War and Remembrance

General Eric Shinseki to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs

2008-12-08T15:40:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, President-Elect Obama introduced General Eric Shinseki as his choice to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs. To us, this signals that the President-Elect will not accept a veterans care system that has been lacking, nor will he relegate the Department to second-class status in his cabinet.

If there are two things everyone knows about General Shinseki, they are that he always thinks ahead to what needs may be down the road, and is not afraid to strongly speak his mind to the President of the United States. Those are two crucial qualities we veterans need in a Veterans Affairs Secretary right now.

Post-War Veteran Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths

2008-05-07T12:32:00.000-04:00

Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.

Read the whole story here.

US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq

2008-04-30T09:04:00.001-04:00

BAGHDAD — The killings of three U.S. soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad pushed the American death toll for April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September.

One soldier died when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The other died of wounds sustained when he was attacked by small-arms fire, the military said Wednesday. Both incidents occurred Tuesday in northwestern Baghdad.

A third soldier died in a roadside bombing Tuesday night in the east of the capital, the military said.

The statement did not give a more specific location. But the eastern half of Baghdad includes embattled Sadr City and other neighborhoods that have been the focus of intense combat between Shiite militants and U.S.-Iraqi troops for more than a month.

In all, at least 4,059 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

US Troops Suffer Worst Week This Year

2008-04-12T21:23:00.002-04:00

BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb killed an American soldier in Baghdad on Saturday, capping the bloodiest week for U.S. troops in Iraq this year. Clashes persisted in Shiite areas, even as the biggest Shiite militia sought to rein in its fighters.

At least 13 Shiite militants were killed in the latest clashes in Baghdad's militia stronghold of Sadr City, the U.S. military said. Iraqi police said seven civilians also died in fighting, which erupted Friday night and tapered off Saturday.

The U.S. military said the American soldier was killed in a blast Saturday morning in northwestern Baghdad but did not say whether Shiite militiamen were responsible.

The death raised to at least 19 the number of American troopers killed in Iraq since last Sunday.

American casualties have risen with an outbreak of fighting in Baghdad between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the largest Shiite militia _ the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, repeated on Saturday his demand for American soldiers to leave the country and urged his fighters not to target fellow Iraqis "unless they are helping the (U.S.) occupation."

Al-Sadr also blamed the Americans and their Iraqi allies for the assassination Friday of one of his top aides, Riyadh al-Nouri, director of his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.

Gunmen ambushed al-Nouri as he was returning home from Friday prayers, and al-Sadr followers shouted anti-American slogans at his funeral in Najaf.

4,000

2008-03-24T11:34:00.001-04:00

Here is a new song for those 4000 US Troops and the 89,000 Iraqi civilians who have died as a result of George Bush's war.

Five American Soldiers Killed in Baghdad

2008-03-10T15:10:00.004-04:00

BAGHDAD — Five American soldiers were killed and three wounded Monday when a suicide bomber walked up to their patrol on a crowded shopping street in central Baghdad and blew himself up, the military and Iraqi police said.

The blast was one of the worst single attacks on the American military since the so-called surge campaign of additional American troops to pacify the Iraqi capital and surrounding areas was begun last year.

The soldiers were on a regular daily patrol in the middle of the afternoon on a busy street of clothing, food and souvenir stores in Mansour, a relatively upscale and predominantly Sunni Arab district, when the suicide attacker, described as a young male, approached the soldiers and engaged them in conversation.

“He came up and stood beside them and started talking to them and detonated himself,” said an Iraqi police officer at the scene.

An Iraqi interpreter was wounded by the blast, which occurred about 3 p.m., said Lt. Michael Street of the Navy, a military spokesman in Baghdad.

Four of the soldiers were killed immediately by the explosion and the fifth died later from his injuries. “Initial reports indicate the explosive device was a suicide vest,” the military statement said. Iraqi police officers said the soldiers had undertaken regular patrols and were well known in the neighborhood.

While there have been other big attacks on the Americans in Iraq this year, they have been relatively rare in Baghdad as the city has become safer and more secure.

In January, militants killed nine American soldiers over two successive days in the volatile Sunni Arab heartlands north of Baghdad. Six of the soldiers died when they were clearing a house in Diyala during an offensive and insurgents detonated a large bomb hidden in the house.

Despite the overall drop in violence in Iraq, deadly assaults on American troops have continued, particularly in the northern Arab provinces, where Sunni Arab guerrillas have many strongholds.

In Diyala Province on Feb. 17, two American soldiers were shot to death, and another was wounded, according to the American military.

Five American soldiers were killed on Feb. 8 in two roadside bombings, one in Baghdad and the other in northern Iraq, the military said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/world/middleeast/11iraq.html?hp

Studies: Iraq Costs US $12B Per Month

2008-03-10T14:03:00.002-04:00

Although American military and Iraqi civilian casualties have declined in recent months, the rate of spending has shot up. A fully funded 2008 war budget will be 155 percent higher than 2004's, the CBO reports.

The reasons are numerous: the "surge" of additional U.S. units into Iraq; rising fuel costs; fattened bonuses to attract re-enlistments; and particularly the need to "reset," that is, repair or replace worn-out, destroyed or damaged military equipment. Almost $17 billion is appropriated this year for advanced armored vehicles to protect troops against roadside bombs.

The flow of blood may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.

Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion _ or more _ by 2017.

Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line, they say.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has done its own projections and comes in lower, forecasting a cumulative cost by 2017 of $1.2 trillion to $1.7 trillion for the two wars, with Iraq generally accounting for three-quarters of the costs.

Variations in such estimates stem from the sliding scales of assumptions, scenarios and budget items that are counted. But whatever the estimate, the cost will be huge, the auditors of the Government Accountability Office say.

In a Jan. 30 report to Congress, the GAO observed that the U.S. will be committing "significant" future resources to the wars, "requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge."

These numbers don't include the war's cost to the rest of the world. In Iraq itself, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion _ with its devastating air bombardments _ and the looting and arson that followed, severely damaged electricity and other utilities, the oil industry, countless factories, hospitals, schools and other underpinnings of an economy.

No one has tried to calculate the economic damage done to Iraq, said spokesman Niels Buenemann of the International Monetary Fund, which closely tracks national economies. But millions of Iraqis have been left without jobs, and hundreds of thousands of professionals, managers and other middle-class citizens have fled the country.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/10/studies-iraq-costs-us-1_n_90694.html

Iraq Security Forces Stand and Deliver

2007-06-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

Military Reports Slow Progress in Securing Baghdad

2007-06-05T09:35:00.000-04:00

Washington Post:

U.S. and Iraqi troops have pushed insurgents and other fighters out of about a third of Baghdad's neighborhoods under a three-month-old plan to pacify the city of 6 million people, according to a U.S. military report released yesterday.

In some parts of the city, military operations to gain control over contested areas have taken longer than projected before the Baghdad security plan started in February, both because of the number of U.S. and Iraqi troops available and the need to adjust to a constantly shifting insurgency, U.S. military officials said.

"One of our planning assumptions was that the Iraqi security forces would be able to hold [territory] in all areas, and we are finding that is not always the case," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for the U.S. military command in Baghdad. "We are having to go back in and re-clear some areas," he said, adding that "slow progress is still progress."

The report by U.S. brigade and battalion commanders in Baghdad covers the last week of May and reflects a snapshot of the stage of operations in each of the city's 457 neighborhoods. It is "an internal tool" to track progress on a weekly basis and does not represent a formal assessment of the Baghdad security plan, Bleichwehl said. The report was first made public yesterday by the New York Times.

For each weekly report, the commanders gauge which neighborhoods fall into four distinct phases of military operations: disrupt, clear, control and retain.

As of the end of May, 156 neighborhoods were in the "disrupt" phase, which means to keep insurgents off balance until a full military presence can be established. Areas in that phase include much of Sadr City, where U.S. troops are conducting raids against militia leaders but have lacked manpower to sweep the large Shiite district of 2 million people.

An additional 155 neighborhoods were in the "clear" phase, in which the military goes block to block looking for weapons and fighters in order to eliminate resistance.

Commanders rated 128 neighborhoods as under "control," meaning U.S. and Iraqi forces could keep insurgents out and could protect the population. Eighteen neighborhoods were in the "retain" phase, which relies more heavily on Iraqi security forces and is aimed at ensuring that the area remains free of insurgents.

[snip]

When the U.S. military began planning late last year for an increase of about 28,700 troops in Iraq -- including about five brigades, or 17,500 combat troops, in Baghdad -- they estimated that operations to "clear" the capital would be completed by the end of July, the official said. Since then, key assumptions of the initial plan have changed, he said.

Military: 8 Memorial Day deaths in Iraq

2007-05-29T08:43:00.000-04:00

BAGHDAD - Eight American soldiers were killed in roadside bombings and a helicopter crash in a restive province north of Baghdad, the military reported Tuesday, making May the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq.

The Americans — all from Task Force Lightning — were killed Monday in Diyala as the U.S. commemorated Memorial Day, bringing the number of U.S. forces killed this month to at least 110.

The military said six of the soldiers died in explosions near their vehicles and two were killed in the helicopter crash. It was not clear if the helicopter was shot down or suffered mechanical problems.

Car bombing in Baghdad market kills 25

2007-05-22T15:18:00.001-04:00

BAGHDAD - A parked car bomb ripped through a crowded outdoor market Tuesday in southwestern Baghdad, killing 25 people despite a three-month-old security crackdown meant to reduce violence in the capital.

At least 60 people were wounded in the blast in the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Amil. Nearby buildings were badly damaged and set ablaze, while others were reduced to rubble. Residents ran through the streets with buckets and pots of water, while others frantically tore through the rubble, looking for survivors. Groups of men carried bodies wrapped in tarps out of the damaged buildings.

