Al Qaeda desperately wants Neo Cons to go for the brass ring. Today Cheney says Ned Lamont's victory emboldens Al Qaeda types. No no no no no. Al Qaeda loves a good Neo Con. Only a Neo Con would invade Iraq after 9/11 and let Afghanistan turn to shit.
Neo Cons believe a zero tolerance confrontational policy will get Radical Islam to re-think their extremist/terrorist tactics and force moderate Muslims to rise up against their radical governments creating a democracy domino effect that will justify all American activities in the Middle East and make the world happy and safe and lovely. Bin Laden knows nothing of the sort will happen. I have no idea why Neo Cons would believe such a thing. There is absolutely no evidence to support this theory. When Muslims, moderates, radicals, whoever, are pushed into a corner they do not shrink and get all shocked and awed and become introspective and go for long morning walks and read Emerson under a tree and mull things over. They swarm like killer bees.
And that's not just crazy ass radical Islam jihad freaks. Anybody would do the same. In 1941 did Americans re-think their policies and overthrow their government after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor? Did the English do anything of the kind during Hitler's blitzkreig? Did the North Vietnamese reconsider communism as American B-52's streaked across their skies? Did North Vietnamese peasants rise up against their leaders after fifteen years of intense almost daily bombing? They weren't interested in hitching their wagons to American wealth. They were under attack. They didn't say "Thank GOD the Americans are attacking us! Now we can drive Buicks!" They moved into rat holes and hung pictures. In 1939 Polish foot soldiers, some of whom were armed only with wooden swords, rushed Hitler's tanks. Presumably they were not caught up in some kind of agonizing reappraisal of their national identity as they went into battle. Nobody has ever responded to an attack the way Neo Cons predicted radical Islam would behave in the face of Shock and Awe. All you smart asses out there are thinking "what about the French?" Fine. But which Muslims, which terrorists, exactly, did Bush and Cheney think were going to get shocked and awed into buying Derek Jeter jerseys? Neo Cons have a serious reality problem resulting in one strategic and tactical disaster after another. If insanity is any distance from reality, Neo Cons are insane. Remember wealth and insanity are not mutually exclusive.
Ten days after Bush is elected, according to former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Bush decides to invade Iraq, telling his staff to "find a way to do it." Seeing the preparations taking place all around them, Al Qaeda knows Bush is going to invade Iraq years before he does and possibly whether or not 9/11 succeeds. Plenty of time for Bin Laden to plan, recruit, raise money and stockpile weapons.
At first Al Qaeda is stunned Bush wants Iraq- it plays right into their hands- they never expected such good fortune. From the AQ point of view Iraq is a perfect opportunity to bleed America. The U.S. had just finished neutralizing Hussein in the first Gulf War, and had kept him in check since.
Colin Powell said on 2/23/01 ([Only registered and activated users can see links])" , "I think we ought to declare [the containment policy] a success. We have kept him contained, kept him in his box." He then said , "[Saddam] is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors" .
Vice President Cheney said on 9/16/01 ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) that Saddam Hussein was not a threat. He said, "Saddam Hussein is bottled up."
The U.S. invading a neutralized oil rich Islamic country with nothing to do with the 9/11 would make it easy for Al Qaeda to claim America did not care for peace or the lives of Arabs but wanted only oil and regional dominance. The world will no doubt support the Afghanistan invasion. Fuck 'em. But Invading Iraq will wash away the sympathy 9/11 will create for America. AQ recruitment will sky-rocket.
(continued) [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:16 AM

Hussein's defenses are no match for American power. That's the good news. The U.S. will establish its presence quickly and permanently- we're building at least twelve permanent military bases in Iraq. That will create plenty of hugely expensive targets. A U.S. invasion will provide an opening into Iraq Al Qaeda and Iran could not create while Hussein was in power. Taking out Hussein did Bin Laden a favor. No doubt Bin Laden has sent Bush a number of expensive thank you cards over the years.
Al Qaeda plans on exploiting five sources of anti-U.S. terror In Iraq: 1) Themselves, 2) the Ba'athists, 3) Iran, 4) Iraqi religious tensions, and 5) Civil War. Al Qaeda knows if they are to be defeated in the Middle East the U.S. will have to kill every last Al Qaeda soldier. Not likely given the recruiting bonanza AQ will have after the invasion. To overcome internal resistance in Iraq they'll have to kill many thousands of innocent people, turning average citizens against U.S. forces. Ba'ath loyalists will work to ruin Bush's post war plans in any possible way they can. To stop Iran's interference Bush will have to invade Iran and do to it what the U.S. and the Soviets did to Germany in World War 2, requiring decades, trillions of dollars and millions of deaths. Iraq has a huge border with Iran, unlike New York City, making it far easier to carry out attacks on U.S. assets. Iraq is nearly bursting with repressed religious hatreds going back hundreds of years, and is held together only by Hussein. Marines who are trained only to kill will have to manage these tensions in order to prevent all out civil war without using Hussein's iron fist tactics. It is easy to see they will fail. Once it is clear the US can't keep a lid on things civil war will explode, further draining U.S. resources. The U.S. will be forced to stay and bleed or cede Iraq to Iran.
If Bush invades Iraq, AQ and Iran will have more targets than ever before, more and better access to those targets, and they will use less resources more efficiently. AQ will be able to count on considerable local support, and will operate with little or no interference of the type found in the U.S. such as a wary, alert public, electronic surveillance and those pesky FBI, CIA and NSA agents operating on their home turf. There will be no such advantages for the U.S. in Iraq.
The biggest Al Qaeda asset in any U.S. invasion, however, will be Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsy's lean and mean military philosophy will make sure U.S. forces are tired, stretched thin, over worked, constantly under pressure, doing jobs they are not trained to do and exposed to violence - terror - hello - on a daily basis.
For some inexplicable reason, this dreary nightmare scenario is where Bush wants to be. It seems to Al Qaeda Bush is actually cooperating with their plans. Bin Laden knows as early as February of 2000 that it will be impossible for the U.S. to create a functional democratic oil producing Iraqi government. While Afghanistan held little hope to hurt the U.S., Iraq's realities promise great things for Al Qaeda.
9/11/2001. Things go about as well for Al Qaeda as they could hope.
Soon thereafter Bush, rightly, invades Afghanistan. Ninety-percent of Americans and most of the world is with him. Bush botches the job. The Taliban gets bitch slapped, but he doesn't kick ass- he goes in late with too few forces and lets Bin Laden escape. Soon Al Qaeda and The Taliban will re-assert themselves.
Within days after 9/11 Bush begins pushing for an invasion of Iraq. Bush takes Al Qaeda's bait hook line and sinker, as if Bush was following an Al Qaeda script. Bin Laden is amazed the U.S. is falling into the trap so easily. Bush talks "Shock And Awe", as if defeating Hussein's army and the Republican Guard will be the main obstacle to securing Iraq, completely ignoring the fact that terrorists don't want to hitch their wagons to U.S. power and will wreak havoc. Only a small occupying force will be in their way. U.S. media makes bold predictions that Iraq will fall in weeks and months. Bonus! Al Qaeda wins yet another psychological advantage: since Bush lets America believe a quick, easy, cheap victory is likely, enormous frustration and resentment will arise when Al Qaeda unleashes waves of self sustaining violence and brings re-construction to a halt.
Bush says the sale of Iraqi oil will pay for turning Iraq into a model democracy, which means the U.S. won't be budgeting money for the occupation. Al Qaeda now knows exactly how to drain the U.S. treasurey and that their efforts will work. Cheney says "greeted as liberators"- which means US officials, incredibly, do not expect the insurgency Al Qaeda and Iran are working towards- yet another advantage. The U.S. will have an inadequate plan to suppress the insurrection. Al Qaeda is positively drooling in anticipation.
The White House insists invading Iraq will make America safer. Why? Because somehow we'll fight Al Qaeda there and not here. Bringing Al Qaeda into Iraq was Bush's plan all along. Guess what Iraq? I'm gonna bring all the worlds' terrorists to your front yard so they aren't in America. No doubt the Iraqi people were thrilled. What a sickening, cowardly, stupid strategy. Bush expected Iraqis to put up with an onslaught of terrorism so terrorists who've spent years embedding themselves in Amercia at enormous risk and expense will uproot themselves and head to Iraq? Nonsense. Even if Al Qaeda wanted to abandon access to trillions of dollars worth of U.S. assets in America to stop an invasion they desperately want, there is no world wide terrorist defensive coordinator moving operatives around like chess pieces. Little Osama didn't grow up playing football. Bin Laden provides strategy, tactics, training, money and equipment, tells his operatives to do their worst as best they can then sets them loose. He's not even in contact with most of them. There are plenty of Al Qaeda soldiers in the Middle East ready to bleed American forces- none from the U.S. would be needed. Iraqis knew as Bush rolled into Baghdad they'd be flooded with terrorists and the U.S. would gain nothing in return. Yet another recruiting advantage for Bin Laden. Today Bush actually wonders why Iraqis aren't grateful for his many gifts to the Iraqi people, like tearing down Hussein's statues. We're fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq all right, but Al Qaeda never left America. We could not have more inept leadership if a cold, greasy bag of freedom fries sat in the Oval Office.
(continued) [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:18 AM

