35 GIs wounded in mortar attack

in Baghdad. breaking on MSNBC.

not good... probably got a tent/chow hall...

totally NFG...

Gosh darn it, bush you lying sack of shit ...

tell us more when they have it. meanwhile....

Shit this sucks..... I have noticed a severe news blackout from Iraq over the last three days or so. Nothing, anywhere since Sunday. I suspected something bad had happened as we have seen before. Fuck...
:(

I thought it was my imagination, but there has been nothing on NPR - not even the mention of Iraq on the news - just like it doesn't exist. They are all trying to hard to push this stuff under the rug. How do these people sleep at night.

they interviewed a gereral in Iraq who said the attacks were down to just 20 a day and that things were getting a lot better. Oh well, guess they were wrong.

that "Iraq is going very well", so therefore Bush is a shoein in 04.

Don't you wish you could ask him to define "well".

A cheerleader for murder and war crimes

and ughh again

that this happened five hours ago...........

how impressive the decrease rate of attacks in Iraq was... Down 50% or more...

and thinking: "calm before the storm" :-(

no fatalities (yet) ONLY injuries, just a few missing arms, legs, eyes, and other various body parts...

and severely injured is rather thin... It's so misleading that only the deceased are reported in the news.

Thank also BTW for the Owens on TO.

Another devistating one by Owen...

"...But the old man would not, but slew his son, and half the seed of Europe, one by one."

See if you can find a copy of the Joan Baez/ Peter Shickley album "Baptism" on the Vanguard lable where she reads the Parable by Owen.

I love the Henry Treece settings on that album as well.

I remember watching that and the talking heads telling us there were 25 wounded or so. I remember saying "if there's that many wounded, there has to be at least SOME dead, and probably twelve or so.."

known yet. This is at 1648 CST. Blitzer said 'just after sundown', wouldn't that be several hours ago? But 35 injured, no deaths? Smells fishy (but hope it's true)
:eyes:

.
.
. just rearrange BEEF and you'd be right !!

Gotta have dat cannon fodder !

6 rounds is a whole bunch to fall on your head.... It was a well organized attack...

I believe you are correct. Cannon fodder. The American people won't mind the draft so much if it's just a bunch of immigrants anyway!

Oy!

Julie

When you have a loved one there, every hair on the back of your neck stands on end until you know exactly who was hurt. Time stands still. Not that Bush or any of the chicken hawks would know....

Hearing news like this still makes my heart break, but it is nothing in comparison to what the parents, children, spouses, siblings, etc of our soldiers are going through this very minute. My thoughts are with them.

And that your anxiety is over. The nightmare of which you speak will just be beginning for my family when my nephew goes over with the 1st Infantry in a couple of months. And it has already started for Mar333 and her family who's stepson just left for Iraq last week.

This whole unnecessary war thing stinks. Am really glad you, your family and your brother made it through and your brother is safe again.

My best wishes go out to the families of the 3rd Corps Support Command tonight and hope their sons and daughters are okay.

We were lucky. My brother was told last October that he would have to go back to Iraq after the New Year, but then the Army changed their mind several weeks ago. He might have to go back to Afghanistan, but nothing is definite.

If your nephew ever needs anything while here's there, just ask. Letters, care packages, anything.

I wish there was something, anything, I could say to make it less scary for you. :( I'm very sorry your family has to go through this. May your nephew come back safe and may his time over there be short.

Really hope things go well and accepting your offer is not necessary, for me or the other DUers with loved ones in the Bush danger zone.

DU and DUers are great.

we haven't heard anything yet. The company mentioned in the AP report isn't his company, but I think it is too early to know. Another sleepless night.

and the only thing wrong is the biting insects.

Peace and safety to you and yours. Sending wishes that good karma surrounds and protects your loved one.

While my loved one is stationed a little distance away from Balad during the week, he returns there to pick up mail, take hot showers and such. He called me Monday before this happened and promised to e-mail in the next two days. I have heard nothing so far and because he works intelligence, I do not expect to for at least a week.

I feel you on the sleepless night thing. Not knowing anything is the worst. I hate feeling so out of control. I hate not being able to protect him.

Safe travels to your loved one.

Best wishes for your loved one. I also hate feeling so out of control. Just pray for the best, and work to get those responsible for taking us to war on a pack of lies out of government.

Just heard on NWI, "few details".... :eyes:

the end of major hostilities.
i'm glad to know the diff.

God forgive them

I only pray that those soldiers are only hurt (with minor injuries) and not dead or disabled for life.

It lead into (or maybe followed, I can't remember) a very long report on wounded/injured Americans in Iraq who had to be evacuated. It was a long, in depth report. Need more like them. The reporter interviewed tourists near the Capitol and asked two questions. How many servicemen & women had died in Iraq, and how many injured or wounded? Most got the answer to the first question pretty close. No one had a clue on the 2nd question. Most guessed 200-1000. In fact, the army reports that close to 9000 have been evacuated so far. The reporter then went on to detail how the army and other services and the DOD try very hard to not answer the 2nd question. The reporter detailed the runaround he got from many offices. The army number he got from one individual was the exception.

One of the dem candidates needs to point out this number in the next debate, if there are any more.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1457

Breaking News ** DoD Reports up to 22,000 U.S. Casualties
David Hackworth
Soldiers for the Truth
http://www.sftt.org/
Posted 12/31/2003 1:08:00 PM

According to retired Army Colonel David Hackworth, "Lt. Col. Scott D. Ross of the U.S. military's Transportation Command told me that as of Dec. 23, his outfit had evacuated 3,255 battle-injured casualties and 18,717 non-battle injuries. Of the battle casualties, 473 died and 3,255 were wounded by hostile fire." That is a total of 21,972 casualties. Some may have been counted twice if they were transported more than once or injured more than once. This new count is far higher than the report from Mark Benjamin at United Press International. Veterans want to know: what is the true casualty count?

