[Vision2020] The Human Toll

[Tom Hansen]

I would like to preface this week's "Human Toll" with a quote and sound file
of Dick Cheney (1991), courtesy of Scott Dredge (thanks, big guy).

http://www.tomandrodna.com/Stuff/Cheney_Quagmire.mp3

"The notion that we ought to now go to Baghdad and uh uhh somehow take
control of the country strikes me as as an extremely uh serious one in terms
of uh what we'd have to do once we got there. You'd probably have
to put some new government in place. It's not clear what kind of government
that would be, how long you'd have to stay. For the U.S. to get involved
militarily in determining the outcome of uh the struggle over who's going to
govern in Iraq uh strikes me as a uh classic definition of a quagmire." Dick
Cheney, 1991
 
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>From the November 20, 2006 edition of the Army Times -

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U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in Iraq,
confirmed by the Defense Department from November 3 through November 9:

Army Sgt. 1st Class William R. Brown, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Marine Sgt. Bryan K. Burgess, 35, of Garden City, Mich.; assigned to Marine
Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division,
Perrysburg, Ohio.

Army Staff Sgt. Richwell A. Doria, 25, of San Diego, Calif.; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Regiment,
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Pfc. Kevin J. Ellenburg, 20, of Middleburg, Fla.; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort
Hood, Texas.

Marine Cpl. Jose A. Galvan, 22, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Marine 2nd Lt. Mark C. Gelina, 33, of Moberly, Mo. assigned to 2nd Light
Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Miles P. Henderson, 24, of Amarillo, Texas;
assigned to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation
Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Staff Sgt. William S. Jackson II, 29, of Saginaw, Mich.; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored
Division, Giessen, Germany.

Army Sgt. Courtland A. Kennard, 22, of Starkville, Miss.; assigned to the
Army's 410th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th
Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Staff Sgt. Misael Martinez, 24, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division,
Giessen, Germany.

Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan T. McCaughn, 19, of Manchester, N.H.; assigned to 1st
Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Staff Sgt. Gregory W. G. McCoy, 26, of Webberville, Mich.; assigned to
the Army's 410th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion,
89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Marine Cpl. Kyle W. Powell, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; assigned to the
1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Army Chief Warrant Officer John R. Priestner, 42, of Pennsylvania; assigned
to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Sgt. Angel De Jesus Lucio Ramirez, 22, of Pacoima, Calif.; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored
Division, Giessen, Germany.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Rudy A. Salcido, 31, of Ontario, Calif.; assigned to the
Army National Guard's 1114th Transportation Company, Bakersfield, Calif.

Army Sgt. Lucas T. White, 28, of Moses Lake, Wash.; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.


November 3 - November 9
Killed: 17; wounded in action: 153


March 19, 2003 - November 9, 2006
Killed: 2,835; wounded in action: 21,572

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And the beat goes on . . .

"Bring 'em Home"
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/Bring_em_home.mp3

"If you love this land of the free
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

It will make the politicians sad, I know 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home 
They wanna tangle with their foe 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

They wanna test their grand theories
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home
With the blood of you and me
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

Now we'll give no more brave young lives 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home 
For the gleam in someone's eyes 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

The men will cheer and the boys will shout 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home 
Yeah and we will all turn out 
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

The church bells will ring with joy
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home
To welcome our darlin' girls and boys
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home

We will lift their voice and sound
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home
Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home
Bring 'em home, bring 'em home."
   
Seeya at the polls, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Vandalville, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime."

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.