[Vision2020] The Human Toll

Tue Apr 24 14:56:08 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 30, 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 April 13 through April 19:

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Basham, 22, of Kenosha, Wisconsin; assigned to the
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery
Regiment, Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Army Cpl. Ray M. Bevel, 22, of Andrews, Texas; assigned to the 4th
Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffery A. Bishop, 23, of Dickson, Tennessee; assigned to
3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Army Sgt. William W. Bushnell, 24, of Jasper, Arkansas;  assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. 

Marine Lance Cpl. Jesse D. Delatorre, 29, of Aurora, Illinois; assigned to
2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California.

Army Sgt. Mario K. De Leon, 26, of San Francisco, California; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. 

Army Pfc. Aaron M. Genevie, 22, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; assigned to
the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,
1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. 

Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, of Baltimore, Maryland;  assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Pfc. Richard P. Langenbrunner, 19, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division,
Fort Benning, Georgia.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Dwayne L. Moore, 31, of Williamsburg, Virginia;
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade
Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army  Pfc. Jason M. Morales, 20, of La Puente, California; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, and Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Pfc. Christopher M. North, 21, of Sarasota, Florida;  assigned to the
1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Cpl. Wade J. Oglesby, 27, of Grand Junction, Colorado; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Cpl. Michael M. Rojas, 21, of Fresno, California; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Sgt. Joshua A. Schmit, 26, of Willmar, Minnesota; assigned to the
1451st Transportation Company, 13th Support Command, Iraq. 

Army Pvt. Michael J. Slater, 19, of Scott Depot, West Virginia;  assigned to
the 407th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne
Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Pfc. Lucas V. Starcevich, 25, of Canton, Illinois; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Army Pfc. Steven J. Walberg, 18, of Paradise, California; assigned to the
1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. 

Sgt. Brandon L. Wallace, 27, of St. Louis, Missouri; assigned to the 1451st
Transportation Company, 13th Support Command, Iraq. 

April 13 - April 19
Killed: 19; wounded in action: 119

March 19, 2003 - April 19, 2007
Killed: 3,309; wounded in action: 24,764

The Department of Defense announced the death of a soldier who was
supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Army Sgt. Alexander Van Aalten, 21, of Monterey, Tennessee; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

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National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Mobilized
(as of April 18, 2007)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2007/d20070418ngr.pdf

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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.