Free Republic

Names of the four US Marines who died in yesterday's helicopter crash: Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill. Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, of Houston, Texas Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Watersbey, 29, of Baltimore, Md. The Pentagon has just released the names of two more US Marines who were killed in Iraq. I'll post as soon as I find that.

A quagmire is defined as marshy or boggy land where the footing is insecure. Or, as the dictionary says, "a situation from which extrication is very difficult." In any case, it is the word that no one wants to think about when it comes to the war in Iraq. It is seven weeks since President Bush declared that major hostilities in Iraq were over. Since then, however, more than 40 American troops have been killed in accidents or after being attacked by unfriendly forces, many of whom are believed to be loyal to Saddam Hussein. For the past couple of...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — A U.S. soldier on patrol in northern Baghdad was killed by a single shot from a sniper, the military said Tuesday. Pvt. Shawn D. Pahnke was married to a Shelbyville woman, Elisha (Callis) Pahnke. Family members were notified of his death around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. They were still expecting military personnel to arrive for a briefing Tuesday afternoon. Maj. Sean Gibson, a U.S. military spokesman, said 25-year-old Pahnke was shot in the chest late Monday, about 11:30 p.m. The bullet likely penetrated Pahnke's flak vest by entering at an angle that missed an armored ceramic...