Iraq Insurgency: No End In Sight part II

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

RIP:

ELK GROVE, Calif. -- Friends and family are mourning an Army soldier from Elk Grove who was killed while serving in Iraq.

Family members said they were notified Sunday that 22-year-old Joe Nurre had been killed.

Nurre attended Elk Grove High School and then California State University, Sacramento, before joining the military and being sent to Iraq.

Many friends and others have left messages on Nurre's personal Web site.
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Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A U.S. soldier, an American contractor and five Iraqis were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a city north of Baghdad, the military said.

A statement said the blast occurred in Diyala Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Baquba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, at 12:50 p.m. The explosion also killed four Iraqi employees of the center and one Iraqi police officer.

Nine U.S. soldiers were wounded, along with one U.S. civilian contractor, six Iraqi civilians and four police officers. All the wounded were evacuated to a military hospital for treatment, the statement said.

No further details were released.
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http://kyw.com/news/topstories_story_235113532.html

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

10:53 a.m. August 23, 2005

RAMADI – Three car bombs exploded near U.S. forces in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, in an apparently coordinated strike by insurgents, police and witnesses said. A car blew next to a U.S. convoy was passing, damaging a U.S. vehicle and wounding three bystanders. A suicide truck bomber rammed a building often used by U.S. troops, bringing down part of the structure, witnesses said. As U.S. reinforcements arrived, a third bomb concealed in a car parked near a mosque went off, a reporter for Reuters said. U.S. forces in Ramadi did not immediately reply to a request for information.

BAQUBA – Eight policeman were killed and 11 were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a dining area at the provincial government offices. Policeman Salman al-Dahlaki said U.S. soldiers were at the facility during the attack and the wounded were taken to a nearby U.S. base. An Iraqi security source said there were American casualties but there was no immediate comment from the U.S. military.

NAJAF – Two policemen were killed and another wounded by insurgents during a raid on the town of Haydariya, 30 km (20 miles) north of Najaf. A police source said insurgents were taken into custody after the raid.

BAQUBA – One policeman was killed when gunmen burst into his house in the Yarmouk district of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, a relative of the policeman said.

BAGHDAD – A deputy justice minister's motorcade was ambushed by gunmen near the Shurta tunnel, southwestern Baghdad. A police source said three of his bodyguards were injured.

KIRKUK – Iraqi Environment Minister Nermeen Othman survived an assassination attempt on Monday, a ministry official said. Three of the Kurdish politicians' bodyguards were wounded when gunmen opened fire on her convoy south of Kirkuk, as she was travelling from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya to Baghdad.

TIKRIT – An energy pipeline from Baiji refinery to Baghdad was blown up at dawn in Isshaaqi town, 30 km (20 miles) north of Balad, a source at the Baiji refinery said.

BAGHDAD – A U.S. soldier was killed in a rocket attack in southern Baghdad on Monday afternoon, the U.S. military said in a statement. FALLUJA – A U.S. soldier was killed on Monday when the vehicle he was in was struck by a roadside bomb during combat operations near Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20050823-1053-iraq-incidents.html

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

Iraq's once-dominant Sunni Arab community was left with a stark choice on Tuesday -- rally behind a Shi'ite-Kurdish draft constitution within 72 hours, or try to defeat it at a referendum in October.

With all sides digging in their heels, a deal by Thursday looked highly unlikely and a battle loomed over the referendum, in which Sunni "No" votes could block the adoption of the charter.

The Shi'ites and Kurds, who now dominate the government, sent an all-but-final draft to parliament moments before the deadline on Monday, side-stepping Sunni objections.

But rather than calling for a vote on the text, which would almost certainly have passed given Shi'ite-Kurdish control of the assembly, the speaker, a Sunni himself, granted three more days of talks to see if the Sunni minority might be won over.

