Posted on 06/20/2006 3:36:36 AM PDT by xzins
Prayers to their families. Usually I'm against capital punishment but I do make an exception for terrorists and their ilk. Dunno if they made a video or not but everytime they do, there is a side of me that wishes I could step through the TV and shoot these animals with a shotgun.
Wow! That is really a nice graphic! I honestly wouldn't advise Diana Irey to use it. That's better coming from irate veterans like me!
New prayers going up.
I'm so mad I could spit. Not so much at the terrorists, who are only acting like the uncivilized animals that they are, but at our media, who calls them "insurgents" or even "revolutionaries". As if they were George Washington, Paul Revere, John Adams or others (many of them named Lee). I don't remember them beheading redcoats, or loyalist civilians for that matter.
Ben Franklin pretty much never spoke to his son, the Royal Governor of N.J., but he didn't kill him or have him killed and his body desecrated either.
"No, there'll be just a vague hint that something bad happened but also an implication that it was somehow our fault."
More than an implication. According to an AP story linked to from the Drudge Report, an Uncle of one of the guys killed is quoted as blaming the U.S. because they didn't pay a ransom for the soldiers... like, huh? This is OUR fault? Words fail.
Missing U.S. soldiers and civilians in Iraq
20 Jun 2006 18:50:50 GMT
(Reuters) - More than a dozen Americans remain missing in Iraq, including 11 civilians and at least two U.S. soldiers, Major General William Caldwell said on Tuesday.
Here are details of those who remain listed as missing:
*Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher
Missing since Jan. 17, 1991
Speicher, then 33, flew a combat mission from the USS Saratoga on the first night of the Gulf War, piloting a Navy F/A-18 Hornet that was struck by a missile fired by an Iraqi aircraft.
The U.S. military lists Speicher, of Jacksonville, Fl., as "missing-captured" and has said people associated with Saddam Hussein's former government know where he is.
*Army Reserve Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin
Missing since April 9, 2004
Maupin's military fuel convoy was ambushed in a western suburb of Baghdad.
A week after he was seized, Maupin's captors sent a videotape to Arabic satellite television channel Al Jazeera that showed him dressed in military fatigues sitting on a floor, held captive by masked and heavily armed guerrillas.
A second videotape shown by Al Jazeera on June 28, 2004, showed what militants said was the execution of a U.S. soldier. The Army said the identification of Maupin was "not conclusive."
The U.S. military lists Maupin, of Batavia, Oh., as "missing-captured."
*11 civilians
Caldwell said 11 civilians, including contractors, were missing in Iraq.
The U.S. military has referred all inquiries on missing civilians to the U.S. State Department. The State Department could not immediately provide details on those civilians or their status. (Reporting by Kristin Roberts in Washington)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20210210.htm
Iraqi Official: 'Spoon-Feeding' by Foreigners Weakens Iraq
By VOA News
20 June 2006
Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie
A top Iraqi government official says political spoon-feeding by what he calls some influential foreign figures will weaken Iraq's government and fuel a culture of dependency.
Writing in Tuesday's Washington Post, Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said Iraq needs to grow out of the shadow of the United States and take responsibility for its own decisions.
Rubaie said Iraq hopes to assume total political and military control by the end of 2008. He said he expects the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to fall below 100,000 by the end of this year, with most U.S. troops gone within a year and a half.
He said the removal of foreign troops will strengthen Iraq's government in the eyes of its people, who he said see coalition troops as occupiers, not liberators.
Rubaie said four out of Iraq's 18 provinces are ready for self-government. He said nine others are almost ready.
Rubaie said provinces will be judged ready to govern themselves when insurgent threats are down and Iraqi security can deal effectively with violence.
The article comes a week after President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq.
Iraqi Official: 'Spoon-Feeding' by Foreigners Weakens Iraq
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa63.cfm
Well, if you see any reason to use it for whatever, feel free. I made it up to be passed around.
Al Qaeda showing what it is really all about.
My prediction is that the next "insurgent" who meets up with a U.S. soldier will come out of it looking like lasagna.
May they rest in peace, and may the murdering scum who did this never have a moments peace again.
Sad. They were good looking kids.
Prayers for the families and for our guys who need to hunt down and kill this new SOB in AQ.
I heard a caller to Rush say that today as well...about splitting the force. He was a combat veteran of Vietnam. Shame they have to learn the lesson this way though. :(
W04, just a humble suggestion to consider putting that powerful graphic on your site.
these young men are the most exceptional part of America.....
AMen and God bless you.
