Bomb in Police Booth Kills 4 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A bomb exploded in a booth for traffic police in north Baghdad Saturday, killing four civilians, police said.

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Candidate Counters Bush Visit With Own Rally - RTV 6

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- On the afternoon President Bush was speaking at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel in Indianapolis, the Democrat running against Sodrel held a rally of his own.

Former U.S. Rep. Baron Hill spoke to more than 100 of his supporters in the Monroe County courthouse in Bloomington on Friday. Hill, who lost his 9th District seat to Sodrel in 2004, took a jab at the Republican's fundraiser.

The Indy Star has nothing about Baron Hill (rethug paper). Only on Bushs visit.

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Hero to get silver star - El Paso Times

EP Marine honored for saving another

When Lance Cpl. Ben Gonzalez saw a hand grenade flying toward the observation post where he and three others were protecting a bridge in Iraq critical to coalition supply lines, he instinctively threw himself on a fellow Marine and absorbed the blast.

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US solider killed in Afghan battle

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One U.S. soldier was killed and one wounded on Saturday in an attack on Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

Afghanistan has seen a surge in attacks by Taliban insurgents and their militant allies in recent months and the Taliban have vowed to launch a spring offensive against U.S.-led foreign forces and the Western-backed government.

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Staff Sgt. Brock A. Beery

3/24/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Staff Sgt. Brock A. Beery, 30, of White House, Tenn., died in Habbaniyah, Iraq on March 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his LMTV followed by enemy small arms fire during combat operations. Beery was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor Regiment, Bowling Green, Ky.

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Spc. Antoine J. McKinzie

3/24/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Spc. Antoine J. McKinzie, 25, of Indianapolis, Ind., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 21, when his HMMWV came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations. McKinzie was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

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Sgt 1st Class Randy D. McCaulley

3/24/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Sgt 1st Class Randy D. McCaulley, 44, Indiana, Pa., died in Habbaniyah, Iraq on March 23, when his dismounted patrol came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations. McCaulley was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Indiana, Pa.

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Wounded reservist tapped to run for House seat - Army Times

An Army reservist who lost both legs in Iraq has become the second Iraq war veteran to win her party’s nomination for a seat in Congress.

Tammy Duckworth, a major in the Illinois National Guard who was badly wounded while serving as a helicopter pilot, won over two other competitors for the Democratic nomination in the race for Illinois’s 6th congressional district.

What's really good to me about this story is, that's it's in the Army Times. Also, that Duckworth won!

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Pace Wants Review of Iraq Media Program - AP

ANKARA, Turkey - The top U.S. military commander called Thursday for a formal Pentagon review of the policies that led to defense officials paying the Iraqi media to place favorable stories in their newspapers.

This time general, get it right! We should not be paying for good stories.

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Suicide car bomber hits Baghdad police HQ, 25 killed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 25 people, most of them policemen, were killed when a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside the headquarters of the Iraqi police's major crimes unit in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said.

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Motorcycle riders surround family to protect, honor them - chronicle-tribune.com

[...] Carrying American flags or displaying them on the back of motorcycles and cars, more than 100 members of the Patriot Guard Riders attended the funeral of Army Spc. Joshua Lee Hill at Madison-Grant High School on Wednesday.

They came to pay their respects to Hill's family and to shield them from a planned protest by Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church.

As my friend Jen would say, "thank god for bikers." I say, "thank god for Vietnam vets."

Church members said they would be at Hill's funeral, and on Wednesday evening church officials said about eight protesters stood near the high school with protest signs, drawing honks or gestures of disagreement from drivers.

People of pure hatred!

"If they were there, they were hiding behind a sea of American flags, because that's all we saw," said Indiana State Police Sgt. Rod Russell. State police and several other local agencies were at the funeral directing traffic and ensuring a peaceful afternoon.

My friend Rodney would know.

Pastor Mick Simpkins opened his parking lot and fellowship hall to the Patriot Guard Riders. He weaved among the leather-clad men and women, shaking hands and reminding them of hot coffee inside.

"We would be in agreement with what they're doing," Simpkins said. "We feel it is an atrocity for people to be protesting a funeral service like that, and what is interesting to us is it is a Baptist church that has organized these efforts against the funeral. We kind of wanted to counter that as a Baptist church."

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'We can thank Josh for our freedom' - chronicle-tribune.com

[...]As others honored Hill by attending the service, Dean and Jefferies prepared to honor Hill in their own way.

"We're going to line these flags along the highway," he said.

Three of the flags were modern-day American flags, one was representative of the flag flown during the Revolutionary War and one was representative of the flag Betsy Ross constructed.

He said it's the least he could do to show the Hill family his appreciation.

"When a family loses someone in uniform, it's not just a family's loss," he said. "It's a nation's loss.

