[Vision2020] The Human Toll

[Tom Hansen]

"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 January 15, 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 December 29 through January 4:

Army Staff Sgt. Charles D. Allen, 28, of Wasilla, Alaska; assigned to the
296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Luis G. Ayala, 21, of South Gate, California; assigned to the 2nd
Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Pfc. Alan R. Blohm, 21, of Kenai, Alaska; assigned to the 425th Brigade
Special Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry
Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

Army Pvt. David E. Dietrich, 21, of Marysville, Pennsylvania; assigned to
the 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division,
Friedberg, Germany.

Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth A. Loncki, 23, of New Castle, Delaware;
assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. 

Air Force Senior Airman Daniel B. Miller Jr., 24, Galesburg, Illinois;
assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. 

Army Cpl. Jonathan E. Schiller, 20, of Ottumwa, Iowa; assigned to the 215th
Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Spc. Richard A. Smith, 20, of Grand Prairie, Texas; assigned to the
215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Sgt. John M. Sullivan, 22, of Hixon, Tennessee; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Army Sgt. Thomas E. Vandling Jr., 26, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;  assigned
to the 303rd Psychological Operations Company, Oakdale, Pennsylvania, a
subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations
Command (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Timothy R. Weiner, 35, of Tamarac, Florida; assigned to
the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. 
 

December 29 - January 4
Killed: 11; wounded in action: 149


March 19, 2003 - January 4, 2007
Killed: 2,991; wounded in action: 22,714

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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.