Valley Marine wounded by land mine

By John Finnerty
The Daily Item NORTHUMBERLAND — Marine Lance Cpl. Todd Bucher, of Northumberland, was injured by a land mine blast in Iraq on Sunday, his father said Friday.

Cpl. Bucher, 21, suffered 18 or 19 shrapnel wounds, said his father, Barry Bucher, of Port Huron, Mich.

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Nebraska National Guard member killed in Iraq

LINCOLN (AP) -- A Nebraska Army National Guard medic was killed Thursday in Iraq while trying to treat wounded Marines, the guard said Friday in a release.

Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, of Omaha was killed near Trebil, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded near her ambulance, the guard said. Another Nebraska National Guard medic who was driving the ambulance was injured and evacuated to Germany.

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Marine on the mend

By CLIFF HIGHTOWER

Josh Cooley is in Maryland with family members.
There are signs that Josh Cooley is improving, according to his father, Ed Cooley.
But there is a long road ahead.
"He's in for the long haul," said Cooley.
They see some responses from Josh, even as he sleeps in a medically-induced coma that helps him to heal.
So far, Josh Cooley, 28, a Marine and Pasco County deputy wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq, has undergone four surgeries and he may require two more.

Snip

HOW TO HELP JOSH

A trust fund was opened for donations to help Cooley and his family. It's at Florida West Coast Credit Union, 7200 Ridge Road, Suite 1, Port Richey, Fla., 34688. Cards and letters can be sent to USMC Casualty Loss Branch, Attn: Marine Corps Liaison/Lance Cpl. Josh Cooley, 8901 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md., 20889.

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And Now It's Twelve!

At least 28 killed in 12 suicide bombings in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Twelve suicide bombers blew themselves up in separate attacks in Baghdad and northern
Iraq, killing at least 28 people and wounding more than 100, including seven US soldiers, Iraqi and US forces said.

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Adoption Agency Rejects Catholic Parents

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A Christian adoption agency that receives money from Choose Life license plate fees said it does not place children with Roman Catholic couples because their religion conflicts with the agency's "Statement of Faith."

Bethany Christian Services stated the policy in a letter to a Jackson couple this month, and another Mississippi couple said they were rejected for the same reason last year.

"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany's state director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to not accept applications from Catholics was an effort to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time, money and emotional energy."

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General: Iraq Insurgency Static in Size

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - In a sign of the Iraq insurgency's resilience, an American general said Friday that in his command area in north-central Iraq the level of violence is about where it stood prior to the January elections.

Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commander of coalition forces in four provinces that include the key cities of Tikrit, Kirkuk and Samarra, said a segment of the insurgency that he called religious extremists has not grown in numbers but has recently "coalesced a little bit more" with a Kurdish insurgent group known as Ansar al-Sunna as well as with the al-Qaida wing in Iraq that is headed by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

So, the insurgents from other islamic fractions are begining to work together. Hmm.

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And Now its 10

At least 22 killed in ten suicide bombings in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Ten suicide bombers blew themselves up in separate attacks in Baghdad and northern
Iraq, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 100, including seven US soldiers, Iraqi and US forces said.

The bombers, who struck over several hours, targeted Iraqi and US soldiers.

Throughout the day, the mood in the city got steadily worse as streets emptied and frightened soldiers on guard duty fired warning shots to keep people at bay.

My earilier posting had the bombing at five.

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Ga. Man, Owing Debts, Shot Postal Worker

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press Writer

SNELLVILLE, Ga. - Earl Lazenby had delivered mail for years to the aging brown home with overgrown plants in the yard and a National Rifle Association sticker on the front door. The home's owner was always friendly, sometimes chatting with Lazenby at the grocery store in this Atlanta suburb.

Snip

Two weeks ago, Crutchfield walked down his driveway carrying a .380-caliber pistol and greeted his mail carrier at the curb. He then opened fire on Lazenby, drove to the police station in his Chevrolet Cavalier and told the secretary, "I just shot the letter carrier."

