The U.S. military death toll hit a seven-month high of 50 on Wednesday — with more than half the losses in Baghdad as American forces wage growing street battles against Shiite fighters.

4,063 deaths since the beginning of the war, March, 2003.

Bush wants an "indefinite suspension of troop withdrawals."

Republicans remain almost unanimously opposed to any required withdrawal timeline, but they supported opening the debate because they want to draw attention to the decreased violence and other military progress in Iraq since the United States sent an additional 30,000 U.S. troops there last year.

At least some people are not losing focus and are still trying to stop the war.

There is a crisis happening on a global scale, and we here in the United States of America have a moral responsibility to take action to help alleviate global food prices and ensure that millions of people do not suffer the ill effects of hunger and possibly even starvation. We are all complaining about the high cost of oil these days and how it is impinging on our budget, but in the developing world this is having extreme consequences. The stark reality is that three billion people on the planet earth live on less than $2 a day, and a good portion of that money goes specifically to the purchase of basic food grains to survive. As a result of the skyrocketing price of oil, the price of food grains has risen due to commercial production costs and transportation to as much as $800 a ton for rice which has led to food riots in the developing world.

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

The time has come for we the American people to stop being complacent and become vocal about ending this war in Iraq. Too many of our people (and Iraqi people) are dying and we have never been given a real reason to why we are there. But we are not blind, we know it's for oil. Our senators and congressmen need to either do something to end this tragic war or step down and allow someone else to end it. I can't understand how these so-called leaders can sleep knowing that they have the power to end it and they do nothing. Cowards!

Nearly 4,000 Americans killed.

Unknown thousands of Iraqis killed.

Millions of Iraqis displaced.

Hundreds of billions of dollars spent.

Have we found that yellowcake yet?

Today at 12 noon, there will be a demonstration for peace and against the continuation of the Iraq war. For a description of yesterday's event in the pouring rain, go to:

Link...

Join us on this beautiful SUNNY day at West Town Mall, 12-3 p.m. Sunday March 15! Come with signs, posters, commitment!

In spite of the pouring rain and cold temperature, about 50 people attended the rally today to protest the war and continued occupation of Iraq. Passionate speeches, great music and satirical theater stirred and entertained the crowd, which contained many new faces this year. The event was covered by Channel 8.

Because of the skies opening up around noon, the protest scheduled for West Town today was postponed until tomorrow.

EVENT: Protest the war and continued occupation of Iraq
WHEN: Sunday, March 16, 2008 from 12 noon - 2 pm
WHERE: West Town, corner Kingston Pike and Morrell Road

There will be plenty of signs to go around, as well as pastries courtesy Panera Bread.

The fourth-ranking Democratic senator [Patty Murray, D-Wash] said, "The president can call on Democrats to follow him in lockstep all he wants, but when it comes to caring for our veterans, we are not about to start taking advice from George Bush."

Nearly 30,000 of our troops have been wounded in Iraq.

38 percent of soldiers and 31 percent of Marines report psychological conditions such as brain injury and PTSD after returning from deployment. Among members of the National Guard, the figure is much higher — 49 percent — with numbers expected to grow because of repeated and extended deployments.

"Follow him in lockstep". Humpty Dumpty has fallen. The emperor wears no clothes. We just need to impeach Cheney, then Bush, so we can put our country back together again.

As a society we are stagnating, no regressing. That we cannot or will not take care of our veterans is just a small indication of this administration's, and their supporters, inability to maintain, much less enhance, a civil society.

In spite of reports saying the State Department has promised immunity to the Blackwater employees being investigated for shooting civilians without cause, the Iraqi government is still going ahead with their own approach to the problem. Hey, aren't we and the Iraqi government supposed to be on the same page? We know the miltary can't win this war, so diplomacy looms as a very important factor. Will this conflict between the US and Iraq bring us any closer to being able to leave Iraq with honor?

Link...

I thought one of the reasons government outsources is to save money.

