← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · xmetalhead
Thread ID: 19404 | Posts: 16 | Started: 2005-08-03
2005-08-03 12:18 | User Profile
[I]Just another day in the Desert of Death for Americans who shouldn't be there in the first place....... 7 killed yesterday, 14 today, how many more will die for a hideous lie?[/I]
[B][SIZE=4]14 Marines, interpreter killed in western Iraq[/SIZE][/B]
[B]Deadly incident comes after Marine sniper teams ambushed in same town[/B] [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8797271/[/url] NBC News and news services Updated: 7:42 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fourteen U.S. Marines and a civilian interpreter were killed Wednesday in western Iraq, the U.S. command said.
The Marines, assigned to Regimental Combat Team-2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed in action early Wednesday when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, the military said. One Marine was wounded.
The incident occurred during combat operations just outside of Haditha, which is 140 miles northwest of Baghdad and along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border.
The Marines were in an amphibious assault vehicle, which are used in Iraq to cross bodies of water like the Euphrates.
Names of those killed are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.
6 killed in earlier incident News of Wednesday's attack follows the U.S. military's announcement Tuesday that six Marines had been killed in action in a separate incident in Haditha on Monday. The Marines were also assigned to Regimental Combat Team-2 of the 2nd Marine Division.
Masked gunmen showed up in Haditha's public market Monday afternoon displaying helmets, flak jackets and other equipment they said were taken from the bodies of the dead Marines.
A seventh Marine was killed by a car bomb in Hit, 50 miles southeast of Haditha.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in Haditha, Hit and other dusty towns along the Euphrates River as American forces step up efforts to seal off the approaches to the Syrian border and prevent foreign fighters from entering the country.
Haditha is in Iraq's Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency and has been one of the deadliest regions for U.S. forces since they invaded in March 2003. The towns of Fallujah and Ramadi are also in Anbar.
At least 1,815 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,396 died as a result of hostile action. The figures include five military civilians.
2005-08-03 15:45 | User Profile
This would have been huge news during the "mission accomplished" stage of the war. Now it's just everyday statistics. The official death toll is going over 2,000 soon (and this is probably strictly "combat" deaths).
2005-08-03 16:39 | User Profile
Nothing to worry about guys, we are winning the war, the economy is doing great and we will stop the illegals.......or I am not President Bush.
:gunsmilie <------Ponce dos pistolas.
2005-08-04 08:35 | User Profile
XM,
I briefly listen to Limbaugh today. He was bitching about this, not the way you and I would, but bitching about the "liberal media". He wanted to know why they were [B]even reporting this[/B] and he conclude it was simply to make Bush look bad. From his tone it was obvious that if he and others had their way they would put a lid on all reporting save that they wanted to do. With people like that, out of sight, out of mind.
Later, I watched O'Reilly. It is bad indeed when reality intrudes on "The Factor". He had on Col. David Hunt and LTC Cowan, both retired that have been over there and up to Ft. Fumble. (Pentagon) After all the boiler plate about what a fine job the troops were doing and how we can win, (Hunt says in seven years) they went on to say that things weren't going any better and had actually gotten worse. All these Iraqis forces the US has been training for the last two years are still unfit for duty save two battalions. I've been hearing about those two battalions (one is Kurdish, maybe both) for the last year and a half as being the only people they can count on from reputable sources. Bill stated the Iraqis need to get it together in six months. It isn't going to happen. While attacks like occurred over the last two weeks run in cycles, it appears that things are as one of his guest put it, "on a steep glide path." [IMG]http://www.antiwar.com/photos/perm/bush-jail.jpg[/IMG]
2005-08-07 19:32 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]XM, All these Iraqis forces the US has been training for the last two years are still unfit for duty save two battalions. I've been hearing about those two battalions (one is Kurdish, maybe both) for the last year and a half as being the only people they can count on from reputable sources. Bill stated the Iraqis need to get it together in six months. It isn't going to happen. While attacks like occurred over the last two weeks run in cycles, it appears that things are as one of his guest put it, "on a steep glide plane." [/QUOTE] Arabs, and I think this derives from cultural issues, suck at being modern professional miliatary sorts. If they were any good at it, they'd have overrun Israel in 1973 or before. Saddam's progressive "modernization" of Iraq was an anomaly. Gee, who did we get rid of? The Ba'athists, the core of who made Saddam's army one of the best in the region. Ya know, the top team in AA ball.
So says their track record.
The "get it together" requirement lays an insane burden on the "train the trainer" folks. Something about silk purses and sows' ears, considering how most of the militarily competent folks we either killed or declared outlaw in the spring of 2003.
Oh, and is Al Douri caught yet? I hadn't heard he's been found . . . he was high in "the deck."
