[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

And Dick Cheney again in 1994
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9a8_1186873756

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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 October 1, 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 September 14 through September 20:

Army Spc. Matthew J. Emerson, 20, of Grandview, Washington; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. 

Army Capt. (Dr.) Roselle M. Hoffmaster, 32, of Cleveland, Ohio; assigned to
the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

Army Sgt. Edmund J. Jeffers, 23, of Daleville, Alabama; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Army Spc. Joseph N. Landry III, 23, of Pensacola, Florida; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathan M. Lankford, 42, of Scottsboro, Alabama;
assigned to the 79th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Army Pfc. Luigi Marciante Jr., 25, of Elizabeth, New Jersey; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division,
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Cpl. Graham M. McMahon, 22, of Corvallis, Oregon; assigned to the 4th
Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division,
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Pfc. Christian M. Neff, 19, of Lima, Ohio; assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Army Spc. Nicholas P. Olson, 22, of Novato, California; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Joshua H. Reeves, 26, of Watkinsville, Georgia; assigned to the
2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry
Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Army Spc. Donald E. Valentine III, 21, of Orange Park, Florida; assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. Aaron J. Walker, 23, of Harker Heights, Texas; assigned to the 3rd
Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Vilseck,
Germany. 

Army Spc. David L. Watson, 29, of Newport, Arkansas; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
(Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Washington.

Army Spc. John J. Young, 24, of Savannah, Georgia; assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York.

September 14 - September 20
Killed: 14; wounded in action: 88

March 19, 2003 - September 20, 2007 
Killed: 3,785; wounded in action: 27,936

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The following U.S. service members died while supporting combat operations
in Afghanistan, confirmed by the Defense Department from September 14
through September 20:

Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew D. Blaskowski, 27, of Levering, Michigan;
assigned to the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd
Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy.

September 14 - September 20
Killed: 1; Wounded in action: 28

Oct. 10, 2001 - September 20, 2007
Killed: 437; Wounded in action: 1,595

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National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Mobilized 
(as of September 19, 2007) 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2007/d20070919ngr.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 our 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.