[Vision2020] The Human Toll

Tue May 15 15:13:39 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 May 4 through May 10:

Army Cpl. Matthew L. Alexander, 21, of Gretna, Nebraska; assigned to the 5th
Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington.

Army 1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, of Walpole, Massachusetts; assigned to
the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Cpl. Anthony M. Bradshaw, 21, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to the
5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division,
Fort Lewis, Washington. 

Army Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tennessee;
assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat
Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Sgt. Maj. Bradly D. Conner, 41, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; was assigned
to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Nashville, Michigan; assigned to the
4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Spc. Robert J. Dixon, 27, of Minneapolis; Minnesota;  assigned to the
1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Pfc. William A. Farrar Jr., 20, of Redlands, California; assigned to
the 127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th
Military Police Brigade, Darmstadt, Germany.

Army Spc. Michael K. Frank, 36, of Great Falls, Montana; assigned to the 1st
Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne
Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Sgt. Jason R. Harkins, 25, of Clarkesville, Georgia; assigned to the
5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division,
Fort Lewis, Washington. 

Army Pfc. Roy L. Jones III, 21, of Houston, Texas; assigned to the 984th
Military Police Company, 759th Military Police Battalion, Fort Carson,
Colorado.

Army Spc. Rhys W. Klasno, 20, of Riverside, California; assigned to the
1114th Transportation Company, Bakersfield, California.

Army Sgt. Joel W. Lewis, 28, of Sandia Park, New Mexico; assigned to the 5th
Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington. 

Army Spc. Kyle A. Little, 20, of West Boylston, Massachusetts; assigned to
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Benning, Georgia.

Army Staff Sgt. Virgil C. Martinez, 33, of West Valley, Utah; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Army Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, Virginia; assigned to the
4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. 

Army Spc. Dan H. Nguyen, 24, of Sugar Land, Texas; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Lance Cpl. Walter K. O'Haire, 20, of Lynn, Massachusetts; assigned to
2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Army Cpl. Michael A. Pursel, 19, of Clinton, Utah; assigned to the 5th
Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington. 

Army Sgt. Sameer A. M. Rateb, 22, of Absecon, New Jersey;  assigned to the
1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Staff Sgt. Vincenzo Romeo, 23, of Lodi, New Jersey; assigned to the 5th
Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington. 

Army Pvt. Anthony J. Sausto, 22, of Lake Havasu City, Arizona; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Air Force Staff Sgt. John T. Self, 29, of Pontotoc, Mississippi; assigned to
the 314th Security Forces Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.

Army Sgt. Blake C. Stephens, 25, of Pocatello, Idaho; assigned to
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. 

Army Sgt. Jason W. Vaughn, 29, of Iuka, Mississippi; assigned to the 5th
Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort
Lewis, Washington.

Marine Maj. Douglas A. Zembiec, 34, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; assigned to
Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps National Capital Region, Henderson
Hall, Arlington, Virginia.

May 4 - May 10
Killed: 26; wounded in action: 155

March 19, 2003 - May 10, 2007
Killed: 3,381; wounded in action: 25,245

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U.S. service members who died while supporting combat operations in
Afghanistan, confirmed by the Defense Department from May 4 through May 10.

Army Col. James W. Harrison Jr., 47, of Missouri; assigned to the U.S. Army
Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Army Sgt. Timothy P. Padgett, 28, of Defuniak Springs, Florida; assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Army Master Sgt. Wilberto Sabalu Jr., 36, of Chicago, Illinois; assigned to
the U.S. Military Police School, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

May 4 - May 10
Killed: 3; Wounded in action: 14

Oct. 10, 2001 - May 10
Killed: 383; Wounded in action: 1,217

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National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Mobilized
(as of May 9, 2007)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2007/d20070509ngr.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.