Curator

The statement made by a young soldier in Mosul who asked not to be identified as five groups of eight pallbearers each took turns unloading a flag-draped coffin from the back of five Humvee ambulances, as about 75 members of the fallen soldiers unit stood at attention.

Five US troops were killed in a roadside bomb attack on Monday in Mosul. This attack was the second-deadliest this year, and brings the total so far for US fatalities in Iraq to 37, far more than December's 23.

Today the AP says:
The AP report in Mosul continues..

Let me just repeat that last phrase: "The people who created this war need to be thinking about the families of these 18-year-olds who are dying."

I guess they are too busy thinking of more ways to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis other than dropping 40,000 pounds of explosives on their heads.

__________________
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years. We need a president with transformational qualities.”

"For that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama.”
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

“You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Gov Palin explaining her national security credentials.

Noob920

How sad is it that the same type of people who decried the so-called "atrocities of VietNam" are now wringing their hands over the fact that American Soldiers are forced to act with such caution that their OWN lives are being lost.

The insurgents are still around for ONE reason: the Iraqi people are MORE afraid of them than they are of us. If our military was allowed to do their jobs, there wouldn't be as many senseless deaths due to IED's.

We need to be MORE brutal than the opposition to gain the respect of the Iraqi people. THIS way, they would NOT hide the insurgents among them, and they can be eliminated.

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Originally Posted by BillCosby

I am usually a nice easy going person........ Although ever time I drive by that bar my Xwife cheated on me @ I get a bit troubled.........

But I am sure that is not the reason I kick that damn dog after........

Seems like he deserves it when I take that route home......

Curator

Soldier's are not forced to do anything. The ONE inherent thing they do is try to look after their fellow soldier. You make it sound as if they are forced to walk on eggshells and for that they are being killed needlessly.

The Iraqi people are more afraid of ethnic cleansing. You know its the "Team Shiite" cleaning crew of Maliki and Muqtada al-Sadr who are killing off the "Awakening Council" members and beheading the "Concerned Citizens".

Do us a favor and get informed. Or better yet go back to Redstate.com and hang out with the rest of the Republican sheep.

__________________
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years. We need a president with transformational qualities.”

"For that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama.”
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

“You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Gov Palin explaining her national security credentials.

Teri B.

Hey, Curator, this is how neo-cons think. At least he's representative of his . . . whatever they are, species? Sometimes I think we see them as Bush cartoon characters, but they actually buy this Rush Limpbrain, hateful, screwed up shit all the way. It's nice to have one of them here to observe, just so we know what they're thinking.

My brother is the CAO in the picture in this article. These are not just little green plastic people NOB, they are flesh and blood and tears and fatherless casualties: adn.com | Iraq : Fort Rich widow faces putting life back together

Curator

Wow...That has got to be a tough job. I though being on the honor guard during military funerals was sometimes tough, but nowhere near the amount of empathy your brother may feel sometimes. Having to support grieving spouses on a personal basis takes a special kind person.

I salute him.

__________________
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years. We need a president with transformational qualities.”

"For that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama.”
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

“You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Gov Palin explaining her national security credentials.

Teri B.

Yeah, he blew out his knee a month before his unit deployed. I was jumping for joy. They're back now, came back in November, but they took such heavy losses. You'd never know it (he's not the warm and fuzzy kind) but this is the roughest, most damaging job he's done in 17 yrs in the Army. This family in particular, and this little girl, really tore him up. But it was his duty and his honor to do whatever he could for all of these families, and I'm proud as hell of him. I know he'd much rather have had bullets whizzing by his head, over there shoulder to shoulder with his brothers and sisters.

Curator

I kinda know what you mean. My wife's department in the Air Force is only at 40% manned and a 6 month deployment to Bagram AB Afghanistan was given to her last year. They "short fell" the tasking back to AFETC because of the manning problems but she told me she was looking forward to it even though it was canceled.

She would have missed Christmas and our son's birthday, but inside she still wanted to go.

__________________
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years. We need a president with transformational qualities.”

"For that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama.”
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

“You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Gov Palin explaining her national security credentials.

Teri B.

Exactly. If I didn't have kids and I could reenlist, I'd be there in a heartbeat. Not because I believe in the mission or think the war was a good idea, but because where one American soldier is laying his life on the line, we all are. I guess it comes from growing up military. Most people could never understand. Most people barely pretend to care.

BTW, have you ever watched Army Wives? It's a bit of a girl show, but it's a pretty accurate interpretation of the life.

Curator

I toyed with the idea of the AF Reserves or maybe an ANG outfit, but
the possibility of both my wife and I deploying and leaving our kids with "Nana and Papa" was too much. If I ever did anything again I would want to cross train into another field which means going back to tech school.

My wife wants me to pursue my masters.

Nope. I've never found any show that accurately depicted military life.

__________________
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years. We need a president with transformational qualities.”

"For that reason, I will be voting for Barack Obama.”
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

“You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Gov Palin explaining her national security credentials.

Teri B.

It's more the on base, family left behind part. I think it's pretty accurate. Of course, I see little things here and there, but they certainly try to be realistic.

Yeah, there's a hell of a possibility of that too, both of you being deployed. A friend of my brothers, a single mom, had to leave her 2 yo for a year with grandparents. When she came back on leave, her daughter didn't know who she was. That was tough as hell on her. When she came back for good, her daughter wouldn't let her out of her sight for a second. My sister says that when I was little and my Dad would deploy, I would start stuttering the day he left, and not stop till he returned. To this day I still stutter when I'm very, very, very upset. I don't feel angry about any of this now - actually I feel like it just shows how much I loved him. In fact, I told my brother's friend that story while she was in Iraq (she was my firm's adopted solder at the time), cause she was afraid she was forever warping her child.