BAGHDAD, April 30, 2008
U.S. Death Toll In Iraq Hits 7-Month High
GIs Killed In Latest Attacks Pushes April Total To 47; U.S. Troops Ambushed In Sadr City
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Firefighters and residents search through the rubble of a destroyed house in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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One soldier died when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The other died of wounds sustained when he was attacked by small-arms fire, the military said Wednesday. Both incidents occurred Tuesday in northwestern Baghdad.
A third soldier died in a roadside bombing Tuesday night in the east of the capital, the military said.
The statement did not give a more specific location. But the eastern half of Baghdad includes embattled Sadr City and other neighborhoods that have been the focus of intense combat between Shiite militants and U.S.-Iraqi troops for more than a month.
In all, at least 4,059 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
"We have said all along that this will be a tough fight and there will be periods where we see these extremists, these criminal groups and al Qaeda terrorists seek to reassert themselves," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad.
"So, the sacrifice of our troopers, the sacrifice of Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens reflects this challenge," Bergner said in response to a question about what's behind the increase in American troop deaths.
The latest fighting erupted at the end of March after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militias in the southern port city of Basra. But it quickly spread to Baghdad's Sadr City, a sprawling slum with about 2.5 million people that is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The militiamen have used the district as a base to fire barrages of missiles and mortar rounds at the U.S.-protected Green Zone which houses much of the Iraqi government and Western diplomatic missions, including the U.S. and British embassies.
They also have fought running street battles in which hundreds have died. The U.S. military says those killed have been mainly gunmen. But police and medical authorities in Sadr City say innocent civilians have frequently gotten caught up in the fighting.
Such street battles - in tight confines and amid frightened civilians - are increasingly becoming a hallmark of the drive into Sadr City and recall the type of head-on clashes last seen in large numbers during last year's U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
Tahseen al-Sheikhly, the spokesman for the civilian side of Baghdad security operations, said Wednesday that a total of 925 people had died and 2,605 were wounded in Sadr City. But he gave no timeframe or details about how the figure was reached.
Previous Interior Ministry casualty figures for the past month had indicated that less than 400 people had perished. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting figures. Officials at the Baghdad military operations center said they could not confirm al-Sheikhly's count.
The Sadr City violence continued overnight with the destruction of a school in the district. AP Television News footage showed that parts of the two-floor Baghdad Girls' School had pancaked as the result of an explosion. Desks were hanging down from the slanting classrooms where the outer walls were blown out by the blast.
Local officials said the school was the target of an airstrike on Tuesday evening.
An official at the local hospital, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the information, said two people were killed and 16 wounded overnight in Sadr City. He said this brought the death toll in the district since Tuesday to 31, with 107 wounded.
The U.S. military had no comment about the school but said an Abrams tank fired a 120 mm shell at gunmen shooting at U.S. troops in Sadr City, killing all three. In another part of Sadr City, an unmanned drone fired a missile at a group of men planting a roadside bomb and killed one, the military said.
On Wednesday, al-Maliki accused the Mahdi Army of using civilians as human shields, and vowed to continue the crackdown against militias.
"We can't build a state along with militias," he told reporters at a news conference. "We want to build a single national army."
Al-Maliki said gunmen had killed the nephew of police Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman who had also overseen operations in Basra, by hanging him from an electricity pole in Sadr City.
In Other Developments:
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 79 Comments--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by jamesm12341 at 07:21 AM : Apr 30, 2008
+ report abuse
Hush!! Listen!! Hear that sound?? That''s the clock ticking down to Zero Hour... that''s right! November is going to be hear before you know it... know what happens in NOVEMBER swastika breath? Yep thats when YOU and those who LIED us into this war will find out just what WE the PEOPLE tried to tell you in the last election... There''s a Avalanche headed your way sparky... Sieg Heil Bush!!
Fighting F-16s, Apache Helicopters and tanks; what can any rational person expect from the Iraqis. Saddam didn''t destroy entire neighborhoods, routinely kill children and sell all that as "Democracy."
