US soldier killed in attack on tanker convoy

[Judi Lynn]

First Published 2003-09-09, Last Updated 2003-09-09 17:38:46


Unsafe roads

US soldier killed in attack on tanker convoy


14 US soldiers wounded as new wave of attacks hit troops after 2-day spell


TAJI CROSSING, Iraq & BAGHDAD - A US soldier driving a tanker full of liquefied petroleum gas was killed Tuesday when an explosion hit his convoy as it passed between two underpasses on the main road north out of Baghdad, said an Iraqi policeman on the scene.


The blast happened shortly after 5:00 pm (1300 GMT), 15 kilometres (10 miles) north of the capital on the road towards the northern city of Mosul, said Sergeant Dhaser Farhan.


US soldiers on the scene, who closed off the road to traffic, declined all comment.

US soldiers in Iraq suffer 14 wounded in 24 hours

Earlier a senior coalition official said that two attacks in flashpoint zones west of Baghdad on Tuesday took the number of wounded US troops to 14 over a 24-hour period. (snip/...)

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=6954

[Barrett808]

1. "The level of numbers or intensity of attacks [not] decreasing"

So much for the "7-day lull" story.

[mmm]

2. one dead, fourteen wounded in 24 hours!

will the escalation continue?

[saigon68]

18. YA BRING IT ON

---
G. W. Bush

Awol Pilot , Chimpanzee, NeoCon Bootlick--- 2003

[NickB79]

3. 14 in 24 hrs?!?!!

HOLY $#@&^%!!!! Didn't they have 55 wounded in all of last week alone? I'd call this a significant increase!

And notice this is the first we've really heard of all these wounded. It really makes me wonder about our media.

[underpants]

5. Yeah I thought it was 2 as of this morning

What a shame.

[MaineDem]

4. May he (assuming it's a he) rest in peace

And a speedy recovery to the wounded.

We grieve for you.

[styersc]

6. God Bless our people over there and comfort to the families.

Could you imagine a worse job in the world then driving a US military vehicle filled with explosive petroleum gas through the streets of Baghdad. Who do you have to piss off to get this duty???

[Palacsinta]

7. If my child was over there........

I'd be out of my mind with worry and I'm used to having loved ones in the military!

It makes an ENORMOUS difference to one's state of mind when one believes that the sacrifice is worth it!

[expatriot]

8. the ratio of WIA to KIA is historically amazing

Our body armor technology and our medical technology is really keeping the ratio of killed to wounded really low. The thing is that just reporting the killed obviously underestimates the amount of "fire" our boys are facing.

[July]

16. What is "really low"?

What is considered a low killed to wounded ratio? (I don't know the answer to this.) If my math is good, we have at least 5 wounded for each American killed (numbers would change slightly if U.K. and other coalition forces included, and probably dramatically with Iraqis included). Please weigh in, those of you who are knowledgeable about casualty figures.

[LibDemAlways]

20. Saw one of the wounded on CNN (amazingly) last night.

He was a former paratrooper who is now blind, partially deaf, and minus a leg thanks to the chimp, his neocon buddies, and every member of Congress who voted for this clusterfuck.

I hope that for every one of them, what goes around comes around.

[sleipnir]

9. ??????

"When an explosion hit his convoy"

Do the Iraqi's have some new crazy weapon that just shoots out explosions? Better tell Rummy about this one, we might want to use it.

The spin is so unbelievable, "an explosion", why not say what it really was, most likely a RPG. But then that would mean admitting that the Iraqi resistance was armed and dangerous and the American public and the pResident don't want to hear that.

Give me a break, our kids are getting killed and the brass isn't even being remotely truthful.

[0007]

13. Why should they?

Halliburton and the thugs slipped a few extra dollars to the brass to keep the troops in line I bet!

Rule Number One, ya can' ttalk to the media or visiting senators about how shitty the administration is unless ya want to die in your sleep.

So why should the brass indeed care? They ain't gonna put their job on the line!

[pfitz59]

10. Why was the soldier driving that truck?

LPG is commercial product. Anyone know of a military use for LPG? Sounds like Halliburton was AWOL again.

[atreides1]

21. No Military use that I can remember

I've been out of the Army for 12 years, but I don't recall any military equipment that uses LPG. We used diesel fuel for most of our vehicles and generators, the only exception being the Abrams tank.

When I first saw this report, I asked the same question.

I guess the administration has okayed the use of military personnel as
delivery drivers for Halliburton. You can bet Halliburton is still
getting paid for the job that someone else is doing.

[catmandu57]

11. 147? 148?

I've lost count, they come in bunches. Fuck just Fuck.

[kainah]

24. My listing of names comes to 291

I've kept a poster for our group of all the names and currently, I have 291. One of those, at least, is never going to be listed as an Iraq casualty, though. That's Dale Racicot, the middle-aged man from NH who was home on leave for a couple weeks & died 6 hours after getting home from a heart attack. I include him because 1) I think his death was almost certainly precipitated by his experiences in Iraq, and 2) he was a friend of a friend of mine.

Yesterday, I think I heard someone say there were 286 dead. The discrepancy between the number of names I have and the official number of dead has steadily risen since * landed on the aircraft carrier. Miraculous resurrections is the only way I can explain the current discrepancy of 4, not counting Racicot. I'd love to take my listing to Rumsfeld and ask him to identify the ones who are no longer dead.

[Robbien]

12. The news story yesterday of no deaths in 7 days was a jinx.

This is the second time we got hit hard the day after the media tells us of a lull in deaths.

[JPace]

14. They are reporting deaths.....

but there are no easily obtained numbers
for wounded. The numbers must be getting
very high and we should be provided these
facts. I think there is a coverup going
on to keep Americans from becoming alarmed.

[lebkuchen]

15. Another soldier, two steps up from sperm, killed before he had a chance

to live.

The U.S. gives less than 1/10 of a percent of GNP to worldwide humanitarian aide, but, by golly, "we just gotta give them there Iraqis their freedom."

[Skittles]

17. *sniff*

it's terrible, just terrible.

[VolcanoJen]

19. Does anyone have a hard number for deaths since Chimp said "Bring 'Em On?"

Anyone? This is a tragic story, one of so many hundreds now.

:-(

[FubarFly]

22. 84

:-(


http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

[bluestateguy]

23. My spiel

This is just one more example of this Administration's failed Iraq policy and another reason why the troops need to be brought home now.