"He took his mail and then said, 'Hello.' And then just started shooting," Lazenby said from his hospital bed Tuesday. "He just casually got in his car and drove away."

Lazenby was shot seven times, once in the arm and six times in the abdomen. A neighbor heard shots, came outside and called 911 as the 52-year-old grandfather lay in the grass of a nearby lawn thinking he might die.


AP Photo: Earl Lazenby, a Snellville, Ga., mail carrier and his wife, Colleen, talk during an interview.

Thanks TheRawStory.

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24 Suspected Taliban Fighters Found Dead

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani troops Friday found the bodies of 24 suspected Taliban militants who were killed in overnight fighting with U.S. and Afghan soldiers near the border inside Afghanistan, an army spokesman said.

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Five blasts reported in Baghdad suicide bomb spate

Jul 15, 2005 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five suicide car bombs blew up in different locations across Baghdad within hours of each other, including two attacks on Iraqi military patrols that police sources said killed six people and wounded more than 20.

Eyewitnesses said at least one of the bombers struck a U.S. convoy, although there were no immediate reports of American troops among the casualties.

Firefighters tried to douse the flames near one blast site targeting Iraqi troops in the north of the city, where several cars were destroyed and bloodsoaked survivors argued with police.


A column of smoke rises into the air after a car bomb attack on an Iraqi army convoy wounded five soldiers and three civilians in Baghdad July 15, 2005. Suicide car bombers blew themselves up in a series of attacks within hours across the Iraqi capital on July 15, and U.S. forces said 20 Iraqis were killed. The U.S. military reported seven blasts in Baghdad, at least three of which were suicide car bombs. Reuters journalists saw the aftermath of five big explosions, all of which Iraqi police sources said were suicide car bombs. Photo by Namir Noor-Eldeen/Reuters

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U.S.: Rebels Suffered Sharp Blow In Baghdad

Jul 8, 2005 10:50 am US/Eastern
BAGHDAD (AP) U.S. and Iraqi forces have �mostly eliminated� the ability of insurgents to conduct sustained, high-intensity attacks in Baghdad, the top U.S. commander in the Iraqi capital said Friday.

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr. said in a video-teleconference interview from Baghdad with reporters at the Pentagon that offensive operations by U.S. and Iraqi troops in recent weeks had sharply reduced the number of insurgent bombings. But he cautioned that it was too early to conclude that the insurgency has been broken.

What was that General, "sharply reduced the number of bombing"? Just leave your foot in your mouth!

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Bush admin may be responsible for botching effort to thwart London bombing

Go Read John Aravosis and friends at AMERICAblog

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Marine Arranged Shooting to Avoid Service

CHICAGO (AP) -- A young Marine who feared returning to Iraq persuaded his cousin to shoot him in the leg, then told police he was hit by random gang gunfire, authorities said.

The shooting early Saturday was meant to keep 19-year-old Moises Hernandez from going back to Iraq, prosecutors said.

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Iraq insurgents kill at least two, wound 15

BAGHDAD (AFP) - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded, including two US soldiers, as a series of insurgent attacks rocked
Iraq, Iraqi and US officials said.


A picture released by the US Army on July 15, 2005 shows Iraq soldiers scaling the gate of a suspected terrorist safe house during a cordon-and-search mission in Baghdad. At least two people were killed and 15 wounded, including two US soldiers, as a series of insurgent attacks rocked Iraq, Iraqi and US officials said.(AFP/US Army/Sergeant Jorge Rodriguez)

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8 Months After U.S.-Led Siege, Insurgents Rise Again in Falluja

By EDWARD WONG
Published: July 15, 2005

FALLUJA, Iraq, July 12 - Transformed into a police state after last winter's siege, this should be the safest city in all of Iraq.

Thousands of American and Iraqi troops live in crumbling buildings here and patrol streets laced with concertina wire. Any Iraqi entering the city must show a badge and undergo a search at one of six checkpoints. There is a 10 p.m. curfew.

But the insurgency is rising from the rubble nevertheless, eight months after the American military killed as many as 1,500 Iraqis in a costly invasion that fanned anti-American passions across Iraq and the Arab world.

