2500 Soldiers Dead...2500 futures destroyed...

[ScreamingMeemie]

2500 families crying...

2500 body bags...


2500 flags to be folded...

2500 is 5 times my graduating class from high school in 1988. I think of 2500 moments when a child was born, bringing joy, tears, and hope to his/her family. Not ever knowing the pain they would bring 2, 3, 4 or more decades down the road... To the mother who felt the joy on that day. The husband/wife who held so many hopes for the future. The children who idolized and sent letters and pictures stamped with their own handprints and artwork. Artwork that I imagine sits lonely and forgotten... somewhere in some soldier's quarters, never to be claimed.

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. And how many relatives and loved ones torn apart forever.......

How very sad.

[KurtNYC]

19. Indeed...

[Breeze54]

2. Let's not forget the wounded also!

And the large numbers of Iraqi's!!
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

Civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq
Min Max
38355 42747

The worldwide update of reported civilian deaths in the Iraq war and occupation.

Iraq Body Count

Min----------------Max
38355--------------42747


http://icasualties.org/oif/woundedchart.aspx
US Wounded in Iraq --- Total----18356

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. I really don't think we have. I was responding to this morning's

heartbreaking news, On this issue.


Sorry to offend.

[Breeze54]

8. You didn't offend me at all!

:hug: I'm just torn up about this whole Iraq war BS!!
I want the war to stop!
I want our troops out of there and I'm listening on c-span right now
to the morons who support the war and their idiotic reasons for it!!
:grr:

I just feel it needs to be pointed out that a LOT of Iraqi's have lost their lives.
I wasn't offended by what you posted at all....
My son just got back from Iraq at the end of April, that's all.
It's been very difficult to be against the war and support my son and his fellow soldiers who were stop lossed.

Dilema!

[Deja Q]

3. ~350 million futures destroyed.

At least in terms of America.

I can't forget those who die in war. But I can't forget those dying because their livelihoods are taken away, or whose pensions are robbed from them under their very noses either. And the judges who side on the corporate side and let the robberies occur.

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. Well, I guess I can forget this post...focusing on one thing is never

enough for this crowd. :hi:

[Breeze54]

9. Don't let one who

is "off topic" throw you! :thumbsup:

[Philosoraptor]

6. 2500 who died for lies. probably an equal or greater number to go.

We're on a roll now.

[dogday]

7. I would like to see every freaking DU member

who are so mad at Truthout, come on over to a topic that will really boil your blood.. Where is the righteous indignation and seething acrimony at the amount of people that are dying for a lie?

[Binka]

14. The High Post Count Trolls Don't Care About The Troops

They shit on our kids. :mad:

[dogday]

16. Thank you Binka

We know where the true anger should be placed.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

22. "The High Post Trolls" - Binka, I really think this is true.

Some of these posts/threads are so counter productive. When the Republicans make a mistake, they don't even blink an eye. They just change the message - "WMD's" turned to "Saddam" turned to "Democracy" turned to "Nobel Cause" turned to "The Mission". and they all ride the train.

When someone in our party errs - my God, it's the end of the world. This is one of the classic Republican strategies. They did it to Clinton, and they did it to Kerry in the form of Swiftboating. Seeing this type of crap occur here in this forum is sometimes hard to take.

Binka, much love and gratitude to your son Ben. He's in my thoughts and prayers.

May the the families of our fallen troops find peace.

[Binka]

23. Thank You For Those Kind Words

And about the trolls just use the ignore feature. It is the little red x following the posters profile etc. Green is for buddies red is for shitheads! My list is up to 67 people. I kid you not.

[Pobeka]

10. And there are the ripples...

Thought I would post this, I posted it last year but it got lost amongst a thousand threads...
-----

Ripples of War

My cousin died this past year. He was one of the lucky ones who came back from Viet Nam in one piece. He served his country, and performed with honor supporting the oath he took to defend us.

But wars are not simple things for the man on the ground. Politicians can speak in terms of abstractions – number of casualties, friendly fire, body counts, collateral damage.. For the man on the ground, he is the one who pulled the trigger, who killed or maimed, sometimes rightly, sometimes in error in the heat of battle.

The violence, the mayhem, is expected, and to some extent emotionally manageable by the survivors in a just war. But for those, who are duty bound to fight in an unjust war, they endure an entirely different kind of stress – guilt. Guilt for causing the death and wounding of other human beings, knowing that every act was committed not in defense of a nation, but in defense of a politician's image, or most despicably in defense of a lie. And yet, even in those circumstances, there is little choice for these soldiers -- most uphold their sworn duty.

