MEMORIAL DAY:

[Thanks to Mark Shapiro, who sent this in.]

NO MORE;

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE

A soldier is transported following an IED attack on a road between Fallujah and Baghdad, at a military base in Abu Ghraib May 19, 2007.  A U.S. soldier died following the roadside bomb attack.   REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The War In Samarra:

Cowardly Baby-Killers In Command Of U.S. Forces:

"At Least 10 People, Including 7 Babies, Died Because Of Lack Of Fuel For Generators Needed To Run Incubators"

"Those Cowards Are Enjoying Killing Our Children"

"We Will Teach The Future Generations To Take Revenge For The Innocent Souls Killed By The American Criminals"

[Thanks to JM and Phil G, who sent this in.]

23 May 2007 Ali al-Fadhily, Electronic Iraq [Excerpts]

Residents in this city of 300,000 located 125km north of Baghdad have been struggling to find food, water and medical supplies.  Vehicles have been banned from entering or leaving the city since May 6.

The Iraqi government and the U.S. military imposed a strict curfew on the city the day after a car bomb killed a dozen police officers, including police chief Abd al-Jalil al-Dulaimi. Samarra has been a hotspot of resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq since close to the beginning of the occupation in March 2003.

After the attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces encircled the city and sealed off all entrances with concrete blocks and sand bags.

Local people told IPS that the main bridge in the city has been closed, ambulances have not been allowed to reach people, and residents are facing an increasingly dire situation.

"We are being butchered here by these Americans," Majid Hamid, a schoolteacher in Samarra told IPS.  "People are dying because we lack all of the necessities, and our government seems to be so happy about it."

Residents and service providers told IPS that electricity has been cut.

"There is no life in the city because of the collective punishment," an employee in the electricity service office of Samarra, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS.

"Depriving people of electricity means depriving them of water, healthcare and all of life’s maintenance necessities, especially with such hot temperatures now."

Both IPS correspondents have been in the city several times throughout the occupation and witnessed first-hand the U.S. military tactics of cutting water and electricity to residents after occupation forces had been attacked.

U.S. and Iraqi military tactics have also included bulldozing houses, home raids and detentions.

"This is not the first siege that we have suffered," Nahla Alwan, a pharmacist in the city told IPS.

"The Americans have done this so often and they will keep doing it since we do not accept their occupation and all the disasters it has brought us."

She added, "They should know that we resent them more now, and we will teach the future generations to take revenge for the innocent souls killed by the American criminals."

A doctor in Samarra’s main hospital, speaking like many others on condition of anonymity, told IPS that at least 10 people, including seven babies, had died because of lack of fuel for generators needed to run incubators and life-saving equipment.

At least two elderly patients were among the dead.

Despite pleas from residents to U.S. and Iraqi forces to allow in aid, none has arrived and the curfew continues.

"My 10-month-old nephew died of asthma because we could not take him to the hospital," 25-year-old Nameer Aboud from the Abbasiya quarter of Samarra told IPS.

"All medical services are paralyzed because of this siege applied on Samarra, and many people are dying. If this had happened anywhere else in the world, it would have been considered murder, but for the world Iraqi blood is cheap."

"This collective punishment is unfair and it clearly shows how cruel Americans are," a member of Samarra’s city council told IPS.

"They are punishing innocent people in a cowardly way."

The Iraqi humanitarian group Doctors for Iraq has issued a statement expressing grave concern about the worsening situation.

"Doctors for Iraq condemns in the strongest terms any activities that prevent civilians from accessing healthcare or humanitarian assistance by all actors engaged in the conflict," the group said.

"Those cowards are enjoying killing our children and so are the Persian (Prime Minister Nouri) Maliki government officials," 45-year-old Abu Nabhan in Samarra told IPS.

"They seem to be in need of further attacks from our blessed sons in the resistance because this attack on the people of Samarra will only increase our hatred against the Americans."

Residents are becoming ever more angry with the occupation forces.

"The situation is getting much worse because of this irresponsible behavior of the U.S. forces," a worker with a local NGO who gave his name as Yassin told IPS.

"They are raising more anger and inclination for violence. All our efforts to calm the people are wasted now as more people than ever believe in violence instead of peace."

