US Troop Death Toll Hits A 7-Month High in Iraq
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, the military said Wednesday.
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. 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.
“We have said all along that this will be a tough fight and there will be periods where we see these extremists, these criminal groups and al-Qaida terrorists seek to reassert themselves,” U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad.
“So, the sacrifice of our troopers, the sacrifice of Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens reflects this challenge,” Bergner said in response to a question about what’s behind the increase in American troop deaths.
The latest fighting erupted at the end of March after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militias in the southern port city of Basra. But it quickly spread to Baghdad’s Sadr City, a sprawling slum with about 2.5 million people that is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The militiamen have used the district as a base to fire barrages of missiles and mortar rounds at the U.S.-protected Green Zone which houses much of the Iraqi government and Western diplomatic missions, including the U.S. and British embassies.
They also have fought running street battles in which hundreds have died. The U.S. military says those killed have been mainly gunmen. But police and medical authorities in Sadr City say innocent civilians have frequently gotten caught up in the fighting.
Such street battles — in tight confines and amid frightened civilians — are increasingly becoming a hallmark of the drive into Sadr City and recall the type of head-on clashes last seen in large numbers during last year’s U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
The Sadr City violence continued overnight with the destruction of a school in the district. AP Television News footage showed that parts of the two-floor Baghdad Girls’ School had pancaked as the result of an explosion. Desks were hanging down from the slanting classrooms where the outer walls were blown out by the blast.
Local officials said the school was the target of an airstrike on Tuesday evening.
An official at the local hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said two people were killed and 16 wounded overnight in Sadr City. He said this brought the death toll in the district since Tuesday to 31, with 107 wounded.
The U.S. military had no comment about the school but said an Abrams tank fired at gunmen shooting at U.S. troops in Sadr City, killing all three. In another part of Sadr City, an unmanned drone fired a missile at a group of men planting a roadside bomb and killed one, the military said.
On Wednesday, al-Maliki accused the Mahdi Army of using civilians as human shields, and vowed to continue the crackdown against militias.
“We can’t build a state along with militias,” he told reporters at a news conference. “We want to build a single national army.”
Al-Maliki also said that militants had killed the nephew of an Interior Ministry spokesman and hanged the body from an electric pole in Baghdad. The attack Tuesday was in apparent retaliation for the spokesman’s role in a government crackdown against Shiite militias.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf was in charge of the crackdown on the Mahdi Army that began in Basra in late March and has survived past assassination attempts. His nephew was killed in Sadr City district, al-Maliki said.
Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.
© 2008 Associated Press
Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim. ~ George Santayana
so it goes…
let’s hope the mainstream media latch onto this story with the same ferocity as the Rev. Wright conflict.
The USA will NEVER surrender, although it should in the case of Iraq. It is just not in the nature of an American to admit defeat even when it is plainly obvious.
“Oh the Mahdi Army is using human shields” Oooooohhhhh…scary. Gee I wonder why? Could it be that a member of the Mahdi Army hopes that by using a human shield that no one will fire on him? (finger pointing to head) yeah I think that is the purpose. Yet, American military personnel will kill both the shield and the “terrorist.” So…who is REALLY in the wrong in this scenario?
Give up Americans! You spent 3 trillion dollars (more than can be counted let alone imagined) to turn Iraq from a secular nation to a Shiite theocracy with virtually NOTHING to show for it but wounded and killed troops. How does that make you feel? Hmmmmm…? Well, the American Government chose misguided revenge instead of reconciliation and is now paying the penalty. The funny thing is heheheheeheh is that many Americans do not link their current problems with the choices they have made in rendering irrelevent the cost-benefit analysis of enacting revenge vis a vis reconciliation.
Americans have chose revenge and adding kerosene to flames instead of cutting their losses and recconciliation and only until now are the Americans starting to reap what they sow.
Rove will figure out a way to spin this statistic positive in the McClone campaign:
Another 100 years in Iraq at 47 deaths per month will add up to 56,400 additional US deaths which will be about the same number of US deaths in the Viet Nam occupation. We all know that the US would have won in Viet Nam if the occupation would have lasted another 100 years, right ?
Plus another 309 dead COWs. And ten times as many maimed in mind and body and a hundred times as many dead Iraqis and a thousand times as many maimed Iraqis, mostly children…truly a Conservative Christian Catastrophy. Humans might forgive but it’s another matter entirely with a jealouse God.
Come on, the entire world knows that the number of US KIA in Iraq is much higher than the 4,000 plus reported; the illegals who died in Iraq for citizenship are not counted, the wounded that die at home are not counted, the wounded who die en route to Germany are not counted and the wounded who die in Germany are not counted. The US can’t even count the number of Iraqi’s that have died from this miserable occupation. It must be very bad if we contiue to threaten Iran; bush needs a scapegoat for his ongoing failures as a human being.
The surge is working. Yeah, right. Unless bush is out to control the world population.
So, al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army is now responsible for the deaths of U. S. military? Is Iran behind that this week or is it Al Quaeda’s turn? This could not possibly have anything to do with al-Maliki’s failed “Basra Bath” lst month, could it? And who out there needs to be reminded that our General Patreaus & Ambassador Crocker were fully informed of his intentions (4) count ‘em, FOUR days before he personally commanded “Operation Botchup” and were in position to intercede. So the blood is on their hands. But what is this 47 compared to the 4,059. How we say, chicken-feed.
Back when our military fatalities crossed the 4,000 mark, I remember reading that Iraq civilian deaths were somewhere between 82 and 89,000. With that accurate means of record keeping, we had best recruit some Iraqi officials to do the ballot counting in Florida come November.
