[Vision2020] The Human Toll

Tue May 8 11:26:14 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 May 14, 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 27 through May 3:

Army Spc. Matthew T. Bolar, 24, of Montgomery, Alabama; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Pfc. John D. Flores, 21, of Barrigada, Guam; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. 

Army Sgt. Felix G. Gonzalez-Iraheta, 25, of Sun Valley, California; assigned
to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. 

Army Spc. Kelly B. Grothe, 21, of Spokane, Washington; assigned to Company
B, 321st Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve, Hayden Lake, Idaho. 

Army Pfc. Larry I. Guyton, 22, of Brenham, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher N. Hamlin, 24, of London, Kentucky; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Sgt. Glenn D. Hicks Jr., 24, of College Station, Texas; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. 

Army 1st Lt. Ryan P. Jones, 23, of Massachusetts; assigned to the 4th
Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. 

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher S. Kiernan, 37, of Virginia Beach, Virginia;
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat
Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Marine Lance Cpl. Johnathan E. Kirk, 25, of Belhaven, North Carolina;
assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Marine Master Sgt. Kenneth N. Mack, 42, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to II
Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, II MEF, Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina.

Army Pfc. Jay-D H. Ornsby-Adkins, 21, of Ione, California; assigned to the
1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. 

Marine Cpl. Charles O. Palmer II, 36, of Manteca, California; assigned to
8th Communication Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters
Group, II MEF, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Army Pfc. Jerome J. Potter, 24, of Tacoma, Washington; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Staff Sgt. Coby G. Schwab, 25, of Puyallup, Washington; assigned to
Company B, 321st Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve, Hayden Lake,
Idaho. 

Army Pfc. Katie M. Soenksen, 19, of Davenport, Iowa; assigned to the 410th
Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military
Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. 

Army Pvt. Cole E. Spencer, 21, of Gays, Illinois; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Benning, Georgia.

Army Spc. Astor A. Sunsin-Pineda, 20, of Long Beach, California; assigned to
the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Sgt. Norman L. Tollett, 30, of Columbus, Ohio; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army 1st Lt. Colby J. Umbrell, 26, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat
Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 

Army Spc. Andrew R. Weiss, 28, of Lafayette, Indiana; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort
Hood, Texas. 

April 27 - May 3
Killed: 21; wounded in action: 178

March 19, 2003 - May 3, 2007
Killed: 3,355; wounded in action: 25,090

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U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in
Afghanistan, confirmed by the Defense Department from April 20 through April
26:

Army Pfc. Joseph G. Harris, 19, of Sugar Land, Texas; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

April 27 - May 3
Killed: 1; Wounded in action: 19

Oct. 10, 2001 - May 3
Killed: 380; Wounded in action: 1,203

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National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Mobilized
(as of May 2, 2007)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2007/d20070502ngr.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.