My cousin came back. He tried to return to normal. To me, a young man in my early twenties at the time, he did seem normal. I was naive, I thought he was able to put it behind him. But it is not possible to put something like that behind you when you have a heart, and a conscience. How do you reconcile your actions with yourself? The truth, that he kept hidden, was he couldn't. So he could fall asleep without the same nightmares haunting him every night, he began to drink alcohol until he passed out. In the end, the alcohol which spared him the nightmares, also destroyed his liver.

And there were other casualties.

A mother, who could not accept a son sent to war, and her inability to speak of her personal torment which led to an estrangement of more than a decade from her own siblings.

A wife, who though she loved him, had to leave with the children to protect them and herself from a troubled home nobody deserved.

There is a daughter, who never will know her father, never know the delight he was before a needless war stole his sanity.

These are ripples of war, and they collide with innocent victims beyond the one who saw the bloodshed of a battle.

[Breeze54]

15. Well said.

"A mother, who could not accept a son sent to war, and her inability to speak of her personal torment..."

Those words ring true for me, to an extent.

I watched my brothers come home from Vietnam and my oldest brother came home with a drug (heroin?) and drinking problem...
He is just not the same person, in my eyes, although he has stopped drinking and the drugs now.
He never got over being there or being drafted to Vietnam.
But that war tore our family up!!

[Halliburton]

11. BUT THE MEDIA WAS JUST TOUTING THE AMAZING PROGRESS

[kentuck]

12. 2500....on the day the Repubs choose to celebrate...

let them tie their wagon to Bush's star...

[Binka]

13. Including Ben's Best Friend V...RIP Baby

We love you V. :cry::cry::cry::cry:

[Breeze54]

17. So sorry.......

:hug:

[Breeze54]

18. and we have missing soldiers also... still missing!

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20040423-0645.html

IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2004
DoD Announces Soldier's Captured Status

The Department of Defense announced today a change in the status of a soldier
serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom from duty status - whereabouts unknown to captured.

Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, was declared captured on April 16.

On April 9, Maupin and Sgt. Elmer C. Krause, 40, of Greensboro, N.C.,
were categorized as duty status - whereabouts unknown when individuals using rocket-propelled
grenades and small arms fire attacked their convoy.
Both soldiers were assigned to the Army Reserve’s 724th Transportation Company, from Bartonville, Ill.

Krause’s status remains unchanged because his whereabouts remain unknown.
Efforts continue to obtain the successful and safe return of both individuals.

[dogday]

20. Kicking

I am still waiting on those posters from my previous thread...

[npincus]

21. and ebullient Frat-Boy Asshole cracks jokes with the press

it is mind-numbingly disgraceful. Obscene.

[dogday]

24. Kicking cause this is more important than the Truthout thread

[Breeze54]

25. It is more important!

I agree.

:kick:

[dogday]

26. KICKING FOR THE 2,500 DEAD SOLDIERS

Want something to get angry about people, well step on into the thread about how 2,500 soldiers are dead and let it rip.. Here is where our anger should be...

[MrBenchley]

27. The NRA kills more than that many American kids in a year

"The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) releases its report on gun violence against children, "Protect Children, Not Guns," at a time when major U.S. cities are calling for strategies to combat illegal firearms. Citing the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report reveals that 2,827 children and teens died as a result of gun violence in 2003 -- more than the number of American fighting men and women killed in hostile action in Iraq from 2003 to April 2006.
The Children's Defense Fund calls for the support of common sense gun safety measures; congressional passage of legislation that closes the gun show loophole to criminal background checks on those purchasing guns from unlicensed dealers; and renewal of the ban on assault weapons. Parents should remove guns from their homes; organize nonviolent conflict resolution support groups in their congregations and communities; and refuse to buy video games and other products for their children that glamorize or make violence socially acceptable or fun.
Community leaders should turn schools and places of worship into venues of quality summer and after-school programs for children as positive alternatives to the streets. They should also adopt proven programs like Ceasefire Initiatives that bring families, faith groups, social service providers and law enforcement together to halt the killing of teens by other teens. "It is imperative that we make our homes, our streets and our communities safe from firearms now for the sake of our children," said Edelman."

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0613-01.htm

And they fund the Republican party, that started this obscene war.....

[Breeze54]

28. So what's your point?

That the illegal police action in Iraq is 'A-OK' ??

:grr:

[MrBenchley]

29. Wow....you really thought that's what the post said?

Not worth responding to someone who can't grasp something so obvious....

[Breeze54]

31. I'll re-read what you said

but i really don't get it. I've heard that from freepers before...what did i miss? :shrug:

Maybe this? --> :sarcasm: ?

[MrBenchley]

45. Okay,,,

You really don't get that there's a Republican lobbying group that's itself directly responsble for as many deaths of American kids in one year as there have been American soldiers killed in Iraq in three, and that this same group has done all it can to promote the Chimp and his gang of thugs....