Iraqi, MiTT Soldiers cooperate on, off battlefield
Blackanthem Military News, YUSUFIYAH, Iraq, May 06, 2006
Success in restoring security and stability in Iraq will be measured by how well Iraqis maintain security, sustain themselves and enforce the rule of law after Coalition Forces depart.
It is the job of the Military Transition Team, or MiTT, to ensure that the Iraqi army is ready to take on that responsibility.
MiTT 4, stationed in Yusufiyah, has been preparing Iraqi soldiers to take over an incredibly active area south of Baghdad that had traditionally been a terrorist sanctuary before the Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces began offensive operations there in February.
"The job of the MiTT is to coach, mentor, train and report the activities of the Iraqi army, specifically 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division," said 1st Lt. Ryan Crosby, executive officer, MiTT 4.
Although the Iraqi army shows continuing progress, there were some difficulties facing MiTT 4 in getting the Soldiers prepared to take over the battlefield.
"In Yusufiyah, our mission differs because we have a fairly new battalion," said Crosby. "We have one of the most active sectors in the "Strike" AO. We have a very high operational tempo, and it’s such a spread-out area with a lot of small villages that we are tasked to support."
The missions that the Iraqi soldiers participate in vary, but it is the intent of the MiTT to see that they take a leading role in executing all missions.
"We try to put them in the lead as much as possible, whenever possible," Crosby said. "We do joint route clearances, joint dismounted and mounted patrols, a lot of work at the traffic control points to try to control the flow of traffic. Right now, there is a mission called Desert Scorpion going on and Iraqi soldiers air assaulted in with the American Soldiers. They are right there in the thick of things with us."
The operational relationship between U.S. and Iraqi troops is not the only sign of improvement. When an electrical fire claimed MiTT 4’s living area back in February, the Iraqi soldiers opened their compound to them, thus strengthening their already burgeoning friendship.
"After the fire on Feb. 5, the Iraqi soldiers opened their doors to us," said Crosby. "They opened up one of their bays to house all 31 soldiers that are here. They gave us room to build a tactical operations center. Our aid station became a joint aid station. Working in such close cohesion with them, we’ve really seen a lot of progress in our relationship and their abilities."
"The Iraqi soldiers are more focused on the mission now, and they are more efficient and they adapt a lot better," added Staff Sgt. Jesus Villegas, MiTT 4’s fires noncommissioned officer. "They are starting to react like we do when they make contact with the enemy."
The Iraqi soldiers aren’t the only ones who are learning from this experience. The American Soldiers have learned much about Iraqi culture.
"We get to learn their culture and little things that they may do in their culture, like certain gestures and phrases. When they see you trying to learn those things, they take it as you are trying to learn and bond with them," Villegas said. "When we try to speak their language, they know that we are trying to have two-way communication and they respect us more for that."
The success of MiTT 4 and 4th Bn., 4th Bde., 6th IAD, in making the Yusufiyah area safe depends on their continued cooperation and willingness to learn from each other.
Story by Spc. George Welcome
2nd BCT PAO, 101st Abn. Div.
http://www.blackanthem.com/TheAllies/military_2006050602.html
Gotta love it! Thanks for this good news on a dark day.
(this is from point #12 of 13 in the section 4. The Bottom Line - Observations from Iraqi Freedom, April 2006).
12th - There is a rapidly growing animosity in our deployed military forces toward the US Media. We need to bridge this gap. Armies do not fight wars - countries fight wars. We need to continue talking to the American people through the press. They will be objective in reporting facts if we facilitate their information gathering mission. The country is way too dangerous for the media to operate in any other manner than temporaily imbedded with US or Iraqi security forces. The enormous good will already generated by the superb performances of US combat forces will ebb away if we do not continue to actively engage media at every level. We also cannot discount 2000 IED's a month, hundereds of US casualties a month, or the chaos of the central battlefield of the insurgency - which is Bagdad.
This should be a must read for Freepers. This General, even though the Liberal Media is at fault, is trying to save the situation because of the importance of the media to giving a picture to the American people.
Unfortunately, this puts added stress on our troops that already under extreme pressure by the day-to-day possible deadly encounters with IED's and the possibilities of ambush...
General Barry McCafferty is very positive on our the good developments in Iraq. Ironically, the US Media is proving to be a challenging foe to our armed forces...
The link to the entire report is found in the PDF file at:
The US Media, in a sense, is starting to be a threat to our troops in Iraq, at least that is my interpretation of what General Barry McCafferty is saying.
He states:
There is rapidly growing animosity in our deployed military forces toward the US Media.
Any ideas on how we can win the battle with the media.
If you read the report, our troops are doing an superb and have a brilliant performance in Iraq.
This is being tarnished, from what I am reading, in this report from General Barry McCafferty...
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.