Fadhil Hussein, 32, who sells spices in the market, said he was thrown from his stall and suffered shrapnel wounds in his back and head.

"I found myself in a pickup truck with other people. Some of them were bleeding and yelling," he said.

The street was filled with water, presumably from a water main that burst.

Sami Hussein, 25, was heading to the market with her 5-year old son when she heard the blast, "followed by gray and black smoke, which engulfed the market and made me to fall on the ground."

She suffered shrapnel wounds in her face and legs.

"I lost my son, and have no idea about his fate," she said. Medical officials at the hospital said he had been killed in the explosion.

The neighborhood has seen an increase in violence in recent weeks, and Sunni politicians expressed fears that Shiite militiamen had resumed their campaign of sectarian cleansing in Amil and nearby neighborhoods of southwestern Baghdad.

The blast came amid the U.S. and Iraqi security operation meant to flush out insurgents and restore order to Baghdad. Deadly attacks targeting civilians and police have continued, however.

U.S. military officials say insurgent groups, feeling the pressure from the crackdown, have hit back by stepping up their car bombings with their devastating death tolls. A May 6 bombing in a market in the neighboring Baiyaa district killed 30 people and wounded 80 others.

Cheney Visits Iraq

2007-05-13T08:06:00.000-04:00

Car bomb in Baghdad market kills 30

2007-05-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

BAGHDAD - A car bomb ripped through a wholesale food market in western Baghdad on Sunday, flattening cars and shops and killing at least 30 people in the deadliest of a wave of attacks across Iraq that killed at least 50 people.

The attack came amid an 11-week-old crackdown by U.S.-led forces intended to bring stability to Baghdad.

As part of that crackdown, U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City early Sunday, uncovering a weapons cache, a torture room and killing at least eight insurgents in a gunbattle, the military said.

In other violence, three U.S. troops were killed in separate attacks, the military said Sunday.

Two Marines were killed Saturday in fighting in Anbar province, a Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, and a roadside bomb killed a soldier and wounded four others Friday in western Baghdad, the military said. The deaths raised to at least 3,365 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The market blast Sunday erupted about noon in the mixed Sunni-Shiite Baiyaa neighborhood and devastated the area, reducing cars and trucks to their charred skeletons and ripping the roofs and exteriors off shops. In addition to the dead, dozens were injured.

Blood pooled in the dirt streets. Hospital officials said two pickup trucks filled with body parts were brought to the morgue.

Headline Slide Show

2007-04-25T13:35:00.000-04:00

In the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, the government's claims about weapons of mass destruction and terrorist ties to Saddam Hussein went mostly unchallenged by the media. Four years after "shock and awe," a big question remains: how and why did the press and the public buy it? And, was everyone on the "same page?"

View the Headline Slide Show from Bill Moyers Buying The War

Ranger: Told to conceal Tillman truth

2007-04-24T16:06:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON - An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when he died by friendly fire said Tuesday he was told by a higher-up to conceal that information from Tillman's family.

"I was ordered not to tell them," U.S. Army Specialist Bryan O'Neal told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He said he was given the order by then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, the battalion commander who oversaw Tillman's platoon.

Pat Tillman's brother Kevin was in a convoy behind his brother when the incident happened, but didn't see it. O'Neal said Bailey told him specifically not to tell Kevin Tillman that the death was friendly fire rather than heroic engagement with the enemy.

"He basically just said, 'Do not let Kevin know, he's probably in a bad place knowing that his brother's dead,'" O'Neal said. He added that Bailey made clear he would "get in trouble" if he told.

Kevin Tillman was not in the hearing room when O'Neal spoke.

In earlier testimony, Kevin Tillman accused the military of "intentional falsehoods" and "deliberate and careful misrepresentations" in portraying Pat Tillman's death in
Afghanistan as the result of heroic engagement with the enemy instead of friendly fire.

"We believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly the American public," Kevin Tillman told a House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing. "Pat's death was clearly the result of fratricide," he said, contending that the military's misstatements amounted to "fraud."

"Revealing that Pat's death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster in a month of political disasters ... so the truth needed to be suppressed," Tillman said

Car bomb kills 9 U.S. soldiers in Iraq

2007-04-23T21:07:00.000-04:00

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.

The attack occurred in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting between U.S. and Iraqi troops, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, according to a statement.

The nine Task Force Lightning soldiers died of injuries sustained in the blast, which also left 20 soldiers and an Iraqi civilian wounded, the military said.

Of those wounded, 15 soldiers were treated and returned to duty while five others and the Iraqi civilian were evacuated to a medical facility for further care, it added.

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.

House, Senate Negotiators Agree on War-Funding Bill

2007-04-23T16:41:00.000-04:00

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement today on final war-funding legislation that would begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as early as this July, setting a goal of ending U.S. combat operations no later than March of next year.

The deal, which will come to final votes in the House and Senate Wednesday and Thursday, sets up a veto clash with President Bush by week's end. Congressional Democrats had considered making all dates for withdrawing U.S. troops advisory, hoping to persuade Bush to sign the bill, which would provide more than $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But once the president made it clear a veto was inevitable, Democratic leaders decided to stick to binding dates, at least for the initial troop pullouts.

Bush "is the only person who fails to face this war's reality -- and that failure is devastating not just for Iraq's future, but for ours," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) declared in a speech this afternoon.

The legislation would maintain House-passed language setting strict requirements for resting, training and equipping troops. But it would also grant the president the authority to waive those restrictions, as long as he publicly justifies the waivers.

The bill establishes benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, including the establishment of a program to disarm militias. The benchmarks also require reductions in sectarian violence, the easing of rules that purged the government of all former Baath Party members, and passage of a oil revenue-sharing law.

Congress set to defy Bush on Iraq war

2007-04-22T11:24:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fight between the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush over the Iraq war is set to come to a head this week when Democrats are expected to send him $100 billion to pay for continuing combat while setting timetables for withdrawing troops.

Bush has promised to veto any bill setting dates for removing U.S. combat soldiers from the Iraq war, now in its fifth year.

But when a Democratic-controlled panel of Senate and House of Representatives members meets on Monday to iron out differences between their respective bills, the product is expected to contain 2008 withdrawal dates.

Many lawmakers have been speculating those dates might be nonbinding, as sketched out by a Senate-passed bill.

"The longer we continue down the president's path, the further we will be from responsibly ending this war," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), who on Thursday said the war in Iraq was "lost."

The Nevada Democrat, who called for a change of course in Iraq, made his remarks during a week in which he and Bush traded barbs and as violence and killings in Iraq again spiked.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois, who holds a Democratic leadership position in the House, said final touches on the Iraq war language ought to be finished by this weekend. That will be the basis for Monday's work session on the bill.

Last month, the House approved a bill setting a September 1, 2008, deadline for all U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq. The Senate's softer approach calls for some troop withdrawals this year leading to a nonbinding goal of having most of the 146,000 soldiers leave Iraq by March 31, 2008.

Nearly all Republicans in Congress voted against the deadlines.

In recent days, however, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Congress' debate on deadlines was helpful. In Baghdad on Thursday, he also told Iraqi leaders that the United States cannot indefinitely commit troops.

The full House could vote on Wednesday on the controversial war-funding bill, the same day Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is due to brief senators in a closed session.

Analysis: Iraq Surge May Be Extended

2007-04-21T08:20:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer.

This approach underscores the central difficulty facing President Bush. If political progress is not possible in the relatively short term, then the justification for sending thousands more U.S. troops to Baghdad - and accepting the rising U.S. combat death toll that has resulted - will disappear. That in turn would put even more pressure on Bush to yield to the Democratic-led push to wind down the war in coming months.

If the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki does manage to achieve the political milestones demanded by Washington, then the U.S. military probably will be told to sustain the troop buildup much longer than originally foreseen - possibly well into 2008. Thus the early planning for keeping it up beyond late summer.

More than half of the extra 21,500 combat troops designated for Baghdad duty have arrived; the rest are due by June. Already it is evident that putting them in the most hotly contested parts of the capital is taking a toll. An average of 22 U.S. troops have died per week in April, the highest rate so far this year.

``This is certainly a price that we're paying for this increased security,'' Adm. William Fallon, the senior U.S. commander in the Middle East, told a House committee Wednesday. He also said the United States does not have ``a ghost of a chance'' of success in Iraq unless it can create ``stability and security.''

The idea of the troop increase, originally billed by the administration as a temporary ``surge,'' is not to defeat the insurgency. That is not thought possible in the near term. The purpose is to contain the violence - in particular, the sect-on-sect killings in Baghdad - long enough to create an environment in which Iraqi political leaders can move toward conciliation and ordinary Iraqis are persuaded of a viable future.

So far the results are mixed, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week during a visit to Iraq that he wants to see faster political progress by the Iraqis. ``The clock is ticking,'' he said, referring to the limited time the administration can pursue its strategy before the American public demands an end to the war.

Gates also said he told al-Maliki that the United States will not keep fighting indefinitely.

Gates' remarks reflected the administration's effort to strike a balance between reassuring the Iraqis of U.S. support and pressuring their leaders to show they can bring the country together and avert a full-scale civil war.

Costs of the War by Congressional District

2007-04-19T11:45:00.000-04:00

The following table lists the cost of the Iraq War, including a portion of the $100 billion current proposal, for each congressional district in the state of Ohio.

Alongside the cost is what the people of Ohio could have if the money was spent locally instead.

AMERICANS AGAINST ESCALATION RELEASES OHIO NATIONAL GUARD READINESS REPORT

2007-04-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director

COLUMBUS - Volunteers from Military Families Speak Out and ProgressOhio delivered to Sen. George Voinovich's office today a national readiness report produced by ProgressOhio partner Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. The report concludes that The National Guard and Reservists of the United States are not properly equipped or trained to go into a war zone.