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Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen

3/22/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen, 19, of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 11, from a non-combat related injury. Duerksen was assigned to the 4th Combat Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

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Crippled Iraq War veteran wins Democratic primary in Illinois

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Crippled Iraq war veteran Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth has eked out a primary win over two Democratic challengers, US media reported, and earned the chance to run in November for an open US Congress seat.

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Phelps-Roper, Nothing But Pure Hate!

Protesters plan to be at funeral

FAIRMOUNT - The funeral of Army Reserve Spc. Joshua Lee Hill at Madison-Grant High School today has become a target of a Kansas church whose protests at military funerals led to a change in Indiana law.

While police say they don't expect the protesters to show, [...]

"The answer is, 'yes,' we do plan on (demonstrating)," said Shirley Phelps-Roper, attorney for the Westboro Baptist Church. "There's a couple of other funerals we have to get to tomorrow in North Carolina and Florida, I believe."

Nothing but pure hate!

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Staff Sgt. Ricardo Barraza Sgt. Dale G. Brehm

3/21/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on March 18, when they came under small arms fire by enemy forces during combat operations. Both solidiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Ricardo Barraza, 24, of Shafter, Calif.

Sgt. Dale G. Brehm, 23, of Turlock, Calif.

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Local Soldier Saves Others From Grenade Attack In Iraq - WTAE 4

[...] The third grenade made its way into the tank. Army officials told the newspaper that Sheetz picked up that third grenade and threw it out of the hatch, and it exploded near his hand and face.

Sheetz was injured but has returned to duty, Cipriani reported.

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Stinger missiles in Afghanistan a threat: US

KABUL (AFP) - US-made Stinger missiles will pose a threat to military and commercial aircraft across the region if they fall into the hands of Taliban rebels in Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said.

Washington supplied a large number of shoulder-fired Stingers to Afghans fighting the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and dozens are still thought to be missing.

There was no evidence to support media reports that the Taliban had obtained some of the heat-seeking missiles but coalition forces were continuously monitoring the situation, spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts said.

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Military probes killing of Iraqi family

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Tuesday it was investigating Iraqi police allegations that its soldiers shot dead a family of 11 in their home last week.

Soldiers said they killed four people, including a militant.

The probe comes a day after a magazine published allegations that U.S. Marines killed 15 civilians in another town last year. A criminal inquiry into those deaths was launched last week.

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Insurgents Storm Iraqi Jail, 28 Killed - AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents stormed a jail about dawn Tuesday in the Sunni Muslim heartland north of Baghdad, killing at least 17 policemen and a courthouse guard. Authorities said all 33 prisoners in the lockup were freed and 10 attackers were killed in the battle.

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51 arrested in US anti-war protest at Pentagon building

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Fifty-one protesters were arrested at the
Pentagon on the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, for refusing to stay behind a barrier, a Defense Department official said.

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Sgt. Amanda N. Pinson Spc. Carlos M. Gonzalez

3/20/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Tikrit, Iraq, on Mar. 16, when a mortar round detonated.

Killed were:

Sgt. Amanda N. Pinson, 21, of St. Louis, Mo.

Spc. Carlos M. Gonzalez, 22, of Middletown, N.Y.

Pinson and Gonzalez were assigned to the 101st Military Intelligence Detachment, 501st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Semper Fi

'Wounded warrior' reaches out to help other amputees - CourierPostOnline

Everything went right east of Tikrit on Nov. 15, 2004. At least that's the way 1st Lt. Ed Salau sees it, though that was the day he lost his left leg.

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Marine's war action 'made Jackson proud' - Jackson Sun

Family, friends honor World War II hero at VFW memorial service

[...] While serving with the First Marine Division on Guadalcanal in 1942, he was wounded in action and received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. The famous U.S. Navy Admiral W. F. "Bull" Halsey presented Holland with the Silver Star. After he recovered from his wounds, he also was promoted to captain.

Holland was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the Marine assault, landing and capture of Peleliu Island in the Pilaus in 1945.

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Two Afghan police dead, four missing in rebel raid

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents raided an Afghan police post in the southern province on Kandahar on Sunday, killing two policemen, a government official said.

Four people were also missing after the pre-dawn attack, the latest in a wave of violence as more foreign peacekeepers prepare to deploy to the south.

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Rumsfeld: leaving Iraq like giving Nazis Germany - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leaving Iraq now would be like handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a column published on Sunday, the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

So, the insurgents are Nazis now? WTF, over. By the way, Gen. George Patton used the Nazis to rebuild Germany!

Rumsfeld's view was that the Iraqi insurgency was failing.

"The terrorists seem to recognize that they are losing in Iraq. I believe that history will show that to be the case," he wrote.

And the insurgency has been losing for 3 years now.

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Iraq Leaves Veteran in Personal Fog of War - AP

RICHMOND HILL, Ga. - His 3-year-old son Nicholas' first steps, the first time Liam, his newborn, smiled — Staff Sgt. Douglas Piper lived to see them. Then his scarred memory erased even those precious moments.

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