Excuse the fuck out of me if I fail to worry about your intransigence.

[derby378]

30. Ignore him - he's just mad that pro-gun Dems like me are gaining ground

Education, not confiscation. That's the key.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread on the 2,500 US troops killed in Iraq...

[Breeze54]

32. I could care less if you have a gun

'tard!

[derby378]

33. That's fine...

...but my cousin was stationed near Fallujah for quite some time. He was a mechanic, so he spent most of his time on the base and out of the free-fire zone. He's back in the States now, and I am so grateful he's not one of the 2,500.

But that could change. I think Nero wants to keep us in Iraq forever - he wants to build an empire on the bodies of our soldiers.

This angers me to no end.

[Breeze54]

34. My son was stationed in Baghdad and

was driving around the streets doing 'convoy patrols'...

I agree with you and bushtard DOES want to keep us in Iraq and send them back two and three times!!

I'm just as angry as you!!

:hug: *peace*!

[derby378]

38. Oh, man...

Has he been ordered to drive the road to Baghdad Airport, the world's most dangerous highway?

Hope he's doing well and keeping himself safe.

:hug:

[Breeze54]

43. You mean the 'Irish Highway'?

I'm sure he did, but he doesn't talk about it much...right now.
He won't even watch the news right now. I think he's trying to put it behind him.
He's home now. He just got back April 26th.
It's in my diary. Feel free to read it.
PEACE!
;)

[dogday]

41. Is your son ok? I do hope so!

Mine is getting his two weeks in a few days and I am excited to see him... Then he is back till November.. 2nd deployment for his company... First time he was training and missed it, second was the charm though.....

My best wishes and good thoughts for you and your Son.... I will light a candle for him...

I light a candle every day and keep at my computer to remind me of him and the other soldiers....

[Breeze54]

46. Thanks but he got home April 26th...YEAH!!!

He was stop lossed in Dec. 2004...maybe you can see why the IWR vote irks me?? :shrug:
I hope your son will be safe and come home ok!
My son had his two weeks, at the beginning of last December. He went back there Dec. 17th, 2005.
I keep one of those Xmas lights (candles) lit all the time under my Blue Star Flag, in my front window.

:hug:

Here's a pic my son sent me last year.

[dogday]

35. Me too

My son is there right now....

[Breeze54]

36. Oh boy.... shit!

I feel your pain dogday. Man! :hug: to you and yours!

This has to stop and they all need to come home...NOW!!!!!

[dogday]

37. Not just our soldiers, the thousands of

innocent Iraqis had lives and families as well and I mourn for them... It is so sad....

[Breeze54]

39. I know that

and I posted that this morning.
But this discussion was specifically about our soldiers.

PEACE!

[dogday]

44. I know and I appreciate it very much

I am glad someone remembers our soldier's efforts. I just get sad when I think about it all in the larger scope of things.. Sorry to post off topic :hi:

[derby378]

40. My best to your son, too

:hug:

[dogday]

42. Thanks so much

I come here because I want more than anything for this war to end... It is so hard when you have no control over what is going to happen and for how long... Will keep good thoughts, thanks for yours:hug:

[slackmaster]

50. My brother was one of the first into Basra harbor when the war began

He made it out OK and is now stationed in Colorado. I was very relieved when he got out of there.

[Ken Burch]

47. I take it, then, that you admit that you've been wrong to viciously

attack those of us in the party who were always against this war and its obscenity and have worked to stop it.

Most of whom, btw, agree with you on the gun issue far more than anyone in the DLC.

[slackmaster]

48. What a bunch of nonsensical agitprop

According to the CDC, 1,190 children and teenagers (ages <1 through 17 years inclusive) died in violence-related firearm incidents in 2003. That includes criminal behavior by teenage gang-bangers and drug dealers.

If you include 18- and 19-year-olds, who are legally adults, the figure is 2,654.

Roll your own query from official government statistics at http://www.cdc.gov/NCIPC/wisqars/

I'm not sure where the authors of the propaganda piece got their figure of 2,827. If you expand the query criteria to include accidents, suicides, and unknown intent in addition to 18- and 19-year-olds the figure is 2,849.

As to the NRA killing those people, that is like saying AAA is responsible for people killed by drunk drivers.

We now return this thread to the actual topic, the needless death of more than 2,500 US military people.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. Not to mention ~25,000 injured soldiers...

~25,000 lost legs, arms, eyes, brains...

Not to mention thousands more lost to PTSD, or alcoholism...

Not to mention 300,000 Iraqi lives, and hundreds of thousands (millions?) more injured...

[ScreamingMeemie]

51. I chose to focus on one issue. Thank you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1432835&mesg_id=1432925