Bin Laden tries to keep his excitement contained- a U.S. invasion of Iraq is a long shot, he figures, incorrectly assuming the U.S. can still act in its best interests. After all, from a U.S. strategic point of view it makes no sense. Surely Americans will see an Iraqi invasion plays to Al Qaeda's strengths. Bush can be counted on to exploit America for his own ends, but what about the U.S. Congress? Will they roll over?
March 2003. The US invades Iraq validating Al Qaeda in the eyes of many Muslims. Bin Laden's dream comes true. He is convinced Allah put Bush in office to bring down America- or is in posession of his body- or something! There must be some explanation for how stupid the U.S. has become. Osama now has access to the U.S. military in not one but two theaters he controls and finally can do something he could never do with Hussein in power- overrun Iraq. As expected, the world, seeing no Iraqi connection to 9/11, does not like the invasion. Even the countries that actually go along with Bush have small percentages of their populations actually supporting the war. The U.S. will be going in alone for all practical purposes.
Things continue to break Al Qaeda's way with stunning ease. Al Qaeda doesn't have to do much of their own killing and dying to put a serious hurt on Uncle Sam- Baath loyalists are fierce, dedicated and unrelenting, do most of the dirty work and require little motivating. Meanwhile sectarian divisions in Iraq fester and boil over without much provocation. Iraqis fight themselves using up more and more U.S. resources that would otherwise be used in Afghanistan and Pakistan to kill Al Qaeda, just as the State Department predicted. The U.S. is now mostly unfocused on Al Qaeda.
Radical Iran, backed by China and largely ignored by wait and see Russia, swoops into Iraq bolstering radical elements and destroying US troops and resources as planned. Al Qaeda has no trouble getting its soldiers into the Iraqi police force and mililtary. Had Bush not disbanded the Iraqi military it would have been much harder to infiltrate. Could this be going any better, Osama asks himself? Now with the war actually on they can recruit, train, secure their supply routes and sources, collect on monies promised in the event Bush invades and stockpile their weapons as other forces drag down the U.S. Ignoring reality, or insane, Cheney says the insurgency is in its last throws.
Al Qaeda goes about re-establishing themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan with new recruits, money, weapons and updated tactics. Afghanistan rebounds Al Qaeda's way so they begin fomenting simoultaneous unrest all over Iraq. Whenever the US cleans out a city, Al Qaeda, Iran or Iraqi insurgents swoop back in when the exausted troops leave and reestablish themselves easy as pie. The US is constantly moving, stretching, reconquering and rebuilding, exausting its troops physically and emotionally.
By 2004 America is perfectly positioned to bleed to death. "Bring it on!" says Bush as if he is in a position of strength. AQ pours now abundant resources into Afghanistan while the US struggles to keep enough soldiers on the ground as recruitment levels drop and budget deficits sky rocket, further indebting the US to the Chinese. The civil war is now so apparent even Bush has to address the issue. Bush's policies, which delivered the mighty US into the hands of Al Qaeda and Iran, lose credibility, weakening the US's ability to fight a focused, cogent war on terror as Americans debate what to do next.
By July, 2005 Al Qaeda has succeeded in withstanding the best blow the US has to offer (Iraq???) and has come out the other side financially, strategically and spiritually stronger than before, all without expending significant resources. Re-taking Afghanistan is only a matter of time. The mighty US is tied up in a quagmire, weakened and confused. Who'd have thought it would be so easy?
Katrina hits. The entire U.S. Government is focused on Iraq. The national guard is in Iraq. Bin Laden thinks Allah has finally started kicking Great Satan ass. Bush is too blind to recognize he must either admit defeat and let Iran have Iraq or break his country's back. Once he entered Iraq Bush lost everything.
July 2006
With the U.S. neutralized Iran is free to begin their long awaited assault on Israel.
Iran encourages Hezbollah to increase the pressure on Israel, Israel defends itself, Iran fans the flames. The now dramatically impotent US watches with frustration. "Send Kofi down there to straighten things out..." says a dazed, impotent Bush. If the US stretches its resources to try and handle Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel simoultaneously, Iran will have its way with all three. If the US does nothing to help Israel, Israel dies. If the US fully commits its armed forces to the Middle East then North Korea, fed by China, will become more aggressive. If the US pulls out of Iraq to help Israel, Iran fills the vacuum, takes Iraq, which they couldn't do with Hussein in power, then attacks Israel anyway. Bush is in irons. Invading Iraq has allowed all interests and variations within Radical Islam to take significant steps toward reaching their goals.
At this point the Bush ass kicking has reached the stage where he's losing consciousness. His legs are rubber and his eyes are rolling up in his head, unfocused and empty. His arms uselessly flail at shadows. He's about to drop, and when he does, that's when the real pummeling will start. Since he is the world wide cop there is no one to stop him from getting beat to death.
China financed our $9 trillion budget deficit and continues to pay for our war as they support elements that drain away the money we borrow, forcing us deeper into their debt. China can cut off the cash spigot and pull the plug on our war anytime they want, or dig us deeper into debt by further destabilizing the middle east through Iran. They can violate our intellectual properties, rip off our products, undercut us everywhere, and we'll just have to like it. They have us by the balls. Its as if Bush, like the Manchurian Candidate, is a Chinese puppet put in place to insure Chinese ascendancy. He's either that or the worst geo-political strategist of all time. The Chinese ambassador to the U.S. recently told Rumsfeld to "shut up" about Chinese defense spending. Rummy did just that. Within 50 years the President of The United States will be a Chinese puppet the way the Shah of Iran was once our puppet.
Today Al Qaeda thinks they can break our back by pressuring our allies to withdraw economic and military support. That is why we haven't seen any significant attack pan out on our shores since 9/11. It's got nothing to do with Bush's inept wire tapping bullshit. However, if this approach does not begin to bear fruit soon Bin Laden will refocus his resources directly on us. At that point we'll be in for a rough ride.
George Bush, your ass is being thoroughly kicked. And it's not over yet. Not for you, not for the next President, and not for America.

[Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:27 AM

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:29 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

This will knock the wind out of you if nothing else does

Your right Christine - for sure ! Powerful link with a lot of meaning, sorrowful meaning but it definately catches one's eye!

Thanks and Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 11:36 AM

For Some, Going AWOL Means Resisting 'A War Of Lies'

Commentary by Willy E. Gutman Friday August 18, 2006

Carried to extremes, as it is wont to do in times of jingoistic fervor, patriotism often assumes bizarre if not obscene dimensions. Take the chain e-mail I received recently from an American expat living in Panama. Headlined "Red Friday," the message reads in part:
"Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. Why? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority.' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record-breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing. We get no liberal media coverage.
"(We) simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Americans support our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until all the troops come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American will wear something red."
So much for the "boisterous" and "overbearing" claim. The message continues:
"By word of mouth, press, TV - let's turn the U.S. every Friday into a sea of red. It won't be long before the U.S.A. is covered in red and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side - certainly more than the media lets (sic) on.
"The first thing a soldier says when asked, 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is: 'We need your support and your prayers.' Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear some thing red every Friday. We live in the land of the free only because their blood runs red - so wear red. May God help America to become on nation, under God, again!"

Sorry, I replied, but the most compelling demonstration of support for the flower of America, thousands of whom are getting killed and maimed in an undeclared, illegal and immoral war premised on lies and fabrications, is to insist that they be brought home without delay.
Wearing "something red" is a vulgar form of symbolic sloganeering designed to ease our conscience while sparing us from sharing in the rigors and perils of war. In other words, better red than dead.
I also told my correspondent that I didn't know what soldiers he'd been talking to, but the ones I had interviewed all agreed after some prodding that the "idealism" and rah, rah enthusiasm - military brainwashing - they took to the front waned after one tour of duty. All agreed it was time to extricate their comrades from an unwinnable war not of their choosing.
As for the media, liberal or conservative, erring on the side of political correctness, it is shying away from divulging that widespread and increasing discontent now exists among the troops in Iraq.
According to retired Col. Ann Wright, a 29-year Army and Army Reserve veteran, "Resistance to the war on Iraq within the U.S. military community is growing. Over 8,000 American soldiers are absent without leave (AWOL), most living underground in the U.S. Many now refer to AWOL as 'Against War of Lies' instead of 'Absent Without Leave.'"
Says Wright, a veteran career diplomat who resisted the war on Iraq by resigning in March 2003 from her position as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Mongolia:
"While personal anti-war sentiments in the military often result in hush-hush administrative discharges, open resistance by military personnel to the war on Iraq results in courts-martial and imprisonment. Those who refuse to deploy to Iraq and kill on behalf of the Bush administration generally receive harsher punishment than those who commit criminal acts of murder and torture."
Hundreds of U.S. military personnel have chosen to resist the war by living in Canada, most under the radar of the now-conservative Canadian government. Scores of U.S. military personnel have publicly moved to Canada and are seeking political refugee status. They are supported by a network of Canadians and American war resisters from the Vietnam era who are now Canadian citizens, and who assist the next generation of U.S. military who oppose illegal wars of aggression.
Another aspect of displeasure and resistance within the military community comes from retired generals who have publicly cast doubt on the operational plans that have imperiled U.S. troops in Iraq and questioned the impact of the war on Iraq on the military and its ability to respond to genuine threats to U.S. national security.
Ann Wright, who spent 16 years in the diplomatic corps and served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia, and helped reopen the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, says at least two other American diplomats who believed the Bush administration's war on Iraq was illegal resigned. As civilians, they incurred no other penalty than being forced to give up their careers.

I know that fatcat corporations and multinationals are smiling all the way to the bank with each passing day of conflict, but I don't believe that the red blood of our children and grandchildren should be spilled to fatten the coffers of lily-livered warmongers.
In parting, I told my correspondent that America will become one nation when it curbs its bulimic aspirations for world domination and wrests power away from the zealots and profiteers who control it. America will achieve greatness, I concluded, when it lives up to the mythical image it has of itself.
I'm still waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, I'm all red with shame.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

webhead

09-02-2006, 12:11 PM

Lets never ever forget the pain and suffering of the wounded in this "SHRUB" fiasco.

This is an oldie, but always a good link to see what our wounded G.I.'S have to go through for the rest of their lives not counting the G.I.'S that come back with twisted minds.

See first hand what your tax dollar is paying for and how the "SHRUB" and his chickenhawk brigade is spending it.
-------------------------

Military Personnel Wounded in Iraq & Afghanistan:
A Photo Gallery

warning: 2 of the photos are graphic

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Thanks for the link. I do not like the sight of blood, but I looked at these pictures several times so that I do not forget the pain and suffering of those men and women in the ranks who are the ones who protect me, protect all of us.

It is also important to remember The Fallen, who have given all of their tommorrows for our today.

Thanks Bammo for fighting the good fight against BushCo, PNAC, and the neocons.

Whooah

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 01:12 PM

Thanks Bammo...great links. I'm horrified, as I should well be. I'll post some articles later written by my father in law, my hero, who has travelled as a peace activist, who lost his namesake and youngest grandson in Fallujah on May 6th of this year...the devastation is incredible.

Thanks Christine, your posts will be a plus for this thread---for sure!

My sympathy to your father in law Christine!

War is not a pretty site Christine, to the people that fight it to the people living in the country where its fought!

Fighting a war based on fraud and deception is definately way beyond wrong. When are we as a country ever going to learn from our history ??? (Korea - Vietnam) We are in a very crucial affair with a very shakey Commander and Thief at the helm.

