I Hope This Is Not True

[lizbud]

I have no idea if I could stand it if this were one of my children.
I hope to God this is not true. I would surely lose my mind with worry
an grief.


Masked Men Seized Soldiers, Newspaper Reports

POSTED: 8:13 am EDT June 17, 2006
UPDATED: 11:01 am EDT June 18, 2006


BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A farmer who witnessed an attack on a U.S. patrol south of Baghdad on Friday said he saw gunmen kill one soldier and take two others prisoner.

His report hasn't been verified, but The New York Times is quoting other witnesses who saw masked guerrillas jump into two cars and whisk the soldiers away.

The military has no new information on the search. A statement said search crews were "uncovering every stone" until the troops are found.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said U.S. forces have mounted four raids since the attack and added that ground forces, helicopters and airplanes are out hunting for the men. He also said a dive team is going to search for the men, who were at a checkpoint by a canal.


Caldwell said U.S. forces are "using every means" available on the ground, in the air and in the water to find the soldiers.

Friday's ambush took place in the volatile Sunni triangle.

Scattered Violence Reported As Troops Conduct Ramadi Operation

Iraq saw scattered violence Sunday as U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an operation in Ramadi to isolate insurgents there by cutting off their supply lines.

A car bomb exploded near a university in Mosul, killing a woman and wounding 19 other people. A mortar shell hit the al-Sadiq University for Islamic Studies in Baghdad, wounding five students and a teacher.

Gunmen seized 10 workers from a bakery in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, and at least 11 bullet-riddled bodies turned up, most of them in Baghdad.

U.S. commanders said the Ramadi operation is not a large-scale assault of the volatile Sunni Arab city.

[Dorothy39]

Lizbud!!!

This post is extraordinary!!! I have briefly visited "The Dog House" , so, I can't remember the other topics right this minute.

I don't want to alarm you, okay? But, given the information that you could type, a portion of it has to be true.

There are two sides to this War. One being, it is a WAR, the other being, It is just Democracy in Action. Oh well, I tend to view this as an all out WAR!!!

And, WAR is HELL!!! This article brings the conflict within the Sunni Triangle up close and highly decriptive. (I hope it is not true). But, Who knows what our government will allow the press to print? Likewise, allow us to even know of.

I was a teenager during the Vietnam Conflict. Since then, I have talked to several Vietnam Vets, and trust me, some of their stories made me absolutely sick to my stomach. (As in, sorry I even asked)

The internet is here now. The media has expanded their journalism to the point where we as a nation question their scruples. It seems, the more gory the detail, the faster it is posted, printed,or broadcast!!!! We tend to find out more than we are willing to digest. Even journalists from War War 2 have said that this is far worse than any conflict reported on foreign soil.

You posted a great thread for all of us at Pet Talk to Ponder .

[lizbud]

The two American soldiers were killed.Their bodies have been recovered.
I will not print the gruesome details. May they rest now, in peace.

[Miss Z]

This war never seems to progress. Where is the major breakthrough? There's as much violence and disorder there as there was before, and yet still innocent men are sent to their deaths.

To quote Wilfred Owen:
My friend, you would not tell of such high zest
To children ardent for some deperate glory
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

[Dorothy39]

I read about the Humvees being ambushed on MSNBC soon after reading your post.

This article reminds me so much of "The Vietnam Conflict"--

This War in Iraq scares the day lights out of me, now I am middle aged, and the men and women serving in our military are the little boys and girls I knew in the 70's and 80's. Incidently, a few of my close friends served in Iraq as well, training and overseeing procedures.

Do you feel that the people in the United States realize that there is a War going on in the Middle East? This is not a dress rehearsal folks, our men and women in uniform are in harms way.

I was raised by the World War 2 generation. They taught me all about the Wonderful Country that I was privledged to be born in. This generation was and still is --- awesome, !!!!!! We could not be typing on a computer if not for their courage , stamina, unity and maturity beyond their tender years .


I hope that our country can one day Unite again for such a cause !!!! But, I don't want to ration either. I would give up buying gasoline on a certain day if it were applied to everyone in this country. Get where I am coming from.? This War in Iraq is costing so much money, and so much PAIN!!!!!! I value our Freedom , yet, many other Americans take our Freedom for granted. We need to pitch in and do something for our Country.

Your Post really was so necessary. We are at War, yet, many of us don't even think about it at all.

[Dorothy39]

This war never seems to progress. Where is the major breakthrough? There's as much violence and disorder there as there was before, and yet still innocent men are sent to their deaths.

