GI SPECIAL 3D12:

ENOUGH:

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

U.S. Army soldier who was shot in the head, at the Air Force hospital in Balad Nov. 10, 2005. The soldier later died during surgery. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

DU:

"The Level Known To Cause Death"

[The letter refers to the article with photo just below the letter. Respect to the writer for helping provide needed information for Guardsman Matthews and others who have served or are serving. It will be seen by people in the New York area who know him. T]

From: C

To: GI Special

Sent: November 09, 2005

Subject: RE: Guardsman Matthew Article

I am in the Air Force and my job deals with informing troops of diverse ranks how to wear nuclear/chemical/biological protective gear and part of the course that I teach does include a portion on the dangers of DU.

We inform of the use of DU in munitions, in armor for tanks, as well as ballast for airplanes. We have troops that work in explosive ordinance disposal and our cops that get instructions on how to protect themselves while working around anything that contains or has been contaminated with DU.

I just read your article on this issue of the Army Guardsman and what happened to him and his baby.

From the information presented in your article, it does seem quite convincing that his work could have significantly contributed to his resulting problems. I think the Army should pony up a little more than just 40% like they did, and as a matter of course, should cover him 100% on all future medical issues that arise.

They should do more to acknowledge the problem, at least go as far as facing his claims and working with him to determine if what he claims is true, and if they prove false, to help him find the problem.

From my limited experience in the just over a year that I have been in the United States Air Force, it has seemed to me that the US Army is somewhat harder than they need to be on their troops in some areas.

Case in point: In the Air Force, there is a certain limit that is allowed if you are anywhere near an area where a nuclear accident/spill has happened. You can only reach a certain amount of exposure before the Air Force considers you to have reached the limit for detriment your health.

In contrast the Army limit for the same type of exposure is 4 times the Air Force limit, which just happens to be the level known to cause death.

I'm not saying I have any judgments against my sister Branch, and I will be the first to state my knowledge on this subject is somewhat infant as I have only a small amount of time in Service, as stated above, but still.

I commend the News for taking the on time and expenditure of having independent tests done to assist Guardsman Matthew in his quest for answers.

Basically it seems that certain standards put in effect by the Army should be revised or at least looked at once again to determine if they are providing the best protection for their valuable troops.

Regardless of rank, or service, all giving their time and lives in the American military should always be able to be confident that those standards that are being set, will keep them as safe as possible to enable them to defend, support and serve the American people as a whole.

[This is the article about Guardsman Matthews referenced above:]

GI SPECIAL 2#B78: 10.1.04

Guardsman Gerard Darren Matthew, sent home from Iraq with mysterious illnesses, holds baby daughter, Victoria, who has deformed hand. He has tested positive for uranium contamination. [New York Daily News photo.]

Depleted Uranium Test Positive:

Soldiers Baby Born Deformed

September 29, 2004 New York Daily News

In early September 2003, Army National Guard Spec. Gerard Darren Matthew was sent home from Iraq, stricken by a sudden illness.

One side of Matthew's face would swell up each morning. He had constant migraine headaches, blurred vision, blackouts and a burning sensation whenever he urinated.

The Army transferred him to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for further tests, but doctors there could not explain what was wrong.

Shortly after his return, his wife, Janice, became pregnant. On June 29, she gave birth to a baby girl, Victoria Claudette.

The baby was missing three fingers and most of her right hand.

Matthew and his wife believe Victoria's shocking deformity has something to do with her father's illness and the war - especially since there is no history of birth defects in either of their families.

They have seen photos of Iraqi babies born with deformities that are eerily similar.

In June, Matthew contacted the Daily News and asked us to arrange independent laboratory screening for his urine. This was after The News had reported that four of seven soldiers from another National Guard unit, the 442nd Military Police, had tested positive for depleted uranium (DU).

Because it is twice as heavy as lead, DU has been used by the Pentagon since the Persian Gulf War in certain types of "tank-buster" shells, as well as for armor-plating in Abrams tanks. Exposure to radioactivity has been associated in some studies with birth defects in the children of exposed parents.

