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Sadr expected to extend militia truce in Iraq
Sadr expected to extend militia truce in Iraq. Reuters reports that Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is expected to extend a six-month truce by his militia the Mahdi Army. Sadrs final decision will be read in mosques throughout Iraq at Friday prayer services. Sadrs cease-fire declaration last August has been widely credited as a significant contributing factor in improving security in Iraq.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2055770620080221?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
you know things are going relatively well in iraq because it hasn't been in the news
they have temporarily reduced the statistical death toll with to surge by spreading the number of casualties out over a longer period of time is all
it is only the American 30 sec sound bite mentality that would see this as any kind of victory there are are little Muslim boys and girls that are orphaned and maimed and they wont forget in a month or year or a life time be assured they will fight until the invaders leave
They can die like the rest. So?
Mahdi Army extending their ceasefire, which began in August after Al Sadr ordred them to stand down. Which resulted in a large decrease in violence over the last 6 months. No idea how long they'll hold to their ceasefire, they have their own agenda, and for now Bush is killing their sunni enemies while they consolidate power in southern iraq.
A question out of intrest... have you actually been in a war ? WW2 .VIETNAM,
IRAQ..I ask because all tho I have not I was surrounded in my childhood by those who had and they never talked of death as you do
So you are going to question a guy who has served in the military even though you havent? I served in Iraq. I have taken peoples lives and I have been wounded also. While I dont brag about it i dont have a problem talking about it. In my eyes what I did and do is right. Maybe he feels the same way.
A question out of intrest... have you actually been in a war ? WW2 .VIETNAM,
IRAQ..I ask because all tho I have not I was surrounded in my childhood by those who had and they never talked of death as you do
You mean they were willing to paralyze themselves in fear of accidentally killing noncombatants to give people such as yourself fodder for your propaganda machines?
Why not cut to the chase and just hand everything you own, to include your soul, over to your enemy if you are willing to let him do whatever he pleases while you refuse to stop him out of fear of not being politically correct?
In the context of my response to you, you stated these noncombatant casulaties would themselves become terrorists. I have about as much compassion and mercy for terrorists as I do rattlesnakes. When was the last time you tried to negotiate with a rattlesnake? Or let one go because it had baby rattlesnakes following it?
How I feel about death and war takes a back seat to posessing the capability to do what needs be done to accomplish the mission.
And if it makes you feel any better I was in the First Gulf War from the first day to the last.
how long was the "gulf war" from beginning to end anyway... it was like a month wasn't it ?
[edit]
Gulf War syndrome (Operation Desert Storm)Main article: Gulf War syndrome
Many returning coalition soldiers reported illnesses following their participation in the Gulf War, a phenomenon known as Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness. There has been widespread speculation and disagreement about the causes of the illness and reported birth defects. Some factors considered as possibly causal include exposure to depleted uranium, chemical weapons, anthrax vaccine given to deploying soldiers, and/or infectious diseases. Major Michael Donnelly, a former USAF officer during the Gulf War, helped publicize the syndrome and advocated for veterans' rights in this regard.
Iraqi deaths
Immediate estimates said up to 100,000 Iraqis were killed. Some now estimate that Iraq sustained between 20,000 and 35,000 fatalities. However other figures still maintain fatalities as high as 200,000.[25
The DoD reports that U.S. forces suffered 148 battle-related deaths, plus one pilot listed as MIA (further 145 Americans died in out-of-combat accidents). The UK suffered 24 combat deaths, France 2, and the Arab countries suffered 39 casualties.[3]
The largest single loss of Coalition forces happened on February 25, 1991, when an Iraqi Al-Hussein missile hit an American military barrack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.
The number of coalition wounded in combat seems to have been 776, including 467 Americans.[4]
However, as of the year 2000, 183,000 U.S. veterans of the Gulf War, more than a quarter of the U.S. troops who participated in War, have been declared permanently disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs [5]. About 30% of the 700,000 men and women who served in U.S. forces during the Gulf War still suffer an array of serious symptoms whose causes are not fully understood.[6]
[edit] Friendly fire
While the death toll among Coalition forces engaging Iraqi combatants was very low, a substantial number of deaths were caused by accidental attacks from other allied units. Of the 147 American troops who died in battle, 24% were killed by friendly fire, a total of 35 service personnel. A further 11 died in detonations of allied munitions. Nine British service personnel were also killed in a friendly fire incident when a USAF A-10A Thunderbolt-II attacked a group of two Warrior IFVs
