War NRR

CousinLarry

Man I was looking over this list of the casualties from the war in Iraq. I think everyone should be forced to look at this list. Its really horrible to think about how many people have died so far. 2,100 coalition troops. I am not sure about the number of Iraqis but I am sure it is huge.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

funky16corners

Don't forget the thousands of troops that have been horribly injured/maimed that we never seem to hear about on the news...

Mike_Bell

Man I was looking over this list of the casualties from the war in Iraq. I think everyone should be forced to look at this list. Its really horrible to think about how many people have died so far. 2,100 coalition troops. I am not sure about the number of Iraqis but I am sure it is huge.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

Listen,
That link gave me the chills and made me feel like balling (crying) at the same time. I looked at the list and two guys on there were guys that were in my unit. One of them used to work for me. Those guys were very nice people and I think about them everyday. Cousin Larry, EVERYBODY SHOULD BE FORCED TO READ THE LIST.

CousinLarry

Yeah if you click on the graphic details you can see those injury figures too. 13,877

Mike_Bell

Don't forget the thousands of troops that have been horribly injured/maimed that we never seem to hear about on the news...

Oh yes, very good point L*rry. I knew this young kid, had to be 18 or 19 yrs. old. Brand new to the Army. He got shot during a patrol and now he's a quadrapalegic....

Electrode

I am not sure about the number of Iraqis but I am sure it is huge.

This is what greatly pisses me off. I love it how these Bush asskissing armchair warmongers have this "oh well, that's just what war is like" or "...but they're terrorists and we should be killing them!" attitude whenever dead Iraqis are brought up in some water cooler debate. These are the same fuckheads who were crying their eyes out 2 years ago about "those poor Iraqis under biiiig, baaaaaaad Saddam". Shut the hell up!

Mike_Bell

I am not sure about the number of Iraqis but I am sure it is huge.

This is what greatly pisses me off. I love it how these Bush asskissing armchair warmongers have this "oh well, that's just what war is like" or "...but they're terrorists and we should be killing them![/i] attitude whenever dead Iraqis are brought up in some water cooler debate. These are the same fuckheads who were bawling their eyes out 2 years ago about "those poor Iraqis under biiiig, baaaaaaad Saddam". Shut the hell up!

Yup. There are some very decent Iraqis, man. Folls just buy into that nonsense the media/Bush administration feeds them...

knewjak

man, looking at that list is really heavy. Notice how young most of the guys were? Seems like the average age was 25.
Damn.

CousinLarry

I am bumping this because not nearly enough people have veiwed it.

funky16corners

man, looking at that list is really heavy. Notice how young most of the guys were? Seems like the average age was 25.
Damn.

That was the saddest thing for me. Back when Ted Koppel ran the names and pictures of the war dead (it was only 500 then), so many of the soldiers were under 21. When I was 21 I had no fucking idea what I was going to do with my life.

CousinLarry

So, the Balki post has been viewed by 353 people and this post has been viewed by about 94 people. The Balki post has also generated more conversation. I get the impression that this war has been forgotten already. It seems like as soon as things got out of hand in Iraq people started tuning it out. I have a feeling that once it is over, if it ever is, it will be a very heated topic, but why wont people discuss it now. I remember when the war started and people were all gung-ho talking about how we were going to just go in and kick ass. The people that talked like that weren???t the ones going to fight, and now those same people could give a fuck about it.

alieNDN

So, the Balki post has been viewed by 353 people and this post has been viewed by about 94 people. The Balki post has also generated more conversation. I get the impression that this war has been forgotten already. It seems like as soon as things got out of hand in Iraq people started tuning it out. I have a feeling that once it is over, if it ever is, it will be a very heated topic, but why wont people discuss it now. I remember when the war started and people were all gung-ho talking about how we were going to just go in and kick ass. The people that talked like that weren???t the ones going to fight, and now those same people could give a fuck about it.

agreed, but what's more of a disaster, is the mainstream media's dealing with this which im sure contributes to the general apathy. I guess America doesn't care unless someone says "George Bush doesn't care about Iraqi people". THAT's what this world has come down to.



Maybe we need to see Sean Penn driving a tank?

Bsides

Its real hard to forget about this fucking disaster man. I checked your link, I just dont know what the hell else there is to say about it.

CousinLarry

So, the Balki post has been viewed by 353 people and this post has been viewed by about 94 people. The Balki post has also generated more conversation. I get the impression that this war has been forgotten already. It seems like as soon as things got out of hand in Iraq people started tuning it out. I have a feeling that once it is over, if it ever is, it will be a very heated topic, but why wont people discuss it now. I remember when the war started and people were all gung-ho talking about how we were going to just go in and kick ass. The people that talked like that weren???t the ones going to fight, and now those same people could give a fuck about it.

agreed, but what's more of a disaster, is the mainstream media's dealing with this which im sure contributes to the general apathy. I guess America doesn't care unless someone says "George Bush doesn't care about Iraqi people". THAT's what this world has come down to.

