Thinking of the troops...

[bknight2602]

God bless and keep them safe.

Well stated.

 

[weed]

My the dead rest in peace, the injured heal in body and mind, the captors honor the Geneva Convention, the families find support and the rest of the troops see an end to the fighting soon.



23 Mar 2003 17:48
List of casualties in war in Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - A small number of U.S. troops have apparently been captured and others killed by the Iraqi military in southern Iraq, U.S. defence officials said on Sunday after watching a videotape released by a Middle East television network.

Iraqi television showed film earlier on Sunday of at least four bodies, said to be U.S. soldiers, and five prisoners who said they were American.

British TV company ITN said its veteran correspondent Terry Lloyd was killed, having gone missing under fire in Iraq on Saturday, while the fate of his two colleagues remained unknown.

Fourteen British and five U.S. soldiers have died in two helicopter accidents. Two U.S. marines have died in combat and one U.S. soldier was killed in a grenade attack at a base in Kuwait. Two crew are missing from an RAF Tornado jet shot down in a "friendly fire" incident..

Following are the announced casualties to date.


U.S. MILITARY IN COMBAT:

March 20 - U.S. marine killed in Iraq, first killed in combat.

March 21 - Second U.S marine killed in Iraq.

March 23 - Iraqi television showed pictures of four bodies of what it said were U.S. soldiers and of five U.S. prisoners it said were taken in fighting near Nassiriya.


IRAQ MILITARY IN COMBAT:

March 23 - U.S. military sources said around 70 Iraqis were killed in a battle south of the Najaf overnight.


IRAQ CIVILIAN:

March 20 - Jordanian taxi driver killed in first U.S. missile strike on Baghdad.

March 22 - Iraq says three killed in overnight air raids, 250 civilians wounded in Baghdad since war started.

March 23 - Iraq says 77 civilians have been killed and 366 injured in Basra, most of them with cluster bombs.

- Iraqi satellite television reported four people killed and 13 wounded in allied air strikes on Tikrit.


ACCIDENTS:

March 21 - Eight British soldiers from 3 Commando brigade and four U.S. marines are killed when a U.S. Marine CH-46E helicopter crashes in Kuwait, six km (10 miles) south of the Iraq border.

March 22 - Two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collide in the northern Gulf. All seven crew members, including one American, were killed.

March 23 - A British Royal Air Force Tornado jet was shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile near the Kuwaiti border. The crew of two is missing.

- At a rear base in Kuwait, a U.S. soldier was killed and 15 wounded when grenades were rolled into three tents of the 101st Airborne Division. The military said one of its own men was held as a suspect.


JOURNALISTS

March 22 - Australian cameraman killed in car bomb in northern Iraq blamed by Kurdish officials on militant Islamic group Ansar al-Islam, which Washington has linked to al Qaeda.

March 23 - Britain's ITV says it believes veteran correspondent Terry Lloyd was killed, having come under fire in southern Iraq. Two colleagues are missing.


MISSING

- Two ITN journalists still missing after their car came under fire near Basra.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B532975

 

[weed]

black hawk
Iraqi stalk
coming down
sound?
sight?
simple eyes
seeking a way
from the fright
assured in the begin
not to think of
horrors within
chasing
in the end
courage
I hope stayed
with them

 

[P. B. Walker]

rich mans war

poor mans fight

just like always


peace baby

Nice generalization. Unfortunately you are pulling that out of your ass. I personally know three guys at my job that got called up and left for Iraq. They all make over 50K, which I think is the cut off for middle class (I think). Either way, they are no were near poor. And, no not all of them were officers.

By the way the military is organized, there are always going to be more enlisted personnel, but that doesn't mean officers aren't going to be putting their lives on the line just as much. Nor that people with very good jobs in civilian life aren't getting called up to go to Iraq.

 

[ksmybuttons]

War is death. There are many types of death, including part of the soul. I mourn for all the people who are there in the thick of things and I mourn for our country which has placed them there. I want them to finish, fast and bring our children and families home.

I mourn for the Iraqi's who have no choice, and hope, when it is done, that they do. It will be the only thing that can in any way justify what is happening.

 

[weed]

War is death. There are many types of death, including part of the soul. I mourn for all the people who are there in the thick of things and I mourn for our country which has placed them there. I want them to finish, fast and bring our children and families home.

I mourn for the Iraqi's who have no choice, and hope, when it is done, that they do. It will be the only thing that can in any way justify what is happening.

It is the soulfully injured survivors I feel more for than the dead. I hope their souls are not forgotten when they get home.

 

[weed]

The 'war' has been over for a month but the guerilla war continues as attacks and sabotage occur daily and every step forward is followed by a step backwards.