Somewhere in the bowels of Falluja, the former guerrilla stronghold 35 miles west of Baghdad, where four American contractors were killed in an ambush, and the bodies of two were hanged from a bridge, in March 2004, insurgents are building suicide car bombs again.

At least four have exploded in recent weeks, one of them killing six American troops, including four women. Two of five police forts being erected have been firebombed. Three members of the nascent, 21-seat city council have suddenly quit and another member has stopped attending meetings, presumably because they have been threatened.

Just as disturbing, even Falluja residents who favored purging the streets of insurgents last November are beginning to chafe under the occupation.


Adam Nadel/Polaris, for The New York Times

Iraqi troops patrolled Falluja on Sunday. Despite their efforts, a 10 p.m. curfew and other security measures, the insurgents have been rebounding.

Subscription required, put go read the entire story.

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Marine Injured In Iraq Becomes A U.S. Citizen

July 14 (ABC7) — A young Marine from the Central Valley wounded in Iraq while fighting as a non-citizen today became an American.

Lance Corporal Angel Gomez is at the V.A. Hospital in Palo Alto. He was severely injured by a roadside blast in Iraq. Gomez lost part of his brain and his ability to speak. Today he was able to raise his hand and receive his oath as his family looked on.



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CENTCOM: TWO MARINES KILLED NEAR TREBIL

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed in action July 14 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Trebil, Iraq.

The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

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DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Benyahmin B. Yahudah, 24, of Bogart, Ga., died on July 13 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a vehicle borne improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol.

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Suspected Insurgents Attack in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Suspected Muslim separatists staged a twilight raid Thursday on a provincial capital in southern Thailand, setting off bombs and engaging in gun battles with security personnel, injuring 14 people, police said.



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Suicide barrage on Baghdad govt. compound foiled

By Peter Graff

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi police thwarted a triple suicide attack on Baghdad's Green Zone government compound on Thursday, shooting dead two bombers and wounding and capturing a third, a U.S. military spokesman said.

Police said the attack, claimed by al Qaeda's Iraq wing, involved a car bomber followed up by two bombers on foot. The target was a checkpoint guarded by Iraqi troops and police and used by civilians arriving for work at the fortified complex.



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Panel Finds Misinformation in White House Web Site on Teenagers

Negative Messages About Gays, Sex, Single Parents Criticized, as Well as Lack of Information on Alcohol

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer

A government Web site intended to help parents and teenagers make "smart choices about their health and future" includes inaccurate or misleading information that may alienate some families or prompt riskier behavior, according to a team of medical experts who reviewed the material.

Three physicians and a child psychologist analyzed the Bush administration's 4Parents.gov Web site and concluded it made many incorrect assertions about condoms, sexual orientation, single-parent households and the dangers of oral sex.

They also found omissions of information that could go a long way toward raising healthy young adults, such as warning against the dangers of drinking alcohol.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a frequent administration critic who solicited the analyses, said the site is the latest example of "the distortion of scientific information" in favor of a conservative ideology focused predominantly on promoting abstinence-until-marriage programs.

"A federally-funded website should present the facts as they are, not as you might wish them to be," Waxman wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. "It is wrong -- and ultimately self-defeating -- to sacrifice scientific accuracy in an effort to frighten teens and their parents."

Bushco, misinformation central!

Thanks, TomPaine.common sense.

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Busho Live!

Mark Fiore latest work.

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Ethiopian Bandits Raid Village, Kill 71

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A raid by hundreds of Ethiopian bandits on a remote village in northern Kenya, and reprisals by tribesmen and Kenyan security forces, left at least 71 people dead, including more than two dozen children, police said Wednesday

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DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Timothy J. Sutton, 22, of Springfield, Mo., died on July 11 in Baghdad, Iraq, where his HMMWV struck a land mine.

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Study: Army Pressed to Keep Up With War

By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer




WASHINGTON (AP) -- If demands on the Army for overseas combat continue at current levels, the Army will have serious problems keeping enough soldiers trained and ready, a new study finds.

