U.S. Iraq war casualties reach new milestone

[Seabiscuit36]

im not in the military by any means but i would say when Iraq was invaded the US mil didnt have urban training other than select schools, and branches of the miltary.  Its become a focus since the invasion to focus on Door to Door/Street/City battles.

[rjs246]

I think we can all agree that this situation is completely awesome in every way. I mean seriously. I'm giddy just thinking about the inevitable result of this 'war'. Poverty and civil war in the battleground countries. Villification of the United States by amajority of the world. The panicky election of an all-democratic congress and a Democratic President. The increase of taxes and government programs to help the helpless. A perception that our country has gone soft in certain areas. Prompting an extension of the 'War on Terror' just to prove that Democrats can fight bad guys too. A narrow re-election of the Democratic President. A complete rift in public opinion with the majority starting to side with conservatives who feed off of the fact that the 'War on Terror' is inept in every way. Republicans will get voted into office in a landslide and promptly go to work on 'weeding out the enemy'. Buildings destroyed by mysterious 'enemy combatants'. Cameras are installed. Phones are tapped.  And then, about 30 years after it was predicted to happen, we will finally have 1984.

I love this shtein.

[Phanatic]

Simply put, the US military is insufficiently trained to fight the type fo conflicts it is fighting now

This is very true. The US military is the best trained military, size and all, for a certain type of war and this isn't it. I would say that no matter how well trained a military is nothing really works when it comes down to this kind of deception amongst a populace determined to kill each other and anyone who gets in the way. Add to that foreign fighters only interested in stirring things up and no one can win.  This police action just might go down as the a 2nd worst military failure because of politics in US history. That isn't the fault of the US military and the job they are trying to do. They've been put into an impossible situation and do their best to die for nothing every damn day.

As for Afghanistan it is fun to say the US alone is losing that battle but well trained smaller armies from Europe are now fighting in southern Afghanistan under the NATO banner.

[DutchBird]

Simply put, the US military is insufficiently trained to fight the type fo conflicts it is fighting now

This is very true. The US military is the best trained military, size and all, for a certain type of war and this isn't it. I would say that no matter how well trained a military is nothing really works when it comes down to this kind of deception amongst a populace determined to kill each other and anyone who gets in the way. Add to that foreign fighters only interested in stirring things up and no one can win.  This police action just might go down as the a 2nd worst military failure because of politics in US history.

One would not be able to completely stop it... but one could bring it down a lot and take it from there... The Brits have been far more successful, and so have a few units in the North of Iraq who ran things like the British and Dutch were doing, and whoms commander had a private library of books and evaluations (including American post-Vietnam) about how to deal with this kind of conflict... within a short while, the situation in their area did get a LOT better... for the record, this unit was violating a whole lot of orders and directives sent from Baghdad in adopting this policy.

That isn't the fault of the US military and the job they are trying to do. They've been put into an impossible situation and do their best to die for nothing every damn day.

Yes and no. Is it the fault of "Joe-grunt"? By and large NO. The problem is the upper establishment there, parts of the Pentagon (which are all part of the military) and above all this administration and the sheep on Capitol Hill.   

As for Afghanistan it is fun to say the US alone is losing that battle but well trained smaller armies from Europe are now fighting in southern Afghanistan under the NATO banner.

Yup... and they have about 4 months to win or lose this fight (by winning the hearts and minds of the local populace), and the way things are looking now, it will be a very close run thing. And the politico's (in Europe but above all in the US) make things very very difficult.

[Drunkmasterflex]

While I agree with some of the points that have been made here, I have to disagree about the training.  Currently (at least in the Army) they are trained about as good as they can be for this type of conflict.  MOUT (Military Operations Urban Terrain) training is an integral part of training in today's Army.  It is even done at the basic training level.  Though I do agree that no matter what is done, it is still very difficult to come out on top. 

[Phanatic]

After listening to some comentary from Iraq I have to draw a different conclusion. When the US military is patrolling an area it is somewhat safer. The problem in Iraq now is that they are trying to turn things over to Iraqi forces. Forces infaltrated by this or that influence making a true Iraqi police force difficult. The killings today were in an Iraqi contolled zone until they asked the US to come in and help them out, basically taking over the area for them. There is the real problem. Disbanding the Iraqi military at the begining of this thing is haunting this effort. The US military is trying to create a legitimate local force and it isn't working. There are stories of US military men embedded with Iraqi's for training wondering if they'd make it through the night or get their throats cut. These are the troops they are trying to put on the street and when they take over an area it is sometimes a disaster. The US forces are always there to back them up but do not intervene until asked. What a mess...

[Diomedes]

72 U.S. soldiers have died so far this month, more than in any full calendar month since April '06.  With 12 days left, October '06 is shaping up to be one of the worst for U.S. forces since Bush/Cheney invaded Iraq in March '03.

[Father Demon]

A mosaic made of pictures of military killed in action in Iraq.

Note:  This is not a commentary or opinion by me. I'm pro military action.  I just thought the picture was interesting.

[Geowhizzer]

Bush: I won't change strategy in Iraq

[Geowhizzer]

Rumsfeld: Iraq must take over security

[Diomedes]

At 78 deaths, Oct. '06 has produced the highest death count since November 2005 (84).  At the current daily average (within Oct.) of just under four deaths, that benchmark is a lock to be surpassed.  In fact, at this rate there is a very high chance that this month's body count will surpass Oct. '05 (96), which was the fourth deadliest month in the whole war.

Deadliest months:

1 Nov-04   137
2 Apr-04   135
3 Jan-05   107
4 Oct-05   96
5 Aug-05   85
6 Nov-05   84
7 Nov-03   82
8 May-05   80
9 Sep-04   80
10 May-04 80
11 Oct-06   78 - 10 days left

[Diomedes]

ten deadliest months in Iraq for U.S. soldiers since invasion (Mar '03)

1 Nov-04   137
2 Apr-04   135
3 Jan-05   107
4 Oct-05   96
5 Oct-06  87 - 8 days left
6 Aug-05   85
7 Nov-05   84
8 Nov-03 82
9 May-05   80
10 Sep-04 80


Total all U.S. military deaths in Iraq: 2,800

[Sgt PSN]

It's a small price to pay for the inevitable $3/gallon of gas.  Which reminds me, there's only a couple weeks left until the elections.  I better stock up on gas now while I can still get it for less than two and a quarter. 

[Rome]

"We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done," he said.

- Left without comment -

[Geowhizzer]

It's a small price to pay for the inevitable $6/gallon of gas.  Which reminds me, there's only a couple weeks left until the elections.  I better stock up on gas now while I can still get it for less than two and a quarter. 

Eventually.