AE
2005-08-07 19:43 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Oh, and is Al Douri caught yet?[/QUOTE] AE,
No. I don't think anyone even remembers him. Interestingly enough, I understand he is considered some sort of fool by the Iraqis. I wonder if this is the case?
Arabs are better at irregular warfare/light cavalry operations, it appears. Bush and company would have done well to have ignored Chalabi and kept the Iraqi army intact. It would have denied the guerrillas a ready source of trained personel.
2005-08-07 20:26 | User Profile
We are training those who are fighting against us.
36% of those Iraqis that we are training either belong to the freedom fighters or change sides after they see what the US are doing to their country, as time goes by the 36% figure will go higher.
I have read in a couple of places that the Israelis are helping the Iraqiis fight the US by giving them info. This is something that I can not believe with out more confirmation.
We lost the war against Iraq even before we started it.
2005-08-08 00:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE]
I have read in a couple of places that the Israelis are helping the Iraqiis fight the US by giving them info. This is something that I can not believe with out more confirmation.
[/QUOTE] I am not trying to sound like some nutty conspiracy theorist here, but this does make sense and is not neccessarily something I believe without a doubt, but it is certainly possible. The reason they would be helping the iraqis would not have anything to do with actually helping the insurgents, freedom fighters, whatever you want to call them. If the iraqis are able to keep pulling off terrorist attacks and killing americans,etc. that is going to keep many people in a state where they are going to continue seeing a need for the iraqi war(evil terrorists killing american soldiers,etc), and future wars. In effect, they would "help" the Iraqis for the same types of reasons they would(and probably did) help the 9/11 terrorists, it is good for Israel. this could possibly backfire, however.
2005-08-08 01:25 | User Profile
[QUOTE=starr]I am not trying to sound like some nutty conspiracy theorist here, but this does make sense and is not neccessarily something I believe without a doubt, but it is certainly possible. The reason they would be helping the iraqis would not have anything to do with actually helping the insurgents, freedom fighters, whatever you want to call them. If the iraqis are able to keep pulling off terrorist attacks and killing americans,etc. that is going to keep many people in a state where they are going to continue seeing a need for the iraqi war(evil terrorists killing american soldiers,etc), and future wars. In effect, they would "help" the Iraqis for the same types of reasons they would(and probably did) help the 9/11 terrorists, it is good for Israel. this could possibly backfire, however.[/QUOTE] Seeing as we're swapping conspiracy theories, there's also a chance that in spite of all the neo-con puffery about "democratizing the Middle East" that Israel actually favours a weak and fragmented Iraq crippled by prolonged civil war, over a stable and united democratic Iraq that could potentially pose a threat to Israel's interests in the future.
2005-08-08 01:42 | User Profile
[QUOTE=RowdyRoddyPiper]Seeing as we're swapping conspiracy theories, there's also a chance that in spite of all the neo-con puffery about "democratizing the Middle East" that Israel actually favours a weak and fragmented Iraq crippled by prolonged civil war, over a stable and united democratic Iraq that could potentially pose a threat to Israel's interests in the future.[/QUOTE] I would agree. There are a few different benefits Israel could see in "helping" the insurgency.
2005-08-08 02:21 | User Profile
Not only do US soldiers need to be pulled out of Iraq, but those who are due to be sent there should desert. They took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the US, not to invade Iraq. Now that everyone knows the lines about WMDs were all BS (it was actually obvious even before the invasion), no one has ANY duty to risk one hair on his head for the damn Judeocon swindlers.
As I wrote on another thread, there would be nothing cowardly or dishonorable about soldiers going AWOL at this point. The dishonor and cowardice is solely on the part of the politicians and senior military officials who are using the US military for a purpose that has nothing whatsoever to do with US national security.
The soldiers have NO DUTY to be in Iraq unless someone there is a danger to the US Constitution. And we all know that the only real danger to the US Constitution is the US government.
2005-08-10 13:33 | User Profile
[COLOR=DarkRed]Add 'em up Geee Dubya, duh, yea you Zionist stooge who can't even perform basic math....that makes 43 DEAD US soldiers in 10 days of August 2005. Um Houston, we have a problem....... [/COLOR]
[SIZE=5][B]Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq[/B][/SIZE]
By BASSEM MROUE [URL=http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050810%2F0623194546.htm&sc=1107&photoid=20050809BAG209&ewp=ewp_news_0805iraq_pullout&floc=NW_1-T]Link for Whole Story[/URL]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - [B]Four U.S. soldiers were killed and six others wounded Tuesday when insurgents attacked their patrol in the northern city of Beiji. One U.S. soldier died in a suicide car bomb attack in [/B] Baghdad, officials said.