MORE:

60% Of Iraqis Want U.S. Troops Dead:

Big Surprise

[U.S. sponsored polls reported recently that 60% of Iraqis favor killing U.S. troops.  After reading this, it would take a drooling idiot not to understand why.  Iraqis feel about U.S. troops trampling them in the dirt the same way Americans felt about British troops trampling them in the dirt in 1776.  They are right to resist.  T]

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

Three U.S. Soldiers Killed, Two Wounded In Salah Ad Din

May 26, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070526-09

TIKRIT, Iraq – Three Task Force Lightning Soldiers died of wounds sustained in an explosion near their unit’s patrol in Salah Ad Din Province, Saturday.

Two other Soldiers were also wounded in the incident and were taken to a Coalition Forces’ medical treatment facility for further care.

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed, Three Wounded East Of Baghdad

May 26, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070526-10

BAGHDAD — Two Soldiers were killed and three were wounded east of Baghdad May 23, when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol.

Another Marine Killed In Anbar

May 26, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070526-08

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq –  One Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West was killed May 26 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province.

U.S. Soldier Killed, Three Wounded In "Complex Attack" Near Taji

May 26, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070526-13

LSA ANACONDA, Iraq – An Multinational Corps Iraq Soldier was killed and three wounded in a complex attack against their military vehicle near Taji at approximately 10 p.m. May 25.

The wounded Soldiers were evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad. Two Soldiers were treated for minor injuries and returned to duty.

U.S. Soldier Killed, Two Wounded By South Baghdad IED

May 26, 2007 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070526-12

BAGHDAD — While conducting a combat security patrol in the southern section of the Iraqi capital, one Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed and two others were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated May 26.

An Iraqi interpreter was also injured in the attack.

"Spartanburg Marine Killed In Iraq Followed Family Tradition"

May 26, 2007 By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER, The Greenville News

Marine Cpl. David Paul Lindsey of Spartanburg, who died in Iraq 12 to 15 hours after speaking to his family for a final time, followed a family tradition of military service, his father said Saturday.

Retired Lt. Col. Mike Bishop said Lindsey may have been shot a short time after learning that one of his four sisters was pregnant.

Bishop said Lindsey enlisted in the Marines shortly after graduating from Spartanburg High two years ago. His grandfather, father and brother had all served in the Army, so the family was taken aback when Lindsey signed up to be a leatherneck, his dad said.

"We were all shocked when he went into the Marines," Bishop said.

The important point is that Lindsey, adopted at age 6, kept the family tradition.

"We’re just a military family, and we’ve always been and always will be," Bishop said Saturday. "He (Lindsey) said: "It’s something that I need to do like you and granddad.’"

For now the family is huddled, trying to deal with the news of his death.

"We’re holding up," he said. "It’s very difficult."

Lindsey’s relatives said they were hoping to plan a funeral service next weekend. Bishop said everything is on hold until his remains are back in the United States.

"All the Marines can tell us (is that it’ll take) seven to 14 days" before his body is returned, Bishop said.

Bishop said that Lindsey was molded into what he was as young man coming into his own.

"We got him when he was a little boy," he said. "He was a little pistol. There were days when we were almost willing to give up."

He said that his son bucked the usual trend by being hard to deal with while a youth but settling down in high school. "Usually, it’s the other way around," he said.

He said Lindsey was a traditional kid. He said his son wanted to be a landscaper after having a good experience at the Spartanburg Country Club.

He said Lindsey contemplated studying landscaping at a 2-year school in Spartanburg, then moving to study at Clemson University and getting married. "He was a good person, a good student and a good athlete," his father said.

Bishop said his son anticipated going "to the beach" while on leave Aug. 4, but would ship out again on his next assignment next spring.

"It just turned out that he was a great kid," his father said.

Bellevue Soldier Killed In Iraq

05/26/2007 Midlands News Service

A Bellevue soldier and firefighter has died in Iraq.

Spc. William Lee Bailey III died Saturday (Iraq time) in an IED explosion, said Jack Syphers, a spokesman for the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department.

Bailey was with the Nebraska National Guard’s 755th Chemical Company based in O’Neill, Neb.

Bailey had been in Iraq for about a year and was due to return home on leave in three weeks, Syphers said.

Another Bellevue fire spokesman, Dave Szymanski, said Bailey was married and had children. Bailey worked as a medical helicopter dispatcher in the metro area.

He had been a volunteer firefighter for Bellevue for five years.