"My husband went to Iraq to fight for his country," Janice Matthew said. "I feel the Army should take responsibility for what's happened."

The couple first learned of the baby's missing fingers during a routine sonogram of the fetus last April at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Matthew was a truck driver in Iraq with the 719th transport unit from Harlem. His unit moved supplies from Army bases in Kuwait to the front lines and as far as Baghdad. On several occasions, he says, he carried shot-up tanks and destroyed vehicle parts on his flat-bed back to Kuwait.

After he learned of his unborn child's deformity, Matthew immediately asked the Army to test his urine for DU. In April, he provided a 24-hour urine sample to doctors at Fort Dix, N.J., where he was waiting to be deactivated.

In May, the Army granted him a 40% disability pension for his migraine headaches and for a condition called idiopathic angioedema - unexplained chronic swelling.

Thankfully, Matthew did not rely solely on the Army bureaucracy - he went to The News.

Earlier this year, The News submitted urine samples from Guardsmen of the 442nd to former Army doctor Asaf Durakovic and Axel Gerdes, a geologist at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. The German lab specializes in testing for minute quantities of uranium, a complicated procedure that costs up to $1,000 per test.

The lab is one of approximately 50 in the world that can detect quantities as tiny as fentograms - one part per quadrillionth.

A few months ago, The News submitted a 24-hour urine sample from Matthew to Gerdes. As a control, we also gave the lab 24-hour urine samples from two Daily News reporters.

The three specimens were marked only with the letters A, B and C, so the lab could not know which sample belonged to the soldier.

After analyzing all three, Gerdes reported that only sample A - Matthew's urine - showed clear signs of DU. It contained a total uranium concentration that was "4 to 8 times higher" than specimens B and C, Gerdes reported.

"Those levels indicate pretty definitively that he's been exposed to the DU," said Leonard Dietz, a retired scientist who invented one of the instruments for measuring uranium isotopes.

"While the levels of DU in Matthew's urine are low," Gerdes said, "the DU we see in his urine could be 1,000 times higher in concentration in the lungs."

DU is not like natural uranium, which occurs in the environment. Natural uranium can be ingested in food and drink but gets expelled from the body within 24 hours.

DU-contaminated dust, however, is typically breathed into the lungs and can remain there for years, emitting constant low-level radiation.

"I'm upset and confused," Matthew said. "I just want answers. Are they [the Army] going to take care of my baby?"

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

TWO SOLDIERS ASSIGNED TO MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE KILLED NEAR AL KHALIDIYAH

November 11, 2005 HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE Number: 05-11-17C

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq Two Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), died of wounds received from small- arms fire while conducting combat operations against the enemy near Al Khalidiyah Nov. 10.

MARINE DIES FROM KARABILAH IED

November 11, 2005 HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE Number: 05-11-18C

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq  A Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), died of wounds received in an IED attack while conducting combat operations against the enemy in Karabilah during Operation Steel Curtain, Nov. 10.

Two U.S. Troops Reported Dead In Fuel Convoy Ambush

Wreckage of petrol tanks that were destroyed in an attack on the outskirts in the city of Kirkuk. (AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

11.11.05 Reuters

KIRKUK - Witnesses said two U.S. soldiers appeared to have been killed when a makeshift bomb hit a military fuel convoy as it drove between Mosul and Kirkuk, about 250 km (150 miles) north of Baghdad. The military had no word on casualties.

Seven Marines Wounded In West Iraq

November 9, 2005 KIRK SEMPLE and SABRINA TAVERNISE, The New York Times Company

Colonel Davis said that a pressure-sensitive bomb buried in a dirt road had exploded beneath a Humvee in his convoy as it traveled between Al Qaim military base and the battlefield in Husayba. Three Marines were seriously wounded and two were slightly wounding two, said the colonel, who was in another vehicle and was not hurt.