This site has some interesting ways of looking at the cost of the war. WARNING! It can make you dizzy. It can also make you very disgusted.

Link...

Having solved all other problems related to Iraq, Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) calls for congressional hearings to investigate the rate the NY Times charged for the MoveOn ad.

Meanwhile, 15 more American soldiers were killed in Iraq during the past week.

Determine and list "the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in Iraq."

Unbelievable.

Where have you gone, J. William Fulbright?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Woo woo woo.

Via.

After talks with Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Bush said that they “tell me that if the kind of success we are now seeing here continues it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces.”

Mr. Bush did not say how large a troop withdrawal was possible. Nor did he say whether he envisioned any forces being withdrawn sooner than next spring, when the first of the additional 30,000 troops Mr. Bush sent to Iraq this year are scheduled to come home anyway.

During his visit, Mr. Bush did not leave the base, a heavily fortified home to about 10,000 American troops about 120 miles west of Baghdad. ...
Administration officials rejected the notion that the trip was a publicity stunt.

The election must definitely be heating up now. Thompson's entering the race and Bush is touting troop withdrawal. Let's hope the President brings home the troops sooner than later.

Which is more stupid? The continuing rattling of sabers by the US or, this "attack" on Iraq by Iran. That is if it is true.

The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.

"It was a scary moment," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who said he had just taken off his body armor when he saw a bright flash outside the window. "Our pilots were terrific. ... They banked in one direction and then banked the other direction, and they set off the flares."
...
Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country.

"It was kind of dicey," Shelby said. "But it just shows you what our troops go through every day."

US troops stabilizing parts of the country where they are in greatest number. Except for Baghdad, apparently.

Do they need to experience what our troops go through while on the ground? No pilots to zip them away.

The question was asked back in March. I don't think we have an answer.

There were 89 coalition deaths in the Iraq war in July, 2007, 80 US soldiers, 8 UK soldiers, and 1 soldier from Poland. There have been nearly 3,700 US fatalities and over 26,500 US soldiers wounded fighting in Iraq since 2003. Twenty-six US soldiers died in battle in Iraq in the last week.

If you want to see what the NRA Gun Utopia looks like, here's a good example. In Iraq, They shoot people when they're mad...They shoot people when they're glad.

Read more at WhitesCreek...

In live speeches on CSPAN yesterday, I heard McCain and Leibermen report on a war that was so vastly different from any other reports coming out of there I felt like knocking my head against a wall to see if my brains were loose. According to these two the "new" war is a huge success. Iraq is becoming a country where life is pretty much normal again, the various factions are beginning to get together to forge a unity government, and Al Queda is fleeing. Both men admitted the folly of past mistakes by the Bush adminsitration, but they reacted to Bush's "new" strategy with the fervor of a born again.

It is beyond me how anyone could be so totally convinced of this. They sound like sleazy but loyal salesmen attached to a company that sells goods about to be recalled.

I don't want to think guys like McCain and Lieberman would INTENTIONALLY use their influence to prop up a war that is surely going to fail, but what other conclusion can you come to? They both are trailing in the poles. They both are trying woo hawkish voters.

McCain looks sick to me, all puffed up and tense, and he gave an awful speech really, reading from his text with the enthusiasm of an old Catholic priest delivering a sermon he'd written years ago.

McCain and Leibermen are has-beens, but they sure did a number on reality yesterday. If you listen to them Iraq is beginning to look a lot like the Emerald City.

What about the purple fingers? What about Poland?

The Howard Government has today admitted that securing oil supplies is a factor in Australia's continued military involvement in Iraq.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today oil was a factor in Australia's contribution to the unpopular war, as "energy security" and stability in the Middle East would be crucial to the nation's future.
. . .
"The defence update we're releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia's defence and security, and resource security is one of them," he told ABC radio.

"The entire (Middle East) region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world.

At least someone is adding some honesty to the debate.

President Bush, July 2, 2003:

There are some who feel like -- that the conditions are such that they can attack us there [Iraq]. My answer is, bring them on. We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.

