[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

------

"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
 
------

>From the January 29, 2007 edition of the Army Times -

------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in Iraq,
confirmed by the Defense Department from January 12 through January 18:

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph D. Alomar, 22, of Brooklyn, New York;
assigned to the Navy Provisional Detention Battalion, Camp Bucca, Iraq.

Army Sgt. Ian C. Anderson, 22, of Prairie Village, Kansas; assigned to the
2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. 

Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell P. Borea, 38, of El Paso, Texas; assigned to the
2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Marine Lance Cpl. Luis J. Castillo, 20, of Lawton, Michigan; assigned to
Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine
Division, Lansing, Michigan.

Army Sgt. John E. Cooper, 29, of Ewing, Kentucky; assigned to the 2nd
Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. 

Army Spc. Jason J. Corbett, 23, of Casper, Wyoming; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army 2nd Lt. Mark J. Daily, 23, of Irvine, California; assigned to the 2nd
Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. 

Army Spc. Matthew T. Grimm, 21, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; assigned to
the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California; assigned to the
412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Whitehall, Ohio. 

Army Pfc. Allen B. Jaynes, 21, of Henderson, Texas; assigned to 3rd
Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.  

Marine Cpl. Jacob H. Neal, 23, of San Marcos, Texas; assigned to Marine
Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Army Spc. William J. Rechenmacher, 24, of Jacksonville, Florida; assigned to
the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood,
Texas.

Army Spc. James D. Riekena, 22, of Redmond, Washington; assigned to the
145th Brigade Support Battalion, Post Falls, Idaho. 

Army Sgt. Paul T. Sanchez, 32, of Irving, Texas; assigned to the 543rd
Military Police Company, 91st Military Police Battalion, 10th Sustainment
Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Spc. Collin R. Schockmel, 19, of Richwood, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer A. Valdivia, 27, of Cambridge,
Illinois; assigned to the naval security force for Naval Support Activity,
Bahrain.
 
Army Sgt. Gregory A. Wright, 28, of Boston, Massachusetts; assigned to the
1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley,
Kansas.
 

January 12 - January 18
Killed: 17; wounded in action: 117


March 19, 2003 - January 18, 2007
Killed: 3,019; wounded in action: 22,951

------------------------------------------------------------------

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.