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-02-2006, 01:20 PM

Thanks for the link. I do not like the sight of blood, but I looked at these pictures several times so that I do not forget the pain and suffering of those men and women in the ranks who are the ones who protect me, protect all of us.

It is also important to remember The Fallen, who have given all of their tommorrows for our today.

Thanks Bammo for fighting the good fight against BushCo, PNAC, and the neocons.

Whooah

webhead, thanks for checking out the link as tough as it may have been. I know it is not very pretty but they are ours. Like your words above about the G.I.'s that shed the blood and get their heads all messed up on a war based on lies webhead.

webhead, your welcome but you are fighting against the scum neocons as well - so thanks to you! Soldiers of all kinds are needed to rid the White Hootch of the NeoCon SOB'S (excuse my french - LOL)

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 08:38 AM

U.S. deaths in Iraq, war on terror surpass 9/11 toll

POSTED: 1855 GMT (0255 HKT), September 3, 2006

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

A funeral is held August 25 for U.S. Marine Capt. John McKenna, one of more than 2,600 U.S. service members killed in Iraq.

As the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States approaches, another somber benchmark has just been passed.
The announcement Sunday of four more U.S. military deaths in Iraq raises the death toll to 2,974 for U.S. military service members in Iraq and in what the Bush administration calls the war on terror.
The 9/11 attack killed 2,973 people, including Americans and foreign nationals.

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 08:51 AM

Two U.S. soliders and two Marines were killed in action in Iraq Sunday. The latest casualties bring the total number of American troops killed above the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

(those 2 soldiers and 2 Maines killed Sundy on Iraq - get beaucoup press don't they?? 3 lines - pathetic but 'Crocodile Hunter' dies - now that here is worth top billing. What is just? Taking nothing away from the Croc Hunter but the 2 Soldiers and 2 Marines (like how they try to mix ya' up - sererating the 2 branches of Service in the "3 lines"- instead of saying 4 U.S. Troops die) I think is just or more news worthy, we owe it to their families and friends. As well as showing how upsurd this Bush fiasco is ! )

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 08:58 AM

The 'Band of Brothers' Unravels
Soldier Accused of Civilian Murders Defends Actions

By MARTIN BASHIR

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Sept. 3, 2006 —
Note: This story, originally aired on "Nightline" and published on ABC News.com on Aug. 2, has been updated to reflect new developments.
Army Pfc. Corey Clagget believed that the matter had been resolved: After two internal inquiries evaluating a mission that took place in northern Iraq on May 9, he and three other soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division expected to return to their duties without a stain on their characters.
But within a month, all had been arrested, accused of premeditated murder and placed in jail in Iraq or Kuwait. An Army investigator has now recommended the death penalty for all four soldiers. Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. made the recommendation after an Article 32 hearing last month in which the soldiers protested their innocence.

From 'Hero' to Prisoner

Speaking by telephone from his prison cell, in an exclusive interview with "Nightline's" Martin Bashir, Clagget defended his actions and expressed anger towards the military for pressing charges against him.
"I was trained to do the right thing," he said, "and I did do that. And it's like I was a hero one day, and I was being treated like that one day, and now I'm in a prison facility in Kuwait."
The transition from apparent exoneration to the possibility of the death penalty has been all the more astounding when it emerged that Clagett's accusers had come not from the Iraqi populace but from his own battalion — the tightly-knit and fiercely-loyal "band of brothers."
Clagett, along with Sgt. Raymond Girouard and Spc. William Hunsaker — all members of the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 3rd Battalion — have been accused of deliberately releasing three Iraqi men they had captured, in order to kill them.
Another soldier, Spc. Juston Graber, has admitted to carrying out the "mercy killing" of one of the detainees after the initial shooting.
The soldiers vigorously deny the charges, saying that they only fired after the Iraqis broke free and started to attack them.

Rules of Engagement: 'Kill All Military-Age Males'

The truth of what happened on that morning in May has become the subject of bitter dispute between former comrades.
The mission itself, like most combat tasks in remote areas of Iraq, was dangerous and intense.

Continued

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 09:01 AM

The 'Band of Brothers' Unravels (page two)

According to Clagett, the briefing was clear.

"I was told that we were going into an al Qaeda and an anti-Iraqi-force training area — and that when we were coming in, I was to expect fire," he said. "Before we got on the ground they were gonna shoot at the birds. They said we were gonna go in hot."

All four accused soldiers made a remarkable claim in their sworn affidavits. They said they received unusual but unequivocal rules of engagement for the task ahead. They said that they were given repeated and explicit orders to "kill all military-age males."

From his prison cell, Clagett explained how they prepared for the mission.

"We did rehearsals on the 8th of May and … it got passed down to my lieutenant commander and he told us," Clagett said. "And then my platoon leader and my lieutenant, he told us. Then the platoon sergeant told us. Then the squad leader told us. It was just relayed through chain of command."

And what were they told?

"We were told that everybody on this island was hostile," Clagget said. "They were known al Qaeda insurgents, and we're going to kill all military-aged males, so be prepared."

Martin Bashir: So you were told specifically to kill all military-aged males?

Pfc. Corey Clagget: Correct.

Bashir: Were you ever told on any other mission that you were to kill all military-aged males? Did that ever happen prior to this event?

Clagget: No.

Bashir: Never?

Clagget: Never.

When the soldiers first landed close to the Syrian border, they encountered no resistance whatsoever. The place seemed empty.

Eventually, they came upon a house where a man was looking out of the window. He was shot immediately.

They then advanced to a second property, where they found three men hiding, using women and children as human shields.

According to Clagget, the male detainees were eventually separated off and then had zip ties attached to their wrists. But as Clagget tried to reinforce their cuffs, he said he was attacked by one of the detainees.

"I just got blindsided on my left side, and I just got hit in the face," he said. "I spun around, staggered a little, spun around. I lost my vision … came back to, and I saw this guy running. And I just picked up right in between both of them and I just fired.

"He did hostile intent towards me," Clagett added, "because he just attacked me, and all that ran through my head for those couple of seconds. So I engaged his target. With his hostile intent, [this] gave me authorization to kill this guy. Then, I know for Hansaker, when I checked him out he was cut on the face and on the arm, and he received hostile action. So that gave him [the] right to kill that guy."

Continued

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 09:02 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 09:07 AM

The 'Band of Brothers' Unravels (page three -URL above)

For about four weeks after the incident in May, that was the account on record. But in July, an entirely different version of events was given after three soldiers swore new affidavits.

One of them, Sgt. Lemuel Lemus, a member of the 3rd Battalion, said that he witnessed a deliberate plot to kill the three Iraqis, and that the only cuts sustained by members of his division were self-inflicted in order to bolster their story. In his statement, he said that he didn't initially tell the truth because of "peer pressure, and I have to be loyal to the squad."

Lemus also recalled Clagget suffering a form of post-traumatic stress some days after the incident.