To quote Wilfred Owen:
My friend, you would not tell of such high zest
To children ardent for some deperate glory
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Amen!!! You have hit it right on the mark my friend. You are younger than I am, this conflict will influence you life in ways you cannot comprehend right now. Where is the major breakthrough in deed. Why aren't the American people , those of us who are not in the military at all, involved as a Nation???

Oh yes, we can send our letters, our little care packages, our phone cards, but, we are not" United States" at all . Come on folks, young men and women who cannot afford an Education rely on their GI Bill Benefits. I personally know men and women in their mid twenties and early thirties who have lost their jobs while serving this country!!!!! Struggling while working odd jobs and taking classes in Community Colleges.

Young men and women, in the Military, who are trying to make ends meet!!!!

They deserve more RESPECT!!! and ---So much more than they are offered!!!!!

Many of them are now so depressed. so affected by what they experienced while serving. I feel this is "Vietnam 2 " yet, our country waves the flag more now than they did then. Hey, wave your flag folks, but remember , there is a price for our Freedom.

[Edwina's Secretary]

My views on this war are well-known and often repeated. I must tell you though....

I personally know men and women in their mid twenties and early thirties who have lost their jobs while serving this country!!!!!

There is a law against anyone losing their job because of military service. Regardless of the size of the company....the job must be held for them until they return. USERRA.

[popcornbird]

What about the innocent Iraqi women and children killed by soldiers in Haditha?

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/me...rines.haditha/

I KNOW I wouldn't be able to stand it if any of my loved ones were killed in a war that they never even chose to be a part of.

[IRescue452]

Popcornbird, you are absolutely right. There hasn't been a war on American soil for the longest time, so we forget what it would be like living in Iraq and hearing gunshots outside our windows. We got scared becase they flew airplanes into 3 buildings (far from most of our homes), imagine having your homes ransacked and destroyed and being left with a pile of rubble. Or the poor children without parents tryng to survive. To hell with feeling sorry for our troops, they never lived though anything that bad.

[caseysmom]

I feel sorry for the troops and those innocent Iraqis. I do not feel sorry for those particular soldiers if they are guilty, and they are being tried for murder.

[lizbud]

I KNOW I wouldn't be able to stand it if any of my loved ones were killed in a war that they never even chose to be a part of.

I believe that's what most Americans thought on 9/11 when this country
was attacked by Islamic extremists.

All the usless loss of life, for what?

[dogzr#1]

It's really sad One of the soldiers lived 30 min from me. The family was on the news yesterday, and said they only wish that he come home safely. Now today, they found out he died, a most gruesome death... it's just sad.

[Cataholic]

Popcornbird, you are absolutely right. There hasn't been a war on American soil for the longest time, so we forget what it would be like living in Iraq and hearing gunshots outside our windows. We got scared becase they flew airplanes into 3 buildings (far from most of our homes), imagine having your homes ransacked and destroyed and being left with a pile of rubble. Or the poor children without parents tryng to survive. To hell with feeling sorry for our troops, they never lived though anything that bad.

What? Where does it say one cannot express remorse for a particular heinous death without naming all heinous deaths?

Why can't I express remorse for this event without any others being mentioned, or this one being discounted?

[sparks19]

while it is interesting to see everyones theories on this being the worst war ever it is simply being blown slightly out of proportion. In the past 3 years 2500 US soldiers have been KIA. Of course 1 casualty is too many but to put it into perspective, 2500 or more per YEAR are murdered BY Americans on American soil in pursuit of NOTHING except maybe a few bucks out of someones wallet. Secondly, the numbers do not even COMPARE to Vietnam.

The violence over there is mainly between the citizens of Iraq. Suicide bombers, kidnapping, torture. All those things would be going on there whether we were there or not. It's the way they are. WE did not create the violence there. The violence there is the REASON we are there.

Now I do not condone war. No one should. War is a terrible thing. but all I have heard is what the wrong thing to do is. No one seems to have any ideas for the RIGHT thing to do. It is easy to talk about what should be done when you aren't the one that has to do it.

[RICHARD]

I have changed my views on the war.

I think that after 9/11 we should have waited until the Millenium Bomber
took down the Needle in Seattle.
Or blown up LAX....


That was kind of dumb to go out and look for a war over two buildings in New York.

I thought the gas plan for the New York subway system was a little over the top. It already happened in Japan.

Terrorists need to be more creative.