130 KILLED IN IRAQ - REPORTS (Not confirmed by other sources- report seems incorrect)

Sky News ^ | Tuesday, April 6, 2004

[kristinn]

A Pentagon source has said up to 130 US troops have been killed in fierce fighting in Iraq.

The large scale battle, described as "intense", has taken place in the town of Ar Ramadi, 20 miles west of Fallujah.

Sky News' David Chater said: "None of this is official yet - none of it is confirmed."

But he added: "It sounds very much like this is being carried out by men who are militarily trained."

Chater described the attack as "highly sophisticated".

More follows...

[Not A Snowbird]

Stresses the importance of taking the drills seriously, even if you're normally just a "desk jockey"

I was a "desk jockey" for 21 years. I still had to qualify with the M16 and the pistol, just in case the CP was overrun. Never crossed my mind that I might get yanked out of my tent to go engage in offensive combat, though. I bet they're getting quite a shock.

[jwalsh07]

"In the radio interview, Kerry also said it was not wise for U.S. officials to try to arrest Muqtada al-Sadr, an anti-American cleric, without taking other steps to control violence in Iraq." John Kerry, Candidate for Appeaser in Chief

[Poohbah]

Every Marine is a rifleman: they take that very seriously. You wouldn't want to let your USMC clerk/riflemen miss their chance on the firing line, would you?

Hitting a USMC Division or Wing HQ is roughly equivalent to taking on a US Army light infantry battalion.

In short, it's pretty stupid, unless you've got firepower equal to a light infantry regiment.

[templar]

The US is facing the entire will and motivation of the entire leadership of the Islamic world.

Probably not. This is just a minor, but significant, effort by some Islamic leaders to establish themselves for future actions. If and when the Islamic world unites it's will, things will get quite interesting: They're way too divided now to do anything major (yet).

[jerry639]

How anyone could rejoice because our soldiers are being killed is beyond me. Those people at DU are the most pathetic excuse for human beings I have ever experience in my life. We have to do everything possible to help President Bush win this election. I'm volunteering to work door to door in my county during the Nov. campaign and donating more money. I am sick of Kerry and his lies and the lying excuses for human beings that back him. Kerry and Kennedy are mounds of horse manure. Ok, will tell you what I really think of them later, as I don't want to use up my full vocabulary of profanities too early in the campaign.

[Eighth Square]

It seems that once again the politicos are running a war. It just does'nt make sense. They place so many restrictions on our troops that on occaisions, like Vietnam, they are fighting with a hand tied behind their backs. In my view once the troops are commited, let them fight. If you don't want them to fight then don't send 'em over there. Screw world opinion, screw civilian casualties, the whole idea is to win. We have to Get used to the fact that our grandchildren's grandchildren will be fighting wars 'cos warfare is inherent in mankind. This planet, unfortunately, is not populated with gentle folk.

[templar]

For starters, we should stop buying their oil.

Wish that were possible. Oil is an international commodity, it really doesn't matter exactly where it originates, it's all part of the world market. It's almost like it's all in one giant tank and everyone fills up at the same (or different) nozzles connected to it. Buy it from anywhere other than your own country and you (in practice) buy it from everywhere. The only way to actually disengage from ME oil is to produce our own, and that isn't going to happen.

[JebRudy2008]

agree
let the Army do its job
safety ... OFF

who decided that war had to be politically correct?
probably people who were too chicken to fight

[Dick Vomer]

This is a rhetorical thought... Why not destroy the mulah in the mosque? The muslims that hate us, already do. The ones that are on the "edge" don't matter. Cause we will eventually do something "culturally insensitve" that is highlighted by their propaganda machine in the US press and Arab press. In other words who cares what they think? Blow the crap out of them. Destroy them without regard to target or area.

Why isn't anybody pissed about Muslims killing Muslims which is what Saddam did? Against the teachings of the Koran. All the religious rhetoric is crap. It's an effort to limit us and to allow the simplist path to be made "complicated" by politics.

The politics of the war are BS. We win, kick their ass and leave the country to go into civil war like we all know it will when we leave. I say we destroy as many anti-Americans as we can, if we find that Iran is involved then kick the snot out of them and be gone.

As far as Teddy (Chappa-water-driver)Kennedy, he may inadvertantly be right about this being Bush's Vietnam.... the liberals are trying to get the "protest" movement going, all the casualties are highlighted and the successes minimized, the Hollywood pussies are ready to dump on the President, and the rest of the news media is trying its best to propagandize for the Muslims. Our only hope is to confront the punks on all fronts, especially the ones in this country.