Over 200 US deaths have occurred and thousands of civilian casualties. Still not horrific compared to other wars but there is no sign of the end yet. Troops psyched for conventional war are becoming demoralized as they are now tasked with duties they were not prepared for without even the seizure of WMDs or Hussein himself to give some legitimacy to the war they have sacrificed for.

Is it too late to team with other nations and the UN to guide the Iraqi rebuilding with global support rather than the presence of our people for years and years in a fruitless and poorly planned endeavor?

 

[Guest]

 

[weed]

1) Noone ever said it would be over quickly

2) The troops are prepared for this. Ambushes happen. Insurgency happens. Terrorism happens. This was never toutes as a conventional war. The general public has unfortunately become conditioned to see resolutions occur in the span of a 90 min made for tv movie. That won't be the case here.

3) We are teaming with other nations despite what many will say. Trust me, I've seen plenty of Non-US warships and cargo ships come through here for the war effort, including some German and French ships.

4) Patience and the sheer will of the people (to quote Clauswitz) will determine the outcome.

All that said...thank you weed and the other posters who support us out here...regardless of how you all feel about the war. Knowing that you support those who serve makes a huge difference.

I recognize that it is still going on with a huge number of our troops over there. Estimates of how long it will take to be finally over are longer than originally prophesized. Up to five years I've read of late. And from what I've read the troops were not prepared for the aftermath. They were trained for the conventional war. If you know different I'd like to hear how they were trained for the policing of an ambimvalent nation of disorganized people as well as the psychological and physical threats that they are now faced with.

I'll keep my eyes out for signs of a global effort in this endeavor ours. Most of the effort has to come from the Iraqis themselves however with support more than direction or it will be resisted anyway. imho.

If they are ambivalent about our efforts to help them, such as they are, then that sheer will of theirs will prolong our stay and cost in their country. With us as the big dog over there I'm afraid we will remain the focus of what's is now wrong for them. With the efforts of many sources of good will perhaps they could be stronger in focusing how to take care of themselves.

 

[k¡tty]

One friend back home.. the other I haven't heard from since the day before the invasion. Even though I know deep down he's okay (I'm listed on his NOK list) I'll not be satisfied until he's back at home and I have hear his wonderful New York accent on the phone.



Thoughts and prayers to those who lost someone.

 

[nasty1]

I do not define victory as the winning of a war. We lose in going to war whether we gain power or not.

To quote from one of my favorite submarine movies, "The true enemy of war is war itself."

Denzel Washinton in "Crimson Tide."

 

[weed]

Kitty, I hope you hear that accent soon, honey. It must be nerve wracking when you hear about things over there and wondering if he could be involved. Good you're on his notification list.


Nasty, I don't believe the nature of war makes it a friend to anyone.

 

[nasty1]

I hope the best for your friend, kitty.*Hugs*

weed-True. I think I misquoted that line.

 

[weed]

no, I think it was right. I think I've heard it before.

 

[tulip2lipservice]

Thank you Weed for the thread

I know my worry has been on my mind over several I love and care for.

Just this week a friend from High School told me he was being deployed so it does not look like it is over as much as we all hope it would be.

I just hope that things end quickly with as little casualties as possible. For all those waiting for a love one God Bless and hang in there.

For the service people Stay Strong, Stay Focus and get it done already!

Peace,
Tulip

 

[weed]

That's it, Tulip.

Think good thoughts.

I had heard there were still people going over, in addition to the ones who thought they were going home but got redeployed. I hope your friend has a brief stay.

 

[tulip2lipservice]

Always thinking good thoughts that

That's it, Tulip.

Think good thoughts.

I had heard there were still people going over, in addition to the ones who thought they were going home but got redeployed. I hope your friend has a brief stay.

is all I can do. There are several I have known that are there and it tears at my core from time to time. One that is dear to my heart and a connection I cannot explain has basically been there since right after the WTC.

People forget it is not an easy thing they do. I just know that the ones I know joined or rejoined after everything happened with the WTC. They went willingly to make a difference in the world. The one closest to my heart has said many times that he would rather stay in order for another not to have to be there and leave their family and such. I have been blessed to know so many with honor. So many SACRIFICES they make as others judge their actions sitting in a comfortable home on the internet.

I am blessed and honored to know that such people exist in the world. So many that gave up the little things we take for granted. I just hope they do not return to a cold country like the veterans of Vietnam. They did not deserve the treatment they received and being in a place or situation they didn't want to be in.

Again thank you for this thread and for those out there that are serving the USA or allies thank you from the bottom of my heart. God Bless and remember there are people at home waiting for your return with open arms.