Iraq proves that war is a function of winning or defeating the populace - not the government & military. We recycled Saddam''s military back into the populace, then wonder why we''re constantly increasing forces in Iraq. Every GI is destined to die for Halliburton, et al. Same-same Viet Nam!
"Stupid is what stupid does" - all on borrowed money. Wait until the bill comes due!
Sheesh!
Exactly how does ANYONE figure that the surge worked, or that we''re "winning"?
I%u2019ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh and I don%u2019t want to die for you, but if dyin%u2019s asked of me I%u2019ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don%u2019t come free.
So our tiny whiney chicken hawk we we er president and his little we we will keep rattling the saber destroying any hopes of peace for years to come. That''s his and the neocon plan afterall, to keep the Middle East in constant warfare to make sure the price of oil doesn''t drop below $100/barrel until perhaps about 3 weeks before the November election. Mark my words, that will happen.
I%u2019ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh and I don%u2019t want to die for you, but if dyin%u2019s asked of me I%u2019ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don%u2019t come free.
Posted by blackwater66 at 10:03 AM : Apr 30, 2008
This rhetoric has been around for sometime. I remember hearing it in the 60''s. "Better to fight them there than San Francisco"!
The Domino Theory...
"Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the "falling domino" principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences."
Dwight D. Eisenhower April 7, 1954
1 - you have been in it or are currently in it (as a soldier you want to support your fellow troops)
2 - you have someone very close to you in it (someone you would not want to see hurt in anyway
3 - you support a general draft (for EVERYBODY)
We should never go to war without a draft. If there is no political support for a draft, then we should not go to war!
Posted by blackwater66 at 10:03 AM : Apr 30, 2008
Enlist.
Simple - back up your words with your actions. You want to die for the principle of "theft" and "corruption", feel free.
But don''t talk like you''re a big tough guy until you''re willing to strap on the body armor, pick up the rifle, and get on the plane.
------------------------------------
Do you want a WAHburger and FrenchCRIES with that stupid mentality?
Posted by mbcsmith at 11:00 AM : Apr 30, 2008
SECONDED
AND
THANK YOU TO ALL THE GREEDY COWARDS IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR STARTING A WAR TO PROFIT THEIR CRONIES IN HALLIBURTON AND FOR TAKING THE LIVES OF 4059 YOUNG AMERICANS NEEDLESSLY AND FOR SQUANDERING OUR NATION''S TREASURE ($12 BILLION A MONTH) ON THIS WAR OF GREED.
Posted by mbcsmith
I agree 100%. But there will be plenty of Democrats here shortly to denouce the United States and join their partners in IRAN and Al Qaeda in calling for the death of American Troops.
Posted by mbcsmith at 11:00 AM : Apr 30, 2008
SECONDED
AND
THANK YOU TO ALL THE GREEDY COWARDS IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR STARTING A WAR TO PROFIT THEIR CRONIES IN HALLIBURTON AND FOR TAKING THE LIVES OF 4059 YOUNG AMERICANS NEEDLESSLY AND FOR SQUANDERING OUR NATION''''S TREASURE ($12 BILLION A MONTH) ON THIS WAR OF GREED.
Posted by jerr11
Like I said, here is the first Democrat to Denounce the US and tell us how useless the sacrifice of our troops are. The Democrat rants of jerr11 sound just like that of any terrorist.
Posted by demslie at 11:07 AM : Apr 30, 2008
I think you got this part wrong.
Iran''s stronest ally in the US is G W Bush.
He killed their enemy Saddam and delivered the country to their mullahs in Iraq.
Now Iran controls Iraq through their Shiite stooges especially al-Sadr.
Heckuva job Bush!
But but but... I thought the surge worked!! Hey everyone says it worked? I mean Rush said it worked. Bush said it worked. Petraeus said it worked. All the little neocon minions said it worked.
Apparently they were all lying. No surprise there.
Posted by demslie at 11:07 AM : Apr 30, 2008
I think you got this part wrong.
Iran''s strongest ally in the US is G W Bush.
He killed their enemy Saddam and delivered the country to their mullahs in Iraq.
Now Iran controls Iraq through their Shiite stooges especially al-Sadr.
Heckuva job Bush!