It was a last, desperate pitch to build consensus after weeks of strained negotiations, and came as some Sunnis warned of civil war unless they were given more consideration.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050823/wl_nm/iraq_sunnis_dc_1&printer=1;_ylt=ApNfBB44m7j_YIiJgyfsWRZn.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

IntheNet · Aug 23, 2005

Revolt said:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050823/wl_nm/iraq_sunnis_dc_1&printer=1;_ylt=ApNfBB44m7j_YIiJgyfsWRZn.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
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Oh I had high hopes for you today Revolt!

Would he speak in this post about Iraq's new Constitution and expected huge crowds in Iraq going to vote the Constitutional Referendum all across the nation?

Would he cite the U.S. Army's better than expected re-enlistment and first-time enlistment goals in combat units?

Would he discuss the huge crowds in Iraq awaiting selection for police and law enforement duty, despite the record number of bombings of these loyal Iraqis?

Naw... Revolt just went back to pounding the drum beat well by Jane Fonda so many years ago!

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

There was an eye-opening article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette a few days ago that explored the increasing difficulty the military is having recruiting young people to enlist. As has been well reported in many newspapers, including The Washington Post, the Army and Marines are having a particularly tough time meeting recruitment objectives, in part because of Americans' concern about the war in Iraq.When you dig deeper into the reason for this phenomenon, it turns out that parents of potential soldiers and sailors are becoming one of the biggest obstacles facing military recruiters. Even top military officials acknowledge this and unveiled a new series of ads this spring targeted at "influencers" such as parents, teachers and coaches.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/19/AR2005081900815.html

Chris M. · Aug 23, 2005

IntheNet said:

Would he discuss the huge crowds in Iraq awaiting selection for police and law enforement duty, despite the record number of bombings of these loyal Iraqis?
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I'm confused. I thought they were "ragbags" itn.

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

As the U.S. war in Iraq stretches into its third year, National Guard and Reserve units are bearing an increasing burden. Family members are scrambling to deal with anxiety and fear that few anticipated.

More than 100 Guard and Reserve members have been killed since May 1, marking the deadliest stretch of the war for the nation's "citizen soldiers."

President Bush is scheduled to discuss the war on terrorism with Air Force and National Guard personnel in Idaho Wednesday. Nearly 40% of U.S. troops in Iraq are from Guard or Reserve units, double the figure from 18 months ago.

Like many young men in this part of Michigan, Darin Schultz joined the National Guard soon after he graduated from high school. When they married five years later, Tami Schultz figured the most dangerous duty he would ever see would be a riot or a natural disaster in Michigan.

Now Schultz and other members of Bravo Company are in Baghdad guarding the U.S.-run Green Zone and providing protection for convoys that navigate streets where roadside bombs are known to be hidden.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cope23aug23,1,3006987,print.story

Achtung · Aug 23, 2005

Revolt said:

"Iraq's once-dominant Sunni Arab community was left with a stark choice on Tuesday -- rally behind a Shi'ite-Kurdish draft constitution within 72 hours, or try to defeat it at a referendum in October."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050823/wl_nm/iraq_sunnis_dc_1&printer=1;_ylt=ApNfBB44m7j_YIiJgyfsWRZn.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
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Hey, isn't that great, giving the Sunnis a choice like that? Real freedom, that's what that is, making choices. Kind of like "Which end do you want it in?" Fabulous.

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

Rummy:

Regrettably, completing the constitution is not likely to end all the violence in Iraq or solve all of the country's problems[.]
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Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

Horribly tragic all around:

A suicide bomber has killed 10 people in an attack on a joint US-Iraqi base in the Iraqi town of Baquba which led to three more "friendly fire" deaths.

Eight policemen died in the explosion along with a US soldier and a contractor, according to US military and Iraqi police reports.

And three members of an Iraqi special forces unit in the area were killed in error by US troops, Iraqi police added. According to the police, US soldiers responding to the blast apparently mistook the special forces soldiers for insurgents and opened fire.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4177648.stm

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

IntheNet said:

Oh I had high hopes for you today Revolt!

...

Would he cite the U.S. Army's better than expected re-enlistment and first-time enlistment goals in combat units?
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Not sure if this is what you have in mind, but here goes:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army will miss its recruiting goals this year but will be able to sustain troop levels in Iraq over the next four years, a high-ranking general told FOX News.

