Fourteen Marines killed in bombing
A roadside bomb blast killed 14 Marines and a civilian interpreter Wednesday as they rode in a vehicle near Haditha, Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
The military said the bomb struck the amphibious assault vehicle about 1 mile (about 2 kilometers) south of Haditha, along the Euphrates River about 135 miles northwest of Baghdad. The military said one Marine was wounded.
The 14 Marines belonged to the same battalion based in Brook Park, Ohio, as six Marines who were killed in the region on Monday, according to The Associated Press.
Beginning countdown before some illegitimate Administration official/wingnut blogger uses this tragedy to opine the insurgency’s winding down/desperate/in last throes, etc.
“uses this tragedy to opine the insurgency s winding down/desperate/in last throes, etc. ”
as opposed to using this tragedy for cheap partisan political points.
Dugger
Sorry, Dugger.
This is a full-blown, across-the-court three-pointer…
This whole mission-accomplished, bring-em-on adminstration have got
no
effing
clue
about the morass of nation-building they’ve wandered into.
This whole adminstration exaggerates dangers and underestimates enemies
all
the
time
21 marines… Twenty-one marines in two days….?!
We shall meet and we shall miss them, there will be 21 vacant chairs.
Farris: So, war is like a sporting contest where the side with the most points at the end of regulation “wins?”
As I recall, our ‘body count’ metric didn’t work out so well for us in VietNam.
Dugger: We’re still winning, right?
Right?
Jadegold, how would we know? When is the last time a media outlet gave us a body count for the insurgents?
When was the last time DOD gave ‘em one?
There’s your answer.
This is absolutely a shame – how long until people wake up and realize that the answer to problems is not through war and firepower? How many people in the world will needlessly die before we realize this?
The sad thing is that the United States went to war with Iraq and Afghanistan, lost over 1,800 soldiers and more then 100,000 Iraqi/Arghani civilians, and still haven’t caught those behind the 9/11 attacks (some would argue that we should be looking inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) yet the British treat it as a police action (which is what Senator Kerry has been saying all along) and they find them all in a matter of days.
FM,
How can I or anyone adequately respond when you use such a killer format.
I
give
up.
You
win.
D
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P
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a
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e
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l
p
m
e
,
I
,
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f
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g
.
Jade,
Been Rip Van Winkling?
FYI, our side won the Iraq war and we are presently trying to restore order against remnant Baathist forces and outside terrorists. . Seems to be some consensus of a pull out next year. And in other news, Dukakis (Michael, not Olympia), Kerry and Gore all lost. The Red Sox won the World Series and OJ is still looking for Nicole’s killer.
Dugger News Service
FYI, our side won the Iraq war
Hahahaha. Good one.
No, Dugger, if you’d been in the military, you’d might understand ‘winning wars’ isn’t a game of ‘capture the flag.’ Not to belabor VietNam but with a very few exceptions, we won every battle in that conflict–but ended up losing the country and the war.
Tell us, Dugger, what we’ve ‘won’ in Iraq? To my mind, we’re isolated in a heavily fortified zone in Baghdad where a trip to or from the airport is a ‘Lewis and Clark’-epic journey. We’ve installed a Govt. that’s terribly cozy with our erstwhile enemy, Iran, and is in the process of transforming what was a secular state to yet another Islamic Republic; said Govt. also barely exists under our protective aegis–officials and candidates laregely remain anonymous because the security situation is—well, non-existent.
I don’t know if we can withstand many more ‘wins’ like this.
Jade,
“No, Dugger, if you d been in the military”
Well, I was. And I believe you are all wrong. My logic? War is the major fighting. No doubt we won. Saddam and his Army gone. Have we pacified the country. No. Do we still face guerilla -like armed opposition? Yes. Is it different from Vietnam. Of course. If you were less doctrinaire I might discuss in more serious detail w/you concerns about the long term sitaution in iraq, but I have no desire to hear that the Bushitler is a running dog lackey imperialist war monger hegemonist blah blah blah.
FM,
What no comment on my creative format! You of all people. No comment.
So let me get this straight. Since our armed forces did a marvelous job, it wasn’t hard. Saddam wasn’t a threat at all. That the logic FM? Want to rethink it (or should I say think it)? I will spare you sporting metaphors.
Dugger
Yes, Dugger. We won the war. …in three weeks–thereby proving that Saddam Hussein wasn’t a threat. And why did we invade? Bush gave a list of hazards in his 2003 State of the Union address; they never found them–thereby proving that Saddam Hussein wasn’t a threat.
…and the “dead-enders” are getting pretty damn efficient at improvising explosive devices.
War is the major fighting.
I’d suggest you try this logic on the nearly 1500 families who have lost loved ones since AWOL George declared “mission accomplished.”