In fact, in a March report to Congress, the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves reported in that nearly 90 percent of National Guard units are not ready to respond to crises at home and abroad. [1]

[1] Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, Second Report to Congress, 3/1/07

"AAEI's study indicates that lack of properly equipping troops continues to be a major concern regarding escalation of the war," said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of ProgressOhio.org. "Ohio will spend an additional $5.6 billion dollars on troop escalation while 90% of National Guard troops nationwide are not ready to respond at home and abroad over equipment issues."

For a full review of the report, please click the link to IRAQ READINESS REPORT. (pdf)

Sen. Voinovich's office was chosen after he had expressed reservations about troop escalation and because he is a former Governor and Commander in Chief of Ohio's National Guard. "Senator Voinovich continues to blink on actions about escalation, instead of backing up his rhetoric about his concerns over the war's escalation," said Rothenberg.

America 's hidden war dead

2007-04-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

More than 770 civilians working for U.S. firms have lost their lives supporting the military in Iraq, and some families are now speaking out

HOUSTON -- Like thousands of other Americans who have served in Iraq since the U.S. intervention began four years ago, Walter Zbryski came home in a coffin. Only his coffin was not draped in an American flag or accompanied by a military honor guard.

Instead, the mangled body of the 56-year-old retired firefighter from New York City was shipped back to his family in June 2004 in the bloodied clothes in which he died, with half of his head blown away, according to Zbryski's brother Richard.

"I viewed the body," Richard Zbryski said. "What really upset me was that he was laying there floating in at least 6 inches of his own body fluids. They didn't even clean him up for us."

Zbryski's death was not counted among the official tally of more than 3,200 American military personnel who have been killed in Iraq, nor was it noted by the Defense Department in a news release. That's because Zbryski was not a soldier--he was a truck driver working in the private army of hundreds of thousands of contractors hired by the Pentagon to support the logistical side of the massive American war effort in Iraq.

More than 770 civilian contractors working for American companies have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion began on March 20, 2003, according to an obscure office inside the U.S. Department of Labor, which loosely tracks the figures. If those deaths--of truck drivers and cooks, laundry workers and security guards--are added to the military toll, the human cost of the U.S. war effort in Iraq is nearly 25 percent higher.

Now the family members of some of those American workers killed and injured in Iraq are raising their voices, complaining that the contributions of their loved ones have been forgotten by the U.S. public. Some allege that the workers were put in harm's way without adequate protection. Others charge that their own financial and psychological hardships have been ignored by the contracting companies that promised to help them.

"I think these deaths are glossed over and swept under the carpet," said Hollie Hulett, whose husband, Stephen, 48, was killed in an ambush in Iraq on April 9, 2004, while driving a truck for KBR, formerly Kellogg, Brown & Root, a subsidiary of oil services giant Halliburton. "I don't think anybody, including the Pentagon and the companies that hire these contractors, want it to be known that it is that dangerous over there and they are sending them out into a mess."

Critics of the war, and some members of Congress, have begun pressing the Bush administration to disclose more details about the Pentagon's reliance on private contractors to pursue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Department officials conceded in congressional testimony last year that they do not keep track of how many contractors are at work in Iraq and Afghanistan or how many casualties they have suffered.

"We want to know how many contractors and subcontractors there are, the total cost of the contracts, the number of dead and wounded contractors," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who has introduced a bill to require the Bush administration to collect and publicize such information. "This is basic information. . . . When you don't even count [the contractor deaths], you mask the cost in life of this war."

The most common estimate of the number of contractors currently working for U.S. firms in Iraq is 100,000, according to military analysts, but that figure includes unknown proportions of Americans, Iraqis and citizens of other countries.

Casualties understated?

The most recent statistic for deaths among those contractors is 770 as of the end of 2006, according to the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Division of the U.S. Labor Department, which computes the figures from workers' compensation claims filed under the federal Defense Base Act.

But those figures, which also count 7,761 contract workers injured in Iraq, appear to understate the actual number of casualties because they do not include killings of off-duty workers. Nor do they specify the nationalities of the dead and wounded.

What is more clear is that KBR, the Houston-based company that holds the largest Pentagon services contract, has more than 50,000 employees and subcontractors at work in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait who are driving fuel and supply trucks, cooking meals, delivering mail and generally supporting the U.S. military in the region. So far, according to the company, 99 KBR employees have been killed on the job, most of them in Iraq.

Read the rest of the story from The Chicago Tribune

4 bombs kill 157 people in Baghdad

2007-04-18T10:10:00.000-04:00

BAGHDAD - Four large bombs exploded in mostly Shiite areas across Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 157 people and wounding scores as violence climbed toward levels seen before the U.S.-Iraqi campaign to pacify the capital began two months ago.

In the deadliest of the attacks, a parked car bomb detonated in a crowd of workers at the Sadriyah market in central Baghdad, killing at least 112 people and wounding 115, said Raad Muhsin, an official at Al-Kindi Hospital where the victims were taken.

A police official confirmed the toll, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Among the dead were several construction workers who had been rebuilding the mostly Shiite marketplace after a bombing destroyed many shops and killed 137 people there in February, the police official said.

The market is situated on a side street lined with shops and vendors selling produce, meat and other staples. It is also about 500 yards from a Sunni shrine.

About an hour earlier, a suicide car bomber crashed into an Iraqi police checkpoint at an entrance to Sadr City, the capital's biggest Shiite Muslim neighborhood and a stronghold for the militia led by radical anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The explosion killed at least 30 people, including five Iraqi security officers, and wounded 45, police said.

Black smoke billowed from a jumble of at least eight incinerated vehicles that were in a jam of cars stopped at the checkpoint. Bystanders scrambled over twisted metal to drag victims from the smoldering wreckage as Iraqi guards staggered around stunned.

Earlier, a parked car exploded near a private hospital in the central neighborhood of Karradah, killing 11 people and wounding 13, police said. The blast damaged the Abdul-Majid hospital and other nearby buildings.

The fourth explosion was from a bomb left on a minibus in the northwestern Risafi area, killing four people and wounding six others, police said.

Also in Baghdad, four policemen were killed Wednesday afternoon when gunmen ambushed their patrol south of the city center, police said. Six pedestrians were wounded in the gunfire.

U.S. officials had cited a slight decrease in sectarian killings in Baghdad since the U.S.-Iraqi crackdown was launched Feb. 14. But the past week has seen several spectacular attacks on the capital, including a suicide bombing inside parliament and a powerful blast that collapsed a landmark bridge across the Tigris River.

17 Decomposing Bodies Found in Ramadi

2007-04-18T06:28:00.000-04:00

BAGHDAD — Police in Ramadi uncovered 17 decomposing corpses buried beneath two schoolyards in a district that until recently was under the control of al-Qaida fighters. At least 85 people were killed or found dead across the country Tuesday.

The adult bodies were discovered in the Anbar provincial capital after students and teachers returned to the schools a week ago and noticed an increasingly putrid odor and stray dogs digging in the area, Police Maj. Laith al-Dulaimi said.

He said one body had not yet been recovered from a separate burial site behind one of the schools because authorities feared it was booby-trapped with a bomb.

Ramadi had been a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida fighters until recently, when the U.S. forces in the region and the Iraqi government successfully negotiated with many local tribal leaders to split them off from the more militant insurgent groups.

Thousands of young Sunni men have joined the police force in Anbar province and have taken up the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq, the umbrella organization that includes al-Qaida.

In a sign that Shiite death squads are on the move again after more than two months of quiescence, 25 bodies, most tortured, were found dumped in Baghdad on Tuesday. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his six Cabinet ministers Monday to quit the government.

In addition to the deaths in Baghdad and Ramadi, officials reported 43 other people were killed or found dead across Iraq Tuesday in nearly two dozen other violent incidents at sites that included Mosul, Fallujah, Baqouba and Tal Afar.

Al Qaeda group says Iraq a "university of terror"

2007-04-17T13:35:00.000-04:00

DUBAI (Reuters) - The head of an al Qaeda-led group in Iraq said the country has become a "university of terrorism" producing highly qualified warriors since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

In an audio recording posted on the Internet on Tuesday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said his fighters were successfully confronting U.S. forces in Iraq and have begun producing a guided missile called al-Quds 1 or Jerusalem 1.

"The largest batch of soldiers for jihad ... in the history of Iraq are graduating and they have the highest level of competence in the world," Baghdadi said.

He also sought to mend fences with other anti-U.S. insurgent groups in Iraq following reports of tensions between them.

"From the military point of view, one of the (enemy) devils was right in saying that if Afghanistan was a school of terror, then Iraq is a university of terrorism," said the leader of the group set up last year by al Qaeda's Iraq wing and some other Sunni groups.

Iraq: Sadrists to leave Cabinet

2007-04-16T09:56:00.000-04:00

BAGHDAD - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to withdraw from
Iraq's coalition government on Monday, the head of his parliamentary bloc said.

The move, while unlikely to topple Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's regime, would deal a significant blow to the U.S.-backed leader, who relied on support from the Sadrists to gain office.

Al-Sadr's ministers will "withdraw immediately from the Iraqi government and give the six Cabinet seats to the government, with the hope that they will be given to independents who represent the will of the people," said Nassar al-Rubaie, head of al-Sadr's bloc, reading a statement from the cleric.

Al-Sadr, who wields tremendous power among Iraq's majority Shiites, has been upset about recent arrests of his Mahdi Army fighters in the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown. He and his followers have also criticized al-Maliki for failing to back calls for a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country.

Meanwhile, thousands upset about poor city services marched peacefully through the streets of Iraq's second largest city on Monday, demanding the provincial governor's resignation despite calls by top government officials a day earlier to call off the protest.

