[Vision2020] The Human Toll

Tue Apr 3 14:48:15 PDT 2007

"The notion that we ought to now go to Baghdad and somehow take control of
the country strikes me as an extremely serious one in terms of 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 the struggle over who's going to govern in Iraq strikes me as
a classic definition of a quagmire." 

- Dick Cheney, 1991
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Stuff/Cheney_Quagmire.mp3

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"I think Rumsfeld, Cheney, and the president made a big mistake in
justifying going into the war in Iraq.  They put the emphasis on weapons of
mass destruction." 

- Gerald R. Ford (July 28, 2004)
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Stuff/Ford_Iraq_Big_Mistake.mp3

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>From the April 9, 2007 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 March 23 through March 29:

Army Staff Sgt. Jason R. Arnette, 24, of Amelia, Virginia; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Spc. William G. Bowling, 24, of Beattyville, Kentucky; assigned to the
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Spc. Wilfred Flores Jr., 20, of Lawton, Oklahoma; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Sgt. Curtis J. Forshey, 22, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania; assigned to
the 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade,
101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Marine Staff Sgt. Marcus A. Golczynski, 30, of Lewisburg, Tennessee;
assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th
Marine Division, Nashville, Tennessee. 

Army Pfc. Orlando E. Gonzalez, 21, of New Freedom, Pennsylvania; assigned to
the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Spc. Agustin Gutierrez, 19, of San Jacinto, California; assigned to the
782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne
Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Staff Sgt. Bradley D. King, 28, of Marion, Indiana;  assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade, Marion,
Indiana. 

Marine Pfc. Miguel A. Marcial III, 19, of Secaucus, New Jersey; assigned to
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Army Sgt. Edmund W. McDonald, 25, of Casco, Maine; assigned to the 782nd
Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division,
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

Army Spc. Sean K. McDonald, 21, of Rosemount, Minnesota; assigned to the 9th
Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division,
Wiesbaden, Germany.

Army Sgt. Robert M. McDowell, 30, of Deer Park, Texas; assigned to the 2nd
Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Staff Sgt. David A. Mejias, 26, of San Juan, Puerto Rico; assigned to
the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Cpl. Jason Nunez, 22, of Naranjito, Puerto Rico.; assigned to the 5th
Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne
Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Olsen, 20, of Eagan, Minnesota; assigned to 2nd
Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Twentynine Palms, California.

Army Sgt. Joe Polo, 24, of Opalocka, Florida; assigned to the 2nd Battalion,
12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Carson, Colorado.

Army 1st Lt. Neale M. Shank, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Sgt. Jason W. Swiger, 24, of South Portland, Maine; assigned to the 5th
Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne
Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Master Sgt. Sean M. Thomas, 33, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; assigned
to the 28th Division Support Command, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Army Staff Sgt. Eric R. Vick, 25, of Spring Hope, North Carolina; assigned
to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Pfc. Anthony J. White, 21, of Columbia, South Carolinia; assigned to
the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

Army Spc. Christopher M. Wilson, 24, of Bangor, Maine; was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

March 23 - March 29
Killed: 22; wounded in action: 127

March 19, 2003 - March 29, 2007
Killed: 3,240; wounded in action: 24,314

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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."

Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.