"Three days later, he told me he couldn't stop talking about it, as if it bothered him," Lemus said. "He was really stressed — because when he slept the few hours he did, he dreamed about it over and over."

ABC News put that allegation to Clagget during the telephone interview.

Bashir: Do you recall telling him that you couldn't stop thinking about the shooting, and that you felt ill as a result?

Clagget: Yes, I did.

Bashir: Why did you tell him that?

Clagget: Well, I mean human. I'm not one of these guys who is like, "Oh I killed someone." I felt bad, because even though he did attack me and I had a right to shoot him, I still felt bad because I had to take two guys' lives, and that affected me in my head because I am a really caring person. And with the thought of me killing two people, that hurt me. Even though it was for the right reason, it hurt me.

Bashir: Is it possible that you are really feeling deeply guilty about it and that's why you couldn't stop thinking about it?

Clagget: No I definitely did not feel guilty. I did not feel guilty because [of] what he did. I just acted accordingly of what he did to me — so, I mean, I just followed my original rule of engagement.

Other soldiers have also come forward to challenge Clagett's account. Graber, another member of the battalion and part of the May mission, said another accused soldier, Hunsaker, told him that he wanted to "kill the detainees." And Spc. Micah Bivins has said that "the cuts on Hunsaker's face were fishy and awkward. They could have been done with a paper clip," adding credence to the claim that the injuries were self-inflicted and part of a conspiracy.

Continued

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 09:09 AM

The 'Band of Brothers' Unravels
(page 4 of 4)

But there is one aspect of the division's conduct that both sides appear to agree on — that there is a competition between battalions as to how many Iraqis can be killed.

Bivins, in his statement responding to a question about whether the rules of engagement had anything to do with the large number of killings, said, "Yes, because there is a list. The high-value-target list has persons on it who are confirmed bad guys, and they are to be killed on sight, after confirmation it is actually them."

Again, ABC News put the question to Clagett.

Bashir: Is it true that amongst certain divisions of American personnel in Iraq there is a list, a tally, of how many high-value targets are killed in Iraq. Is that true?

Clagget: Yes, it is true.

Bashir: Do you think having a list like that is helpful? Doesn't that generate a sense of competition?

Clagget: Yes, it does. There pretty much was a competition. Everyone is saying there wasn't, but there was.

The tight cords that once maintained discipline and an absolute commitment to the division may have begun to unravel among the "band of brothers," and a court martial now awaits four of them.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Christine

09-04-2006, 09:46 AM

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 10:01 AM

Every war or conflict the U.S. has been involved in - attrocities have occured. Is it right, being a combat vet of Vietnam - no it isn't right but it happens. Most acts such as the above are never mentioned and some like Son My (Mai Lai) are brought to public attention like it never happened before. Combat soldiers are under a lot of stress and ones mind must change its values of upbringing in order to be effective and survive in such a climate.

I remember basic training and the constant yelling of the D.I. - What is the Spirit of the Bayonette and us trainees's yelled "TO KILL". And the beat went on. Cadence Songs like "I Want To Go To Vietnam - I want to Kill the Vietcong and quite a few more were ordinary practice for teaching the new G.I. on how to get a mind set for war. War sucks, its an activitee that one has to be there to understand and I mean front row.

After basic came AIT where one learnt that the Vietnamese were (excuse the racial slurs) gooks, dinks, slopes - less than human and why. So taking their lives would not be hard. They showed us Search and Destroy tactics, you got it burning the Vill with the ol' trusty zippo. They taught us an old woman, a youngster, any (Vietnamese) Slope (they called them the above racial slur to de-humanize them) could and will be your enemy. You practiced and learnt quick.

Then you hit the Nam and reality did set in fast. It was insane and in order to survive such insanity one must paticipate in these insane activitee's and let insanity enter ones mind. This took a toll on an individuals mind, more on some less on others but it did have an effect on all. You went into what used to be Vietnamese Villages that were hit by artillary or B-52 archlights and had to police up the remains which were not intact, but those explosives like our ammunition did not just seek the enemy. Beaucoup civilians were effected by such actions. This was not a rare or limitted episode, this was the life of a grunt in Viet Nam and you learned how to make your mind adjust to a "It Don't mean Nothin' attitude and this became part of your vocabulary quickly.

I think so holds true with the above 4 Brothers of the 101st Airborne Division. They were taught, drilled, coached and told that killing was sweet. Again, I do not condone these actions but understand how they could happen and did see such actions happen. Yes they did go a bit to far but one must look at the mindset and stress that these G.I.'S were under. I was taught by my late father and mother, do nt judge unless you walked a mile in ones shoes. I walked that mile but in a different time and country.

Should these G.I.'S be facing or thought to be facing the death penalty? I really do not think that making a scape goat out of these G.I.'s is going to clean any blood off of the Neocons hands. That is my true oppinion. Suppirting the Troops which so many said they truly did in this Fiasco means support, whether in victory or defeat and this is not a victory. I wonder how many made in China Yellow Ribbons are being sent in "SUPPORT" for these Troopers? Or is the American public just going to let them go down the drain like they showed in Vietnam and especially after the G.I. came back here.

See that "DDAP" on my signature? That stands for (and again excuse the racial slur) Dead Dinks Are Pacified, DDAP was on everything in my company and I use it to remind me of those insane times.

I really do not like to use this pulitzer winning news article from the Toledo Blade but think the above situation calls for it. [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 10:31 AM

The one thing that isn't being talked about, that is wreaking havoc on the health of our troops and the Iraq's is DEPLETED URANIUM...this is killing our troops slowly...a time bomb ticking. Iraqi's have suffered the effects for years with terrible rates of cancer and birth defects in their children. Our troops are breathing it too! An environmental disaster that will unfold in years to come. Our troops will pay a heavy price.

A piece written by my father in law....

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that Iraq, with a population of about 26 million, in the year 2000 had a total of 195,374 new cases of cancer and 126,677 cancer deaths, most of them children.

From 1990 to 1999, the cancer rate rose 242 percent in southern Iraq alone and birth defects increased tenfold.

Before the 1991 Gulf War, children made up 13 percent of cancer cases. By 2002, 56 percent of all cancer cases were in children under 5.

Of the 580,400 U.S. troops that served in the six-week Gulf War, 11,000 had died by the year 2000, and 325,000 are on permanent disability for physical or emotional injuries. Only 269 died in combat, while only 457 were wounded.

In 2001, I visited the Basra Children’s Hospital in Iraq. All rooms and hallways were overflowing with children dying from various forms of cancer. Many others were dying from diarrhea due to sewage-polluted water. Water refineries had been bombed during the war. The bombing of water treatment plants, power plants and the like are considered a war crime according to the UN.

The head doctor told us the children would all die because of U.S.-imposed sanctions. Due to the sanctions, medicine and parts to repair the water plants could not be obtained. He gave us dozens of pictures of the hundreds of deformed babies born in the area.