Bailey is the 56th person from Nebraska and western Iowa or with ties to the area to die in the fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Balt. Native And Former Honor Student Killed In Iraq

May 26, 2007 BALTIMORE (AP)

Sergeant 1st Class Robert Dunham, who grew up in the Park Heights community in west Baltimore, was killed in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding was hit by an explosive device near Baghdad, his family said.

Dunham, 36, was the married father of five boys, and had been serving in Iraq since January, according to his brother, Charles Dunham of Parkville.

"I believe he really liked what he did," Charles Dunham told The (Baltimore) Sun. "He loved to serve.  He was a giving person, real loving, and the Army was good to his family."

Sgt. Dunham had been concerned about the danger in Iraq, particularly after a truck in a convoy he was in recently was heavily damaged by an improvised explosive device, his brother said.

Dunham graduated in 1988 from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where he studied industrial electronics, his brother said. He was an honors student who loved playing basketball in community leagues.

He joined the Army the same year he graduated and trained at Fort Dix, N.J., to work with communications equipment. He was stationed in Germany, Kansas and Arkansas before his family settled in Georgia.

He served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia and in Somalia and had received special-forces training before his latest tour in Iraq, his brother said.

Tough Marine A Leader You Don’t Forget;

"If They Can Get This Guy, They Can Get Anybody"

May 11, 2007 BY JOHN CARLSON, The Des Moines Register

We were standing along the road that pitch-black night, the Marine Corps master sergeant and I, and he was explaining how insurgents detonated the roadside bombs that were killing and maiming so many Americans.

They use a cordless phone, just like you have in your kitchen, he said. The base unit is wired to a few buried artillery shells. An insurgent waits for a target vehicle to pass, dials the phone number, and the bomb explodes.

Then he talked about laying down ambushes for the men who plant the explosives, how you hide in the desert and watch one guy mark a spot, another guy dig a hole and a third guy plant the device.

Which one does the Marine sniper kill?  "Take your pick," said Master Sgt. Kenneth Mack.

We’d spent four hours together, and it was the first time I saw him take an easy breath. I’d hitched a ride with him and his 27 Marines, who provided security for a convoy of 50 trucks from Fallujah to Ramadi.

It was the longest 45 miles you’d ever want to drive, along a nasty piece of road in Anbar province, and Mack was in charge of the thing.

Five IEDs hit a convoy on this highway the night before, and Mack was told he could count on the same thing happening this night in September 2005.

He gathered his young Marines for a pre-mission briefing and told them what was expected.  "We have a proactive mentality tonight," Mack told the Marines, who were seated in a small, stifling room in Fallujah.

"We’re not defensive. We’re looking for them. We see them, what do we do? We kill them. We’re not out there to exchange potshots with these people. Get a positive ID on them. Then kill them. If they give away their position, light 'em up."

It went on like that for 20 minutes or so. Expect to be hit, he told them. Focus. Don’t chitchat out there. Never take your eyes off the countryside. For any reason. If you have to pee, do it on the floor of the vehicle. There’s a drain. Hose it out later.

He had them check their radios. One didn’t work properly. Mack quietly chewed out the man responsible and talked of the possible consequences. He told them where they could anticipate attacks and spoke again about focusing on the mission and nothing else.

It was like listening to a great coach - Vince Lombardi or Red Auerbach maybe - before a game. No yelling; no hysterics. Just the business at hand.  "If they shoot at us, I want them dead," he said, staring at the Marines.

I was told Mack had assigned me to ride in the back of an armored truck. No windows. No radios. I found Mack and told him I wanted to write about him and his Marines and couldn’t do it if I couldn’t see or hear.

He grunted and said I could ride in the back seat of his Humvee. I promised to shut up and not ask questions, stupid or otherwise. He grunted again.  We drove to the truck assembly point and Mack signed some papers, taking charge of the convoy.

That’s when an American contractor - I think he worked for AT&T - walked up to Mack and asked if he could join the convoy. Traveling alone on that road would be suicide, he said.

Mack grunted again, shook his head and said 50 trucks was already too many. Then he said something like, "Phone company, huh? Got any phone cards?"

The guy ran to his truck and came back with a fistful and handed them to Mack, who told him to join the convoy.  Mack grinned.  "I’ll give them to the guys when we’re done tonight," he said. "It’s phone calls home."

It was a maddeningly slow drive to Ramadi. The trucks chugged along, some able to go no more than 25 or 30 miles an hour. That meant every vehicle was forced to crawl along the road. A couple of times the convoy stopped. It drove Mack crazy, and he mumbled something about "herding cats" and everybody being "sitting ducks."