Support our troops = Send them to die in a needless war.
Americanspeak:
Support our troops = Stop this needless war built on 935 lies and bring our troops home to their families.
Posted by jerr11
Like I said, here is the first Democrat to Denounce the US and tell us how useless the sacrifice of our troops are. The Democrat rants of jerr11 sound just like that of any terrorist.
Posted by demslie at 11:09 AM : Apr 30, 2008
You don''t have to be a genius to see the dishonesty of the Right - especially Repug Rino''s like Demsli here .... He don''t seem to have a grasp on reality. How very SAD. Cheers!
PS: Demsli, stop putting down the great sacrifice of our troops by attaching the word Useless to them - You''re the only person that is stupid enough to have actually done that and possibly is just plain stupid.
Support our Troops
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Do you want a WAHburger and FrenchCRIES with that stupid mentality?
Posted by JERSupporter at 10:59 AM : Apr 30, 200
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JERSupporter, it appears that what you are saying is, why should anyone of wealth or position enlist when they can bribe/pay the poor with promises of college tuition, huge enlistment bonuses, and etc (for many, the only route available), to do the dying for them.
I guess, from that perspective, you may be right.
Posted by demslie at 11:09 AM : Apr 30, 2008
How do you equate the TRUTH being posted by a fellow American as sounding like from a terrorist ?? - Unless, you''re not American and are an enemy of this country - which IMO, i truly believe that you are. Cheers!
Demslie, like every other, "America-loving" Freakvanny "christian" on here isn''''t worried about the troops or sacrifice. They are worried about their Pride.
They were wrong, they can''t bear to admit it.
Its what makes them the total opposite of Christian.
The live is a psychotic fantasy of "End Times Prophecy" and "Evil Liberals" and "If you don''''t support our psychotic visions you love terrorists".
But more important, it is about their towering Pride.
They are a disgrace to America and a disgrace to the Teachings of Christ.
Posted by FloydZepp at 11:32 AM : Apr 30, 2008
I agree 100% ..... and i''ll bet that the Singer RICK would agree too (even though it''ll kill him to admit). Thanks!
Posted by jocro12 at 11:58 AM : Apr 30, 2008
That''s because the Neocons are all just vacant eyed cultists at this point. I mean Bush blaming Congress for high gas prices is like a serial killer blaming the police for not catching him yet. He has a point there though. It''s about time this criminal faced some real justice for his crimes against America and the world.
Does anyone knows when America is going to bomb if not invade Iran? Our Master Israel is lately screaming fear. So, we must bleed Treasury and Blood in Iran ASAP.
On May 15, 1948, the American President advocated the creation of the State of Israel in the heart of the Muslim Middle-East. 2 years later, 4.5 millions Palestinians were forced out of their homes and landswithout compensation.
I am not going to say that this is Terrorism but I will say what a bleeding America is paying in Treasury and blood because of this dumb religious decision 60 years ago. This price keeps exploding as long as we continue UnConditional Support to Israel. I cannot believe we care a lot more about Israel than of ourselves.
2 weeks after 9/11, Osama Bin Ladin released his 1st video. In the video, he clearly listed the top 3 reasons for bombing the twin towers. The 1st reason was the US military base 60 miles from their Muslim''s holy Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The 2nd reason was the Palestine crisis. Osama is winning BIG here.
On Osama Bin Ladin 2nd released video, Osama states that they will destroy America Economically and not Militarily. So far, Osama is winning really Big here.
According to our US State Department, Anti-Semitics is exploding around the world:
http://www.reuters.com/article/t
opNews/idUSN1334791720080314?feedType=RS
SfeedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true
I just sit here and wonder why? Personally, I blame only the Zionists inside Israel and America.
Troops Home Now! Any war will be built on lies and false flag operations as in 9-11!
If we were in a real war on terror, do you not think the borders to the south would be controlled? Yet drug gangs compete in gun fights on city streets with over a dozen dead in a single shoot out in Tijuana...
Did not your Fearless Leader tell you that drug smuggling and terrorism were one and the same?