Four years later we've got approximately the same-sized force dealing with the security situation . . . and the insurgents are still bringing it on.

Link...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. may be able to reduce combat forces in Iraq by next spring if Iraq's own security forces continue to grow and improve, a senior American commander said Friday.

Hahahahahahahahahaha! Is this supposed to make us run into the streets and start dancing with joy?

That IF in there is taller than the twin towers.

Why oh why do our military leaders run around saying stuff like this? We ALL know the current Iraqi security forces will never be able "to grow and improve enough" to contain the on-going civil war.

I have mixed feelings about this one. My heart broke for Danny Pearl's wife. But it was a very private affair. So many have been killed. Should we raise Pearl's death to a higher value just because he was handsome, had a gorgeous loving wife, and a promising career?

As a person who seems drawn to try to be culturally literate, I will see the movie at some point, but I'll be surprised if it extends beyond what feels like a soap opera set-up designed to bring out the hankies. Will this be just another vapid chick-flick? Or an important unbiased documentary of the war in Iraq? Will it have a hidden political agenda?

Inquiring minds want to know....

The Pentagon has another deck of cards to remind our soldiers of the history of the world.

Each card in the deck shows an artifact or site or gives a tip on how to help preserve antiquities.

“This site has survived 17 centuries. Will it and others survive you?” asks the seven of clubs, which pictures Ctesiphon Arch in Iraq.

This (a little slow) reminder of "an incident after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when U.S. troops built a helicopter pad on the ruins of Babylon and filled their sandbags with archaeological fragments from the ancient city."

And we're pissed!

AP reporting, "U.S.-Iraqi forces raid lollipop factory".

Whitescreek opines, "What I see is a bigger ass than even John McCain. April 2007 is the third deadliest month for American Troops in this stupid and tragic war's history."

Lieberman sees progress because the market he is in is open and the schools are open. I'd like to see more. Is the market open just because he is there? How often and how long are the schools open?

I'd like to see progress. How about showing this progress on the news when Lieberman isn't there?

From the NYT:

"When the battle was over, Delta Company learned that among the enemy dead were at least two Iraqi Army soldiers that American forces had helped train and arm.

Captain Rogers admits, “The 29th was a watershed moment in a negative sense, because the Iraqi Army would not fight with us,” adding, “Some actually picked up weapons and fought against us.”

This really ticks me off. I think that too many men in the Iraqi Army are torn between their loyalty to the idea of ridding their homeland of occupiers and the paycheck the occupiers hand them. They also appreciate the guns and training they get and the power.

The fact that we are arming and training men who are not loyal to us, seems like the worst kind of folly. Reports of this have been circulating ever since the war began, but they get little press.

Whenever anyone suggests being against the war is being against the troops, I suggest they take a look at exactly what is happening to the troops. The troops are becoming disenchanted. Wouldn't you if you were expecting guys to fight alongside you with passion and then you discover they're not? Instead, they are using the weapons and the training your country has given them to attack you.

It's a stupid war that grows more stupid with each passing day, but at least the troops are beginning to speak out about the problems.

The best way to support the troops is to applaud the ones that offer reasonable and honest portraits of life on the ground. They are brave men and women and they deserve to have their say. Maybe instead of hauling out generals chosen by Bush, the Congress ought to hold hearings that involve our troops. What is their vision? What are their problems? Do they still think they are fighting for a just and winnable cause?

Or do they feel like they are being used.

Americans have opened nearly 1,000 new graves to bury U.S. troops killed in Iraq since Memorial Day a year ago. The figure is telling — and expected to rise in coming months.

Take a look at the picture to the left of the above article, ..."a memorial of over 3400 pairs of boots representing the U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq, in Chicago's Grant Park,"...

Very sad.

Today was the first day little was said about the missing soldiers. I fear the worst. Certainly the animosity a huge search based on "interogated" informants will lead these poor guys on many a wild goose chase and perhaps even ambush. I thought this article was beautifully written and the photo visceral. Damn this ugly war!