Here in the U.S., I have been in touch with Birth Defect Research for Children. This organization has compared the number of birth defects in children born to Gulf War veterans with the number for the average American family. Their research surveyed almost three dozen birth defects normally caused by exposure to radiation and revealed that babies born to the veteran parents had two to four times as many of certain specific defects.

What can be the cause of all these cancers and birth defects? Medical experts throughout the world agree that the depleted uranium used in our weapons and military equipment is responsible, despite U.S. officials’ claims that they have no idea as to the cause.

Starting in the 1960s, the U.S. government began investigating ways to utilize the countless thousands of tons of uranium left over from our atomic power plants and the manufacture of our atomic weapons. They mixed the uranium with other metals and cheaply produced the densest metal ever known. Put into everything from small artillery to the largest of bombs and into the armor of our tanks, it will penetrate almost anything.

But there is one enormous disadvantage. When the weapons or tanks explode, countless millions of dust-size toxic uranium particles are dispersed into the air, soil and water, to remain there for literally billions of years. Carried aloft by winds and sandstorms, even very small amounts inhaled by anyone are likely to result in various types of cancer.

The radioactive particles also directly affect the DNA and the reproductive system to create any of over 3,000 known birth defects.

At least 320 tons of depleted uranium were used in the Gulf War, mostly in southern Iraq.

Since 2003, we have used over 2,000 tons — over six times the amount used in 1991. Our troops, the innocent Iraqi people and the children not yet born are the victims of our government’s illegal and inhumane use of depleted uranium. Truly these are weapons of mass destruction.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Excellent post Christine, very strong and true. Like Agent Orange in Vietnam that was sprayed all over us, our water and food the government did not want to do anything until the law suit was on their shoulders.

Agent Orange is a Service Connected condition now for the Vietnam Vet that meets the criteria at the VAMC.

Agent Orange also effected the Vietnamese whose country it was sprayed on. Did the U.S. government do anything to help the Vietnamese people? Not a damn thing, nadda.

Gulf War Illness, Christine when that first started and those Gulf War Vets were coming to the VA'S with their complaints they were told its all in your head - hit the bricks. And this went on for some time. They had their victory parade, and yellow ribbon on the Tree displays - what more did they want. The VAMC did not want to here it and the majority of Americans could of cared less.

DU will have an effect on the G.I.'S of this war in a big way but they will get the VA' shuffle and drag until they unite and become one. Until then their voices will go unheard and conditions will worsen - That is my HO.

The Iraqi civilian will definately get the short end of the stick for our DU - for sure. Does anyone think our government that will push away the Veteran that is effected by DU will actually care about the Iraqi effected by it? If so, they believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny as well.

320 tons of DU in the Gulf War and 2000 tons in this "SHRIB" fiasco is quit a bit and will effect quit a few people in a large way.

Christine, check this link out- not about DU but Agent Orange and what we as a nation are doing to help the Vietnamese we sprayed it on.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975, but the scourge of dioxin contamination from a herbicide known as Agent Orange did not.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Tran Anh Kiet's deformities have been blamed on Agent Orange

I sure hope the DU exposure to the Iraqi people will not be the same as the above Christine.

Hang Tough~

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Christine

09-04-2006, 10:36 AM

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 10:16 PM

I know this is real Bammo. My sister-in-law, my brothers wife, is Vietnamese.
They go back twice a year so she can see her mother. They have been trying to get her mom here to see her first grandchild but she has been denied a visa...so they go to her. Can you imagine? She can't get into this country to see her first grandchild, born to her only child? She has told me much about her country...I know what you say is true.

I hear exactly what you are saying Christine and even though we did not win in Vietnam, the U.S. government never once said it lost. So why was nothing done for the civilian and future civilians of Vietnam that were sprayed and effected by our dioxin defoliant? Colin Powell said something on the "Pottery" effect about Iraq, you break it, you fix it. Well we broke plenty in Vietnam and made many suffer and die for nothing, why was the "Pottery Effect" not in place there? Colin Powell was a Nam Vet, a high ranking officer, Commander of the Americal Div. He knew what was happening in Vietnam and what had happened and the effects of what happened.

Check this out, Vietnam has resorts like this [Only registered and activated users can see links] - Wonder who is bankrolling these SOB'S and collecting beaucoup profits? Yet we cannot help the people that were effected by our poison that we sprayed.

Really kind of pathetic if you think about it, which does not take much thought at all.

Did we learn anything from the Nam except not helping innocent civilians and turning U.S.'S back on returning veterans and letting them shoulder the blame for a war which the U.S. government created and prolonged for purely economic reasons. The economy was booming during the Nam war, good paying jobs were plentiful, so why not sacrifice some innocent kids to fight some third world people who really do not mean much for the good of Uncle Sammy.

Sorry for the ranting, but the anger of Vietnam remains to this day as you can see.

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-04-2006, 10:26 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

On March 10, 2005 Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn Federal Court DISMISSED the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange against the chemical companies that produced the defoliants/herbicides that they knew were tainted with high level of dioxin. Judge Weinstein in his 233 page decision ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) ruled that the use of these chemicals during the war, although they were toxic, did not in his opinion fit the definition of 'chemical warfare' and therefore did not violate international law.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-07-2006, 04:52 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

480 names as of 9/6/06 - Read the list

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-07-2006, 05:17 PM

Video [Only registered and activated users can see links]
EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM

September 6, 2006

Depleted uranium, known as DU, is a highly dense metal that is the byproduct of the process during which fissionable uranium used to manufacture nuclear bombs and reactor fuel is separated from natural uranium. DU remains radioactive for about 4.5 billion years.

The_Bammo

09-08-2006, 03:49 PM

Five More Americans Die In Iraq

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
(September 4, 2006)--Four US military personnel are dead in three separate incidents in Iraq and the US military says another soldier has died of non-combat injuries.
Officials say two Marines died yesterday in Anbar province "as a result of enemy action."
They say a soldier from the 2nd Infantry Division died Saturday after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near the city of Mosul.
And Monday, the military says, a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb while conducting a convoy escort mission north of Baghdad.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
------------------------------------------

Lot of Info up there for those that have fallen for lies! If this is what the sheople of the U.S. calls support and caring - you see why I want no part of their fads and cliques.

Croc Dundee's death must of overshadowed these Americans deaths.

Time to ask, where do our priorities lie??

That above is real sorry - damn free-ken sorry. Those soldiers deserve more than that, makes one wonder who controls the press.