Some 3,000 demonstrators gathered near the Basra mosque, then marched a few hundred yards to Gov. Mohammed al-Waili's office, which was surrounded by Iraqi soldiers and police officers. The protest ended without incident a few hours later.

Residents have complained of inadequate electricity, garbage disposal and water supplies in Basra, situated 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Iraq war's unseen injuries

2007-04-15T07:35:00.000-04:00

Troops suffer brain traumas from repeated bombings

ENCINITAS - At a community hospital here, doctors and therapists are working to help Marines overcome what is often called the signature injury of the Iraq war: brain trauma with no visible wounds.

''It's the silent injury,'' said Jessica Martinez, an occupational therapist at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. ''With every blast they suffer, their brain is rattling like a yolk in an egg.''

Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Vargas was a high school football player. Now, even though he looks fit, he cannot toss the football with his buddies, let alone be part of pickup games with other off-duty Marines.

''I can't catch anything,'' he said. ''I can't remember any plays.''

Vargas, 20, was subjected to innumerable mortar and roadside bomb blasts while patrolling the insurgent stronghold of Hit in the Euphrates River Valley. In mid-January he was shot in the hand and cheek by a sniper and airlifted to Germany and then the United States for treatment.

He has the classic signs of post-concussive injury.

''My thinking has gone down,'' he said. ''I can't remember what I did this morning. I have trouble putting memory and speaking together. I'm trying to learn to speak as clearly as possible.''

Lance Cpl. Keene Sherburne, 20, who was injured when a bomb exploded under his Humvee in Fallujah, is frustrated at the slow pace of his recovery.

''I can't read,'' he said. ''I used to love it, but now I hate it. I pick up a snowboard magazine and I get so mad because I don't understand it.''

Maj. Gen. John M. Paxton Jr., commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, said Marine leaders became concerned when they noticed that some Marines returning from Iraq were ''struggling emotionally.''

''It's like football or boxing injuries. You never know the cumulative effect,'' he said.

The surgeon general of the Army ordered a report done on traumatic brain injuries and possible treatment plans. The report is due May 1. Two battalions from Camp Pendleton have been selected for another study on brain injury assessment and treatment in Iraq.

One preliminary study at Walter Reed suggests that patients with mild traumatic brain injury are at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder than patients who have suffered even greater brain injuries through direct wounds.

Many of the symptoms of mild brain trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder overlap: anxiety, memory loss, depression, loss of concentration.

Iraq violence slaughters 57

2007-04-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

A car bomb slaughtered 34 people near a revered Shiite shrine in Iraq's pilgrimage city of Karbala on Saturday, two months to the day after US-led troops launched a security crackdown in Baghdad.

Another 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Baghdad while other attacks around the country killed 13 more people, pushing the death toll to 57 and undermining the Iraqi-US security offensive as it began a third month.

The latest carnage came just two days after a suicide bombing at parliament's cafe in Baghdad's heavily-guarded Green Zone stunned the world for its massive breach of security.

The Karbala bomb exploded in an area cluttered with market stalls around 200 metres (yards) from the Imam Hussein shrine, where hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims flock every March during the Ashura commemorations.

Costs all around to prolonging the war

2007-04-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

It will be costly and painful to prolong the war in Iraq for another 21 months so that those who started it can hand off the harder decision of how to end it to the next occupant of the White House.

President Bush isn't extending and expanding the war in a search for victory. His dream of victory in Iraq cannot be achieved. Not by sending 30,000 more American troops. Not by making parts of Baghdad temporarily safer by billeting American troops in violent neighborhoods and pushing the slaughter into the northern and southern suburbs - or into the Green Zone where U.S. and Iraqi officials live and work.

Not by letting American soldiers bear the brunt of combat, targeted not only by our enemies, the Sunni Muslim insurgents but also by our supposed allies, the Shiite majority and the murderous militia of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. In March, more American troops died in Iraq than Iraqi soldiers.

This is a search for a fig leaf to cover the emperor’s nakedness - a way for Bush to go home to Texas with a ringing but hollow declaration that "Iraq wasn't lost on my watch."

That this can be achieved only by fomenting a nasty, divisive and unnecessary showdown between the White House and Congress is just one more cost.

Another very high cost will be borne by the U.S. Army, whose soldiers got the word from Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week that their combat tours are being extended from 12 months to 15 months, effective immediately.

The cost to the Army National Guard will be high, too. The Guard got the word this month that 13,000 of its part-time soldiers will be recalled to active duty for their second combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan - although they'd been promised only one active duty tour every five years.

The cost will be highest of all, however, for the families of those soldiers who've already waved farewell to their loved ones two or three times.

What disheartening news for people like a young Army captain who recently told me that he'd finally had the pleasure of spending his first Christmas at home with a daughter who's almost four.

While the nation’s airwaves this past week were filled with the urgent news of who fathered Anna Nicole Smith’s baby and the spectacle of Don Imus waving goodbye to his career in broadcasting over racist and sexist remarks on the air, few seemed to notice that 10 more American troops were killed in Iraq over the weekend.

Ten young soldiers whose lives of service to the nation were terminated in an instant. Ten military sedans rolling up to the doors of families that were devastated by the news of a death in combat. Fathers, mothers, siblings, spouses, young children, fiancees, friends whose hearts were shattered in an instant.

The American military death toll in Iraq rose to almost 3,300 this week. The number of wounded and injured now tops 50,000.

Continuing this war for another two years will bring the day-to-day cost to the American taxpayer to nearly a trillion dollars. Hidden long-term costs such as medical care and disability pensions for the thousands of wounded, and mental health care for those tormented by PTSD, could add another trillion dollars or more to the tab.

Why? Why should this misbegotten war continue for another two or three years? The president’s men say that if we leave Iraq as it is now, it will erupt into all-out civil war, and the flames would spread to other tinderbox nations in the Middle East. Perhaps, but perhaps not.

There were those who were certain that if we left Vietnam and it fell to the Communists, the other nations of Southeast Asia would topple like dominos.

We left. The Communists took power in the three countries of what had been French Indochina: South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The dominos of Southeast Asia are all still standing.

It was our preemptive invasion of Iraq that loosed the dogs of war there. It was our negligence that set off sectarian slaughter. It is our continued military presence in Iraq _ where a majority wants us to leave now _ that fans the flames of war.

What if we left, and our departure forced the Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and others to find some way to live in peace with each other, or at least alongside one another? What if our leaving isn't the worst possible outcome but the best?

Maybe we'll finally find out after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney go home to Texas and Wyoming, and those whom we choose to succeed them decide to try the one thing that Bush and Cheney have never considered.

Commentary
By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
McClatchy Newspapers

Bomb Rocks Iraq Parliament Killing Lawmakers

2007-04-12T10:34:00.000-04:00

“A bomb rocked Iraq’s parliament building in the heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday, killing at least two lawmakers in a stunning security breach in the third month of a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown on violence in the capital … The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations.”

Pentagon Extends Tours For All 145,000 Iraq Troops

2007-04-12T01:49:00.000-04:00

From The AP:

WASHINGTON — Beginning immediately, all active-duty Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve 15-month tours _ three months longer than the usual standard, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

It was the latest move by the Pentagon to cope with the strains of fighting two wars simultaneously and maintaining a higher troop level in Iraq as part of President Bush's revised strategy for stabilizing Baghdad.

"This policy is a difficult but necessary interim step," Gates told a Pentagon news conference, adding that the goal is to eventually return to 12 months as the standard length of tour in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said the new policy does not affect the other main components of the U.S. ground force in Iraq: the Marines, whose standard tour is seven months, or the Army National Guard or Army Reserve, which will continue to serve 12-month tours.

4 Years Ago April 9, 2003

2007-04-09T07:31:00.000-04:00

YOU DECIDE!

2007-04-07T15:57:00.000-04:00

YOU DECIDE!

We’ve had a number of groups discuss having an Ohio day of action against the escalation of the Iraq War.

We also know, that thousands of Ohio progressives will be in town on Saturday May 12, when Hillary Rodham Clinton, progressive Ohio elected officials and other potential progressive candidates are expected to address a crowd of 4,000 at the State Fair Grounds that evening.

So, this is your chance to help us decide:

Rally Against War Escalation
on May 12?

Cast Your Vote Now!

WILL YOU BE IN COLUMBUS MAY 12th?
IF WE HOLD A RALLY WILL YOU ATTEND?

Sign Up Here!

U.S. military deaths in Iraq at 3,267

2007-04-07T05:39:00.000-04:00

As of Friday, April 6, 2007, at least 3,267 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,634 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The AP count is seven higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

The British military has reported 140 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 19; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, six;
El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Romania, one death each.

12,000 Guard soldiers To Be Called Up To Go To Iraq

2007-04-05T21:59:00.000-04:00

The Pentagon will call up 12,000 National Guard soldiers for service in Iraq to fill gaps in the overworked army, a news report said Thursday.

The National Guard is a volunteer militia, but, said NBC News, they will receive an involuntary call-up to report for duty in Iraq.

Guard units are based in each US state. Four states will provide the troops from four brigades, the television network said, citing unnamed Defense Department sources.

The call-up follows closely President George W. Bush's controversial "surge" of 21,000 troops, meant to quell the sectarian violence among Iraqis as well as Al-Qaeda fighters determined to sow chaos.

However, US troops are being rotated in and out of Iraq, sometimes without the customary training, sometimes without the customary 12 months' rest at US bases.

Emotional Reunion: Sailor Suprises 6 year old Son at School

2007-04-03T11:14:00.000-04:00

McCain "Walks Freely" Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships

2007-04-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq.

NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s one-hour guided tour. He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” Still photographs provided by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit.

McCain recently claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.” In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely” in some areas of Baghdad.

Help This Ohio GI's Mom Stop The War!

2007-03-26T20:27:00.000-04:00

Please Sign the Following Petition to George Voinovich

Urging Him to Vote Yes On The Iraq Spending Bill!

Dear Senator Voinovich:

On Friday, the U.S. House voted to bring the troops home by September 2008.

Now it's the Senate's turn to step up to the plate.

I want to bring our soldiers home and see an end to this war. Please vote in favor of setting a non-binding timeline to bring U.S. combat troops home by March 31, 2008.

Sen. Voinovich, listen to Ohioans and do the right thing: vote in favor of this bill.

Sincerely,

Sign The Petition Here!

Use Our SpeakOut Feature to

Email Senator Voinovich Directly!

Americans in the Opinion Polls, Not in the Streets

2007-03-26T20:07:00.000-04:00

Demobilizing America
Outsourcing Action in an Imperial World
By Tom Engelhardt

Excuse me if, at 62, and well into my second era of protest against yet another distant, disastrous, and disabling American war, I express a little confusion. Was it actually like this in Rome while the legions were off fighting on the German frontiers? Was this the way it felt in London while the imperial forces conducted their frontier wars in Afghanistan, or Paris when the Foreign Legion was holding down North Africa? Was this how it felt in Washington when Douglas MacArthur's father was suppressing the Filipinos and General Jacob Smith was turning the island of Samar into a "howling wilderness"? Is this the way it usually feels in the heartlands of great empires until the barbarians actually do come knocking at the gates?

I went marching against the President's Iraqi war of choice in my hometown last Sunday. I found myself in an older crowd, many visibly from the Vietnam era. It was relatively quiet, small-scale, and lacking in energy; all in all -- for me at least -- a modestly dispiriting experience, given the crisis at hand and the disillusioned state of public opinion here in the U.S.

I came home wondering whether some Bush-era version of the old Roman formula had indeed been working. Had bread and circuses become croissants and iPods, or Bud and American Idol, or Sony PlayStation 3 and 24? I couldn't help puzzling over the gap between public opinion on the President's war and public action, or between the conclusions opinion polls tell us so many Americans have reached and those generally reached in Washington as well as in the mainstream media.

I know I'm not alone in wondering about such things, so here's my provisional exploration of some of what's puzzled me most. I don't claim to have the answers, only perhaps some of the questions. Think of this, then, as a guided tour of a few of the trees on our landscape -- with the hope that you'll be able to spot the forest.

Read the Full Article

"Wariness"

2007-03-23T13:36:00.000-04:00

Through The Lens: Funerals for Troops Killed in Iraq

2007-03-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

March 19, 2007 Moment of Silence in the People's House

2007-03-19T21:05:00.000-04:00

Bush Pleads For Patience On War Anniversary

2007-03-19T15:28:00.000-04:00

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Striking a subdued tone on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, President George W. Bush pleaded for patience on Monday and warned skeptical Americans of dire consequences of a swift troop withdrawal.

With polls showing him near the weakest point of his presidency, Bush defended his Iraq policy to a nation increasingly opposed to the war and unsupportive of his drive to send in nearly 30,000 additional troops.

Bush, in a brief televised statement from the White House, appealed to Americans for more time while acknowledging: "Prevailing in Iraq is not going to be easy."

His cautious tone contrasted sharply with the swagger shown when he stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier weeks after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled
Saddam Hussein and declared that major combat operations in Iraq were over.

As the war entered its fifth year, insurgents carried out deadly bombings in Kirkuk and Baghdad, and a new poll showed most Iraqis with little or no confidence in U.S.-led forces.

"Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult but it can be won," Bush said after a teleconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through."

While insisting there had been progress, Bush did not repeat his earlier vow to achieve outright victory. His rhetoric has been tempered by relentless violence bordering on civil war which U.S. forces seem unable to control.

But Bush stuck to his refusal to set a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal despite stepped-up pressure from the new Democratic-led Congress.

March 19, 2003 President Bush Addresses the Nation

2007-03-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support -- from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.

President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office at the White House Wednesday evening, March 19, 2003. White House photo by Paul Morse To all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed.

The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military -- a final atrocity against his people.

I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.

We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.

I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory.

My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.

May God bless our country and all who defend her.

How to Win The War on Terror

2007-03-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

The Best War Ever

2007-03-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

59 Percent of Americans Believe The War Has Been a Mistake

2007-03-17T15:48:00.000-04:00

President Bush may still believe the war in Iraq was the right thing to do, and that all in all, it has been worthwhile effort. The public, however, begs to differ.

Take the question Gallup has been asking ever since the war started: “In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?” The chart below shows the year-to-year progression of responses to this question, starting with the response Gallup got right after the initial invasion and ending with their most recent reading in early March of this year.

This year-to-year progression shows that the public started with an overwhelmingly positive judgment of the war—just 23 percent of Americans thought the war was a mistake in 2003. But this trend steadily reversed over time so that now 59 percent of Americans believe the war has been a mistake. It is worth noting that this 59 percent “mistake” figure is now just about as high as the peak response Gallup received to an analogous question during the Vietnam War—61 percent.

The Iraq Veterans Memorial

2007-03-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

The Iraq Veterans Memorial is an online memorial to honor the members of the U.S. armed forces who have lost their lives serving in the Iraq War.

The Memorial is a collection of video memories from military colleagues, co-workers, family, and friends of those that have fallen.

Another Ohio soldier dies in Iraq

2007-03-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

Army Sgt. Robert Carr, 22, is the latest Ohio resident to die in Iraq.

The sergeant was expected home on leave to celebrate his April 10 wedding anniversary with his wife, Nina.

"I was here by myself, and two soldiers came in full dress uniform. As soon as I saw them in uniform, I knew. It was like my worst nightmare coming true," she said.

Carr graduated from Champion High School in May 2002.

His mom said he wanted to be a career soldier.

Time Magazine Cover March 3-10 2003

2007-03-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

Prelude to The Invasion: The Issue of Iraq's Disarmament

2007-03-15T14:11:00.000-04:00

In the decade following the Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations passed 16 Security Council resolutions calling for the elimination of Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction. The UN showed obvious frustration over the years that Iraq was not only failing to disarm, but was interfering with the work of weapons inspectors. Resolutions were passed and statements were released - at least once a year - calling for Iraq to disarm and fully cooperate with inspectors. On many occasions, Iraqi soldiers physically prevented weapons inspectors from doing their job and in at least one case, took documents away from the inspectors.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed concerns about Iraq's failure to disarm, noting that he believed the country would give its weapons of mass destruction to other countries. Clinton also stated his belief that Saddam Hussein would eventually use these weapons - it was "only a matter of time." On September 29, 1998, the United States Congress passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which states that the U.S. intends to remove Saddam Hussein from office and replace the government with a democratic institution. The Iraq Liberation Act was signed by President Clinton on October 31, 1998. On the same day, Iraq announced it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

Clinton's plans to remove Hussein from power were put on hold when the U.N., under Kofi Annan, brokered a deal wherein Iraq would allow weapons inspectors back into the country. Iraq quit cooperating with the inspectors only days later and the inspectors left the country in December. Inspectors would return the following year as part of The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Paul Wolfowitz, the hawkish conservative military analyst for the Defense Department under Ronald Reagan, had formulated a new foreign policy with regard to Iraq and other "potential aggressor states", dismissing "containment" in favor of "preemption," with the goal of striking first to eliminate threats.

This policy was short-lived, however, and Clinton, along with George H. W. Bush, Colin Powell, and other former Bush administration officials, dismissed calls for preemption in favor of continued containment. This was the policy of George W. Bush as well for his first several months in office. The September 11, 2001 attacks brought to life Wolfowitz's and other hawks' advocacy for preemptive action; Iraq was widely agreed to be a likely subject of this new policy, even though no evidence yet produced connects Iraq with these attacks. Powell continued to support the philosophy behind containment and it was his advice which President Bush balanced with Wolfowitz's calls to action resulting in a moderated approach. This approach began with the US appeals to the UN which led to UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

During most of 2002 and into 2003, the United States government continued to call for "regime change" in Iraq and threatened to use military force to overthrow the Iraqi government unless Iraq rid itself of all weapons of mass destruction and convinced the UN that it had done so.

US diplomatic pressure to bring Iraq to compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1441 quickly created a diplomatic crisis in the UN, where some were in agreement with the US position, while others dissented, notably the permanent security council members France, Russia and the People's Republic of China and fellow NATO members Germany and Belgium.

The US had given the following reasons for its seeking to force Iraq's compliance:

1. That the government of Iraq has failed to produce evidence of the destruction of caches of weapons of mass destruction, i.e. biological, chemical, as well as the existence of secret programs to produce nuclear weapons.
2. That the government of Iraq has supported terrorist operations and groups, and is likely to supply them with weapons of mass destruction at some future point.
3. That the government of Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, are anti-democratic and violate human rights - and have even been implicated in attempts at genocide.

Several close allies of the U.S. (e.g. Germany, Belgium and France), although mainly sharing that estimation of the United States, opposed a military intervention because they claimed that it would increase rather than decrease the risk of terrorist attacks.

Although the UK and governments of other members of the EU and NATO also supported the US position, opinion polls show that in general their populations were against an attack, especially an attack without clear UN Security Council support.

Millions of people in the major cities of Europe, and hundreds of thousands in major cities of North America, participated in peace marches on February 15, 2003.