Lt. Gen. James Lovelace, the Army deputy chief of staff, said the Army can sustain 100,000 in Iraq for the next four years if needed without "breaking the force" but he said it would include three or four rotations for some troops.

"We're gonna fall short of our recruiting goal this year. We know that,” Lovelace told FOX News. “We're putting in place mitigation plans to begin to address it in ’06."
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166490,00.html

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the slogan-like operation names the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts.

Families of fallen soldiers and Marines are being told they have the option to have the government-furnished headstones engraved with "Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Iraqi Freedom" at no extra charge, whether they are buried in Arlington or elsewhere. A mock-up shown to many families includes the operation names.

The vast majority of military gravestones from other eras are inscribed with just the basic, required information: name, rank, military branch, date of death and, if applicable, the war and foreign country in which the person served.

Families are supposed to have final approval over what goes on the tombstones. That hasn't always happened.

Nadia and Robert McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq in June 2004, said "Operation Iraqi Freedom" ended up on his government-supplied headstone in Oceanside, Calif., without family approval.

"I was a little taken aback," Robert McCaffrey said, describing his reaction when he first saw the operation name on Patrick's tombstone. "They certainly didn't ask my wife; they didn't ask me." He said Patrick's widow told him she had not been asked either.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050823/ap_on_re_us/war_gravestones&printer=1;_ylt=Aqje8nUpsXRRlXy8h2J5OuxH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Revolt · Aug 23, 2005

More troops to Iraq:

THE Pentagon plans to deploy two additional battalions to Iraq amid rising insurgent attacks ahead of an anticipated referendum on a constitution, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

Mr Rumsfeld expressed confidence that public support for the war effort in Iraq will hold despite polls showing growing disenchantment in the United States.
"I think it'll have the support of the American people, and it will be sustained, and we will be successful," he said.
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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16367071-23109,00.html

topcatcole · Aug 23, 2005

Hey! I thought you had to be a neocon to work at the Pentagon!

Interesting article on changes in Pentagon leadership.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/21/AR2005082100800.html

Revolt · Aug 24, 2005

Re: Hey! I thought you had to be a neocon to work at the Pentagon!

topcatcole said:

Interesting article on changes in Pentagon leadership.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/21/AR2005082100800.html
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A welcome development. Meanwhile, the madness continues:

* BAGHDAD - Heavy fighting broke out between insurgents and Iraqi police in western Baghdad, police and witnesses said. At least three people were killed and 30 wounded, police and hospital officials said.

BAGHDAD - A deputy of the Iraqi justice minister, Yosha Ibrahim, escaped assassination, but four of his guards were killed and five wounded in an attack by gunmen on his convoy in western Baghdad, police said.

* KHALIS - Four Iraqi people were killed and seven were wounded when gunmen attacked their bus in Khalis, 75 km (46 miles) north of Baquba. Police said the dead were pilgrims returning from a visit to holy shrines in Iran.

BAQUBA - Four mortar rounds landed on a base used by the Iraqi police's 'rapid reaction force' in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, wounding seven. Police said most of those wounded were recruits, but said a young girl and a child were also injured.

MUSAYYIB - An Iraqi soldier was killed and another wounded when two mortars landed on a check point at Musayyib, south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, police said.
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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24700771.htm

Revolt · Aug 24, 2005

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83753

(KSDK) - A Festus Marine, critically wounded in Iraq, received a hero's welcome home on Tuesday evening. Hundreds of residents lined the streets to honor Lance Corporal Timothy Maguire.

Maguire was serving as a field radio operator in Iraq when he was seriously hurt. His family, friends, and community wanted to let him know how much his service and his sacrifice are appreciated.

It started as a small gathering. Then it grew. In the end, they had 52 groups in the procession and hundreds lining the streets of downtown Festus.
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speedcake · Aug 24, 2005

I've started a new thread, stop posting in this one.