BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three U.S. soldiers died in a roadside bombing

[tocqueville]

3 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Roadside Bomb 28 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three U.S. soldiers died in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Three soldiers attached to Task Force Baghdad were killed Wednesday about 8 p.m. when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southwest Baghdad, a spokesman said.

That day, 15 Marines also were killed — 14 of them when a huge bomb destroyed their lightly armored vehicle near Haditha in western Iraq.

Another Marine was killed by small-arms fire in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province 70 miles west of Baghdad.

At least 1,825 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050804/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_soldiers_killed

[meganmonkey]

1. Oh good lord

:cry:

What a horrible week. What a horrible war.

May they rest in peace, and so may the Iraqis who have died and aren't even being counted.

[rodeodance]

2. so yahoo finally did this story. See this Du thread please.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1984628

[rwork]

3. Maybe we can hope

they will get tired of killing.It seems they can just kill at will.

[Caleb]

4. Freedom is on the march

Right Georgie?

[tridim]

5. So are these three the "last throes" or was it yesterday's 14 deaths?

I'm confused, please explain it to us Dick.

[daleo]

6. Already again?

That has to be demoralizing. What a nightmare Bush has wrought.

[VegasWolf]

7. Must be getting close to the 21st century mark in number of deaths. nt

[saigon68]

8. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

As he prepared to be spoon fed, by his Mommy

[Supersedeas]

18. Last Throes....Bring it on -- Like the Gettysburg Address to Neo-Cons

[hadrons]

9. Cons claim this is "progress" ....

first attack killed 14, next 3 ... deaths lowered by 80% :eyes:

[pocket]

10. how many Iraqis were killed?

.

[derby378]

11. Bush: "Power is being the President"

Especially if you're thousands of miles away from the troops who are dying daily for your amusement. Hail Caesar!

[QuettaKid]

12. we'll pass 2,000 dead while the chimp is in Crawford....

that's gotta have some sort of psychological impact on the masses doncha think?

[xxqqqzme]

14. 1,000 didn't.

1,500 didn't. 2,000 will just B another number the CMC will ignore.

[Skittles]

16. not unless it's their kid

the average American - as long as they can drive their SUV and buy crap at Wal-Mart - things are fine

[saigon68]

20. Absolutely correct

[Oreegone]

13. Yeah I think

But do they? Thinking seems to be a big effort for some. Sure are a lot of really stupid people out there. So sad.

[Gronk Groks]

15. Marines are highest casualty rate

AP Report

Updated: 8:39 a.m. ET Aug. 4, 2005
WASHINGTON - The deaths of 22 Marines this week in Iraq, including one more on Thursday, has brought to the surface this tragic fact: that branch of the U.S. military has taken casualties disproportionate to its numbers in Iraq.

The Marines have one of the roughest assignments in Iraq: pacifying the perpetually restive Anbar province, home to Fallujah, Ramadi and Haditha, all sites of heavy American casualties since the insurgency went into high gear last year.

Marines number more than 23,000 out of 138,000 members of the U.S. armed forces in Iraq, or 17 percent. Yet they have lost at least 530 of the more than 1,820 U.S. personnel who have died there, or 29 percent, Marine officials said.

[cliss]

24. That's a shocking statistic.

I read once that RumsFailed didn't have much good to say about the Army, especially the lower-level enlistees. I think he called them "kids who can't aim". He saw them as unimportant "pawns" in his wars of conquest. And if you think about it, have you ever heard him say anything positive about the troops? All I've ever heard is, "you go to war with the army you have".

And this is also the reason why he hired so many mercenaries from CACI and Titan and others. They are the "pros" who can do the job, unlike the little whimps*** in the army. There are about 30,000 mercs in Iraq today, earning about $100,000 per year.

Now as far as the Marines, why would they have such a high fatality rate? Are they protected by the merc's? Are they on their own in these dangerous provinces? Do they have enough equipment? Don?

These people are highly trained, real pros from what I've read. But they're still getting targeted - 29% is an unreal number, and the Pentagon better get its ass out of the sling.


***Note: this is not how I FEEL. This is undoubtedly RumsFailed's feeling on the matter. I've read a lot of articles about the bastard on the web. And don't forget, this bastard is a CIVILIAN who is in charge of the US military. He's a corporate man, not a military man. Imagine this "leader" having this attitude about his own troops.

[happyslug]

25. Two factors add to this number

Remember we have a number of Air Force and Navy personnel in Iraq, both services have not had the losses of the Army or Marines (and thus both the Army and Marines would have more losses MORE than their percentage of personnel in Iraq).

Second (and probably a lesser factor, but still a factor) is that Marine Military Doctrine is much more aggressive than US Army Doctrine. This will also increase Marine Losses.

A third factor is that the Marines are using LTVPs NOT M2 Bradley fighting vehicles. I have NOT checked out the Marines equipment since the opening phases of the war (where you saw pictures of their LTVPs all over the place) but I have no reason to believe that the Marines have switched to M2 Bradleys. The differences between the two are great.

First the LTVP can carry 20 men, and is intended to land Marines are the beach. The LTVP has aluminum armor, no firing ports and only a 50 Cal Machine gun in a one man turret.

The M2 Bradley carries 9 men (thus smaller) plus crew of Three, has a 25mm Cannon as its main weapon in a two man terned. Has firing ports so that the Soldiers inside and fire from inside the vehicle and it armor is a mix Aluminum/Steel construction, with Steel in location most likely to get hit by RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades, the most used Anti-tank weapon of the Iraqis).

Aluminum Armor burns if it i hit with temperatures of 2000degree (Such as when hit by a RPG). Thus the LTVP is not only a larger target, but more likely to catch on "fire if hit.

Both Services use the M1 Tank so that is NOT a problem, but the differences between the LTVP and the M2 Bradley is also a factor in the increase losses of the Marines over Army Troops.

[Gronk Groks]

26. Trouble is that the Marines are only suppose to kick in the door;

Not occupy territory, that is the Army's job. But with insufficient personnel to do the job, the Marines have been called back in to do something they are not equipped to do.:wtf:

Of course that also applies to the National Guard and Reserves who are only suppose to be used to defend the continental United States and deal with emergencies.:banghead:

Since the insurgents are learning, the casualty figures are only going to get worse. :grr:

[cliss]

27. Thanks, H.

You are SO knowledgeable; we are fortunate to have you here at the DU.

[DeepModem Mom]

17. OMG, stop this carnage! nt

[deadparrot]

19. RIP.

...

[ignatius 2]

21. son-of-a-bitch..is there no end to this madness? Bushco unleashed

the beast and are totally clueless as to how to tame him. Goddammit to hell and a curse to all the neocon bastards who have caused so very much pain and suffering.

[dArKeR]

22. What does a mini-sub story pic have to do with dead American children?

On this yahoo link.

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. Apparently they don't have a handle on the roadside bombing problem yet

However, it's only been 3 years and it is "hard work".

[Skittles]

28. OMG I clicked on LBN hoping for a break from the carnage

Please, make it stop