[Vision2020] The Human Toll

Tue Aug 7 12:16:56 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 August 13, 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 July 27 through August 2: 

Army Spc. Camy Florexil, 20, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Spc. Zachariah J. Gonzalez, 23, of Indiana; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Pfc. Charles T. Heinlein Jr., 23, of Hemlock, Michigan; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington. 

Army Pfc. Jaron D. Holliday, 21, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

Army Master Sgt. Julian Ingles-Rios, 52, of Anasco, Puerto Rico; assigned to
the 130th Engineer Battalion, of the Puerto Rico National Guard, at
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Army Pfc. Alfred H. Jairala, 29, of Hialeah, Florida; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington. 

Army Cpl. Jason M. Kessler, 29, of Mount Vernon, Washington; assigned to C
Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Cpl. Jason K. Lafleur, 28, of Ignacio, Colorado; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

Army Spc. Charles E. Leonard Jr., 29, of Monroe, Louisiana; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joey D. Link, 29, of Portland, Tennessee; assigned to
the 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

Army Spc. Braden J. Long, 19, of Sherman, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Sgt. Stephen R. Maddies, 41, of Elizabethton, Tennessee; assigned to
the 473rd Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar Platoon, Tennessee Army
National Guard, Columbia, Tennessee.

Army Pfc. Matthew M. Murchison, 21, of Independence, Missouri; assigned to
the 127th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th
Military Police Brigade, Hanau, Germany.  

Army Spc. Cristian Rojas-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Georgia; assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Eric D. Salinas, 25, of Houston, Texas; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington. 

Army Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division,
Fort Lewis, Washington. 

Marine Cpl. Sean A. Stokes, 24, of Auburn, California; assigned to 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Marine Lance Cpl. Cristian Vasquez, 20, of Coalinga, California; assigned
to1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Army Sgt. Dustin S. Wakeman, 25, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

July 27 - August 2
Killed: 19; wounded in action: 151

March 19, 2003 - August 2, 2007 
Killed: 3,653; wounded in action: 27,104

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U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in
Afghanistan, confirmed by the Defense Department from July 27 through August
2:

Army 1st Lt. Benjamin J. Hall, 24, of Virginia; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat
Team, Vicenza, Italy. 

Army Sgt. Taurean T. Harris, 22, of Liberty, Mississippi; assigned to the
202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade,
Fort Gordon, Georgia.

July 27 - August 2
Killed:  2; Wounded in action: 20

Oct. 10, 2001 - August 2, 2007
Killed: 418; Wounded in action: 1,448

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National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Mobilized 
(as of August 1, 2007) 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2007/d20070801ngr.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 our 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.