Two Californians killed in combat in Afghanistan, Iraq

Mecury News ^ | Jun 28, 2003

[demlosers]

SAN DIEGO - Two California men were killed during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas E. Retzer, 30, of San Diego died of wounds received in action Wednesday in Afghanistan, the DOD said Friday.

[Dog]

I bet this is the Special Ops soldier killed the other day....

Army Spc. Andrew F. Chris, 25, whose hometown in California was unknown, also was killed Wednesday in combat in an unspecified area of Iraq. The DOD only described it as "combat operations in hostile enemy territory."

Odd phrase..

Chris was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga. No further details were released.

Hmmmmmm..

[Prodigal Son]

I believe Retzer (in Afghanistan) was a SEAL as well.

[Dog]

Something went down the other day in Iraq with a Special Ops team getting shot up.....those guys don't walk into ambushes. They were hunting someone or something..

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It is still deadly business over there and will be for quite awhile!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Be sure and read this article:

The Crackup of the Arab Tyrannies?

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The beginning:............................

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They tried every bad idea of the 20th century. Maybe it's time for liberal democracy.

IN A SPEECH in Washington on February 26, 2003, President George W. Bush spoke of his hope that a change of regime in Iraq would herald the Arab nations' joining the worldwide movement toward democracy. Some critics dismissed this "pious hope," arguing that Arab culture, and Islamic civilization generally, were unready for so momentous a transformation. Others questioned the president's sincerity, at a time when members of his administration were still debating Iraqi self-rule after Saddam.

Yet one thing was certain then and remains so today: The Arab world is in crisis, and change in Iraq could trigger change across the whole arc from North Africa to the Indian Ocean. While it is too soon to tell the shape of things to come in Iraq, it is clear that we are witnessing the end of a certain nationalist and socialist model developed in several Arab countries in the 20th century. >P>..................................

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See link for the rest of the article, it is excellent!!!!

[Prodigal Son]

There's so much we don't know... I'd kill to be a fly on the wall in the Oval Office.

[Riverman94610]

I respect Bush's hopes for the area but I just don't see Afghanistan and Iraq becoming effective societies with human rights guarantees and civil liberties as long as they are in the grip of feudal mindsets.