A year ago this Memorial Day I posted a very lengthy but simple post to honor those who had fallen in Iraq or Afghanistan. All I did was post the year headings and then all the names of those who had died. It took three days to compile the list and was over 2,500 names for both wars combined.
Since that Memorial Day a year ago, 980 troops have died in Iraq alone. Bush has promised that this summer will be “bloody.” He’s not the only one promising a “bloody” summer.
Stephen Biddle, a military expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of a group that spent weeks in Iraq assessing the situation for Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, agreed that more American deaths were likely.
“The biggest change in their (insurgent and militia) tactics is that they’ve changed to exploit the vulnerabilities we’ve opened ourselves up to. They see a new, small American base in their neighborhood, three blocks away, and they’re going to car bomb it,” said Biddle.
“We’re going to see a spike in the short term,” said Biddle. “But the likelihood is that in six months we’ll see a drop in casualties as these areas become more secure. The problem is, what about the rest of the country?”
I can’t even think of anything else to write at this time.
Sally says:
I too know not what to say to the right wing bloggers who insist the war against the insurgency is still winnable. The quote you cited does say within six months the areas where the surge is will see a drop in causalities…but, importantly stresses that other area in Iraq may see a surge in casualties. That part is not even heard… What can you say?
5/26/2007, 9:44 pmRicardo says:
These numbers you just laid out for us are very disturbing and I don’t see any relief on the horizon. And how exactly are these areas going to become more “secure” and reduce casualties? Everytime we secure an area, another area becomes a danger zone. It’s rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
5/27/2007, 9:40 amLAW says:
They won’t understand… they don’t want to. We, the ones who have family members in the Sand, are the only ones who really worry, who hurt. The rest of the country seems to look at the war and shake their little heads, then go back to watching Lohan or Paris Hilton. Spike, surge, increase… whatever you call it, it’s insane, and since I don’t see a Bush or a cheney or a Rumsfeld in uniform, they don’t really give a damn about us.
LAW
5/27/2007, 9:44 amjan says:
I don’t see any changes forthcoming from our government.
5/27/2007, 10:08 pm