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-08-2006, 04:07 PM

Nine U.S. troops die in Iraq

By Associated Press
September 5, 2006
Updated 12:30 p.m.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven coalition soldiers have died in Iraq in the past 48 hours, including nine Americans and two Britons, the U.S.-led coalition reported.
All but one died in combat situations.
In other developments:
• A U.S. Army investigator has recommended that four U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division accused of raping a 14-year-old girl and of killing her and her family face a court-martial, a lawyer in the case has confirmed.
Col. Dwight Warren, the investigator in the case, said "reasonable grounds exist to believe that each of the accused committed the offense for which he is charged."
The report was given to lawyers in the case and obtained by the Associated Press from David Sheldon, the lawyer of one of the defendants.
• The bodies of 33 men were found scattered around various neighborhoods in Baghdad Monday, an Interior Ministry official said. All appeared to have been tortured, blindfolded and shot at close range.
• The Iraqi parliament voted today to extend a state of emergency for a month. The state of emergency has been in place for almost two years and grants security forces greater powers such as implementing curfews and making arrests without warrants.
• Iraqi soldiers clashed with gunmen near the holy city of Karbala during an operation to secure the area ahead of a religious festival Saturday, leaving 14 gunmen and one soldier dead, Iraqi officials said.
• The U.S. military command in Baghdad said four Marines, three Army soldiers and one sailor were killed in separate attacks over the past two days, while another American soldier died of noncombat injuries.
• Two U.S. Marines and the sailor were killed in fighting Monday in Iraq's restive Anbar province, the U.S. military command said today. All were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 and died "due to enemy action," the military said in a statement.
• A roadside bomb killed a soldier who was conducting a convoy escort mission north of Baghdad on Monday, the military said.
• A separate statement from the U.S. military in Balad also said a soldier with the 15th Sustainment Brigade died of noncombat injuries Monday.
• The military said two other Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 were killed Sunday in fighting in Anbar province, while a roadside bomb killed a soldier from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division near the northern city of Mosul.
• Another soldier, from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, the military said.
I• n the south, a roadside bomb killed two British soldiers and seriously wounded a third north of the city of Basra, said British military spokesman Maj. Charlie Burbridge.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

-------------

Okay they tell you 11 coaltion soldiers have died in the last 48 hours, 9 Americans - 2 Brits on top of this article.

Look under those words and see how the Neocon run press lays out the smoke to cover up the deaths. Unbelivable, but it is reality here in the land of the "SHRUB" and his NeoCon lacky's. That is truly a pure digrace for these soldiers that died for "SHRUB'S" lies!

Now 11 coalition soldiers died--9 Americans and 1 Brit -- you ever think how many were wounded or that is not a free-ken issue ??? Plus does anyone ever think or ask, how many wounded that were not reported in such a disgraceful manner died or lost limbs because of such wounds. Hell, you pay for it, shouldn't you know?

Seriously, how the hell do these azzholes get away with such disgraceful BS? Freedom of the press has turned into freedom of the NeoCon press!

Hang Tough~

BlueBerry Pick'n

09-08-2006, 04:13 PM

The_Bammo

09-09-2006, 10:49 AM

excuse me, but does ANYONE give a shit about the OTHER NATO forces?

hum?

I'm so sick of these "US this, US that" posts

your assholes lied to OUR assholes & OUR citizens are dying... but all I ever see with Americans is "oh gee, we're dying"

I hope that draft comes "& right soon"... I'm so sick of people presuming this has nothing to do with THEIR position...

Very good point Blueberry Pick'n - Our assholes lied to the world - agree, feel free to add anything in here that pertains to the subject on NATO forces deaths or wounds --

Blueberry Pick'n - to be honest with ya', never thought of what you posted above. Selfish American thinkin', thanks for the kick in the ass! LOL

Hang Tough~

The_Bammo

09-09-2006, 10:53 AM

Afghanistan deadlier for coalition troops than Iraq: study

Last Updated Thu, 07 Sep 2006 18:42:34 EDT

CBC News ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

NATO soldiers fighting in Afghanistan face a higher risk of being killed than the U.S.-led international forces that invaded Iraq in 2003, a British statistician says.
Sheila Bird, the vice-president of Britain's Royal Statistical Society, said in the Sept. 9 issue of New Scientist magazine that she made the conclusion after analyzing casualty rates and the number of soldiers deployed on each mission.
Bird said the risk to the NATO forces fighting militants in Afghanistan — including more than 2,000 Canadian troops — is approaching the level faced by the then-Soviets, who abandoned their war there in 1989 after 10 years.
Five of the approximately 18,500 soldiers in the NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been killed every week since May, she said.
That's more than twice the level during the battles to control Iraq, Bird calculated.
"The analysis shows that troops are fighting one of the fiercest campaigns since the Bush administration's 'war on terror' began in 2001," Bird says in an extract from the article that was published early on the magazine's website.
Officials don't give 'true picture' of deaths
More than 18,500 troops from 37 nations make up NATO's deployment in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which took over control of the coalition forces in the summer from the United States. The United States also has about 15,000 soldiers in the country.
Canada alone has lost 32 soldiers in Afghanistan since it deployed troops there in 2002. Twenty-four of those died in 2006: 19 were killed by militants — through roadside bombs, suicide bombers or firefights — while accidents or misdirected fire from allies killed the rest. As well, a diplomat died in a suicide attack.
But Bird says in the article that she suspects the casualty figures issued by the U.S., British and Canadian governments "do not give a true picture of the risks coalition forces face, because they do not reveal fatalities as a proportion of the forces deployed."
"The commentary we are getting from politicians about this conflict does not do justice to the threat our forces now face in Afghanistan," she told the magazine.
She calculated that for every 1,000 NATO soldiers, 14 were dying each year.
Britain, which has about 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, is losing them annually at a rate of 11 per 1,000, she said.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The_Bammo

09-09-2006, 10:59 AM

Four Canadian troops killed
Military reports casualties in Afghanistan
Donald McArthurCanWest News Service
Sunday, September 03, 2006

Canadian soldiers in a LAV-3 Saturday afternoon. Troops took the village of Panjwaii with little resistance and set up an artillery battery on the banks of the Arghandab River so they could soften up the enemy in Zhari disrict before taking the battle there.KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Four Canadian soldiers were killed Sunday and several more wounded in fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan, Canadian forces officials confirmed during a news conference.
Sunday's casualties increase to 12 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since Aug. 3.
The identities of two of the soldiers were released -- Warrant Officers Richard Francis Nolan and Frank Robert Mellish of CFB Petawawa. They served with the first batallion of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
The other two names were being withheld temporarily at the request of the families.
Brig. Gen David Fraser said there were no reports of civilian casualties, but he noted Taliban casualties were high.
"More than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since the beginning of Operation Medusa early Saturday morning," he said.
It is believed nine Canadian soldiers were wounded in Sunday's fighting.
"All but one of the wounded are expected to return to their duties within the next few days," Fraser said.
Despite these losses, Operation Medussa will continue," he said.
Fraser said Canada is committed to helping the people of Afghanistan.
"We will continue to support them until such time as the Taliban threat is gone," Fraser said.
"We will continue operations here. We are making good progress."
A total of 31 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since 2002.
The first Canadian casualties happened in April 2002, when an American fighter pilot mistakenly dropped a bomb on Canadian troops engaging in live-fire exercises, killing four soldiers and wounding several others.
The incident -- the first time Canadian troops suffered casualties in combat operations since the Korean War -- happened just a few months after Canadian troops arrived to support the United States and Great Britain's ouster of the Taliban regime.
Last winter, a Canadian battle group of about 2,200 soldiers headed to Afghanistan to take over military operations in Kandahar from the United States.
Before the deployment, Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, had toured Canada, stressing the dangers of the mission.
Canadian troops were going to face combat in Afghanistan, Hillier warned, and casualties were not only possible, but probable.
Among those who have died was Glyn Berry, a British-born Canadian diplomat who had served with the Foreign Affairs Department since 1977. He was killed in a suicide bombing near Kandahar in January.
Capt. Nichola Goddard, an artillery officer based in Shilo, Man., was the first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in a combat role. She was killed in a Taliban ambush in the Panjwai region.