Soon after, two more Marines were wounded when a vehicle in a rescue convoy drove over another pressure-sensitive mine buried near the site of the first attack, officials said.

Soldier Wounded By Baghdad Car Bomb

11.11.05 Reuters

One U.S. soldier was wounded when insurgents detonated a car bomb in east Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Michigan Marine, 25, Killed

October 31, 2005 BY DAN CORTEZ and AMBER HUNT MARTIN, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

Michael Paul Hodshire always dreamed of joining the Marines Corps.

Four days after he graduated from North Adams-Jerome High School in 1999, he left his native North Adams in Hillsdale County and did just that. He went to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego for basic training and spent the next six years on active duty.

Hodshire, a 25-year-old Marine sergeant, was killed Sunday in Iraq. He was three months into his second tour of duty in Iraq with the 2nd Marine Division.

Kenneth Kurtz, a family friend, said military officials notified the Hodshire family Sunday morning that the father of two had been killed earlier that day by indirect gunfire near Fallujah.

Kurtz said Hodshire's passing would be felt by many in North Adams and in the county, where he was well-known.

"We're a small, rural community here," Kurtz said. "He had a lot of friends here."

Carl Christenson, principal of the North Adams-Jerome Public Schools' junior and senior high schools, said Sunday night that students will be devastated by the news.

"It's a small district. Obviously, it will have an impact," said Christenson. The district includes a total of 550 students.

Christenson said he met Hodshire last summer during a Little League baseball game. Christenson's 11-year-old son and Hodshire's younger brother play on a local team together, he said.

Hodshire's first 8-month tour in Iraq began in October 2003. He returned for a second tour in July. He was a squad leader.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Sunday night. A memorial fund is being established to benefit Hodshire's children. He is also survived by his parents, a brother and three sisters.

In Memory Of A Soldier, Capt. Raymond Hill II

November 3, 2005 The Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County has lost its third soldier in the Iraq War and, as with previous deaths, it causes a pain that reaches throughout the community.

The regiment's lieutenant colonel died earlier last week, and another unit member, a young man from Pomona, died in the same incident that mortally wounded Capt. Hill.

An improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee on Saturday, according to military officials.

Capt. Hill, 39, lived in Turlock, worked in Modesto and grew up in Ceres. He worked for the Modesto Irrigation District, where his co-workers knew from his conversations and the mementos in his cubicle that he loved the military. He was the fourth generation of his family to fight for the United States in wartime; he'd spent 18 years in the National Guard.

Capt. Hill also was a family man who enjoyed fishing and camping with his wife and two daughters. His love of children was demonstrated in some of the photos he sent from Iraq, showing him with youngsters there.

60 3^rd ID Soldiers Gone

October 29, 2005 Will Nunley, WSAV News 3

The Department Of Defense has confirmed the deaths of three Third Infantry Division soldiers in Iraq.

38 year old Master Sargent Thomas Wallsmith and 51 year old Sergeant First Class Ramon Acevedo-Aponte died on Wednesday.

The Pentagon says an improvised explosive device went off near their Humvee in a neighborhood outside Baghdad.

30 year old Captain Michael McKinnon was killed in a separate attack on Thursday in Baghdad.

An improvised explosive device went off near his Humvee as well.

60 Third I.D. soldiers from our area have died in Iraq during this latest deployment.

Soldier From Hudson Killed

Benjamin Smith

Nov. 4, 2005 By GRAEME ZIELINSKI, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel & November 5, 2005 (AP)

Hudson native Benjamin A. Smith was on his second tour of duty in Iraq and, his father said, enthusiastic to be back.

"Because of the personalities that most of these men are, they don't like sitting around at the fort," James Smith said Friday of the youngest of his three children. "The whole group was anxious to go back to finish the work."

Having returned to the war only recently, Spc. Smith, 21, was among three soldiers killed Wednesday near Baghdad when a bomb exploded near their Humvee, the Pentagon said Friday.