Maybe we need to see Sean Penn driving a tank?

At a certain point you can't blame the media, because the info is out there. People just are not paying much attention to it. I got the death toll link off the front page of CNN.com.

CousinLarry

Its real hard to forget about this fucking disaster man. I checked your link, I just dont know what the hell else there is to say about it.

I understand what your saying, but you are not like the majority of Americans.

alieNDN

So, the Balki post has been viewed by 353 people and this post has been viewed by about 94 people. The Balki post has also generated more conversation. I get the impression that this war has been forgotten already. It seems like as soon as things got out of hand in Iraq people started tuning it out. I have a feeling that once it is over, if it ever is, it will be a very heated topic, but why wont people discuss it now. I remember when the war started and people were all gung-ho talking about how we were going to just go in and kick ass. The people that talked like that weren???t the ones going to fight, and now those same people could give a fuck about it.

agreed, but what's more of a disaster, is the mainstream media's dealing with this which im sure contributes to the general apathy. I guess America doesn't care unless someone says "George Bush doesn't care about Iraqi people". THAT's what this world has come down to.



Maybe we need to see Sean Penn driving a tank?

At a certain point you can't blame the media, because the info is out there. People just are not paying much attention to it. I got the death toll link off the front page of CNN.com.

yeah, but those are digits, characters, it does not compare with people seeing actual footage of such travesties...it like teaching students with overheads vs shwoing them an educational movie...people empathize more with visuals (i.e. Katrina is the perfect example. you dont think people's stomachs would turn if they saw what's really going on there with video footage? that IS the media's fault, but yes, we do need to accept some responsibilty regardless





^refering to the citizens of iraq, who's faces arent depicted in that link. my sympathies towards those soldiers as well though.

DrWu

Larry,
Thanks for bringing this back to everyone's attention. Next time just reup my old "don't worry everything's allright in Traq thread. Provocative title's help. This past week was particularly gruesome. Several hundred Iraqis dead after a series of retaliatory car bombings. Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samara (sp?). Meanwhile, the October vote on the constitution looms.

Mike_Bell

Larry,
Thanks for bringing this back to everyone's attention.

For real.

Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samarra[/b] (sp?).

I remember when my old brigade got attacked in Samarra (Dec. 2003), a few weeks after we crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. Insurgents were shooting rockets, not rocket propelled grenades but rockets at us. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured from that attack but I'm typing this to show everyone a couple of points..

1. This nearly catastrophic attack occured nearly 2 years ago. Don't you think that the insurgents have strengthened over time and improved their tactics?

2. This 'major battle that lies ahead in Samarra' was invetible.

But y'all probably already knew that shit is real in the field...

CousinLarry

Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samarra[/b] (sp?).

I remember when my old brigade got attacked in Samarra (Dec. 2003), a few weeks after we crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. Insurgents were shooting rockets, not rocket propelled grenades but rockets at us. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured from that attack but I'm typing this to show everyone a couple of points..

1. This nearly catastrophic attack occured nearly 2 years ago. Don't you think that the insurgents have strengthened over time and improved their tactics?

2. This 'major battle that lies ahead in Samarra' was invetible.

But y'all probably already knew that shit is real in the field...

Yeah, it really seems like things are just getting worse every day. Why do you think the coalition has put off dealing with Samarra for two years?

Mike_Bell

Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samarra[/b] (sp?).

I remember when my old brigade got attacked in Samarra (Dec. 2003), a few weeks after we crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. Insurgents were shooting rockets, not rocket propelled grenades but rockets at us. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured from that attack but I'm typing this to show everyone a couple of points..

1. This nearly catastrophic attack occured nearly 2 years ago. Don't you think that the insurgents have strengthened over time and improved their tactics?

2. This 'major battle that lies ahead in Samarra' was invetible.

But y'all probably already knew that shit is real in the field...

Yeah, it really seems like things are just getting worse every day. Why do you think the coalition has put off dealing with Samarra for two years?

Probably because they don't know what the hell's going on down there. Well better yet, they know but they seem to not care. It seems like the coalition is more concerned about controlling the Sunni Triangle (Baghdad, Tikrit, etc,.). I don't know if this still holds true but that area (Sunni Triangle) has a lot more nonsense going on there than a small area like Samarra. Nearly 20 attacks a week on US operating bases in Balad as compared to 1 (maybe 2-3) in 1 month in Samarra would definitely have folks focused on the Sunni Triangle. Honestly, CousinLarry, I think that things are progressively getting worse if a small ass town like Samarra is a powder keg ready to explode. Sorry to ramble...

CousinLarry

Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samarra[/b] (sp?).

I remember when my old brigade got attacked in Samarra (Dec. 2003), a few weeks after we crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. Insurgents were shooting rockets, not rocket propelled grenades but rockets at us. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured from that attack but I'm typing this to show everyone a couple of points..