Peace,
Tulip

 

[k¡tty]

Thank you weed.. so do I.
He knows how I worry.. in his last email he must have said, "Do not worry!" no less than 10 times. So that's one of the reasons he added me to his list, I'm sure. We've been close friends for three years now, one of my closest male friends. Twenty people can say essentially the same thing to me but when he says it.. it has such an impact on how I think about something.

I can't watch the news about it anymore, haven't since that first week. Even then, when I would, I looked at every soldier they showed.. even the ones in the background.. just hoping against hope that I could catch a glimpse.

thank you as well nasty.



My heart goes out to everyone who has family and/or friends overseas or here at home, wondering if they may be sent next.

 

[KillerMuffin]

The Artilleryman's Vision

by Walt Whitman

While my wife at my side lies slumbering, and the wars are over long,
And my head on the pillow rests at home, and the vacant midnight passes,
And through the stillness, through the dark, I hear, just hear, the breath of my infant,
There in the room as I wake from sleep this vision presses upon me;
The engagement opens there and then in fantasy unreal,
The skirmishers begin, they crawl cautiously ahead, I hear the irregular snap! snap!
I hear the sounds of the different missiles, the short t-h-t! t-h-t! of the rifle-balls,
I see the shells exploding leaving small white clouds, I hear the great shells shrieking as they pass,
The grape like the hum and whirr of wind through the trees, (tumultuous now the contest rages,)
All the scenes at the batteries rise in detail before me again,
The crashing and smoking, the pride of the men in their pieces,
The chief-gunner ranges and sights his piece and selects a fuse of the right time,
After firing I see him lean aside and look eagerly off to note the effect;
Elsewhere I hear the cry of a regiment charging, (the young colonel leads himself this time
    with brandish'd sword,)
I see the gaps cut by the enemy's volleys, (quickly fill'd up, no delay,)
I breathe the suffocating smoke, then the flat clouds hover low concealing all;
Now a strange lull for a few seconds, not a shot fired on either side,
Then resumed the chaos louder than ever, with eager calls and orders of officers,
While from some distant part of the field the wind wafts to my ears a shout of applause,
    (some special success,)
And ever the sound of the cannon far or near, (rousing even in dreams a devilish exultation
    and all the old mad joy in the depths of my soul,)
And ever the hastening of infantry shifting positions, batteries, cavalry, moving hither and thither,
(The falling, dying, I heed not, the wounded dripping and red I heed not, some to the
    rear are hobbling,)
Grime, heat, rush, aide-de-camps galloping by or on a full run,
With the patter of small arms, the warning s-s-t of the rifles, (these in my vision I hear or see,)
And bombs bursting in air, and at night the vari-color'd rockets.

 

[Cuckolded_BlK_Male]

There can be no peace when tyrants are free to kill their own "people" invade other countries and support terrorists ...

I agree. So, how do we get rid of the tyrant living at 1600 Pennsylvania ave, Washington D.C.?

 

[Im_a_troll]

Words that have stayed with me since I first read them years ago. I've posted them here before but somehow seems worth posting again.




The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

-- Randall Jarrell

fuck him...I fell into the state too...I am not whining about it...while its true i have never encountered nightmare fighters, I do have sensitive skin and I have encountered soaps that have broken me out in a rash...again...I didn't fucking whine about it

 

[Im_a_troll]

I definately think randall jarrel needs to change his soap....and shut the fuck up

 

[tulip2lipservice]

Kitty

Thank you weed.. so do I.
He knows how I worry.. in his last email he must have said, "Do not worry!" no less than 10 times. So that's one of the reasons he added me to his list, I'm sure. We've been close friends for three years now, one of my closest male friends. Twenty people can say essentially the same thing to me but when he says it.. it has such an impact on how I think about something.

I can't watch the news about it anymore, haven't since that first week. Even then, when I would, I looked at every soldier they showed.. even the ones in the background.. just hoping against hope that I could catch a glimpse.

thank you as well nasty.



My heart goes out to everyone who has family and/or friends overseas or here at home, wondering if they may be sent next.

hugs I understand what you are going through. I have done similiar things. Take it one day at a time as I know I have been doing. If you ever need to talk you know where to find me more or less.

Again thank you to all of the service people out there doing their job. A special thought to all those that have loved ones that are making sacrifices.

Peace,
Tulip

 

[Guest]

 

[weed]

fuck him...I fell into the state too...I am not whining about it...while its true i have never encountered nightmare fighters, I do have sensitive skin and I have encountered soaps that have broken me out in a rash...again...I didn't fucking whine about it

You obviously do not know how to read a poem.

First person dead.