It was a total blackout. No headlights; no moon. Marines watched the road and countryside through night-vision goggles. I scribbled notes using the glow from the dial on my cheap watch.

Mack was on the radio constantly, making sure the trucks were properly spaced, telling his guys to watch for bumps and holes along the road that might hide bombs.

There was no attack that night. We made it to Ramadi, and Mack’s Humvee stopped outside the gate of a Marine base, where we waited for the trucks to enter. That’s when he relaxed. We stood outside to get some air and talk about IEDs.

None of it was personal. He knew I was from a newspaper in Iowa. I knew he was from Fort Worth, Texas. That was it.

I went away knowing that I’d met a fine leader and that no soldier or Marine could do more to make his people safe.

It was more than being tough. Mack was serious and absolutely professional, the kind of guy you would want taking care of your kid in a combat zone.

He’s one of those people you don’t forget.

So when the phone call came Monday from the Dallas TV producer telling me Master Sgt. Kenneth Mack of Fort Worth had been killed in Iraq last weekend, I said yes, I certainly remember him.

I asked how it happened. Roadside bomb, the TV guy said. You know, an IED.

Incredible, I thought. If they can get this guy, they can get anybody.

I checked a couple of Texas Web sites and read that Mack was 42, married, had five kids and was in the Marines 23 years. Then I watched a TV interview with his wife.

I knew Mack only a few hours, but it was long enough to make me smile when I saw how his widow referred to him in the interview.

She called him the "master sergeant."

I’m thinking he would have liked that.

Three British Soldiers Wounded In Basra

May 26, 2007 Iraq Today

Three British soldiers were wounded in clashes with unknown fighters near the British base at Basra international airport in northwest of the city of Basra, the spokeswoman for the British forces in southern Iraq said on Saturday.

U.S. Armored Vehicle Destroyed In West Baghdad;

Casualties Not Announced

A car passes next debris in the street after a roadside bomb exploded near to an American armored vehicle in Jamiah neighborhood in western Baghdad, on Saturday, May 26, 2007, destroying the vehicle completely, police said.  ( AP Photo/Asaad Mouhsin)

Burning Quarghuli Village In Order To Save It

A soldier from Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment walks past burning reeds razed to prevent insurgents from seeking cover in Quarghuli village near Youssifiyah, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Baghdad May 26, 2007 (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)

GUESS WHO’S WORRIED

GUESS WHO ISN’T

GUESS WHY

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

U.S. soldiers during a patrol in the Taji area.  (AFP/US Army/Antonieta Rico)

Gen. Petraeus Announces Stunning Discovery About War In Iraq!

(AFP/Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)

US Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq, stopped suddenly to look upwards as he was walking from the House to the Senate side of the US Capitol in between briefings to the armed services committees in Washington, DC.

After a brief pause, he told reporters that once again he has received an important message from voices that only he can hear, revealing startling new information to him about the war in Iraq:

"We’re doing heavy fighting.  This is a fight.  There’s a war on out there," he told reporters.  (Steven R. Hurst, 23 May 2007, The Associated Press.)

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Foreign Occupation Soldier Killed, Four Wounded;

Nationality Not Announced

May 26 AFP News

A NATO soldier was killed and four were wounded in a clash with Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan.

The International Security Assistance Force casualties were caused when soldiers were trying to remove Taliban from their positions, ISAF said in a statement.

"One ISAF soldier died and four were wounded earlier today in southern Afghanistan during an engagement with enemy fighters," it said.

It did not give the location of the clash or nationalities of its casualties.

TROOP NEWS

THIS IS HOW BUSH BRINGS THE TROOPS HOME:

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE

The casket of Army Spc. Robert J. Dixon of Minneapolis May 17, 2007 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.  Dixon, 27, died in Iraq on May 6 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP

GET THE MESSAGE?

Iraqis throws stones at a burning SUV after a roadside bomb exploded in central Basra, May 25, 2007.  The roadside bomb targeted a SUV belong to a foreign security company, injuring 3 mercenaries.  (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Assorted Resistance Action

May. 25, 2007 By Laith Hammoudi, McClatchy Newspapers & 26 May 2007 Reuters & Iraq Today

A source in the joint operations center in Diyala said that four police officers from the Muqdadiyah police force were injured when a car bomber detonated near a Muqdadiyah police station around 10 a.m.