Posted on 08/06/2005 8:46:18 PM PDT by WJHII
Who’s Killing Our Boys By William John Hagan
Houston Home Journal Warner Robins, GA 08/10/2005
One third of the 1,402 American Soldiers killed by hostile fire have died as a result of “roadside bombs” or what the US military, euphemistically, refers to as Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). While, at the beginning of the American Occupation of Iraq, the term improvised appeared to describe these devices, this is no longer the case. In the past few months, it has become clear that these IEDs are no longer the makeshift bombs of the early insurgency, but sophisticated factory-manufactured weapons from a deadly source.
On July 24th, one of these new generation IEDs was used to kill four soldiers with the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team. The bomb contained 600 pounds of explosives buried beneath a roadside in South Baghdad. An additional four soldiers were killed, six days later, by a similar 500 pound bomb that was buried under a Baghdad Street. According to Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, Commander of the Georgia Brigade, his men had discovered about a dozen other bombs in the area. It is clear that these attacks took place with obvious complicity of the residents of South Baghdad. In the densely populated confines of South Baghdad, it would be impossible to bury dozens of half ton explosives under public roads without locals witnessing the events. We’re taking about major road work. The transgressions of these internal assaults become compounded when one realizes that we are not just fighting an internal insurgency but a well-financed foreign campaign to keep Iraq in tatters.
The IEDs, now being used in Iraq, are being supplied by Iran. As recently as last week, a large shipment of IEDs were captured as they entered Iraq from Iran. In direct response, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave a glaring critique about Tehran’s “meddling” in Iraqi affairs.
There are two reasons why Iran wants to keep the Untied States bogged down in Iraq: A successful Iraqi insurgency increases the chance that the United States will be forced into a Vietnam-like withdrawal from Iraq. Such a scenario would leave the Iranian government in a good position to bring Iraq’s Shiite majority into its sphere of influence. More importantly, the success of the insurgency decreases the likelihood that the United States will have the manpower left to expand the War on Terror to Iran.
If the United States plans to leave a democratic Iraq in its wake; then, it is left with no choice but to deal militarily with the Iranian theocracy that is threatening mid-East stability. According to a May 15th article in the Washington Post, the military has a classified contingency plan, known as COMPLAN 8022-22. This strategy is designed to strike Iran in response to "imminent" threats, using both conventional and possibly nuclear weapons against Iranian targets, without involving ground forces in the initial stages. This operation would be similar in nature to President Clinton’s war against Serbia. A source with close ties to the NSA and the former Carter administration also confirmed for me that in June 2004 the United States began preparations for such an attack on Iran with war exercises that included the majority of the US Carrier Fleet and the 6th Maine Expeditionary Unit. Publicly, the operation was know as Summer Pulse’04, which the Navy described as preparation for “a national emergency or crisis”. It seems that Iran’s current meddling in Iraqi affairs may leave the Bush administration with no choice but to take military action against Iran. The Iran Government should be well advised to consider this before assisting in the murder of any future US troops in Iraq.
Letters to the editor can be e-mailed to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com
William John Hagan can be visited on the web at: http://williamjohnhagan.blogspot.com
Thank you kindly dear, but the credit for the Perfection phrase comes from a poster I used in my other life....corporate animal that I was!
Funny, how those plaques and posters have a haunting and much more real meaning when used in this context of the WOT....just thinking of our earlier conversation about achieving victory and the remembering the slogan:
TEAM=Together Everyone Achieves More.
Very well stated.
No work for me, fellow Holsteins. :)
My first post after 9/11 was called "Should We Surrender?"
My premise was that we did not have the will to do what was required to win the war against our enemies.
The events of the past four years unfortunately bear this out.
What would I do about Iran? The deployment of our forces to the Middle East and the failure to raise an army sufficient to the task at hand greatly limits our options.
It was my opinion on the afternoon of 9/11/01, which has not changed, that victory requires the conquest, long-term occupation, and reconstruction of Arabia, Persia, and Pakistan.
Without that, all of our choices vis-a-vis Iran, are bad ones.
I wouldn't worry about the left (politicians OR media) about Iraq any more than I would worry about John Bolton.
The left was in a tizzy because he was such a meanie, and when the President recess appointed him, the UN guys said, "Fine with us.........he's the President's pick." Much ado about nothing.
The Iraqi people are WAY smarter than leftists Americans are. They have al Jazeera, and we have AP polls. I'm betting that they know there's no difference in how much truth you get from either of them..........
Thats not because New Yorkers try to kill more people their just better shots.
Oops. That post was supposed to be to ALLEGRA...........not to "All" LOL!
I have to take care of an emergency but will get back to you tonight.
Ah, yes, Jimmuh Carter, the recipient of an $8 million dollar book advance as he left office. Rosalind got a similar sum for her opus. Habitat for Humanity never mentions the book deals. He's painted as a plaster saint. Poor and humble.
We are in fact 'at War' with Iran already....
=====
Why can't President Bush come on TV and say exactly that?
Let them taste American Nukes and Ultimatums.
Tried and True tested products.
Throw away everything you have been reading, and try again.
You've got me totally LOL ohio!
"ALL" are now trying to figure out what a mentally challenged holy heifer is doing on this thread and they're scratching their heads trying to figure out what she's moooooing about!
You are officially my favorite "Holy Cow"!
LOL! No WONDER I use that expression all the time!
I'm talkin' about meself! :)
(I'll bet that angry fella who called us all "dumb cows" would be even angrier if he found out that we're having so much fun with the designation, eh??)
"(I'll bet that angry fella who called us all "dumb cows" would be even angrier if he found out that we're having so much fun with the designation, eh??)"
I think icon knows....he has been behaving very nice lately.
Tomas,(fight like WWII-win like WWII), on the other hand, still hasn't told me why we should bomb Iran for being a terrorist freeway but we shouldn't have bombed Switzerland in WWII for being the same thing for the nazis.
You couldn't be more correct
Carter is scum. He needs to climb under a rock and stay there. It amazes me, no it doesn't, that the Europeans still respect this "man".
I see I missed all the fun. Including our "special" guest showing up. ;*)
Too any things to do today. Darn!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.