In that circumstance, the president would have "few, if any" ready active-duty combat units to call on in a crisis, said the study released Wednesday by the RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization.

Makes you fell real safe!

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Afghan Base Holds Tribute for Commandos

By AMIR SHAH
Associated Press Writer

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) -- Hundreds of U.S. troops gathered Wednesday at the main American military base in Afghanistan for an emotional tribute to 11 Navy SEAL commandos killed in recent fighting, honoring them as "the very best of the best."

Semper Fi Navy Seals

Dems aim to increase army size

A team of Senate and House Democrats today are planning to introduce legislation today aimed at significantly increasing size of the U.S. Army.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) airland subcommittee, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), a SASC member, and Reps. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.), both members of the House Armed Services committee, are pressing for the passage of the United States Army Relief Act.

The legislation seeks to raise the cap of the Army’s end strength, said an aide to Tauscher.

I think that this is a good idea. It should help with the fatigue our fighting men and women must have.

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Rep. Louise Slaughter: Bush Must Keep His Word

When he took office, President Bush told the American people that his White House would be defined by honor and dignity. After the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he told us that he would do everything in his power to keep Americans safe. In the wake of the revelation that Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's Chief of Staff, revealed the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame to a reporter, the strength of the President's word is being tested. If Mr. Bush attempts to cover up what is a gross abuse of power and a vicious, destructive, and near-sighted act of political vengeance, then he will have failed to live up to the promises he has made. The exposure of Valerie Plame was an attack on more than the values which the White House professes to uphold: it was an attack on the security of the United States itself.


Go read Rep. Slaughter's entire post.

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Islamophobia blamed for attack

Vikram Dodd
Wednesday July 13, 2005
The Guardian

A Muslim man has been beaten to death outside a corner shop by a gang of youths who shouted anti-Islamic abuse at him, the Guardian has learned.

Kamal Raza Butt, 48, from Pakistan, was visiting Britain to see friends and family. On Sunday afternoon he went to a shop in Nottingham to buy cigarettes and was first called "Taliban" by the youths and then set upon.

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DoD Identifies Casualties

From 7/9

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Deyson K. Cariaga, 20, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died on July 8, in Al Hammadi, Iraq, when the HMMWV in which he was riding struck a land mine.

---

From 7/10

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich, 32, of Allegheny, Pa.
Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, 22, of Washington, Pa.

Both Marines died July 10 from enemy indirect fire while conducting combat operations in Hit, Iraq. They were assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment

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From 7/11

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

he Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Hoby F. Bradfield Jr., 22, of The Woodlands, Texas, died July 9 in Tal Afar, Iraq while he was conducting a dismounted cordon search.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. Eric P. Woods, 26, of Omaha, Neb., died on July 9 in Tal Afar, Iraq. His HMMWV struck an improvised explosive device that caused the vehicle to overturn.

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Calif. Guard Targeted Over Pig-Blood Flier

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Islamic leaders and peace groups are criticizing the California National Guard for a flier posted in its headquarters suggesting the United States execute Islamic terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood to deny them entry to heaven.

The flier attributed the practice to World War I General John J. Pershing.

Another group of idiots!

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Official: Risk to Guardsmen Exaggerated

By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The dangers faced by American troops in Iraq have been exaggerated, adding to the difficulty of recruiting soldiers at home, the Army general in charge of National Guard forces said Tuesday.

The casualty rate for Guardsmen is low compared with any previous armed conflict, said Lt. Gen. Steven Blum.

He said he recognizes that every death is a tragedy for that person's family. "But I lose, unfortunately, more people through private automobile accidents and motorcycle accidents over the same period of time," he added.

"It is dangerous, but it is - I shouldn't say it to this group but I'm going to - it is misrepresented, how dangerous it really is," Blum said during a breakfast with defense reporters.

Surveys of recruit-age Americans and their parents have shown that fear of being killed or wounded in Iraq is one of the major reasons that young people are choosing other careers after high school. The National Guard also has been squeezed by a slowdown in the number of active-duty soldiers switching to the Guard.



