2 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq

The press chooses not to report on the IED's, RPGs, and enemies removed from the streets daily ~ thanks to the daily, dangerous and successful work of our troops (with the help of the Iraqi people). Measured against the daily attacks on the Coalition, there is no question who's more capable, welcome in Iraq ~ and winning. Through the enemy press filter, even Freepers who should know better fall for the daily drip, drip of negativity from our press ~ as they embolden our enemies with false hopes, and endanger our troops daily.

That daily drip is blood spilling from my comrades in arms, the men that I served with for 22 years. Don't you dare presume that this is just negative news unless you want to pick up a rifle and stand a watch.

Now, with that being said, here are some observations and suggestions:

The current situation is a coordinated effort not just in Iraq but around the world. Witness the terrorist bombing in Bali against Australians; the bombing of the Italian headquarters in Iraq; the bombing of British assests in Turkey; and the latest, the assassination of seven members of Spanish intelligence. These are not random events, they are meant to drive a wedge between the us and our allies so that we end up going it alone. (Already Japan and Turkey have pulled their troops out).
100,000 service members is far to little to make any sort of headway against this enemy. During the 80s we made a conscious decision to invest in technology to defeat a committed enemy. Against the Soviet Union it works, against an insurgent campaign it doesn't (witness the battle for Stalingrad during WWII, the German superiority in technology was negated by snipers who terrorized the Wermacht and held them at bay until lend lease kicked in and provided the Russians with equal firepower). We need about 10 times the amount of manpower that we currently have on the ground right now to search every hidey-hole, sit on every active area and smoke out the insurgents and Saddam. (The precedent is Vietnam, where one battalion commander got so fed up with the tunnel system employed by the VC that he posted his entire battalion on one tunnel hole. In thirty days his unit captured or killed all of the VC in the area and pacified the region)
The President has to ask for sacrifice, real sacrifice, from the American people. That means two things, our fathers, husbands, and sons who are of fighting age and the rest of the American people to pony up for the cost. That means higher KIAs on the battlefield and higher taxes here. If we could do it during WWII, then we can do it now. Did I mention this is a World War?

Finally, quit blaming the media for all the woes out there, most of the men and women out there are trying to do a good job and they don't have weapons to fire back. Unless, we pressure our elected representatives into action this will become Vietnam redux where we won all the battles but lost the war.

Our way of life is in the balance.

Here's what it takes (and it's about time):

U.S. Forces Kill 46 Iraqis in Clashes in Central City By REUTERS IKRIT, Iraq, Nov 30 (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers killed 46 Iraqis and captured eight in a series of attempted ambushes on U.S. convoys in the central Iraqi city of Samarra on Sunday, a U.S. military spokesman said. "The fourth infantry division repelled multiple ambush attacks," Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald told reporters. At least 18 attackers, five U.S. soldiers and a civilian travelling with the troops were wounded during the ambushes. "The attacks were coordinated in locations very close to each other," he said, adding that the ambushes were made on separate U.S. convoys using mortars, grenades and small arms fire. Three buildings, from whose roofs the attackers fired, were destroyed. Some of the attackers wore the attire of Fedayeen, a militia formed by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before U.S.-led forces toppled him earlier this year. The Fedayeen are among the former regime loyalists whom Washington has said are coordinating a rising insurgency against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. "This is the largest (ambush) for our task force since we've been in the area," MacDonald said. He declined to say whether the coordinated ambushes were linked to attacks on civilian foreign nationals in the Tikrit-Samarra area in the last two days.

I never meant to make light of the sacrifices of those serving, or show them any disrespect, that is a promise.

Just the opposite.

Yes, I do blame the enemy press for the death of our Soldiers.

Yes, I've been following them closely, daily, since March 19th, and am familiar with the similar game planned used by the press to undermine morale and misinform the world during Vietnam.

I am not very rational about our free (thanks to our troops past and present) press, admittedly.

I am not saying that real problems shouldn't be continually addressed, or that the powers that be shouldn't be doing everything possible to protect our troops, or that the death of a Soldier should ever be minimized.

I apologize for giving you that impression.

I have nothing but love and deep respect for those choosing to serve.

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