The March To War: Bush Administration Quotes: November 2002

2007-03-15T10:52:00.000-04:00

President George W. Bush:

"Saddam Hussein is a man who told the world he wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction, but he's got them . . . . And not only that, [he would] like nothing more than to hook up with one of these shadowy terrorist networks like Al Qaeda, provide some weapons and training to them, let them come do his dirty work, and we wouldn't be able to see his fingerprints on his action."
Source: Iraq Must Disarm Says President in South Dakota Speech, White House (11/3/2002).

"It's a man who has got connections with Al Qaida. Imagine a terrorist network with Iraq as an arsenal and as a training ground, so that a Saddam Hussein could use this shadowy group of people to attack his enemy and leave no fingerprint behind. He's a threat."
Source: Remarks by the President in Texas Welcome, White House (11/4/2002).

"He's a threat because he is dealing with Al Qaida. In my Cincinnati speech I reminded the American people, a true threat facing our country is that an Al Qaida-type network trained and armed by Saddam could attack America and leave not one fingerprint."
Source: President Outlines Priorities, White House (11/7/2002).

"Today the world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq. A dictator who has used weapons of mass destruction on his own people must not be allowed to produce or possess those weapons. We will not permit Saddam Hussein to blackmail and/or terrorize nations which love freedom."
Source: President Bush Speaks to Atlantic Youth Council, CNN (11/20/2002).

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

"Now, transport yourself forward a year, two years, or a week, or a month, and if Saddam Hussein were to take his weapons of mass destruction and transfer them, either use himself, or transfer them to the Al-Qaeda, and somehow the Al-Qaeda were to engage in an attack on the United States, or an attack on U.S. forces overseas, with a weapon of mass destruction you're not talking about 300, or 3,000 people potentially being killed, but 30,000, or 100,000 . . . human beings."
Source: Secretary Rumsfeld Live Interview with Infinity CBS Radio, Infinity-CBS Radio (11/14/2002).

"Well, we know that Saddam Hussein has chemical and biological weapons."
Source: Secretary Rumsfeld Live Interview with Infinity CBS Radio, Infinity-CBS Radio (11/14/2002).

"[T]here is no question but that there have been interactions between the Iraqi government, Iraqi officials, and al-Qaeda operatives. They have occurred over a span of some eight or ten years to our knowledge. There are currently al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Source: Secretary Rumsfeld Live Interview with Infinity CBS Radio, Infinity-CBS Radio (11/14/2002).

The Cost of the Iraq War to Your Congressional District

2007-03-14T15:31:00.000-04:00

Ohio Taxpayer Costs Of Iraq War

2007-03-14T12:53:00.000-04:00

Congress will soon vote on at least $100 billion more in war spending. About $78 billion of that amount will be for the Iraq War, bringing total spending through the current fiscal year to nearly half a trillion dollars.

In the lead up to the war, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget stated that it would cost between $50-$60 billion. The White House discounted its own economic advisor when he suggested that the war could cost between $100-$200 billion.

Even the half a trillion dollar price tag does not begin to cover future costs. The administration seeks $142 billion in more war funding for the next fiscal year. Since the war is deficit-financed, interest payments alone could rise to at least one hundred billion dollars.

Spending on veterans’ health care and disability payments for the many severely wounded soldiers could also mount to hundreds of billions of dollars

The March To War: Bush Administration Quotes: October 2002

2007-03-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

President George W. Bush:

"We know the designs of the Iraqi regime. In defiance of pledges to the U.N., it has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons."
Source: President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution, White House (10/2/2002).

"On its present course, the Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency. . . . it has developed weapons of mass death."
Source: President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution, White House (10/2/2002).

"In defiance of the United Nations, Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons."
Source: President: Iraqi Regime Danger to America is "Grave and Growing", White House (10/5/2002).

"Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof - the smoking gun - that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."
Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002).

"If the Iraq regime is able to produce, buy, or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear weapon in less than one year."
Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002).

"And I also mentioned the fact that there is a connection between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein."
Source: President Condems Attack in Bali, White House (10/14/2002).

Secretary of State Colin Powell:

"They have chemical weapons; they have biological weapons; they're trying to acquire nuclear weapons."
Source: Interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC (10/22/2002).

Iraq By the Numbers

2007-03-13T16:28:00.000-04:00

Iraq By the Numbers:
$408 billion: Cost to the Nation
$16 billion: Cost to Ohio
$4,100: Cost Per Household
$11 million: Cost Per Hour
$275 million: Daily Cost

Cost to Ohio Cities and Counties
Akron: $237,800,000
Athens: $12,600,000
Cincinnati: $427,900,000
Cleveland: $426,800,000
Columbus: $927,700,000
Dayton: $156,800,000
Greene County: $247,600,000
Knox County: $72,900,000
Mansfield: $51,200,000
Montgomery County: $772,400,000
Painesville: $21,000,000
Toledo: $351,200,000
Wayne County: $159,400,000
Wooster: $31,900,000
Youngstown: $68,300,000

For More Information, or the methodology, please visit nationalpriorities.org

Empty Boots Eyes Wide Open: Columbus Ohio

2007-03-13T16:08:00.000-04:00

When Eyes Wide Open came to the Ohio Statehouse in June there were 2492 U.S. Deaths Confirmed by the DoD.

Today:
U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3195

In Memoriam: Remembering the Ohio Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan

2007-03-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

Marine Sgt. Maj. Joseph J. Ellis, 40, of Ashland, died while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province. He was assigned to the Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Army Pfc. David C. Armstrong, 21, of Zanesville, died in Baghdad in a vehicle accident. He was assigned to the 57th Military Police Company, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Pacific, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Pfc. Kenneth T. "Tyler" Butler, 21, of East Liverpool, died in Baghdad in a vehicle accident. He was assigned to the 57th Military Police Company, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Pacific, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Navy Hospitalman Matthew G. Conte, 22, of Mogadore, was killed in combat in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He was serving as a hospital corpsman in Iraq under the command of I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Wiggins, 26, of Cleveland, died Tuesday in Balad of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the 79th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Army Spc. Nicholas P. Brown, 24, of Huber Heights, was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Marine Sgt. Michael M. Kashkoush, 24, of Chagrin Falls, was killed in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Intelligence Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force at Okinawa, Japan.

Army Sgt. Jonathan Kingman, of Shelby, was killed as the result of an explosion. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of Combat Engineers, based in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Spc. Vincent Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Giessen, Germany.

Pvt. Heath D. Warner, 19, of Canton, died in combat in Al Anbar province in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Jeremy S. Shock, 22, of Tiffin, Ohio, died from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Perrysburg, Ohio.

Army 1st Sgt. Ricky L. McGinnis, 42, of Hamilton, died in Balad of injuries sustained when an explosive detonated near his dismounted patrol in Muqdadiyah. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Spc. Jason A. Lucas, 24, of Columbus, died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was struck by another vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Polk, La.

Marine Sgt. Justin Walsh, 24, of Cuyahoga Falls, died from injuries suffered in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

Army Cpl. Robert Weber, 22, of Cincinnati, died near the Qayyarah West Airfield in Iraq when his vehicle rolled over. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army Sgt. James R. Worster, 24, of Broadview Heights, died from non-combat injuries in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 10th Combat Support Hospital, 43rd Area Support Group, Fort Carson, Colo.

Army Sgt. Adam L. Knox, 21, of Hilliard, was killed when his patrol fought with enemy forces.

Army Capt. Matthew Mattingly, 30, of Reyoldsburg, was killed in Iraq when gunfire hit his helicopter. He was the commander of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Sgt. David W. Gordon, 23, of Williamsfield, was killed in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan Miller, 21, of Columbus, was killed when his vehicle struck an explosive device in Iraq.

Spc. Joshua D. Jones, 24, of Pomeroy, was killed in combat in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

Marine Staff Sgt. Gordon G. Solomon, 35, of Fairborn, was killed while conducting combat operations in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Air Force Master Sgt. Brad A. Clemmons, 37, of Chillicothe, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. He was assigned to the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron based at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

Pfc. James P. White Jr., 19, of Huber Heights, was killed in Afghanistan when his platoon was hit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He was a member of the First Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, Third Brigade Combat Team, of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Marine Cpl. Joe Tomci, 21, of Stow, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment, Lima Company.

Marine Cpl. Timothy Roos, of Delphi Township in suburban Cincinnati, was killed while conducting combat operations in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Army Sgt. Benjamin Laymon, 22, of Mount Vernon, was killed in Iraq when his patrol was hit by small-arms fire and a roadside bomb. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Calvary Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Army National Guard Sgt. Daniel Crabtree, 31, of Cuyahoga Falls, was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle. Crabtree was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group.

Marine Sgt. Mark Smykowski, 23, of Mentor, was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.

Marine Maj. Michael D. Stover, 43, of Mansfield, was killed in Iraq in a non-combat incident.

Marine Sgt. David Christoff Jr., 25, of Rossford, was killed in Iraq while on patrol with his unit.

Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria, was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle. West was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 312th Regiment.

Army Sgt. Gregory Rogers, 42, of Cincinnati, was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee. Rogers was assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat team.

Lance Cpl. Bryan N. Taylor, 20, of Milford, died after being shot by an Iraqi Army soldier on a coalition base near Al Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine Pfc Jacob Spann, 21, of Westerville, died in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated under his vehicle.

Master Sgt. Joseph J. Andres Jr., 34, of Seven Hills, died in Iraq when he was attacked by enemy forces during combat operations. Andres was assigned to Army Special Operations Command based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Curtis Mitchell, 28, of McConnellsville, died in a bombing in Baghdad. Mitchell was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Army Spc. Allen J. Knop, 22, Willowick, Ohio; died in Baghdad from non-combat related injuries; assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Marine Sgt. Jeremy Murray, 28, of Atwater Township in Portage County, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Hadithah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton in San Diego, Calif.