Smith was the 49th Wisconsin member of the military killed in Iraq.

A 2002 graduate of Hudson High School, Smith was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

He was killed alongside 22-year-old Spc. Joshua J. Munger of Maysville, Mo., and 20-year-old Pfc. Tyler R. MacKenzie of Evans, Colo., according to the Pentagon.

During Smith's high school years, he worked as an apprentice welder at Empire Bucket Inc. in Hudson and as a dog handler at the old St. Croix Meadows greyhound park.

"He was a good kid. He was a hard worker. He was a quiet one," said Empire's general manger, Sue Olson. "He was such a skinny kid. The stuff that we work with is so big, and I worry a lot about the younger people."

His father, an engineer, said Benjamin Smith was never daunted.

"He was always looking for a challenge, whether it was well thought out or not," he said.

As a child, he had been active in karate, and in his teens he enjoyed off-road activities, hunting and playing music. He also was active in the Civil Air Patrol.

Benjamin Smith always showed an "aptitude" for the military and enlisted in 2003, his desire fueled in part by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said his father.

At the rank of specialist, Smith had been trained in, among other things, the operation of a light machine gun and had been a squad leader during patrols in Iraq. His father said he was aware of the dangers facing troops there.

"We talked about it a bit. It's was nothing you could do anything about. Ben was never afraid of anything risky," James Smith said.

Other survivors include a brother, a sister and his mother, Lenore Smith, a quilting instructor.

Plans for a memorial service had not been finalized Friday, his father said.

Lenore Smith said her son e-mailed his older brother Tuesday, after news of earlier deaths, to reassure the family he had not been hurt, The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville, Tenn., reported.

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO COMPREHENSIBLE REASON TO BE IN THIS EXTREMELY HIGH RISK LOCATION AT THIS TIME, EXCEPT THAT A CROOKED POLITICIAN WHO LIVES IN THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU THERE, SO HE WILL LOOK GOOD.

That is not a good enough reason.

US Marines from 1st Platoon Echo Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment conduct a foot patrol through the streets of Fallujah. (AFP/David Furst)

Evans Man Killed:

Soldier Was Greeley West Football Player

November 4, 2005 By Coloradoan staff and news services

An Evans man was among three soldiers killed in Iraq when a bomb exploded near their Humvee, the Pentagon said Friday.

Pfc. Tyler R. MacKenzie, 20, of Evans was killed Wednesday near Baghdad, the military said. Mackenzie, who was single, had joined the Army in January. He was a 2003 graduate of Greeley West, where he played football. No one answered the phone Friday at the home believed to be his parents'.

MacKenzie would have turned 21 on Monday.

Also killed were Spc. Joshua J. Munger, 22, of Maysville, Mo., and Spc. Benjamin A. Smith, 21, of Hudson, Wis. All were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Munger, who entered the Army in 2002, is survived by his wife, Alysha, and an 11-month-old son, Colton.

Smith joined in 2003. He was single.

The Army said memorial services were planned in Iraq.

The announcement came three days after the Army reported that four other soldiers with the 101st Airborne were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee south of Baghdad.

Northmont Grad Killed

11.3.05 By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Dayton Daily News

CLAYTON: Adam "A.J." Johnson  a 2001 graduate of Northmont High School and member of the Army's 101st Airborne Division  has been killed in Iraq, his father said Tuesday

A.J. Johnson had been in Iraq only about five weeks.

Randy Johnson of Clayton said two Army chaplains notified him at his home Monday night.

A.J.'s mother, Fran Johnson, lives in Brookville.

"All they said was he was in a Humvee on patrol and it went over an improvised bomb," somewhere near Baghdad, said Johnson, who is awaiting more information.

His son was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., and left for Iraq in late September.

A former goalie for Northmont's soccer team, he joined the military last November. Then he told his father he had signed up.

"He didn't want me to talk him out of it," he said. "He said it was something he always wanted to do."