The 10 Task Force Liberty soldiers were on patrol when they came under attack late Tuesday in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, a military statement said Wednesday.
A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. convoy waiting at an intersection Tuesday in Baghdad, killing seven people - including one American soldier - and wounding more than 90. More than a dozen others died in scattered attacks across the capital.
Also, a U.S. Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Division was killed Monday by small-arms fire in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The deaths brought the number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq this month to at least 32.
2005-08-10 15:25 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius] Arabs are better at irregular warfare/light cavalry operations, it appears. Bush and company would have done well to have ignored Chalabi and kept the Iraqi army intact. It would have denied the guerrillas a ready source of trained personel.[/QUOTE] That is most certainly the case, but they opted for de-Baathification. Anyone who had served in the Baathist regime was considered a de facto thought criminal. Yet another example of the supremacy of ideology over common sense in the Bush administration.
2005-08-18 13:29 | User Profile
[SIZE=5][COLOR=Red]Roadside bomb kills four U.S. soldiers in Iraq[/COLOR][/SIZE]Attack follows blasts that killed 43 in apparent attempt to stoke civil war BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in the tense, religiously mixed Iraqi city of Samarra, the U.S. military said.
Samarra, located 60 miles north of Baghdad, is among a series of towns and cities in central and western Iraq which fell into insurgent hands last year after the United States transferred sovereignty to the Iraqis. U.S. forces regained control last year but the situation there remains uncertain.
The military released no further details.
The attack came a day after three car bombs exploded near a bus station and hospital in Baghdad, killing at least 43 people and wounding scores in the deadliest attacks in the capital in weeks, police said. Survivors searched charred buses and cars for signs of relatives.
[SIZE=4][COLOR=Red]Afghan blast kills 2 GIs, wounds 2 others[/COLOR][/SIZE] Explosion hits armored vehicle in Kandahar province
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded in Afghanistanââ¬â¢s restive southern province of Kandahar on Thursday when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle, the U.S. military said.
The vehicle was part of a convoy supporting a road construction project, the U.S. military said in statement.
[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8995278/[/url]
ââ¬ÅThese terrorists are attacking the very forces working to improve Afghanistan,ââ¬Â said Brigadier-General Jack Sterling, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
2005-08-18 13:37 | User Profile
[I]Well over 60 US killed in the month of August. More US dead in Afghanistan. Gee Dubya's on a 5 week vacation.[/I]
[SIZE=5][COLOR=Red]Roadside bomb kills four U.S. soldiers in Iraq[/COLOR][/SIZE] Attack follows blasts that killed 43 in apparent attempt to stoke civil war
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in the tense, religiously mixed Iraqi city of Samarra, the U.S. military said.
Samarra, located 60 miles north of Baghdad, is among a series of towns and cities in central and western Iraq which fell into insurgent hands last year after the United States transferred sovereignty to the Iraqis. U.S. forces regained control last year but the situation there remains uncertain.
The military released no further details.
The attack came a day after three car bombs exploded near a bus station and hospital in Baghdad, killing at least 43 people and wounding scores in the deadliest attacks in the capital in weeks, police said. Survivors searched charred buses and cars for signs of relatives.
[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8977791/[/url]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=Red]Afghan blast kills 2 GIs, wounds 2 others[/COLOR][/SIZE] Explosion hits armored vehicle in Kandahar province
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded in Afghanistanââ¬â¢s restive southern province of Kandahar on Thursday when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle, the U.S. military said.
The vehicle was part of a convoy supporting a road construction project, the U.S. military said in statement.
[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8995278/[/url]
ââ¬ÅThese terrorists are attacking the very forces working to improve Afghanistan,ââ¬Â said Brigadier-General Jack Sterling, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
2005-08-18 14:07 | User Profile
Of course what gets lost in [I]43 dead, including four US soldiers [/I] is the 39 dead Iraqis. From everything I've seen to date the death toll is about 10:1, Iraqis to Americans. And that's just the 'insurgency'.
This is always the problem when you insist on prying open Pandora's box: no closing it now. By bringing 'democracy' to the Middle East, we've given extremists all over the Arab world carte blanche to a prize plum they could have [I]never[/I] squeezed under Hussein's rule. It's kill one, get one free: for every Iraqi killed in these 'insurgency' attacks, another one is realizing it's [I]join the insurgency or die.[/I] Because even the most backwards goatherd understands that sooner or later the approach of Election Day will signal the Americans to go home - not this one, but possibly next year's, or the one after that - and then the [I]real [/I] bloodbath will begin. And nobody wants to die for a 'principle' not even the occupying liberators believe in.
We should all be paying close attention to this 'insurgency' with or without quotation marks. Because, ugly or not...[I]this is how you defeat Leviathan[/I] nowadays.