I guess war advocates forgot about WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and chose to remember Granada, Panama, and the 1991 Gulf War. Remember Saddam Hussein telling Dan Rather that the US would come to rue the day it invaded Iraq? Invading and occupying their land predictably led to a resistance movement that won't abate until we leave. Also, it was entirely predictable that many returning U.S. soldiers would be traumatized. These consequences were entirely to be expected. War also leads to inflation. Presidents Ford and Carter struggled with inflation in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. So get ready for more dead U.S. soldiers, more PTSD, more terrorism unless we leave Iraq lock, stock, and barrel (NO PERMANENT BASES), and, to add to our hangover, an inflationary economy.
Iraq 7/29/05 - 2nd report:
An Oasis away from war HonoluluAdvertizer.com
For combat-weary Marines, each stint adds to the strain (USA Today) By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY - RAMADI, Iraq -- The day the Marines crossed into Iraq, Cpl. James Welter Jr. killed his first man. During his second combat tour, he earned a commendation for leadership skills and coolness under fire, but he brought a nightmare home. Now, with six weeks left in his third fighting tour, his goal is simple. He hopes to survive.
Suicide Bomber Kills Iraqi Army Volunteers Suicide Bomber Kills Iraqi Army Volunteers
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
A suicide bomber wearing a belt of explosives blew himself up among Iraqi army volunteers in a town near the Syrian border Friday, killing as many as 25 people. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility.
Police and army recruits have been a recurrent target of the Iraqi insurgency; on Friday, the U.S. military said insurgents also killed two Marines. The deaths brought to 11 the number of U.S. fatalities this week -- eight of them in combat.
The suicide bomber was "a portly young man carrying a bag in his hand and heading toward us," said Rashid Hamed, who went to volunteer for the army because "I didn't have a job and wanted to make some money."
"I don't remember anything else but waking up in the hospital," Hamed, who was wounded in the attack, said from a hospital bed.
Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Saeed Ahmed and hospital officials said 25 people were killed and 35 wounded in the attack. U.S. authorities put the toll at 10 dead and 21 injured.
An Internet statement posted in the name of Internet Al-Qaida in Iraq said the group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi carried out the attack in Rabiah, a town 230 miles north of Baghdad.
Soldiers From Oshkosh, Fond Du Lac Killed In Iraq Milwaukee (WI) WISN 42 Wisconsin Soldiers Killed In Iraq To Date
POSTED: 6:51 pm CDT July 29, 2005
UPDATED: 6:58 pm CDT July 29, 2005
Two soldiers from Wisconsin -- one a father of two, the other a football fan -- were killed in the war in Iraq this week, friends and the U.S. Defense Department said Friday.
Army Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky, 28, of Oshkosh, died Wednesday in Al Taqaddum, Iraq, after his vehicle was accidentally struck by another military vehicle, the Pentagon said. Jansky was assigned to the Army Reserve's 983rd Engineer Battalion in Monclova, Ohio.
Army Spc. John O. Tollefson, 22, of Fond du Lac, was one of two soldiers killed Wednesday by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Iraq, family friend Ed Hammer said. The Defense Department did not immediately release any information about Tollefson's death.
So far, 42 soldiers or Marines from Wisconsin have been killed in Iraq among the more than 1,700 U.S. troops who have died since coalition forces invaded the country in March 2003.
U.S. Rep. Price says Iraq policy undermines public trust Elizabeth City (NC) Daily Advance U.S. Rep. Price says Iraq policy undermines public trust
RALEIGH, N.C. -- (AP)- A North Carolina congressman said Friday that the country was "overdue for a major course correction" in an Iraq policy that has made some Americans distrustful of what they hear about the war.
"A careful reading of the President's Fort Bragg speech of June 28 reveals a shift in emphasis from standing up an independently functioning democracy to preventing Iraq from becoming a basing point for international terrorism," Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said during a speech on the House floor.
The American effort in Iraq is falling short of what will be necessary for Iraq to achieve self-rule, Price said.
"In the last two weeks insurgent attacks have intensified again, killing more than 200 people in Baghdad and towns to the south. Last weekend we read of gunmen ambushing a wedding party, killing the bride and wounding the groom, apparently because of his Iraqi army affiliation -- a heart-wrenching account that underscores the insurgents' brutality and their continuing ability to launch lethal attacks," Price said.
The congressman said Iraqi police, security forces and the military officer corps aren't ready to take over duties.
Price pointed out that the United States has made gains in rebuilding bridges, roads and railways, repairing the seaport and installing communications, but Iraq still is generating only enough power for 12 hours a day of electricity and oil production is just 80 percent of prewar levels.
The top five problems Iraqis identified in an April survey were inadequate electricity, unemployment, health care, crime, and national security, Price said. All were significant indicators that major reconstruction is still needed, Price said.
Other countries have withdrawn their troops from the region, deteriorating the coalition that had been assembled, Price said.
"American casualties number 13,657, including 1,790 deaths," he said. "Of these, 1,653 deaths have occurred since President Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to proclaim major combat operations successfully concluded."
July 29, 2005 - 6:14 p.m.
Report says US fails to meet reconstruction goals in Iraq, Afghanistan (Xinhuanet).
U.S. military death toll in Iraq now 1791
Iraq Coalition Casualty Count