Posted on 04/23/2007 6:13:26 PM PDT by jdm
BAGHDAD - Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing against a patrol base northeast of Baghdad, the military said.An Iraqi civilian was also wounded in the attack on Task Force Lightning soldiers in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting involving U.S. and Iraqi troops, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
Of the 20 wounded, 15 soldiers were treated and returned to duty while five others and the Iraqi were evacuated to a medical facility for further care, the military said.
Identities were not released pending notification of relatives.
It was the second bold attack against a U.S. base north of Baghdad in just over two months and was notable for its use of a suicide car bomber.
On Feb. 19, insurgents struck a U.S. combat post in Tarmiyah, about 30 miles north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding 17 in what the military called a "coordinated attack."
It began with a suicide car bombing, then gunfire on soldiers pinned down in a former Iraqi police station, where fuel storage tanks were set ablaze by the blast.
Militants have mostly used hit-and-run ambushes, roadside bombs or mortars on U.S. troops and stayed away from direct assaults on fortified military compounds to avoid U.S. firepower.
Yes it hurts like 'ell. We love these guys like they are our own kin and grieve for the lives lost.
Did you know that nearly 500,000 Americans were killed in WW2? Imagine the magnitude of the grief. Imagine if those Americans had not made the sacrifice. Imagine our children's world if we do not win this. Imagine an oil rich Iraq under the control of AQ/Iran. Imagine the mass slaughter of civilians. The enemy has demonstrated they are a dishonorable enemy - inhuman dishonor which goes deep within them. They must be destroyed.
OK. I am finished preaching to the choir.
No. Whistling is correct. If you don’t understand that “they” are here and have been here for a while......
Bravo! And welcome to FR.
And I might add....find a less offensive way to say “shut up”. :o)
What I said in the post you responded to.
For whatever reason, a handful of people always object to troll warnings.
Because it’s not fully accurate to say it’s Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is basically acting like hired thugs. They aren’t acting independently. They have Sunni support. The problem is the Sunnis who want the help of Al Qaeda.
“Did you know that nearly 500,000 Americans were killed in WW2? Imagine the magnitude of the grief.”
The “magnitude of grief” as you put it is no different for 1 of 500,000 than it is for 1 of 3,333. That dog won’t hunt. Also, unless someone just crawled out of a hole, they know the casualties were much higher in previous wars. But, that’s not the point for most who are unhappy with the war. For me, anyway, it’s that our strategy keeps changing and that our Army and Marine Corps are too small for the mission. Never ending tours are wearing out the small military that we do have.
Read 179. FSE is there as a Stryker Platoon Leader.
“For whatever reason, a handful of people always object to troll warnings.”
Maybe some think your troll warnings are nanny like?
BTW, read my 208. Am I an anti war troll?
Thanks, Harry. And Nancy. And Hillary, And Barak, And Joe. And Chuck. And Russ. And John. And....
I'm afraid you're all too right on this point. Seems that not too many people know about the three times in History that these Radical Islamists fought a 100 year long war before they were defeated. We may be facing a point in time where people do not have the stomach to rise up against these extremists, resulting in huge victories for them until the final Armageddon occurs. People need to "buck" up and gird themselves for a long war.
Prayers up for these soldiers and their families. May our Lord bring them all Home to His House.
Did I ever call you one?
Did I ever imply that you were one?
The answer to both questions is no.
As far as the nanny stuff, how you perceive it doesn’t concern me. Many posters don’t know how the other side plays this game, so I point it out from time to time.
Did you take my statement out of context to make a point or what?
Al-Qaeda does act independently. They work with the Sunnis and they also kill the Sunnis. But my comment is more general in that the AP almost never mentions the name "al-Qaeda" when reporting the Iraq War.
See comment # 62 on this same thread. I do not have first hand knowledge of the incident in question, so I can not comment on the tactical situation or the actual ROE employed. I can say that in my opinion our rules of engagement in dangerous areas of Iraq are not aggressive enough. Our regular combat soldiers are trained to take the fight to the enemy, not just respond if attacked. The Iraqi soldiers and police should be responsible for securing an area once cleared of most of the bad guys, perhaps supplemented by coalition SOF advisors, or eventually other Iraqis, who are trained in counterinsurgency operations.
Prayers for my nephew Josh and his buddies in the 82nd. God heal the wounded, bless the dead, and comfort their families...
“I wonder why most Americans are not aware of the sacrifice of Iraqis who are fighting and dying for their country.”
Well, to be perfectly honest, its probably because, and no fault to them, most americans not directly involved in the effort don’t know and are so far removed, don’t care, or don’t want to care. Its the soldier giving candy to the same little iraqi kid, standing there with one leg, same street, same corner, smiling, not condemning and truly appreciating the little gifts that the american gives him every day. Those soldiers live those experiences everyday, and THAT is why many of them are committed. The average american back home just want the soldiers to come home and safe, and whole. They just want it to end. But the soldier, by God, has feelings, wants to help that little kid, to know that his efforts are not wasted, and his buddies didn’t die in vain. And what does the soldier get in return? Politicians playing ping-poing with their supplies and ability to focus these emotions into success. that’s what its about: the soldier and the iraqi kid trying to make sense in a brutal, unforgiving land.
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