Johnson said he is proud of his son, known for an ever-present smile and positive attitude.

NO MORE;

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

U.S. Marine Cpl. Michael Couture of Orlando, Florida, recovers from shrapnel wounds he received during fighting in Husaybah earlier in the week, in his hospital bed at the U.S. Air Force hospital in Balad Nov. 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

Big Surprise!

Hopes Fade Of Trapping Many Insurgents;

"These Guys Have Eluded A Lot Of People"

November 10, 2005 By Gordon Trowbridge, Army Times staff writer

KARABILAH, Iraq  U.S. Marines pushed into the heart of this Euphrates River town on Thursday, a final step in a 3,500-troop operation to clear insurgents from towns near the Syrian border.

Commanders had hoped to trap scores of insurgents in Karabilah, squeezing them from the neighboring town of Husaybah against U.S. blocking positions around the city. But when 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, marched in just after noon Thursday, they found only abandoned buildings and some roadside bombs.

"Maybe tonight is bingo night," joked Staff Sgt. J.C. Knight, platoon sergeant of 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, as his platoon searched houses along a desolate alley.

As Marines searched empty house after empty house Thursday, they increasingly became convinced that any insurgents left in the city had blended in with refugees camped in the farm fields to the north, or managed to flee across the Euphrates.

"These guys have eluded a lot of people," said Cpl. Ben Hanenkratt, 23, of Toledo, Ohio. "If they get across the river, they're gone."

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded By Afghan Officer

November 10, 2005 By Noor Khan, Associated Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  Two U.S. soldiers were wounded when an Afghan army officer opened fire on them at a joint base in eastern Paktia province Wednesday, Gen. Rahmatullah Raofi said.

The American forces returned fire and killed the Afghan officer. He said it was not immediately clear why the officer fired at the troops. [One might speculate he wished to kill them?]

Meanwhile, rebels killed seven police officers and abducted two after ambushing them on a road in southern Afghanistan.

The police were driving in three vehicles on a road toward Kandahar, the former Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, when they were attacked Wednesday in Shah Wali Kot district, said Jan Mohammed Khan, a local governor.

Police in one of the vehicles fought back and managed to flee, but the two other vehicles were hit by rockets, he said.

TROOP NEWS

White Phosphorus Use As Anti-Personnel Weapon In Falluja Confirmed By U.S. Army

Nov 10, 2005 Dailykos.com [Excerpt]

There's no doubt that white phosphorus is being used in Iraq. From Infantry Magazine:

"The 60mm mortars from Alpha Company, 1-508th Infantry, were tasked to provide immediate indirect fire support onto known and suspected targets. Upon reaching their planned mortar firing point, the section immediately dismounted their HMMWV (high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle) and conducted an emergency occupation. The section immediately received a call for fire from their forward observers. Within 60 seconds of occupation, the section was placing accurate high explosive (HE) and white phosphorus (WP) rounds onto and in the vicinity of the Iraqi observations posts [...]

"The Iraqis in one observation post attempted to flee but were fixed with white phosphorus fires.

"As they attempted to flee again, white phosphorus rounds impacted the vehicle and set it on fire.

"The section continued to fire a mix of high explosive and white phosphorus rounds into the objective area. The section fired more than 80 rounds in support of the mission. Upon receiving the order to displace and reorganize for the movement back to the battalion assembly area, the 105s, 120s and 60s quickly broke their systems down and moved out. The rifle companies continued to provide suppressive fire onto the objectives."

The question is not whether the United States is technically in violation of any treaty obligations. It is not.

Lame Bullshit Of The Week Award Won By Army Recruiting Command

November 07, 2005 Jenny Shields, American Friends Service Committee New England Region [Excerpt]

The Army Recruiting Command, in an attempt to avoid public discussion and debate about its military recruiting trucks, is refusing to release the detailed schedules of where the trucks will visit.

