Nine U.S. troops killed in Iraq

[ProSense]

Nine U.S. troops killed in Iraq

POSTED: 8:55 p.m. EST, December 3, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Nine U.S. troops died in Iraq during the weekend, including five killed by roadside bombs, the U.S. military reported Sunday.

Two soldiers were killed and two wounded Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in northern Iraq, U.S. commanders in the northern city of Tikrit announced. The soldiers were assigned to the Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

Two U.S. soldiers and a Marine died from unspecified "enemy action" in western Iraq's Anbar province Saturday, the American command in Baghdad reported, while two U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb.

Anbar, including the provincial capital Ramadi, has been a hotbed of the mostly Sunni Arab insurgency against U.S. troops that emerged after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

And two American soldiers were reported killed in Baghdad -- one slain by a roadside bomb Saturday, another killed in fighting Sunday.

The latest deaths bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq to 2,900, including including seven civilians working for the Defense Department.

more...

[Roland99]

1. What a great holiday season for their families

:(

[MichiganVote]

2. We have friends w/ a son in Baghdad. It's a nightmare.....

[maggiegault]

5. My brother is there right now.

Two of the soldiers killed were in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry. My brother is in the 2nd Brigade.

[MichiganVote]

7. I hope he stays safe. I'm so sorry maggie. Ryan is an MP.

[Anthony Soprano]

3. Taking a deep breath to prepare myself for 3000 and Tony "It's Just A Number" Snow.

...because you know we're going to hit 3000, and you know someone in the press corps is going to ask Snow what Bush thinks of the milestone, and even if Snow doesn't say "It's just a number" again, he'll say something different that means "It's just a number."

He'll also say that we're not staying the course, that we're making progress, that we'll stand down when the freedom-lovin' eye-rackies stand up.

Then we'll start the count toward 4000 American casualties.

:grr:

June 15, 2006

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060615-4.html

Q Tony, American deaths in Iraq have reached 2,500. Is there any response or reaction from the President on that?

MR. SNOW: It's a number, and every time there's one of these 500 benchmarks people want something. The President would like the war to be over now. Everybody would like the war to be over now. And the one thing that we saw in Iraq this week is further testimony to the quality of the men and the women who are doing that, and the dedication and determination to try to ensure that the people of Iraq really do live in a free, effective democracy of their own creation and design.

Any President who goes through a time of war feels very deeply the responsibility for sending men and women into harm's way, and feels very deeply the pain that the families feel. And this President is no different. You've seen it many times. You saw it, you saw it when he was in that ballroom, Terry, and you had this crowd of servicemen and women who were cheering loudly for the President, and he got choked up. So it's always a sad benchmark, and one of the things the President has said is that these people will not die in vain.

And part of what happened this very week when the President went to Baghdad, and he sat down with the Prime Minister and he sat down with the cabinet, and he sat down with the President and Vice President, he sat down with the national security team, and he sat down with the leaders of all the major political parties, what he saw now is that after all of this, what you have in Iraq is a freestanding government that has been elected by the Iraqi people. It has a Prime Minister who is going to be there for four years, who is determined to act as a Prime Minister, who is determined to lead, who is setting priorities, and he's somebody we can work with. You have a Minister of Defense who has significant experience and is already working with his colleagues, not only here at the Pentagon, but also General Casey and others in the field. The President understands that those deaths cannot be in vain, and you've got a government now that can help ensure that that is not the case.

Q Was he told about the benchmark, the President?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. I'm sure he will hear about it.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. Squeaky-voice Snow should get another hard kick in the groin.

To raise his voice another octave.

[Catchawave]

13. Just thinking the same thing..

..could happen by Christmas :cry:

Welcome to DU Anthony Soprano :toast:

[Anthony Soprano]

15. Thanks...

:toast:

[Botany]

4. Time to go home.

* on NBC news said through Steve Hadley he would not listen
to the Bakker report.

Impeach his ass.

[rodeodance]

6. and all the while, the WH quibbles for how to label this violence!

[MichiganVote]

8. As does Congress and our media. Sickening...

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Meanwhile, Bush will attend 24 Holiday parties this month.

Hey, they're just numbers to him.

[greenbriar]

11. merry christmas right??? Those poor families and all of those who have died

in this illegal war

[Gloria]

12. Neighbors' grandson and wife are BOTH in Baghdad, although

he isn't out on patrol. He was in the graduating class at West Point that heard Bush's speech which hinted at the policy fiasco to come...

He was already wounded in Basra a couple of years ago.....

What a waste....

[GenDem]

14. It really is a crying shame

I feel so sorry for anyone with a loved one in this hell hole.

My son is an electrician and works with a guy that is in the Guard. He just got his letter to report again in January. They're sending him back over after already pulling one tour. That's his Christmas present from Bush.