Oh yes, and if there’s anyone out there who has not visited this site yet, please do so today:
http://commondreams.org/headlines04/1028-1.htm (and tell all your friends) THanx
So, al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army is now responsible for the deaths of U. S. military? Is Iran behind that this week or is it Al Quaeda’s turn? This could not possibly have anything to do with al-Maliki’s failed “Basra Bath” lst month, could it? And who out there needs to be reminded that our General Patreaus & Ambassador Crocker were fully informed of his intentions (4) count ‘em, FOUR days before he personally commanded “Operation Botchup” and were in position to intercede. So the blood is on their hands. But what is this 47 compared to the 4,059. How we say, chicken-feed.
Back when our military fatalities crossed the 4,000 mark, I remember reading that Iraq civilian deaths were somewhere between 82 and 89,000. With that accurate means of record keeping, we had best recruit some Iraqi officials to do the ballot counting in Florida come November.
Oh yes, and if there’s anyone out there who has not visited this site yet, please do so today:
http://commondreams.org/headlines04/1028-1.htm (and tell all your friends) THanx
I’m sorry; I thought I knew it by heart by now, it’s actually:
http://commondreams.org/headlines04/1028-01.htm
By the way, I loved George Santayana’s interpretation of fanaticism (TOP).
It reminded me of the old “When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp”
I’m sorry; I thought I knew it by heart by now, it’s actually:
http://commondreams.org/headlines04/1028-01.htm
By the way, I loved George Santayana’s interpretation of fanaticism (TOP).
It reminded me of the old “When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp”
We the People have betrayed our armed forces. Their contract with us is to defend us against enemies foreign and domestic. Defend. Us. Instead, they are being used to invade, occupy and pillage a sovereign nation. I can’t begin to express my sadness when I see little plastic ribbons on SUVs and realize that the people driving them are actually supporting the war that is killing the troops for the enrichment of the oil companies and weapons dealers. Ironic and sad.
.
What can you expect ????????
MadCowBoy Bush and his NeoCons Gang have positioned the U.S. Troops in a TRAP………This is the historic Mesopotamian Killing Grounds. .Since the dawn of recorded history no foreign Invaders has ever survived. .It is the land of AMBUSHES……….
George W. Bush and his 2nd-rate Generals have not a clue on how to turn this Military Disaster around !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The U.S. Military is broken, after 6+++years in the Middle East (Over 250,000 Troops in the Middle East), 14,000 miles from home, and with their backs to the worlds Oceans.
In 7 years Bush and Cheney have ruined the United States.!!!!!
.
I am to a point I feel Bush and Cheney destroyed America so the very few and very rich can control even more. What is it something like 7 major companies control over 80% of food in the world. ( correct me if I got the numbers wrong)
Ahuramazda:
the US won’t quit until the pipeline is pumping oil right into Israel and every last drop of Iraqi oil is gone.
Sung:
Been saying that since day one. I passed 4000 by my numbers 3 years ago. Right off the bat add at least 20% for up front BS to every report you read another 20 to 25% for out of action.
At least they were kept from the evils of Playboy magazine. That’s the important thing. How sick are we?
Ahuramazda wrote:
“Americans have chose revenge and adding kerosene to flames instead of cutting their losses and recconciliation and only until now are the Americans starting to reap what they sow.”
Well, that one way of saying it, but I think Rev. Wright got it exactly right.
When Obama turned against Rev. Wright, it set a president in the mindset of his supporters.
I see it as he sold out.
——
18 Vets a day kill themselves.
This latest revelation on rising troop deaths is very sad indeed. But I don’t understand how these soldiers and their families think they were sent over there for a noble cause, at the behest of Iraqis seeking freedom, liberation, and or “democracy”. I feel sad for our troops if they actually believe they are doing that, and or defending “our freedom and way of life”.
I mean, how blind or dense do you have to be to see that our freedom and liberty is threatened from within, the various cloak and dagger governmental agencies and their confederates in the mafia style corporate world?
Here’s a good example of how fraud and these relationships really work. Since 2005 the Bush administration has been behind deregulating college tuition and with mission accomplished, there has been overwhelming complaint about the skyrocketing rates at State Universities. (Just like they have tried to privatize every social program). Who benefits from these high tuition rates. The administration’s friends at the banks, because now you have to pile on crdit card debt and take out high interest loans to pay for tuition. In a smoke and mirrors complaint the federal officials who made this possible are complaining to the states and because middle class and lower classes cannot afford tuition. Well………hello…if you would just lower the rates then they could attend school but the real goal here is to enrich the banks. Now we understand, the political system, economic system and educational systems are a complete scam formulated by lobbyists in conjunction with federal officials. It’s that simple. As to the Reverend Wright. The greedy racist frauds (incluidng the mainstream media) can always fall back and use the tried and true method of blaming the victim as a last resort, when no other reason for attacking the Reverend makes logical sense. “She asked for it because she was wearing a short dress”. He asked for it because he was complaining about discrimination. Blame the victim.
SRD
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planetary.html
People dying for the glory of the republican party and their “loser president.” Pretty sad commentary.
I am so sorry for the dead and wounded soldiers. I am so sorry for all the dead and wounded Iraqis. It istime for this country to stop the killing and try to make amends. It is time to stop obsessing about Rev. Wright and accusing Obama of what ever he supposedly did or didn’t do. Neither OBAMA OR WRIGHT are responsible for the disaster in Iraq. Keep the focus on theperp, George Bush and company.
These articles speak of approx 70,000 dead Americans.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a35_1207462456
http://whitewatch.wordpress.com/2008/03/24/over-70000-deaths-and-over-1-million-disabilities-among-american-soldiers-attributed-to-iraq-wars-says-us-government-data/