Reserve Forces Down To 34% Of Supplies:

"The Rest Has Been Destroyed Or Remains In Iraq"

November 8, 2005 By James W. Crawley, MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Before Sept. 11, 2001, the National Guard had 75 percent of its required inventory of weapons, vehicles and other equipment. Today, the reserve forces have just 34 percent of their equipment at home. The rest has been destroyed or remains in Iraq.

"Marines Have To Play A Shell Game With Equipment"

November 8, 2005 By James W. Crawley, MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Marine Corps vehicles used in Iraq are wearing out at staggering rates - every year "in country" is equivalent to seven to nine years' of usage in peacetime, said a top Marine general.

"I call that 'dog years,'" said Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. "For every year in (Iraq), it's a dog year."

A Marine Corps inspector-general report showed that most equipment still remained combat ready, but warned that readiness could drop significantly in coming months because equipment was showing signs of wearing out.

The Marines have had to play a shell game with equipment, Sattler said.

To provide enough training equipment, the Marines moved gear from as far away as Okinawa so units could practice combat.

Even so, several units have had to share some equipment, such as machine guns.

Raising Hell Works!

VA Backs Off Review Of Veterans Receiving PTSD Compensation

[They caught a shitstorm on this one, and are in full retreat. But beware sneak attacks from another quarter. They haven't been taken out yet.]

November 10, 2005 By Deborah Funk and Rick Maze, Army Times staff writers

Veterans receiving disability compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder can breathe a little easier.

On the eve of Veterans Day, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson rescinded a previous announcement that the VA's Veterans Benefits Association would review the files of 72,000 veterans who are being compensated for PTSD.

A VA review of a small sample of those cases found administrative problems, but no fraud.

Veterans Day 2005

Cindy Sheehan, the military mother who made her son's death in Iraq a rallying point for the anti-war movement at the Veterans Day parade in New York November 11, 2005. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP

Brother Of Iraqi Parliament Speaker Detained As Insurgent

11 November 2005 Radio Free Europe

Reuters news agency has cited Iraqi officials as saying that a brother of Iraq's parliamentary speaker has been detained on suspicion of running an insurgent cell.

The officials said on 10 November that Hatem al-Hassani was detained on 8 November.

His brother, Iraqi Parliament speaker Hajim al-Hassani, a moderate Sunni Arab, is running in the 15 December legislative elections on a secular list.

Rizgar Ali, the head of the Kirkuk city council, said Iraqi police arrested Hatem al-Hassani two days ago because he is the emir of a terrorist group.

Three Iraqi Oil Officials Killed In Amman's Attacks

Nov 11 (KUNA)

Three Iraqi oil experts were killed in the bomb attacks against three five-star hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, two days ago, oil minister Ibrahim Bahr Al-Uloom said Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Najaf, Al-Uloom identified the experts as Habib Al-Shammari, Mohsen Al-Fadhl and Forat Abdussaheb.

The director of refineries in central Iraq Abdulqader Sa'b was seriously injured in the bomb attacks, he added.

Assorted Resistance Action

Nov 10, 2005 The Associated Press & Independent Online & Reuters & Aljazeeera & BBC &11.11.05 Aljazeera & Reuters & AP

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up in a crowded Baghdad restaurant frequented by the security forces during breakfast, killing 35 people and wounding 25 more, police said.

The blast echoed through central Baghdad at about 9:45 a.m., when police officers frequently stop by. The police officer said at least four Iraqi police patrols were having their breakfast at the restaurant when the bomber struck.

Tikrit  Ten Iraqis were killed and 20 wounded on Thursday when a car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruitment centre in Tikrit, police said.

"The car, driving by a suicide bomber, exploded outside the recruitment centre at 11am, killing five and wounding 11 among the would-be recruits", police said.

Capt Hakim al-Azawi told the Associated Press that the men were former army officers who had served under Saddam Hussein and who had recently been invited to re-enlist.

BAGHDAD - Two Iraqi policemen were wounded when a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol in eastern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A man and a women working for the city council were killed in the western Ghazaliya district of the capital, police said.