© CanWest News Service 2006

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Christine

09-09-2006, 04:03 PM

Blu...I always think about the Iraqi's being slaughtered...and the ones who will be in the future due to unexploded cluster bombs and DU amongst other things. I realize other troops from other countries have been killed but I guess we as Americans are coming from the perspective of OUR government lying and the expense to US as a country....Italians hold their own government accountable for signing on...as does Spain and Brittain in a very big way this last week. Other countries sent troops and pulled them out. As an American I grieve any loss of life but it is only within my control to push for bringing OUR troops home. I don't think anyone in any other country still remaining in the "coalition of the willing" gives a shit about what I think about this mess. We all have our tribe, you know?

BlueBerry Pick'n

09-10-2006, 11:00 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links] now that we've got your attention... :poking:

:tank: INDEPTH: AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan: Timeline of Canada's involvement ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

O'Connor wants answers over friendly fire killing ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Published: Thursday, September 07, 2006

OTTAWA ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) - Warning against any rush to judgment that smacks of anti-Americanism ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said he wants to know whether pilot error or a larger systemic failure led to Monday's friendly fire killing of a Canadian soldier by a U.S. warplane.

..... O'Connor said he has confidence a U.S. military board of inquiry on which Canadian observers have been invited to participate will determine what led to Monday's strafing of Canadian positions by two American A-10 bombers that killed 33-year-old Pte. Mark Anthony Graham and wounded dozens of his comrades.
....
Four Canadian troops were killed by an American F-16 blast in April 2002 near Kandahar Air Field.

An American pilot, who was later found guilty of dereliction of duty and fined, had mistaken the Canadian troops for Taliban fighters.

O'Connor said Canadians should resist the temptation to ''rush to judgment'' in the current case, even though it is the second friendly fire fatality involving American planes.

[Only registered and activated users can see links] Layton slams Harper as Bush's 'cheerleader' after NDP endorsement
Last Updated Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:03:14 EDT, CBC News

Jack Layton accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of being U.S. President George W. Bush's "cheerleader," as the federal NDP leader accepted an overwhelming leadership mandate from his party's faithful.

Layton, who received a 92 per cent approval rating from party delegates Sunday, mentioned the U.S. president at least five times in his closing address to the NDP's policy convention in Quebec City.

"He's become a cheerleader for President George Bush and he's leading Canada down the wrong track on every issue that matters to ordinary people," Layton said.

Canadians in intense battle as anti-Taliban operation heats up
Last Updated Fri, 08 Sep 2006 15:15:31 EDT, CBC News ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

American and British airplanes offered support Friday as Canadian and Afghan troops exchanged heavy fire with Taliban fighters in a major battle west of Kandahar.

The troops are on the front lines in NATO ([Only registered and activated users can see links])'s Operation Medusa ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), a large-scale offensive aimed at driving Taliban fighters from their strongholds in southern Afghanistan.

A two-day lull in Operation Medusa appeared to be over, said CBC reporter Carolyn Dunn, who is about a kilometre from the front lines, along the border between the Panjwaii ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) and Zhari ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) districts about 40 kilometres west of Kandahar ([Only registered and activated users can see links]).

British Harrier fighter jets, American A-10 Thunderbolts and Apache attack helicopters were offering "spectacular" air support to the Canadian and Afghan fighters, Dunn said.

The sound of heavy automatic gunfire could also be heard, likely from Canadian light armoured vehicles ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), she said.

Lt.-Col. Nick Grant-Thorold, a NATO officer in Afghanistan, said NATO forces killed up to 30 Taliban fighters Friday during the operation. NATO says it has killed 290 Taliban fighters since the operation started on Sunday.

Taliban representatives have denied the number is that high.

Panjwaii has been a hotbed of Taliban activity in southern Afghanistan. It's the location where four Canadians were killed in a battle with the Taliban on Sunday, and where another Canadian was killed Monday when two U.S. jets mistakenly fired on his platoon.

NATO calls for more support

The fight against the Taliban was expected to dominate the agenda as top generals from the 26 NATO countries met for two days of talks in Warsaw starting Friday.

The meetings were to be chaired by NATO's chief military advisor, Canadian Gen. Ray Henault, while Canada is represented by its chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier.

NATO's supreme allied commander, U.S. Gen. James Jones, acknowledged Thursday that the alliance has been surprised by the "level of intensity" of Taliban attacks, but said he believes the mission is entering a decisive phase.

"In the relatively near future, certainly before the winter, we will see this decisive moment in the region turn in favour of the troops that represent the government," Jones said Thursday at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium.

He added that the goal is to "destroy" Taliban fighters before they head back into the mountains with the onset of winter in the next few weeks.

Jones commended Canada for the more than 2,000 troops currently fighting in southern Kandahar and the thousands who have served in the country since 2002.

:fighting0044[1]: Jones said he'll make a special appeal " to nations in general" during the meeting.

"We will put a special appeal out to nations who have not contributed as much, who have the capacity to do more, but I think Canada has given very, very generously," he told CBC News.

(CBC)
More than 2,000 new troops wanted

NATO officials say they have 85 per cent of the total resources promised at the beginning of the Afghan mission, and need that missing 15 per cent to finish the job.

About 18,500 military personnel from 37 countries are currently serving under the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, according to the ISAF website.

However, some countries have contributed troops to the ISAF mission under very specific rules of engagement. For example, it would take an act of parliament before German troops could join in the fight in the south.

Lt.-Col. Nick Grant-Thorold, a NATO officer in Afghanistan, said Friday that the commanding officer is pleased with the force, but that a larger force would be welcomed.

"If he has more troops, he can do things more quickly," said Grant-Thorold.

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor agreed Thursday that Canada is shouldering more than its share in Afghanistan and said he'd be surprised if Canada was asked to do more.

Five Canadian soldiers have been killed since Operation Medusa started on Sunday. Since the mission started four years ago, 31 soldiers and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan.

With files from the Associated Press

Aug. 8, 2006:
The new chief of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Lt.-Gen. David Richards ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), urges Canada not to waver in the battle. The NATO commander says the Canadians who have died in Afghanistan have "died for as good a cause as I can think of." ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
:door: