[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 April 2, 2007 edition of the Army Times -

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

U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in Iraq,
confirmed by the Defense Department from March 16 through March 22:

Army Sgt. John E. Allen, 25, of Palmdale, California; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.  

Marine Cpl. Henry W. Bogrette, 21, of Richville, New York; assigned to
Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Corps Logistics Group, 2nd Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Army Sgt. Wayne R. Cornell, 26, of Holstein, Nebraska; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Pfc. William N. Davis, 26, of Adrian, Michigan; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Sgt. Freeman L. Gardner Jr., 26, of Little Rock, Arkansas; assigned to
the 18th Engineer Company, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Curtis E. Glawson Jr., 24, of Daleville, Alabama; assigned to the
610th Brigade Support Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Sgt. Ryan P. Green, 24, of Woodlands, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas.   

Army Sgt. 1st Class Darrell R. Griffin Jr., 36, of Alhambra, California;
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Mario Guerrero, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. 

Army Pfc. John F. Landry Jr., 20, of Lowell, Massachusetts; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Sgt. Adrian J. Lewis, 30, of Mauldin, South Carolina; assigned to the
3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Army Sgt. Nicholas J. Lightner, 29, of Newport, Oregon; assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Pfc. Stephen K. Richardson, 22, of Bridgeport, Connecticut; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,
1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Sgt. Greg N. Riewer, 30, of Frazee, Minnesota; assigned to the 2nd
Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th
Infantry Division, Bemidji, Minnesota.

Marine Lance Cpl. Trevor A. Roberts, 21, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th
Marine Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Army Pfc. Joey T. Sams II, 22, of Spartanburg, South Carolina; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd
Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia.

Army Sgt. Ed Santini, 25, of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Staff Sgt. Gina R. Sparks, 35, of Drury, Missouri; assigned to the
115th Field Hospital, Warrior Brigade, Fort Polk. 

Army Spc. Lance C. Springer II, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to the
1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Sgt. 1st Class John S. Stephens, 41, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry
Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. 

Army Sgt. Nimo W. Tauala, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii; assigned to the 209th
Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division,
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. 


March 16 - March 22
Killed: 21; wounded in action: 145


March 19, 2003 - March 22, 2007
Killed: 3,218; wounded in action: 24,187

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

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.