U.S. Casualties In Iraq Hit One-Year High

(CBS/AP)  U.S. casualties rose to their highest monthly level in a year on Thursday, and 30 police and militants perished in series of running gun battles in Baqouba, a chaotic city north of Baghdad.

The U.S. military spokesman, meanwhile, said the capital's spiraling murder rate had eased since the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan early this week — possibly because of the massive deployment of U.S. troops searching for a missing soldier.

Police in Baqouba said at least 42 people were injured in the fighting there, while in Najaf, south of Baghdad, authorities temporarily closed Iraq's holiest Shiite shrine after receiving a tip that suicide bombers wearing explosives belts had infiltrated city.

The military released news of five new American deaths, those of a Navy sailor and four Marines, all of whom died in fighting Wednesday in the volatile Anbar province, west of Baghdad and a hotbed of the Sunni resistance to U.S. forces and their Iraqi government allies.

At least 96 U.S. troops have died so far this month, equaling the level for the whole of October 2005 — a factor in rising anti-war sentiment in the United States that has prompted calls for President Bush to change strategy.

Mr. Bush says he is dissatisfied with the way the war is going in Iraq, but he does not want the United States to pull out the troops or set timetables for withdrawal.

In related developments:

President Bush is portraying Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq as a slap against U.S. troops. At a fund-raiser in Iowa on Thursday, the president said if America quits before the job is done, it will have "not honored the sacrifice of incredibly brave men and women." He says those troops know what's at stake in Iraq — and also "understand the consequences of early retreat."

A Marine pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice in the death of an Iraqi civilian last April. Pfc. John J. Jodka III, 20, entered the pleas through his lawyer, Joseph Casas, and then began testifying. He was one of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman initially charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, assault and housebreaking in the killing of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the Iraqi town of Hamdania.

U.S. military officials say they've detained "a number" of people who might be connected to, or know about, the kidnapping of an American soldier in Baghdad. Gen. William Caldwell also says an "intensive" search continues, and that the Iraqi government is also helping.

Fighting between police and suspected militia gunmen northeast of Baghdad on Thursday killed 30 people and wounded 42, the provincial police chief said. The fighting around Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital, marked the latest outbreak of bloodshed involving militants believed to be members of the Mahdi Army militia loyal to hard-line anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

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[bluestardad]

observantX well spoken

[observantx]

So Herr Rumsfeld wants me to "Back off"?

Rummy: You clueless dolt! You can take your "Back off" and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. YOU are supposed to be working for ME. And as far as I can see you have totally mucked up the entire job. You are responsible for thousands of needless American deaths and loss of limbs, eyes, and scorched skin because of your total incompetence, lack of coherent planning and arrogance.

I'll back off , maybe, after you do the right thing and resign.

[mjv2944]

I think we are totally leaderless. Dubya, Chaney, Rummy and our legislative branch are completely clueless. We should probably blame ourselves as we elected all of them. We need to get people back in the voting booth and voting for whats right, not what they force feed us in the media.

[bluestardad]

"Heck of a Job Rummy", Stay the Course, He has performed all his jobs to my satisfaction".

[bluestardad]

Rumsfeld%u2019s head and hind end have been interchanged so much he does not know which end is doing the talking.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

I hope people take note of Rumsfeld's assinine comments today, particularly, that the Iraqi troops need more training and more dollars. Unfortunately, a lot of that cash will get funneled back into the insurgency.

[bluestardad]

STEP BACK FROM FEAR!
We in America need to pull back from this Frenzy of Fear that has spellbound us since September 11, 2001. I am not saying to let down our guard or not be prudent with our Law enforcement, Intelligence agencies or Military as their constant job is to protect the American people and they do it well. Rationally speaking it is more likely that a person will be killed in a car accident on the way to get milk than killed by a Terrorist in America. Hispanics coming across our border for work are not the terrorist or the enemy. Unfair trade practices initiated by our government are the cause of our jobs leaving and the demise of the Middle Class in America not some Terrorist plot. Political Parties have been using fear in an attempt to maintain power in this country. Americans do the math you are more likely to do yourself bodily harm than to be harmed by a Terrorist. America is a Land of Opportunity and hopes where people live in Freedom. America is not a land were people will be governed by Fear.

Michael C. Boetjer
Captain U. S. Army
Double Blue Star Father

[radiob-2009]

I had already stated that I was going to vote for the democrat candiate in the Nov.7th. election.Some interesting reading can be found in the latest edition of Time magazine on ways for us to bring our troops home and bring a measure of stability to Iraq.The author is not an ex military commander but he still makes some valid points.Many of which I have already suggested and many more that I have not.Here is the link http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1549305,00.html
I still beleive that we have an obligation to try to salvage what we can.Look at this way if the police(U.S.) broke into your house,destroyed the major infractsture of it and killed some of your family based on false information. Would you not want redress?Would you not feel that you were owed redress?Make no mistake I am not advocating stay the course nor am I defending the premise in which we went to war.I have read far to much before the war and after to justify it.I cannot justify the invasion.There is a credible reality though that if we leave Iraq without some form of stabilty that the region will become worse.Read the entire N.I.E. report that is available.I am neither a hawk nor a pacifist just a realist.Once again I will tell you that if the democratic party sweeps both houses,there is no plan to cut and run.There are options that are being discussed on how to stabilize Iraq and bring our soldiers home.It will not happen overnight but the options and strategies are better than the current policy.

[tibu987]

Not to worry, Bush recently said,
he "understood how tough the Iraq battle is."

"Nuff said............

[patriotic9]

emhawks
I can agree with everything you said except that 9/11 was an inside job.No matter how bad an American may be,he or she won't let so many Americans get killed for his or her financial interest.I know these days some women divorce their husbands for making money on the name of alimony and child support and some hubands kill their wives for making mony on the name of Life Insurance policies but my mind doesnt want to accept that killing of thousands of Americans could be an inside job.You also had said that Bush amn.is capable of anything.I also disagree with that.Majority of Bush admn. people are Neo cons religious bigots who don't wannna use their common sense at all and want to make the US forieng policies on the basis of religious prophecies.I think most of em don't have any idea of Middle East politics or cultures.IGNORANCE and ARROGANCE are the main problems of this admn.