As drugs move effortlessly across the frontier...and border patrolmen who interfere are jailed by the Bush Regime...CIA planes with tons of cocaine are discovered in Mexico...The Washington Regime is a sick and evil Demopublican monster that must be replaced by people and parties who support our Constitution and Republic!
No war with Iran! Troops Home Now!
Does anyone knows when America is going to bomb if not invade Iran? Our Master Israel is lately screaming fear. So, we must bleed Treasury and Blood in Iran ASAP.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 12:09 PM
October is my bet...after the economy collapses and there is no reason any longer to hold back.
If they attack enough countries they will find WMD''s.
This is getting better and better soon they will not only lose the white house but the president.
On May 15, 1948, the American President advocated the creation of the State of Israel
in the heart of the Muslim Middle-East. 2 years later, 4.5 millions Palestinians were
forced out of their homes and lands without compensation.
I am not going to say that this is Terrorism but I will say America is bleeding Treasury
and blood because of one dumb religious decision 60 years ago. This price keeps
exploding as long as we continue UnConditional Support to Israel. I cannot believe we
care much more about Israel than of ourselves.
2 weeks after 9/11, Osama Bin Ladin released his 1st video. In the video, he clearly
listed the top 3 reasons for bombing the twin towers. The 1st reason was the US
military base 60 miles from their Muslim''s holy Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The 2nd reason
was the Palestine crisis. Now, Bush wants a State of Palestine. Osama is really
winning BIG here.
On Osama Bin Ladin 2nd released video, Osama states that they will destroy America
Economically and not Militarily. So far, Osama is really winning Big here.
According to our US State Department, Anti-Semitics is exploding around the world:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1334791720080314?feedType=RSSfeedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true
I just sit here and wonder why? Personally, I blame only the Zionists inside Israel and America.
!Lets have only the Zionists fight this war on terrorism!
Posted by FloydZepp at 11:38 AM : Apr 30, 2008
Actually, singinrick is going by several nick''s now. You have to watch for a neocon that''s even more hypocritical than usual, if that''s possible. Such as, s''ick chants that he loves Jesus, but insists moslems have to die in this godforsaken war.
Anybody that voted for w, especially the second time, needs to feel deep shame.
The war drags on...the dung-eating dogs continue to vote for Democrats and Republicans while oil and food prices are going through the roof....Send your children to war! We need a draft!
Does anyone knows when America is going to bomb if not invade Iran? Our Master Israel is lately screaming fear. So, we must bleed Treasury and Blood in Iran ASAP.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 12:09 PM
October is my bet...after the economy collapses and there is no reason any longer to hold back.
Posted by bgwinnett at 12:13 PM : Apr 30, 2008
And just in time for Bush to declare a national emergency and suspend the elections in November, making himself president for life. Bet on it.
Posted by trillion1 at 01:37 PM : Apr 30, 2008
It''s coming with his next war with Iran. That''ll set off the whole thing since Russia and China will both back Iran. Then his wet dream of 3 nuclear powers shooting at each other will come true. that way in history he''ll be even more famous then Hitler and for much the same reason.
Posted by Edward1975 at 01:20 PM : Apr 30, 2008
That''s true and all fine and dandy, but it still goes back to 1948 and the Partition of Israel by the UN. The Palestinians never agreed to the partition and then were forced into neighboring countries as exiles....then they have fought to get back into their old lands held by the Israelis. This will never go away.....unfortunately both sides have been at fault.
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany.
1.Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of crime against peace
2.Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
3.War crimes
4.Crimes against humanity
The death sentences were carried out Oct 16th 1946 by hanging
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany.
1.Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of crime against peace
2.Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
3.War crimes
4.Crimes against humanity
The death sentences were carried out Oct 16th 1946 by hanging
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Nuremberg_Trials
Posted by rune99 at 02:06 PM : Apr 30, 2008
Here''s hoping we revive them to put Bush, Cheney, etc on trial. With the same penalties to be applied. Hanging.
Posted by SgtRDS at 02:32 PM : Apr 30, 2008
You''ve forgot the drawing and quartering surely?
http://shareddarkness.com/2007/11/10/iraqs-human-cost.aspx
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