Marine Lance Cpl. David A. Mendez Ruiz, 20, of Cleveland was killed by a homemade bomb on the western edge of Baghdad. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Twentynine Palms, Calif..

Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel J. Pratt, 48, of Youngstown, died in An Nasiriyah, Iraq, of a cause not related to combat. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 211th Maintenance Company, based in Newark.

Army Pvt. Adam "A.J." Johnson, 22, of Clayton, died after his Humvee went over an improvised bomb in Iraq. He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.

Marine Lance Cpl. Robert F. Eckfield Jr., 23, of Cleveland, died from an indirect fire explosion in Saqlawiyah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine Capt. Tyler B. Swisher, 35, of Cincinnati, died along with another Marine when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Amariyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Spc. Richard Hardy, 24, of Bolivar, died in Ramadi, Iraq, with four other soldiers when a rocket-propelled grenade got inside their tank and exploded. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Benning, Ga.

Staff Sgt. Richard T. Pummill, 27, of Cincinnati, was killed when a bomb exploded during combat operations near Nasser Wa Salaam, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Spc. Jeremy Hodge, 20, of Ridgeway, was killed in Iraq when a bomb struck his convoy. He was with the Ohio Army National Guard's 612th Engineers Battalion, based in Tiffin.

Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel McVicker, 20, of Alliance, was killed in Iraq while driving an armored vehicle that was hit by a roadside bomb. He was assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Sgt. Bryan W. Large, 31, of Cuyahoga Falls, was killed in Iraq when a bomb exploded near his Humvee. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Staff Sgt. Jason Benford, 30, a Toledo native, was killed in Iraq when a sniper shot him while he was on patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, based in Fort Benning, Ga.

Army Spec. David Ford, 20, of Ironton, died in Baghdad when a bomb exploded near the tank he was riding in. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Marine Lance Cpl. Eric J. Bernholtz, 23, of Grove City, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Sgt. Justin F. Hoffman, 27, of Delaware, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Cpl. David Kenneth J. Kreuter, 26, of Cincinnati, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Cifuentes, 25, of Oxford, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Aaron H. Reed, 21, of Chillicothe, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. William B. Wightman, 22, of Sabina, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Dyer, 19, of Evendale, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Sgt. Bradley J. Harper, 25, of Dresden, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division based in Norfolk, Va.

Marine Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder, 23, of Cleveland, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy Michael Bell Jr., 22, of West Chester, died in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Lima Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Nathan Deyarmin, 22, of Tallmadge, died in action with his sniper unit in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Service Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park.

Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Montgomery, 26, of Willoughby, died in action with his sniper unit in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Service Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park.

Marine Cpl. Jeff Boskovitch, 25, of North Royalton, died in action with his sniper unit in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Service Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park.

Marine Sgt. Nathaniel Rock, 26, of Toronto, died in action with his sniper unit in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Service Company 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park.

Army Pfc. Robert Swaney, 21, of Columbus, died when his Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Armored Calvary Regiment, Thunder Squadron based at Fort Carson, Colo.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher P. Lyons, 24, of Mansfield, died when his company came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve's Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment.

Marine Cpl. Andre L. Williams, 23, of Galloway, died when his company came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in western Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve's Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment.

Army Pfc. Tim Hines, 21, of Fairfield, died in a Washington hospital of injuries from a bomb detonated while he was in a convoy traveling in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 720th Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, 64th Military Police Unit.

Army Spc. Anthony D. Kinslow, 21, of Westerville, died when his military vehicle came under a grenade attack in Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Army Sgt. Larry R. Kuhns Jr., 24, of Austintown, died when his military vehicle came under a grenade attack in Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas O. Keeling, 23, of Strongsville, died in an explosion in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

Marine Lance Cpl. Devon P. Seymour, 21, of St. Louisville, died in an explosion in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

Marine Cpl. Brad D. Squires, 26, Middleburg Heights, died in an explosion in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

Army 1st Lt. Aaron Seesan, 24, of Massillon, died when a bomb struck his vehicle in Iraq. He was assigned to the 73rd Engineering Company based at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army Sgt. Kurt Schamberg, 26, of Orwell, died from a roadside blast near Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. He was assigned to 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Marine Lance Cpl. Nick Erdy, 21, of Owensville, died from an explosion near his vehicle transport in Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division based in Columbus.

Marine Pfc. Christopher Dixon, 18, of Obetz, died from an explosion near his vehicle transport in Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division based in Columbus.

Marine Lance Cpl. Wesley G. Davids, 20, of Dublin, died from an explosion while conducting combat operations in Karabilah, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division based in Columbus.

Marine Staff Sgt. Kendall Ivy II, 29, of Galion, died after suffering a severe leg wound when the vehicle he was riding in struck a roadside bomb in Iraq.

Marine Lance Cpl. Taylor Prazynski, 20, of Fairfield, died after suffering shrapnel wounds in an explosion during combat in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Pfc. Nick Messmer, 20, of Gahanna, and another soldier died in Iraq when a bomb blew up near their Humvee in Khalidiyah. He was assigned to the Army's 506th Infantry Regiment.

Marine Cpl. Dustin Derga, 24, of Columbus, died when he was caught in enemy small arms fire during combat near Ubaydi, Iraq. Derga was assigned to the Marine Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Division in Columbus.

Army Sgt. Andy Eckert, 24, of Whitehouse, was killed when an explosive device went off near his convoy in Iraq. He was assigned to the 983rd Engineer Battalion, a reserve unit based in Monclova.

Army Spc. Kevin William Prince, 22, of Mount Gilead, was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Al Haswah, Iraq.

Army Pfc. Gavin Colburn, 20, of Frankfort, was killed when an improvised device detonated near his convoy vehicle. He was assigned to the Army Reserve's 542nd Transportation Company from Kingsbury, Ind.

Army Spc. Daniel J. Freeman, 20, of Cincinnati, was one of 15 military members who died in a helicopter crash near Ghazni in Afghanistan, 80 miles south of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin S. Smith, 20, of Springfield, was killed in hostile action in Al Anbar Province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew W. Nowacki, 24, of South Euclid, was killed by a roadside bomb while serving as a gunner on a Humvee that was protecting a truck convoy south of Baghdad. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, based in Erie, Pa.

Army Sgt. Zachary Wobler, 24, of Ottawa, died when he was shot by insurgents during a firefight in Mosul. He was assigned to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Army Pfc. James H. Miller IV, 22, of suburban Cincinnati, died in an explosion while he was guarding a polling place in Ramadi for Iraq's elections.

Marine Cpl. Richard Gilbert Jr., 28, of Dayton, died when his helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan Edward Etterling, 22, of Wheelersburg, died when his helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm.

Marine Sgt. Michael Finke Jr., 28, of Wadsworth, died when his helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm.

Marine Cpl. Timothy A. Knight, 22, of Brooklyn (Ohio) was killed when his helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm.

Army Pfc. Josh Ramsey, 19, of Defiance, died of non-combat injuries. He was assigned to the 95th Military Police Battalion based at Mannheim, Germany.

Army Pfc. Harrison J. Meyer, 20, of Worthington, died when his unit was hit with small arms fire in Ramadi. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Camp Howze, Korea.

Army Sgt. Michael C. O'Neill, 22, of Mansfield, died of injuries received while preparing at Bagram Air Field for combat operations in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Benning, Ga.

Marine Cpl. Nathan R. Anderson, 22, of Howard, died during fighting in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Sgt. Charles Joseph Webb, 22, of Hamilton, died when he was struck in the face by shrapnel from a bomb. He was assigned to the 82nd Engineering Battalion.

Army Staff Sgt. Omer T. Hawkins II, 31, of Cherry Fork, was killed when an improvised bomb exploded near his convoy in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 44th Engineer Battalion based at Camp Howze, Korea.

Army Capt. Dennis Pintor, 30, who went to high school in Elida, was killed when an explosive device detonated near his patrol vehicle. Pinton was a member of the 20th Engineer Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas

National Guard Sgt. Michael Barkey, 22, of Canal Fulton, was killed in a vehicle crash caused by hostile action. Barkey was a member of the 1484th Transportation Company based in Akron.

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Richard L. Morgan, 38, of Maynard, was killed when he drove a Humvee over a land mine. He was a member of the 660th Transportation Company based in Cadiz.

Army Reserve Spc. Allen Nolan, 38, of Marietta, died after suffering severe burns in a missile attack. He was a member of the 660th Transportation Company based in Zanesville.

Army Staff Sgt. Elvis Bourdon, 36, of Youngstown, died during a patrol when his military vehicle came under attack by enemy forces using small-arms fire and grenades. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Pfc. Jason L. Sparks, 19, of Monroeville, died when his platoon was engaged in direct fire. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, Camp Casey, Korea.

Army Reserve Pfc. Devin J. Grella, 21, of Medina, was killed when his convoy was struck by a homemade explosive device. He was a member of the 706th Transportation Company in Mansfield.

Army Pfc. Ryan Martin, 22, of Mount Vernon, died when a homemade bomb went off near the Humvee he was riding in. He was assigned to the 216th Engineering Battalion of the Ohio National Guard.

Army Lt. Charles L. Wilkins III, 38, of Columbus, died when a homemade bomb went off near the Humvee he was riding in. He was assigned to the 216th Engineering Battalion of the Ohio National Guard.

Marine Lance Cpl. Dustin Fitzgerald, 22, of Huber Heights, died in a noncombat-related vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Sgt. Daniel Michael Shepherd, 23, of Elyria, was killed when his M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle hit a homemade bomb. He was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment.

Marine Cpl. Todd J. Godwin, 21, of Zanesville, was killed when a bomb exploded near him during combat. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division.