BAGHDAD - Four policemen were injured when they were attacked by armed fighters in southern Baghdad, police said.

BASRA - An intelligence officer was killed in the southern city of Basra, intelligence officials said.

MOSUL - Two police officers were killed in the northern city of Mosul, police said.

Gunmen opened fire Friday on the compound of the Embassy of Oman. Friday's attack occurred at about 6:10 p.m. at the embassy compound in the Mansour district of western Baghdad. Two people, including an Iraqi policeman and an embassy employee, were killed and two policemen were wounded, police Maj. Falah al-Mohammedawi said. Police sealed off the area after the attack and would not let journalists approach.

BAGHDAD - Three Iraqi policeman were injured when a makeshift bomb exploded near their patrol in central Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - One insurgent was killed and an Iraqi policeman was wounded when clashes broke out in Ghazaliya district in western Baghdad, police said.

QAMISHLI - One Iraqi policeman was killed and three were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Qamishli, 65 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

BAQUBA - Three policemen were killed and two wounded when armed fighters opened fire on a checkpoint in Baquba, police said.

REMEMBERING FALLUJA:

CAUSE AND EFFECT:

#1A: CAUSE 6-03

US Army Capt. Charles Newman from the 'A' Company 1/30 INF of the 3rd Infantry Division of Gulfport, Mississippi, searches an Iraqi pedestrian at a checkpoint in Fallujah, June 3, 2003. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division are planning to take control of Fallujah and Habaniyah, two towns in central Iraq which is known for their anti-American sentiments. (AP Photo/Ali Haider)

#1B: CAUSE 6-03

U.S. soldiers from the 1st Armored Division guard suspects in Fallujah, June 8, 2003. Fallujah has been the scene of almost constant clashes since U.S. troops shot dead 18 demonstrators and wounded 78 others in two confrontations last April. (AP Photo Ali Haider 6.8.03)

EFFECT: 11-03

U.S. soldiers search the scene after a U.S. Chinook helicopter, background center, believed carrying dozens of soldiers to leaves abroad was struck by a missile and crashed near Fallujah Nov 2, 2003, killing 13 soldiers and wounding more than 20 others, the U.S. command and witnesses reported. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

"It's The Soldiers, Stupid"

From: Alycia A. Barr

To: GI Special

Sent: November 11, 2005

Subject: GI Special 3D11

Thank you so much for making this one of the best Veterans Days for me ever! It was wonderful to read the many different voices who were courageous enough to tell the anti-war movement and the various organizations that, "it's the soldiers, stupid."

Hopefully, now we'll see a difference in their tactics and finally put these fine men and women front and center.

Gotta leave for the NY Veterans Day Parade, but wanted to say thanks before I left. It's Veterans Day...hug a Vet!!! Thanks again.

In Peace and Humanity,

Alycia A. Barr

[Your courage in fighting this evil war deserves the thanks. If everything else who had a son or daughter who has served in the hell in Iraq did half as much, and saw half as clearly, all the troops would be home by now. T]

How To Decrease The Insurgency

November 10, 2005 Baghdad Dweller, Roadstoiraq.com

Do they need a tip from me to decrease the insurgency?

Just stop busting into Iraqi houses in 4, 00 o'clock in the morning, scaring the shit out everybody, arresting every male in the houses and then let go because they are innocents.

"The Iraqi Insurgents Have Taken Out A Full Army Division"

November 10, 2005 by Paul Sperry, Sperryfiles.com [Excerpt]

"Politicians hide themselves away.

They only started the war.

Why should they go out to fight?

They leave that role to the poor, yeah.

"Time will tell on their power minds,

making war just for fun.

Treating people just like pawns in chess,

wait till their judgment day comes, yeah."

- Black Sabbath, "War Pigs" (1970)

We've already taken more casualties than in the first three years of Nam.

In fact, just by wounding more than 15,000 of our soldiers, the Iraqi insurgen