1. This nearly catastrophic attack occured nearly 2 years ago. Don't you think that the insurgents have strengthened over time and improved their tactics?

2. This 'major battle that lies ahead in Samarra' was invetible.

But y'all probably already knew that shit is real in the field...

Yeah, it really seems like things are just getting worse every day. Why do you think the coalition has put off dealing with Samarra for two years?

Probably because they don't know what the hell's going on down there. Well better yet, they know but they seem to not care. It seems like the coalition is more concerned about controlling the Sunni Triangle (Baghdad, Tikrit, etc,.). I don't know if this still holds true but that area (Sunni Triangle) has a lot more nonsense going on there than a small area like Samarra. Nearly 20 attacks a week on US operating bases in Balad as compared to 1 (maybe 2-3) in 1 month in Samarra would definitely have folks focused on the Sunni Triangle. Honestly, CousinLarry, I think that things are progressively getting worse if a small ass town like Samarra is a powder keg ready to explode. Sorry to ramble...

Don't apologize for rambling. Do you think the coalition command is as out of touch as the Bush administration, or is there an understanding within the command structure that this might not be a winnable war? If there is such a thing.

day

Jesus Christ, they're gonna fight a war in a populated neighborhood/city?

I don't even know what to say.

Did anyone else notice how many of those deaths were non-combat related?
This whole thing makes me sick.

Mike_Bell

Military leaders were forced to admit that the insurgency is still going very strong and that a major battle lies ahead in Samarra[/b] (sp?).

I remember when my old brigade got attacked in Samarra (Dec. 2003), a few weeks after we crossed the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. Insurgents were shooting rockets, not rocket propelled grenades but rockets at us. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured from that attack but I'm typing this to show everyone a couple of points..

1. This nearly catastrophic attack occured nearly 2 years ago. Don't you think that the insurgents have strengthened over time and improved their tactics?

2. This 'major battle that lies ahead in Samarra' was invetible.

But y'all probably already knew that shit is real in the field...

Yeah, it really seems like things are just getting worse every day. Why do you think the coalition has put off dealing with Samarra for two years?

Probably because they don't know what the hell's going on down there. Well better yet, they know but they seem to not care. It seems like the coalition is more concerned about controlling the Sunni Triangle (Baghdad, Tikrit, etc,.). I don't know if this still holds true but that area (Sunni Triangle) has a lot more nonsense going on there than a small area like Samarra. Nearly 20 attacks a week on US operating bases in Balad as compared to 1 (maybe 2-3) in 1 month in Samarra would definitely have folks focused on the Sunni Triangle. Honestly, CousinLarry, I think that things are progressively getting worse if a small ass town like Samarra is a powder keg ready to explode. Sorry to ramble...

Don't apologize for rambling. Do you think the coalition command is as out of touch as the Bush administration, or is there an understanding within the command structure that this might not be a winnable war? If there is such a thing.

As far as the military goes, I will this. The guys who are on the ground, getting shot at, having IED's explode on their convoys, having RPG's fired at them, etc,. already knows that this is a lost cause. Please believe. As it goes up the chain within the coalition, I really can't speak on their behalf and I'll leave it at that. I can just speak from my own personal experience and tell everybody in my unit was ready to get on the plane and head back to the states. Not out of fear but because they knew it was a waste of time.

Mike_Bell

Jesus Christ, they're gonna fight a war in a populated neighborhood/city?

I don't even know what to say.

Did anyone else notice how many of those deaths were non-combat related?
This whole thing makes me sick.

It makes me sick, too. I don't know if you remember but in September 2004, US forces bombed[/b] the city of Tal'Afar. This was done 'to force out insurgents' that were repeatedly attacking coalition forces in the Tal'Afar/Mosul area. Insurgents were indeed attacking those guys but I never thought that dropping bombs over that city was a genious idea. Oh, and that's just the tip of the iceberg...

Cosmo

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

CousinLarry

Jesus Christ, they're gonna fight a war in a populated neighborhood/city?

I don't even know what to say.

Did anyone else notice how many of those deaths were non-combat related?
This whole thing makes me sick.

I found a link for the Iraqi civilian death toll:

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

Mike_Bell

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Thank you.

davesrecords

I remember almost immediately, Western media began conjecturing on which Islamic group it could have been. I remember hoping it wasn???t Muslims or Arabs. I remember feeling that way not just because of the thousands of victims, but because I sensed that we???d suffer in Iraq. We???d be made to suffer for something we weren???t responsible for.

Mike_Bell

I remember almost immediately, Western media began conjecturing on which Islamic group it could have been. I remember hoping it wasn???t Muslims or Arabs. I remember feeling that way not just because of the thousands of victims, but because I sensed that we???d suffer in Iraq. We???d be made to suffer for something we weren???t responsible for.

And that truly is a damn shame. All in all, I think the media's part in the grand scheme of things is that it influences the masses into thinking one way or the other. They didn't authorize troops to go invade Iraq. They weren't in the decision making process. But that doesn't wash their hands, neither.