Saddam in the Slammer, so why are we on Orange?


David H. Hackworth

Almost daily we’re told that another American soldier has sacrificed life or limb in Iraq. For way too many of us – unless we have a white flag with a blue star in our window – these casualty reports have become as big a yawn as a TV forecast of the weather in Baghdad.

Even I – and I deal with that beleaguered land seven days a week – was staggered when a Pentagon source gave me a copy of a Nov. 30 dispatch showing that since George W. Bush unleashed the dogs of war, our armed forces have taken 14,000 casualties in Iraq – about the number of warriors in a line tank division.

We have the equivalent of five combat divisions plus support for a total of about 135,000 troops deployed in the Iraqi theater of operations, which means we’ve lost the equivalent of a fighting division since March. At least 10 percent of the total number of Joes and Jills available to the theater commander to fight or support the occupation effort have been evacuated back to the USA!

Lt. Col. Scott D. Ross of the U.S. military's Transportation Command told me that as of Dec. 23, his outfit had evacuated 3,255 battle-injured casualties and 18,717 non-battle injuries.

Of the battle casualties, 473 died and 3,255 were wounded by hostile fire. <snip>

The Pentagon has never won prizes for the accuracy of its reporting, but I think it’s safe to say that so far somewhere between 14,000 and 22,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have been medically evacuated from Iraq to the USA.<snip>

of another attack.I'm sick of the waiting. I'm worn out by the worrying...if it wasn't for my anger, I'd go crazy.

And add my wishes to yours that your loved one is now in his bed sleeping peacefully, and in safety, awaiting a new day's dawn.

There are many stressed out spouses tonight. Friends who know their soldier has been hurt and can't do a thing to help them.

Thank you!

Here's a later story:

(snip) 35 US soldiers injured in Iraq mortar attack

RAJU GOPALAKRISHNAN IN BAGHDAD


ANTI-WESTERN insurgents fired mortar rounds at a United States military camp last night, wounding 35 US soldiers.

Six mortar rounds exploded at Logistical Base Seitz west of Baghdad, a US military spokesman said. The camp is located in the so-called Sunni Muslim triangle that is a stronghold of resistance to the US presence in Iraq.

"The wounded soldiers were given first aid and have been evacuated from the site for further medical treatment," the spokesman said. The Pentagon added that the soldiers were from the army’s 541st maintenance battalion, based in Fort Riley, Kansas and part of the 3rd Corps support command.

Earlier, US troops said they destroyed a home in Fallujah, the centre of the anti-US insurgency west of Baghdad, where enraged neighbours said a married couple were killed and their five children orphaned. They insisted the couple had played no part in an attack on the troops that had led them to shell the house.
(snip/...)

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=23982004
(Free registration required)

You wouldn't know it watching the local 11pm news

Happy Mr Perle and Mr Wolfowitz?

I caught this story as I was getting ready to leave work. I went home, ate supper, had a nap, did a crossword puzzle, watched a little TV, then logged on 5 hours later. Not a new word on the net, and nothing on CNN or any of the other culprits, at least while I happened to look.

I guess there are lots of people here who know from experience how likely 35 wounded and 0 dead is. It seems unlikely, and the helicopter crash stories started out that way as far as I recall, but the proportions eventually shifted. This war is just a wicked shame for everyone concerned, on both sides. If only they would have listened to us "focus group" people.

as there will be an obvious (to the Iraqis) rotation of entire units next month, with just a week of overlap training. The unit replacements will likely be caught unexpected in a windstorm of simmering civilian anger and hatred ready to boil over.

Operation Sitting Duck

I am like many people around the country freaking out because we have a loved one in Balad. It's a big base, but it hit the living quarters of many in a mantenance corp. Rumsfeld needs to be kicked to the curb, he is shitting on military families every day he goes to his office. :mad:

And it breaks now?!

I have been searching the AP, BBC--absolutely nothing. Not to mention, every place I have looked the story is buried behind really old news (SARS, Bush Luvs Immigrants, etc..). Maybe I don't have the right URLs, but I can't find anything!!

Don posted an article updating the story...although not that much more info.

Also, it can take up to 12 hours to notify next of kin.

There are many spouses awake at Fort Riley tonight. Including me.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040108/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_worldwrap&cid=1514&ncid=1480

One has to keep track of the date/time stamp on MSNBC because of the way they update their stories:

One U.S. soldier dies after Iraq mortar attack

Soldiers accused of killing civilian couple

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 2:23 a.m. ET Jan. 08, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - One U.S. soldier was killed and 34 were wounded in a mortar attack on a U.S. military base west of Baghdad, a U.S. military spokesman said on Thursday.

<snip>

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. James Cassella said some of the wounded soldiers returned to duty shortly after the attack, while others were hospitalized. He said he did not have figures on how many troops were lightly injured and how many were seriously wounded.

The attack came as witnesses accused U.S. troops of shelling a house in nearby Fallujah after coming under fire, killing an Iraqi couple.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3708151/

Thanks, as usual, for having the latest-- :yourock:

injured or killed.

The media is playing down this story, though Stripes has on its front page a mourning story of one of its own killed in a recent mortar attack:

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=19719

Last Friday, as enemy mortar shells rained down on Forward Operating Base Eagle, Capt. Eric Paliwoda rushed to his mobile trailer to don his gear.

One of nine shells that fell that afternoon sent shrapnel into Paliwoda, snuffing the life out of a company commander described by his troops as a gentle giant who took good care of them.

I noticed on this story isn't on the front page of the http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html web page. I guess the war isn't that important anymore..