What an idiot! There is a difference between dying in a car crash and dying in Iraq. One is preventable! By not going to Iraq!

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Bush's POW-MIA Chief Accused of Abuse

By ROBERT BURNS
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man leading the Defense Department's search for missing American service members is being investigated by the Pentagon for allegations of abusive management, The Associated Press has learned.

The accusations include reprisals against subordinates and sexual harassment of a female employee, according to Pentagon officials familiar with the inquiry.

Jerry D. Jennings, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, also has been accused by groups outside government of undermining his own office's mission of accounting for service members considered missing in action. They say he has alienated families of the missing and demoralized his staff.

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Military balked at punishing Guantanamo chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military investigators who looked into FBI accounts of Guantanamo Bay detainee abuse urged that a former commander of the prison for foreign terrorism suspects be reprimanded, but U.S. Southern Command declined to do so, sources familiar with the probe said on Tuesday.

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IRAQ: Iraqis sell their blood to survive

BAGHDAD, 12 July (IRIN) - Iraqis are selling their own blood to people who are buying supplies for relatives in need, due to a shortage, doctors say. This has caused concern over the spread of disease since the supplies are not checked for blood-bourne infections.

Every day hundreds of donors can be seen standing outside the blood bank at the Iraqi National Centre for Blood Donations (INCBD) in the capital, Baghdad.

More people have started to donate blood following shortages and a call from the Health Ministry for increased supplies to cope with increasing violence in the country, resulting in more patients requiring urgent blood transfusions.

However, people in the queue willing to donate for free are being intercepted before they reach the centre. Donors are approached by so called 'negotiators' who pay them between US $ 15 - $20 per blood bag. At a time when unemployment stands at 33 percent and most of the country is still dependent on food rations, the sale of blood may be an attractive option for many.

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Bush's agenda could live or die with trade agreement

By Bob Cusack

The passage or demise of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will likely be a defining moment of the 109th Congress.

The trade issue’s outcome will show how much influence President Bush holds with the Republican-led Congress at the outset of his second term and could reveal a clear-cut winner in the intense battle between GOP and Democratic leaders in the House over the merits of the controversial trade pact.

Unless a side deal is struck that attracts the support of some members, the floor vote on CAFTA is likely to come down to a few votes. Whichever side wins the showdown will seize political momentum that could have a ripple effect on the rest of the president’s agenda.

CAFTA’s success “is crucial to the success of the Bush administration,” said Howard Wiarda, head of the department of international affairs at the University of Georgia. “Everything on Bush’s agenda, including Social Security and the Supreme Court, hangs on” CAFTA’s passing.

He added, “If CAFTA goes down, that would confirm for the opposition that he’s a lame-duck president.”


Cafta needs to go down. Nafta has been a big failure. I lost a job because it moved to Mexico.

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Australia to send troops to back Afghanistan

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia plans to send up to 400 troops, including elite special forces and construction engineers, to Afghanistan to help hunt down a resurgent al Qaeda, Australian newspapers said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister John Howard and his cabinet met for several hours on Tuesday to consider the deployment to provide direct assistance to U.S. forces, which have suffered their worst combat losses in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The Australian newspaper said the cabinet decided to send 150 special forces, as well as Black Hawk helicopters and engineers back to Afghanistan. The Australian Financial Review said up to 300 engineers with an infantry protection group were likely to be sent, alongside about 75 special forces.

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Iraq: Troops Can Withdraw From Some Cities

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister said Tuesday that U.S. and other foreign troops could begin handing over security to Iraqis in selected cities, although he opposes setting a timetable for the complete withdrawal of multinational forces.

Snip

"We can begin with the process of withdrawing multinational forces from these cities to outside the city as a first step that encourages setting a timetable for the withdrawal process," al-Jaafari said. "We don't want to be surprised by a decision to withdraw at a time when we are not ready."

He didn't specify which cities where he felt the redeployment could occur.


Interesting.

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