You could tell them, perhaps, they were victims of …?
Sorry, Dugger, it is impossible to believe you were in the military when you make idiotic comments such as “War is the major fighting.”
Throughout history, wars have been fough at high- and low-levels of intensity. And wars aren’t won until objectives have been achieved and the victor is able to impose its will upon the defeated. In the case of Iraq, we’ve failed in each and every objective and basically we’re fighting to maintain a very tenuous status quo.
>>FYI, our side won the Iraq war and we are presently trying to restore order against remnant Baathist forces and outside terrorists.
Remnant?
Dugger. I had given you credit before. But you’re dumb as dirt.
JK
Just a couple of leftover Sadamn loyalists….and oh ya….a few terrorists….
that’s all folks….good as Gold. Trust me.
I can’t help it….that’s so absurd I’d belt out a belly laugh except for the fact the 20 MARINES DIED YESTERDAY AND TODAY fighting these “REMNANTS” you jack ass.
JK
Either Dugger or George Bush is wrong about this.
jade,
“Sorry, Dugger, it is impossible to believe you were in the military when you make idiotic comments such as War is the major fighting. ”
I’m happy if you believe I did not serve (however, if you will send, say, Quaker a $100 bill, I will do likewise and then I will send him paperwork and he can decide, yes or no, if I served – what do you say Jade? Hmm?
I’d use the money to buy old books.)
Dugger
JK,
Oh Yeah.
Dugger, whats the capitol of North Dakota? Dugger: Blue. No wait, thats my favorite color (MP). Bismarck.
Dirt, whats the capitol of North Dakota? Dirt: duhhhh, Fargo?
BUZZZZZZ. Sorry JK. We have proven Dugger is smarter than dirt.
BTW, indeed, remnant of Baathist forces. We so convincingly won the war that many quit early and so lived on to fight a guerilla rear action.
Quaker
You haven’t been your old sharp self lately (except screaming monkeys or whatever). As above in conflating the war in Iraq with the larger war on terror; the former being a subset of the latter.
Dugger, Helping Progressives Sort it Out
Oh now I’m really confused.
We’re not at war in Iraq. But the um, struggle in Iraq is part of a war that we’re fighting. And although “war is the major fighting,” and all the “major fighting” at the moment seems to be going on in Iraq (yeah, and Afghanistan–I’m not forgetting those soldiers), we’re still not at war because the “major fighting” is over.
On top of all that, conflating the war in Iraq with the GWOT is now a bad thing?
I guess this is why I was never cut out to be a soldier, eh?
Water muddy yet?
Oh, yeah… and only Dugger’s got the “magic glasses” that allows him to see through the muck. Thanks, Dugger.
Quaker
“We re not at war in Iraq. But the um, struggle in Iraq is part of a war that we re fighting.”
Actually, thats close. I bet you know war has a more formal definiton which almost always involves a sustained commitment to major combat operations.
Iraq is a battlefield of the WOT, so in that sense you could say we are at war in the US, Britain etc. and Iraq But more logically, the WOT is something more akin to unconvential warfare = which is not war as we think of it. Water muddy yet?
Dugger.
Dugger, a few suggestions:
1.) Don’t quit your day job (if you have one).
2.) Please don’t insult the good name of dirt.
JK
But Dugger, you said “war is the major fighting” and the only major fighting that’s going on is in Iraq. But then you said the war in Iraq is already over, but the war on terror is still going on even though there’s not any “major fighting.”
Then the President said “We’re at war,” after you said we’re not at war (or did you say we are?) which is when I said one of you has to be wrong, but you said you’re both right.
Can you see why I’m confused?
Maybe I should just go to bed now.
JK,
The debate speaks for itself. I kicked Dirt’s behind and therefore I am smarter than Dirt. I proved it!
Quakie,
I said in effect that war, as we- most of us- think of it is major fighting and that thre is A definition to that point. Obviously, there are other types of war or sub-definitons – like unconventional war, the card game etc. The big war with major combat operations and clashes of uniformed armies is over in Iraq. We won that war. Period. Iraq is still the site of a subdefinition unconventional type guerilla war and also a site of the larger, unconventional WOT. I now you’d like to have scored some great rhetorical “gotcha” against Jorge la Bush, but I don’t see it.
Dugger
No, actually, you were my target. I’d say that what’s going on right now in Iraq is still a war. American citizens still wear their uniforms, carry guns, shoot and get shot, get injured or killed.
What is it they say about ducks?
“I d say that what s going on right now in Iraq is still a war.”
Yes, war. What I said – the WOT and the guerrilla aftermath of the WAR.
Dugger, Different Wars for Different Folks
I see. War is not the same as WAR.
Keep going along these lines and you’ll owe Mr. Owell’s estate royalties.