Army Spc. Joseph M. Garmback Jr., 24, of Cleveland, was killed along with four members of his unit during a mortar attack on Iraqi National Guard headquarters in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Army Pfc. Samuel Bowen, 38, of Cleveland, with the 216th Engineer Battalion from Brook Park, was killed in Samarra, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near his vehicle.

Army Sgt. Charles Kiser, 37, who grew up in Amelia, was killed outside Mosul by a car bomb. Kiser was with the 330th Military Police Division, a reserve unit based in Sheboygan, Wis.

Army Pfc. Nicholaus E. Zimmer, 20, of Columbus, died in Kufa when his vehicle was hit by rocket propelled grenades. He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Friedburg Germany.

Army Spc. Charles E. Odums II, 22, of Sandusky, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He was killed in Baghdad when a bomb exploded near the patrol.

Army Pfc. Jesse Buryj, 21, of Canton, died of injuries he suffered while trying to stop an attack on a checkpoint.

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Smith Jr., 21, of Wintersville, died of injuries suffered from enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The government did not release more details on how he died.

Army Spc. Allen "A.J." Vandayburg, 20, of Mansfield, was killed when his 1st Infantry Division convoy was attacked by insurgents.

Marine Cpl. Andrew D. Brownfield, 24, of Akron. Brownfield, assigned to the Marine Wing Support Sqaudron 374, Twentynine Palms, Calif., died of injuries suffered in a mortar attack on Al Asad Air Base.

Army Staff Sgt. Richard P. Ramey, 27, of Canton. Ramey, assigned to the 703rd Ordnance Company, Fort Knox, Ky., was killed when insurgents attacked Army convoys with explosives in Mahmudiyah.

Army Staff Sgt. Roger C. Turner Jr., 37, who grew up in Pomeroy in Meigs County. A vehicle mechanic assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Turner died of injuries suffered in a mortar attack on his base near Balad.

Army Staff Sgt. Sean Landrus, 31, of Thompson Township in Geauga County. Assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, Landrus was killed when a roadside bomb exploded as he was driving a truck near Khalidiyah.

Army Staff Sgt. Lester O. Kinney II, 27, of Zanesville. A paratrooper with the 2nd Battalion of the 505th Infantry, Kinney was killed when a roadside bomb exploded west of Baghdad.

Army Spc. Todd M. Bates, 20, of Bellaire. He was on a river patrol on the Tigris River south of Baghdad when his squad leader fell overboard. Bates dived into the water and did not surface. Bates' body later was recovered and his status changed to deceased. He was assigned to the 135th Military Police Company, Army National Guard in Brook Park.

Army Pfc. Kenneth C. Souslin, 21, of Mansfield. He died of non-combat related injuries at Baghdad International Airport. He was assigned to the 440th Signal Company, 22nd Signal Brigade, V Corps, Darmstadt, Germany.

Army National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Aaron Reese, 31, of Reynoldsburg. He died after falling from a patrol boat into the Tigris River. He was the first Ohio Guardsman to die in Iraq.

Army Sgt. Steven D. Conover, 21, of Wilmington. He was among 16 Americans killed in a missile attack on a helicopter near Fallujah, Iraq, as it carried troops bound for two weeks' leave.

Army Spc. James E. Powell II, 26, of Columbus. He was killed when his Bradley armored vehicle struck a land mine near Beiji, 30 miles north of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

James C. Wright, 27, of Delhi Township in suburban Cincinnati, with the Fourth Infantry. He was killed in an ambush near Tikrit when his vehicle was hit with rocket-propelled grenades.

Army Spc. Brett T. Christian of North Royalton, with the 101st Airborne Division. He was killed in Mosul when his convoy came under attack by rocket propelled grenades.

Army Pfc. Kevin C. Ott, 27, of Orient, with the 18th Field Artillery Regiment. The bodies of Ott and another soldier were found 20 miles northwest of Baghdad three days after they failed to respond to a radio check.

Army Pfc. Gavin L. Neighbor, 20, of Somerset, with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was off work from guard duty in Baghdad and had been resting on a bus when a rocket propelled grenade round was fired from a nearby house.

Army Pfc. Branden F. Oberleitner, 20, of Worthington, with the 101st Airborne Division. He was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, after his unit was fired upon by a rifle-propelled grenade.

Army Lt. Col. Dominic R. Baragona, 42, of Niles, with 19th Maintenance Battalion. He was killed in a multi-vehicle traffic accident near Safwan, Iraq.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Brian K. Van Dusen, of Columbus, with the 571st Air Medical Company. During the rescue of a wounded Iraqi child, his Black Hawk medical helicopter snagged a power wire during takeoff and flipped over into the Tigris River. The child was in another helicopter.

Army Pfc. Marlin Rockhold, 23, of Hamilton, with the 3rd Infantry Division. He was shot by a sniper while directing traffic at a bridge in Baghdad.

Marine Pfc. Christian Daniel Gurtner, 19, of Ohio City, with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He was killed when his gun accidentally went off.

Army Pvt. Brandon Sloan, 19, of Bedford Heights, with the 507th Maintenance Company. He was killed after Iraqi forces ambushed a supply convoy near Nasiriyah. Originally listed as missing until eight bodies were found in the rescue of an American POW.

Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland, with the 507th Maintenance Company. He was killed in the same ambush as Sloan.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Defense

The March To War: Bush Administration Quotes: September 2002

2007-03-13T08:56:00.000-04:00

President George W. Bush:

"Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year."
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly, White House (9/12/2002).

"The first time we may be completely certain he has a --nuclear weapon is when, God forbids, he uses one."
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly, White House (9/12/2002).

"Iraq has made several attempts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon."
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly, White House (9/12/2002).

"The history, the logic, and the facts lead to one conclusion: Saddam Hussein's regime is a grave and gathering danger. To suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble. And this is a risk we must not take."
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly, White House (9/12/2002).

"The regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material, could build one within a year."
Source: President Bush Discusses Iraq with Congressional Leaders, White House (9/26/2002).

"The regime has longstanding and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are Al Qaida terrorists inside Iraq."
Source: George W. Bush Delivers Weekly Radio Address, White House (9/28/2002).

"The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons."
Source: George W. Bush Delivers Weekly Radio Address, White House (9/28/2002).

Vice President Richard Cheney:

"[H]e is, in fact, actively and aggressively seeking to acquire nuclear weapons."
Source: Meet the Press, NBC (9/8/2002).

"VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: And what we've seen recently that has raised our level of concern to the current state of unrest, if you will, if I can put it in those terms, is that he now is trying, through his illicit procurement network, to acquire the equipment he needs to be able to enrich uranium to make the bombs. QUESTION: Aluminum tubes. VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Specifically aluminum tubes."
Source: Meet the Press, NBC (9/8/2002).

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

"The problem with that is the way one gains absolutely certainty as to whether a dicatator like Saddam Hussein has nuclear weapons is if he uses it, and that's a little late."
Source: Secretary Rumsfeld's Interview on Face the Nation, CBS (9/8/2002).

"He has, at this moment, stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons."
Source: Testimony of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld before the House Armed Services Committee, House Armed Services Committee (9/18/2002).

"They have amassed large clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons including VX and sarin and mustard gas."
Source: Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Defense Department (9/27/2002).

"Second, they question . . . what is the proof that Iraq has nuclear weapons? Where's the smoking gun? . . . But if you think about it, the last thing we should want is a smoking gun. A gun doesn't smoke until it has been fired and the goal has to be to stop such an attack before it starts. As the President told the United Nations, 'The first time we may be completely certain that a terrorist has nuclear weapons is when, God forbid,' he said, 'they use one.'"
Source: Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Defense Department (9/27/2002).

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice:

"We do know that there have been shipments going . . . into Iraq . . . of aluminum tubes that really are only suited to -- high-quality aluminum tools [sic] that are only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs."
Source: Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, CNN (9/8/2002).

"The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
Source: Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, CNN (9/8/2002).

Secretary of State Colin Powell:

"QUESTION: I want to get to all that, but still a couple more questions on his capabilities. If he were able to deploy right now his chemical and biological stocks, how many people could he kill? SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know. It depends on how he deployed them, where he deployed them. Chemical weapons are different from biological weapons. And let's just recognize the fact that he has them, he has used them before, and he has killed thousands of people in their use."
Source: Interview by Tony Snow and Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday, Fox News (9/8/2002).

"There is no doubt that he has chemical weapons stocks."
Source: Interview by Tony Snow and Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday, Fox News (9/8/2002).

4th Anniversary of the War On Iraq

2007-03-12T15:32:00.000-04:00

They said the threat "from weapons of mass destruction’" was great enough to justify the invasion – and they had the evidence to prove it.

They predicted the war would take months, not years, and the reconstruction would be paid for with Iraqi oil.

Dick Cheney predicted we’d be "greeted as liberators."

As the war enters its fifth year, we know there were no WMDs and no evidence of them.

So far, the war has cost more than $407,000,000,000 and more than 3,100 lives.

Haliburton Co. repaid the nation for billions in war-related government contracts by moving from Houston to Dubai, home of friendlier tax laws and even friendlier government leaders.

People tried to warn us.

The Financial Times described the Bush administration’s pre-war, financial analysis as "a piece of fiction."

In Australia, 43 legal experts insisted that an attack of Iraq would be a violation of international law.

Jimmy Carter, writing in the New York Times, described Bush’s foreign policy as "increasingly unilateral and domineering" and said Bush had "brought international trust in our country to its lowest level in memory. American stature will surely decline further if we launch a war in clear defiance of the United Nations."

Carter was right.

Along with losing the Twin Towers, much of New Orleans, the surplus, the separation of church and state and our Fourth Amendment rights, the Bush administration has cost America many of its allies and diminished its standing in the world.

Over the next week, ProgressOhio will examine the events immediately before the war began.

We were surprised by some things we found and think you will be, too.