I think the "cultural" war has begun. I think the Muslims are just the spark.

[Thud]

Newsies generally conflate casualties with fatalities. This has been true for at least a hundred years. As an example, they did this concerning the projected U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945.

130 total U.S. casualties here might be true, of which 12 are dead. That's about the right proportion.

It is also possible that there were 130 total dead including the Sunni Arab irregulars - 12 U.S. and 118 of them for 130 total. That is also about the right proportion.

But you will almost always be right in assuming that the newsies are wrong whenever they report on military matters. This is especially true concerning American military forces.

[WOSG]

"We had better start fighting a war free from political concerns. "

It's WORSE THAN THAT.

Our Marines are *dying* becaue the Left in this country including Democratic Presidential candidates are signalling they lack the will to continue this course if the price is too heavy. The Jihadists are fighting because of the hope that we lack the will to see this through.

The Jihadists saw what happened in Spain and are heartened by it. IT IS NOT A MISTAKE THAT HELL IS BREAKING LOOSE NOW. They learned that TERRORISM WORKS AND THE WEST IS WEAK-WILLED.

We have to prove them wrong, sadly, with the blood of our men and the innocents the jihadists will let get killed in the crossfire.

I am angry. Angry at the barbarians and angry at the fools who let defeatism and negativity and doubt creep into our mission and give false hope and aid to the terrorists.

Kennedy called this Bush's Vietnam. He could take a flying leap from a bridge in a Caddy for all I care... chained to the steering wheel!

[ApplegateRanch]

You mean we can't just sing three verses of "We Shall Overcome" followed by a rousing rendition of "Kumbaya" then watch them lay down their arms?

What are you, some kind of war mongering hater of peaceful religionists? I supose your solution is to escalate, and play high-volume continuous loops of "It's a Small, Small World" at them./S>

You are ABSOLUTELY right; they are trained to do a job, so let them do it, and screw whomsoever doesn't like it.

Makes me want to dig out my old 60's "Drop It!" button.

The one with the 'peace' symbol bastardized into a B-52.

[rndlpnkstn]

MSNBC just ran video tape of a bunch of insurgents parading around with their weapons, an assortment of AKs and RPGs. One was carrying an M249 FN Minimi Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), this is a standard issue US military firearm. Things are getting pretty bad if these insurgents have enough freedom to make attacks against US troops and then capture weapons.

[WOSG]

"They place so many restrictions on our troops that on occaisions,"

This is reasonable in a pacification or peacekeeping project.

When it gets this hot, there is no 'peace' to keep and you have to return to rules of engagement that kill the enemy instead of getting the good guys killed.

A news report mentioned that a car of 6 insurgents attacked marines, two got killed. My first thought? Damn, we let 4 get away....

I am angered and I want these barbarians killed pronto, with minimum loss of American lives. We cant waste American lives being too nice - let hell break loose, but let the blood be shed on the other side only. Then see how much the jihadists want of it.

Yet I trust our military leaders feel this way too and I know Bush is letting them do the job the way they see fit.
It looks like they are executing on fallujah as they said they would, although it is taking some time to tighten the noose.

[WOSG]

"We have to do everything possible to help President Bush win this election. I'm volunteering to work door to door in my county during the Nov. campaign and donating more money."

Dittos on this.... It is SO IMPERATIVE TO WIN THE WAR ON TERROR that we resoundingly defeat Kerry.

we cannot have a 9/10 man in a 9/11 world.

[Ima Lurker]

You are 100% correct in your assessment. I furious at the left in this country who put their own power ahead of the lives of military.

[John H K]

But you will almost always be right in assuming that the newsies are wrong whenever they report on military matters. This is especially true concerning American military forces.

One really interesting thing (which I may try to write an article on sometime) is how hilariously wrong war reports even from respected newspapers were in WWII...sort of has been lost to history, but the newspapers are still there.

In the week after Midway, the "story" was how Army Air Corps B-17s had single-handedly wiped out the Japanese carrier fleet. A lot of BS about B-17s in the war... (aided greatly by the USAAF Heavy Bomber PR and propaganda machine)...a B-17 pilot previously had won a posthumous Medal of Honor for a "sinking" of a Japanese Battleship in the Phillipines that turned out to be a near-miss of a Japanese destroyer.

[CalKat]

I doubt they are actually celebrating. Do you have a link?

[EllaMinnow]

They aren't celebrating, but they're claiming that we are.